An old climber in Asheville told me my back cut was too clean, and it's been bugging me for 3 weeks

Oliver Miller · 2026-10-10T09:55:04.070013+00:00

I was limbing a red oak behind a house in Asheville when a retired climber watching from his porch said my back cut was "too pretty" and I was fighting the tree instead of reading it. I brushed him off at first, but he pointed out I was cutting dead level when a slight slope would've let the hinge work with me on that 14 inch leaner. Three weeks later I've been slowing down on every back cut and checking my hinge wood with a golf tee instead of just eyeballing it, and my stumps have stopped pulling the grain sideways. Anyone else had an old timer call out something basic you thought you had down?

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An old climber in Asheville told me my back cut was too clean, and it's been bugging me for 3 weeks | Arborists - SMM Buzz