Most used Winter tools

The official start of Winter is upon us!

I thought it would be neat to see the tools used the most by season. I know the tools I use differ greatly by season and the different projects I'm working on.

For me, Winter is a great time to get some hard manual labor done outside that can be done while being all bundled up.

I plan to clear some trees this Winter and normally prefer to use hand tools, but due to the number of trees, I'll probably pull out the chain saw.

I plan to use my axe a lot this Winter also, chopping up the stumps.

What tools will you be using the most this Winter or have used in previous winters?!

Here's another similar recent thread about Most used Fall tools

Also, here's a similar older thread about Hand tools you use most.....

Hi!  Hatchet, axe, and  splitting wedge.  My feet and my eyes--I'm a novice and I'm "surveying the land" so to speak.

Headlamp.  It's dark in the morning when I take care of animals, and it's dark when I get off work and need to take care of animals.  My headlamp stays in my coat pocket all winter long...

Susan Mené wrote:Hi!  Hatchet, axe, and  splitting wedge.  My feet and my eyes--I'm a novice and I'm "surveying the land" so to speak.

Very nice! I wish I had done more of that originally. I jumped in and did a lot and then later wished I had done some more planning. However, I kind of learned as I did things, so I guess it worked out in the end.

How about snow shovel...

Jim Guinn wrote:How about snow shovel...

That's a good one. I wish we had enough snow where I live to need one. Maybe I don't on second thought, thinking about all that work.

Trace Oswald wrote:Headlamp.  It's dark in the morning when I take care of animals, and it's dark when I get off work and need to take care of animals.  My headlamp stays in my coat pocket all winter long...

Yeah, such a valuable thing to have. I recently discovered how bad I needed one, trying to get things finished after dark.

I got a headlamp as a gift last year and found out it must have been a really cheap one. I went outside in the dark with it on and couldn't even hardly tell there was a light on. .

So I ordered one myself just a few days ago.

Chop'n and drop'n

This week I did some chop and drop around my fruit trees.

I mostly used the scythe and hand sickle, but had to pull out the swing blade and hori hori knife on some extra stubborn weeds!

Mostly my chainsaw, clearing saplings when the ground is frozen, but not too much snow, but also in logging. I have not done that in  year because I am sick, but winter was always time to log.

This year I build a V-plow, and I have used it a lot. It takes about 2 hours off my plowing time.

Awesome picture Travis!

I need to pull out my chainsaw too and do the same thing!

Steve Thorn wrote:Awesome picture Travis!

I need to pull out my chainsaw too and do the same thing!

Yeah without leaves on the trees, and grass and ferns and all that stuff, what looks like an impossible task in the summer, looks manageable in the winter! I got a few pictures of Katie toting my chainsaw, but I figured taking a picture of the V-plow was a better idea.

Mine are definitely my pruning shears, loppers and machete. Winter is the best time to hack back at my salmonberries and invasive blackberries that are always trying to take over everything else.

And, like Trace, my headlamp gets a lot of use: getting firewood, taking out compost, and for extra bright light during power outages.

I'd like to recommend to the ergonomic shovels with the bend in them make shoveling snow manually so so so much easier I can move more snow longer

Also a Snow Brum  for wiping off my solar panels it's just a rectangle of foam it comes with a short pole but I bought a 20 foot telescoping Pole to put it on so I can wipe off solar panels that are high up without getting on ladders and such in the ice and snow


Oh and let's not forget the battery pack Black & Decker chainsaw I have a full set of Black & Decker battery tools I love all of them I've had some of them for years and I beat them up and they keep kicking

Ryan Sleep wrote:I'd like to recommend to the ergonomic shovels with the bend in them make shoveling snow manually so so so much easier I can move more snow longer.

I whole heartedly agree! Great snow shovels.

My most used tool in the winter continues to be my farm Tractor. That is fine, it does a lot of work, but I think when I build my new barn, I am going to incorporate Gantry Tractor so that it will be all electric (no starting a diesel engine in the winter), as well as having the ability to feed, bed, and clean out around the sheep all from above so that they I do not need to move sheep around to different pens like I do with a tractor.


If you skip through the video, you can see where the Gantry Tractor has different attachments. Myself, I would just make a homemade Gantry Tractor out of a used up man lift chassis or a mini-excavator, obvious reworking the wheel/track drive, and swapping out the diesel engine to electric.

Well I'm clearing for a perimeter fence so this winter, it's a chainsaw although towards then end of winter it will change to a splitter.

Since I'm a tick & chigger magnet, I've figured out I need to do as mush as I can in the woods during winter and stay out of the woods when the little bastards are awake.

Nicole Alderman wrote:Mine are definitely my pruning shears, loppers and machete. Winter is the best time to hack back at my salmonberries and invasive blackberries that are always trying to take over everything else.

I use those same tools to go after the blackberries, they are so good to eat, but when they're in a bad spot, those thorns hurt so bad!

Ryan Sleep wrote:I'd like to recommend to the ergonomic shovels with the bend in them make shoveling snow manually so so so much easier I can move more snow longer

Also a Snow Brum  for wiping off my solar panels it's just a rectangle of foam it comes with a short pole but I bought a 20 foot telescoping Pole to put it on so I can wipe off solar panels that are high up without getting on ladders and such in the ice and snow


Oh and let's not forget the battery pack Black & Decker chainsaw I have a full set of Black & Decker battery tools I love all of them I've had some of them for years and I beat them up and they keep kicking

Very cool!

