Author Topic: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves  (Read 2150 times)

MillCreek

  • Skippy The Wonder Dog
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,964
  • APS Risk Manager
Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« on: June 09, 2018, 08:39:48 PM »
Here in the Pacific NW, we have a nuisance plant called Devil's Club: 2-3 meters high with woody stalks and amply covered with thorns on the stems, leaves and stalks (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_club). The thorns like to break off flush with the skin, so you have to wait for the thorn to fester and protrude a bit before you can remove them.   

The back 50 feet or so of my acre lot is covered with second-growth evergreen forest and Devil's Club as the underbrush.  I am eradicating the Devil's Club to make that portion of my property usable.  The best way to eliminate the plant is to pull it out of the ground.  It reproduces by sending runners underground, and the long thick roots make it a tussle to pull it out.  You have to grab it by the stem(s) and give it a hearty yank until it comes free. My heavy-duty leather work gloves help a bit with the padded palm, but the single-thickness fingers are not very thorn-resistant.

Does anyone have any suggestions for a more puncture-proof set up?  I have read about thorn-proof gloves on Amazon, and they don't seem to be very thorn-proof. The steel mesh gloves as cut protection work well against slices, but not so much for punctures, as with a thorn.  I thought of beekeeping and welding gloves, and a lot of the reviews there say they are not very puncture-proof in the fingers.
_____________
Regards,
MillCreek
Snohomish County, WA  USA


Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

zxcvbob

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 12,208
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #1 on: June 09, 2018, 09:25:32 PM »
Have you thought about spot-treating with herbicides?  This one in particular: https://www.amazon.com/Triclopyr-Compare-Garlon-Remedy-Gallon/dp/B0073M8UHI  It's what they use to kill buckthorn around here, and I've used it on all kinds of fresh small tree stumps to prevent regrowth.
"It's good, though..."

KD5NRH

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 10,926
  • I'm too sexy for you people.
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #2 on: June 09, 2018, 09:45:24 PM »
Have you tried boiling water?  It kills dandelions and several other weeds pretty well, with no effect on anything it doesn't hit directly.

Kingcreek

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,472
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #3 on: June 09, 2018, 11:47:49 PM »
Welding gloves have many layers. The modern Tig/mig gloves are lighter but I find the old school SMAW gloves w gauntlet are great for campfire cooking, fireplace loading, vaccinating half wild barn cats, oh and welding.
What we have here is failure to communicate.

RoadKingLarry

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 21,841
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #4 on: June 10, 2018, 12:29:19 AM »
I would also suggest good old fashioned welding gloves.

As to eliminating nuisance vegetation, a mix of glyphosate, 2-4-D and a little dish soap has killed anything green I've needed dead.
Has worked on Similax, AKA green briar and thistle and knocks down poison ivy and poison oak reliably.
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

Samuel Adams

230RN

  • It's like swimming to shore in an ebb tide.
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 18,826
  • Pushing back. Help me out, here...
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #5 on: June 10, 2018, 01:35:49 AM »
Wrap chain, rope, or webbing around the stalk a couple of times and pull on that instead?

I was also thinking of a fence post puller, but not sure that would work.  Description indicates a straight, tough stalk. so...

"Devil's club is very sensitive to human impact and does not reproduce quickly. The plants are slow growing and take many years to reach seed bearing maturity, and predominately exist in dense, moist, old growth conifer forests in the Pacific Northwest.[2]"

That's good news.  I had a similar problem with Canada Thistle and mowed it down with my lawn tractor, which kept the area clear for a couple of years.

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,745
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #6 on: June 10, 2018, 09:15:27 AM »
Harbor Freight sells welding gloves for really cheap if you wanna give it a go Millcreek. They also have longer gauntlets than gardening gloves, so better coverage up the forearm. They even sell full leather welding sleeves for cheap if you want better coverage up your arms.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

MillCreek

  • Skippy The Wonder Dog
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,964
  • APS Risk Manager
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #7 on: June 10, 2018, 03:17:50 PM »
I am looking at the Harbor Freight website: which style of welding glove is thicker/more protective, TIG or MIG?  I know nothing about welding.

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=welding+gloves
_____________
Regards,
MillCreek
Snohomish County, WA  USA


Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,745
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #8 on: June 10, 2018, 04:09:00 PM »
For your needs I would skip the mig gloves and just try out the cheaper gloves. The mig  gloves are pretty thin. When I'm back at my computer I'll check their site and send you a link if someone else doesn't first. For just tugging out plants I don't think you need a lot of dexterity and the cheaper arc gloves are thicker.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,745
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #9 on: June 10, 2018, 06:48:33 PM »
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

Sideways_8

  • friend
  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 197
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #10 on: June 10, 2018, 07:03:44 PM »
Cut them down and salt the area. Unless you want something else to grow there.

Boomhauer

  • Former Moderator, fired for embezzlement and abuse of power
  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 14,274
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #11 on: June 10, 2018, 10:02:20 PM »
MiG/stick. Tig gloves are thin and supple because you are carefully manipulating a torch and manually feeding thin filler rod.
Quote from: Ben
Holy hell. It's like giving a loaded gun to a chimpanzee...

Quote from: bluestarlizzard
the last thing you need is rabies. You're already angry enough as it is.

OTOH, there wouldn't be a tweeker left in Georgia...

Quote from: Balog
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE! AND THROW SOME STEAK ON THE GRILL!

RoadKingLarry

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 21,841
If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or your arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen.

Samuel Adams

Ben

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 45,745
  • I'm an Extremist!
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #13 on: June 10, 2018, 10:51:58 PM »
MiG/stick. Tig gloves are thin and supple because you are carefully manipulating a torch and manually feeding thin filler rod.

