In my last post in the “How to remove railroad ties without really trying” series, I laid out some basic tools for the job.  This post will focus on the most important item for the job – work gloves.

You may be asking yourself – “Why do I need work gloves?”  The answer is simple: they save your hands from all sorts of wear and tear.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in the yard raking leaves or shoveling dirt without work gloves and ended up with some serious calluses on the meat of my hands.  As an added bonus, they’ll keep your hands clean and free of debris and sharp objects.

I recommend a glove with a padded palm.  When operating high-vibration tools, like a tiller, the padded palm can really come in handy.  When swinging a sledgehammer, like this job entails, the padding will save your hands from developing all sorts of unsightly calluses.

As for gloves, I’ve been wearing a lot of different kinds over the years.  I think I’ve finally settled on a pair of Milwaukee Heavy Duty Work Gloves. The gloves feature the padded palm with memory foam to reduce vibration and minimize hand fatigue.  The gloves also have silicone finger pads for superior gripping - which, as I’m sure you can imagine, are just what you’ll want to have when swinging an axe or sledgehammer.  To top it off, the gloves are very comfortable, which cannot be understated!