Cutting the strap with an angled cut

[westphalian]

Like it says, when felling a leaner and just the strap is left to cut, what’s the difference between just cutting straight through or as I have seen on YouTube, a Canadian logger cutting it from above angled?

[nepia]

When I did the dog tooth on my CS31 we were told to cut from above to leave a peg right at the back of the stump in case the butt shot backwards.

[Haironyourchest]

The angle cut is supposed to "release the tension gradually" apparently.

[Steve Bullman]

I’ve experimented with different back cuts over the years, never really noticed much difference to be honest.  My felling experience is limited compared to that of a forester though admittidly.  

I was always taught to cut in at an angle from the top though and that is my default technique 

[The avantgardener]

Severing the hold with an angled cut from the top creates the ‘point’ from the which the dogs tooth cut gets its name, if the tree hangs on its way down and sheers the hinge it has a tendency to come backwards, the dogs tooth acts as a safety ‘stop’.

Coming straight out of the bore with a back cut removes this and also can create other issues, the tree sometimes breaks the hold before being fully severed and the saw is pulled with the tree being still in the kerf.

Edited July 30, 2018 by The avantgardener
Typo

[Logan]

In forestry, when making felling cuts low to ground on a tree with heavy lean, cutting the holding wood at a slight angle to the ground means the saw is cutting 90 degrees to the grain, ie. the fastest cut possible. It can also be done from more of a standing position, starting with the bar nose the far side, then dropping the saw motor end to finish. This means you can keep your head up and watch above easier. Dog tooth needs trimming off after or the person paying for the tyres on the forwarder gets pi$$ed off.