Just an FYI if he gets the Harbor Freight ones, from what I remember when trying them on there. Their MIG gloves were a similar thickness (or more appropriately thinness) to their TIG gloves.
"I'm a foolish old man that has been drawn into a wild goose chase by a harpy in trousers and a nincompoop."

grampster

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 9,435
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #14 on: June 10, 2018, 11:17:04 PM »
Tordon RTU is pretty effective at killing stuff.  I had a bamboo grove (50+ canes) I cut down leaving an inch or two and squirted tordon into each cane.  Only a couple of new sprouts in the last 3 weeks.

"Never wrestle with a pig.  You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it."  G.B. Shaw

Hawkmoon

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 27,197
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #15 on: June 11, 2018, 12:36:10 AM »
What about chopping off the plants near the ground and then dragging the area with a grappling hook to pull out the roots?
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
100% Politically Incorrect by Design

zxcvbob

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 12,208
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #16 on: June 11, 2018, 12:53:42 AM »
What about chopping off the plants near the ground and then dragging the area with a grappling hook to pull out the roots?

The Tordon that grandpa mentioned, or the triclopyr (mixed 3:1 with diesel or kerosene) that I did will kill the roots.  Just apply it to the fresh-cut stumps.
"It's good, though..."

Perd Hapley

  • Superstar of the Internet
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 61,332
  • My prepositions are on/in
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #17 on: June 11, 2018, 01:08:32 AM »




Anyone else remembers these guys?
"Doggies are angel babies!" -- my wife

Scout26

  • I'm a leaf on the wind.
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 25,997
  • I spent a week in that town one night....
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #18 on: June 11, 2018, 03:26:50 AM »



Anyone else remembers these guys?

Yep, and remember DX'ing a set of ripped up BDU's after AT at Ft. McCoy when I was an E-4...
Some days even my lucky rocketship underpants won't help.


Bring me my Broadsword and a clear understanding.
Get up to the roundhouse on the cliff-top standing.
Take women and children and bed them down.
Bless with a hard heart those that stand with me.
Bless the women and children who firm our hands.
Put our backs to the north wind.
Hold fast by the river.
Sweet memories to drive us on,
for the motherland.

MillCreek

  • Skippy The Wonder Dog
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,964
  • APS Risk Manager
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #19 on: June 12, 2018, 03:47:40 PM »
Millcreek, I would try these first:

https://www.harborfreight.com/welding-gloves-39664.html

So the new Harbor Freight local to me opened yesterday, and I picked up a pair of these gloves this morning.  I just came back inside from a couple of hours of yanking up the Devil's Club, and these gloves were perfect.  I did not get stuck once by thorns through these gloves. Thanks so much, Ben.
_____________
Regards,
MillCreek
Snohomish County, WA  USA


Quote from: Angel Eyes on August 09, 2018, 01:56:15 AM
You are one lousy risk manager.

charby

  • Necromancer
  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 29,295
  • APS's Resident Sikh/Muslim
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #20 on: June 12, 2018, 09:55:20 PM »
Prickly ash?
Iowa- 88% more livable that the rest of the US

Uranus is a gas giant.

Team 444: Member# 536

TechMan

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,562
  • Yes, your moderation has been outsourced.
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #21 on: June 13, 2018, 08:20:03 AM »
I would use something like this: https://www.pullerbear.com/compare.html.  I have the WeedWrench which is really nice but the guy that made them shut down and went on about some anti-government screed.
Quote
Hawkmoon - Never underestimate another person's capacity for stupidity. Any time you think someone can't possibly be that dumb ... they'll prove you wrong.

Bacon and Eggs - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig.
Stupidity will always be its own reward.
Bad decisions make good stories.

Quote
Viking - The problem with the modern world is that there aren't really any predators eating stupid people.

230RN

  • It's like swimming to shore in an ebb tide.
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 18,826
  • Pushing back. Help me out, here...
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #22 on: June 13, 2018, 12:24:45 PM »
^
I would use something like this: https://www.pullerbear.com/compare.html.  I have the WeedWrench which is really nice but the guy that made them shut down and went on about some anti-government screed.

From the dark, dim past:

Wrap chain, rope, or webbing around the stalk a couple of times and pull on that instead?

I was also thinking of a fence post puller, but not sure that would work.  Description indicates a straight, tough stalk. so...
...

So, I guess something like a post puller would have worked after all.  I'm sure I saw a fence post puller at the rental place hereabouts a couple of years ago.

Terry

TechMan

  • Administrator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 10,562
  • Yes, your moderation has been outsourced.
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #23 on: June 13, 2018, 12:40:00 PM »
^
From the dark, dim past:

So, I guess something like a post puller would have worked after all.  I'm sure I saw a fence post puller at the rental place hereabouts a couple of years ago.

Terry

Saw that...but if a fence post puller is so good why would the tree/root pullers have been invented?  Upon reading the entire thread I see it is a moot point as Millcreek found that the Harbor Freight welding gloves suits his need.
Quote
Hawkmoon - Never underestimate another person's capacity for stupidity. Any time you think someone can't possibly be that dumb ... they'll prove you wrong.

Bacon and Eggs - A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a pig.
Stupidity will always be its own reward.
Bad decisions make good stories.

Quote
Viking - The problem with the modern world is that there aren't really any predators eating stupid people.

230RN

  • It's like swimming to shore in an ebb tide.
  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 18,826
  • Pushing back. Help me out, here...
Re: Recommendations for thorn-proof gloves
« Reply #24 on: June 13, 2018, 01:24:53 PM »
There were a range of possibilites suggested, including boiling water.

Fence post puller was one of them.  But it turned out that someone had refined that principle for specifically that purpose. (But for a rather high price, as opposed to renting something similar which I had supposed might work.)

OP decided gloves were best, given his specifics.

That's OK with me.