Trees are beautiful. The trees that I enjoy looking at the most are the one’s burring in my fireplace on a cold winter day, keeping the house nice and toasty! Contrary to popular belief you don’t have to be a nut and berry eating tree-hugger to be a homesteader. You use the resources available to you from the land as part of your preparations to include firewood for the winter. This will mean you will need the proper saw for the job.
Just as a quick disclaimer, Stihl did not endorse me for this product review; I wanted to review them on my own accord because I believe they build a top-notch machine. I want to save you the time, money and aggravation of buying a low quality machine that will fail you. I’ve been there when a low quality tool fails and it costs twice as much money and time to get the job done. This won’t be the case with Stihl products.
So why Stihl? I love both Stihl and Husqvarna equipment and we run both on our seven acres. You really can’t go wrong with either. But there are a few things to consider. Stihl is a German company and Husqvarna is a Swedish brand. The first thing to consider is parts and service; there are more certified Stihl mechanics in the United States than Husqvarna mechanics and parts for Stihl are also more readily available. Second is durability. Husqvarna, once again is an outstanding product and it seems that they produce higher RPMs (Revolutions Per Minute) in the wood, resulting in a faster cut. However, it seems to me that Stihl puts a lot more emphasis on durability and their saws seem to have more metal components than that of the other competing brands. When you pick up a Stihl chainsaw it feels like a saw should. You can tell you have picked up a well built and powerful machine when you pull it off of the shelf.
The first thing that you will notice about your Stihl saw is that there is only one selector lever to the left of the throttle that controls the saw as opposed to separate controls. On the professional models, and some of the farm models, there is a decompression valve that you depress before starting the saw so that you won’t be pulling against the compression of the engine during starting. My Stihl saws always start up without any issues and they run all day just as well. The newer Stihl saws are equipped with quick-release fuel and oil caps. Some people don’t like the quick-release system but after some getting used to they are actually pretty convenient. Most of these features you will notice on the Husqvarna saws as well, just in case you are leaning towards one of their products.
One of the features I like the most about Stihl saws is the inboard clutch. The clutch on Stihl saws are on the inside of the chain as opposed to the chain running in between the body of the saw and the clutch such as on a Husqvarna. This is a great feature because it is much easier to remove and install the chain and bar because the chain does not have to be maneuvered around the clutch. It also makes installing the clutch cover much easier because their are less parts to line up upon installation. There is one advantage to an outboard clutch, however, and that is that they tend to get bogged down less because there is plenty of space for the wood chips to clear the clutch. This rare problem with the inboard clutch is cleared easily though, by revving the saw while manually rolling the chain across a log until the chain begins to spin under the power of the engine.
I guess this turned out to be more of a recommendation for both Stihl and Husqvarna… whichever brand of saw you choose you can’t go wrong. Before you know it you will be sitting around a warm fire with wood you cut yourself. Remember, be safe and thanks for reading!
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