Yeah, I love it when tools feel good when doing a heavy job!

Jeremy Hector wrote:I bring in my hand tools as well, my chisels and planes.

I've been enjoying seeing the recent woodworking done on here recently with the PEP badges, and am excited to use some of these soon too!

Travis Johnson wrote:My most used tool in the winter continues to be my farm Tractor. That is fine, it does a lot of work, but I think when I build my new barn, I am going to incorporate Gantry Tractor so that it will be all electric (no starting a diesel engine in the winter), as well as having the ability to feed, bed, and clean out around the sheep all from above so that they I do not need to move sheep around to different pens like I do with a tractor.


If you skip through the video, you can see where the Gantry Tractor has different attachments. Myself, I would just make a homemade Gantry Tractor out of a used up man lift chassis or a mini-excavator, obvious reworking the wheel/track drive, and swapping out the diesel engine to electric.

That is some amazing technology, I would hate to see the price tag on some of that stuff!

Steve Thorn wrote:That is some amazing technology, I would hate to see the price tag on some of that stuff!

What I like about that overhead tractor is, it is 100% able to be made homemade. It is nothing more then an overhead crane, combined with a mini-excavator. Those get junked all the time because of a blown engine, or tracks that are worn out. All you would need to do is remove the tracks and replace the sprockets and idlers with flanged wheels, and then replace the diesel engine with an electric motor (or run it via diesel). For the rail, you could go with steel channel iron, or go with laminated framing lumber with flat iron for wear bars. I would make my rails extend to both a manure pit, as well as my silage pile/hay area so that everything could be done from overhead.

That's really cool!

John Paulding wrote:Well I'm clearing for a perimeter fence so this winter, it's a chainsaw although towards then end of winter it will change to a splitter.

Since I'm a tick & chigger magnet, I've figured out I need to do as mush as I can in the woods during winter and stay out of the woods when the little bastards are awake.

I'm the same way. I have to get the woods work done in the winter too in order to avoid all the critters!

i use gaiters on my boots.  If you are not familiar with them, they attach to your legs over your pants below your knees, and go down over your boots covering your laces.  A strap under the boot as well as a hook that attaches to a D-ring at the base of the lace area hold the gaiters on or the hook goes straight on the laces if there is no D-ring on the boots.  Gaiters are either laced up, buttoned or snapped (old style) or velcroed on (modern).  The purpose of the gaiters is to keep deep snow out of your boots.  They are indispensible for me in my trail building project this winter.  Here's an example:  

So far it's mostly been chainsaw, axe, sledge hammer, & metal wedge for processing firewood. Used the loppers to clear some blackberry & other small plants that were interfering. Hopefully the least common needed this winter will be the ice spikes.

Another thing that I have used a few times this winter (though it has not been an especially cold winter), is my heated vest.  As an outdoor welder, this battery-powered bad boy will keep my core warm even in a blizzard if I layer up properly around it.  I'm sometimes sitting in one spot for hours (thus not generating heat from muscle action) and, being a small guy I don't have a lot of body mass to hold any of my heat.  Usually, I layer up starting with a base layer, then the vest, then heavy wool, then a cotton hoodie, with hood on over a wool balaclava, then a windbreaker of either fire resistant plastic or heavy leather (depending on the moisture content of the snow blowing on me).   I don't rely on the vest, however; I always have extra layers of wool in the truck, and I know how to create heat fast with certain body movements like deep squats, lunges, or (if necessary) short sprints.  :)

Roberto pokachinni wrote:i use gaiters on my boots.  If you are not familiar with them, they attach to your legs over your pants below your knees, and go down over your boots covering your laces.  A strap under the boot as well as a hook that attaches to a D-ring at the base of the lace area hold the gaiters on or the hook goes straight on the laces if there is no D-ring on the boots.  Gaiters are either laced up, buttoned or snapped (old style) or velcroed on (modern).  The purpose of the gaiters is to keep deep snow out of your boots.  They are indispensible for me in my trail building project this winter.  Here's an example:  

Very cool, I had never seen these before, as our big snows barely cover the top of our shoes here.

Seems like that would be a good thing to have with deep snow!

Mike Barkley wrote:So far it's mostly been chainsaw, axe, sledge hammer, & metal wedge for processing firewood. Used the loppers to clear some blackberry & other small plants that were interfering. Hopefully the least common needed this winter will be the ice spikes.

I need to chop some firewood too this year to have for an emergency supply.

Those spikes are neat too, but like you said, it's probably nice to not have to use them!

Roberto pokachinni wrote:Another thing that I have used a few times this winter (though it has not been an especially cold winter), is my heated vest.  As an outdoor welder, this battery-powered bad boy will keep my core warm even in a blizzard if I layer up properly around it.  I'm sometimes sitting in one spot for hours (thus not generating heat from muscle action) and, being a small guy I don't have a lot of body mass to hold any of my heat.  Usually, I layer up starting with a base layer, then the vest, then heavy wool, then a cotton hoodie, with hood on over a wool balaclava, then a windbreaker of either fire resistant plastic or heavy leather (depending on the moisture content of the snow blowing on me).   I don't rely on the vest, however; I always have extra layers of wool in the truck, and I know how to create heat fast with certain body movements like deep squats, lunges, or (if necessary) short sprints.  

That's really neat having for extreme cold weather.

It's awesome too like you mentioned about the exercises to
generate heat quickly.

For our cold here, usually a good face mask, tobagan, and really thick jacket will do.

I'll never complain about putting on one jacket again!