chainsaw gurus, stihl or husqvarna?

[bulkdriverlp]

im looking at getting my own chainsaw sometime soon. i dont want to keep borrowing my dads. dad has a husky 350 with 17" bar. friends of mine have stihl "farm boss" and they swear by them. ive noticed the husky revs real high and cuts real good. all i want it for is cutting little pieces of firewood or slabwood for campfires. i like the stihl too but im on the fence with this one. i know the professional tree contractors mostly use husky now. back in the early 80's dad had a small tree business and used an old jonsered, wow that was a beast. anybody have any input? i know its kinda like a ford/chevy thing but anyhow, thanks in advance.

[MOFO]

Funny you mention this... I just finished cutting and splitting wood with my father today. He has always been a Stihl guy and reminded me today how he thinks they make the best chain saws. I dont have much experience with them, but that SOB fired right up this morning - and it was COLD out...never missed a beat! It chewed the crap out of a very large oak tree we removed.

EDIT - Here is the model he has. Its a mid sized one... perfect for what you want to do. Cut up a few tree's a year for firewood.

Stihl MS260 Professional Mid Sized
http://www.stihlusa.com/graphics/chainsaws/MS260.gif

[quads14589]

my dad has the stihl 440 magnum it is the best chansaw stihl makes. it was like 860 it was pricy one that the loggers use but it cuts threw trees like butter.

[quads14589]

ff

[quads14589]

forgot this to

Designed for the professional, with a high power-to-weight ratio.
Features: Displacement 70.7 cc (4.3 cu. in.)
Engine Power 4.0 kW (5.3 bhp)
Weight (powerhead only) 6.2 kg (13.5 lbs.)

[MOFO]

small picture of a load I brought home today... most of the day was spent cutting up some VERY tough heavy oak.

[quads14589]

my dad and I split like 6 cords this yr.

[x.system]

Husky all the way, you'll never buy another chainsaw after you get one. stihl are ok but I bet you 10 to 1 everyone who owns one has a backup stihl also. We cut alot of wood and have 3 stihl's to 1 husky.

[quads14589]

my dad has a stihl for like 10 yrs and then bought this 440.

[MOFO]

Originally posted by x.system
Husky all the way, you'll never buy another chainsaw after you get one. stihl are ok but I bet you 10 to 1 everyone who owns one has a backup stihl also. We cut alot of wood and have 3 stihl's to 1 husky.


Actually no.... he has a very small Echo he bought to trim some of the tree's around. Other than starting it once, he has yet to need it. Always falls back on his Stihl. As mentioned above, he also has had Stihls and his last one was donated to a friend - and he still uses it to this day.

However I'm sure Husky does make a great chain saw... bulkdriverlp hit the nail on the head IMO... not really different than a ford vs chevy thread.

[Pappy]

i have a stihl, and it works well.

i would have a husky but the stihl dealer is closer:p

[jrm03]

A Stihl is an everyday tool for us cutting treated utility poles day in and day out. Great saws just tempermental about the type of fuel you use.

[Guy400]

We (me and my 2 cousins) were at our farm today and cut down an elm and 2 locusts and split it all by hand with an all steel m a u l (why is this word edited?). We used a Stihl Pro with a 20" bar. Cuts through it like butter.

[bulkdriverlp]

good replys, i like the looks of the first pic, thats about what i need. i guess the best way is do more research and ask the tree companies what they think since they use saws all day every day. the huskys have air-injection which is supposed to send big quantites of air through so extend the maintence of the air filter. i dont think that is necessary. but they have a new "tooless" model where you can clean the air filter and adjust chain ect without tools. smart start is another feature, its a decompression knob which enables you to start it easier. my dad pointed that out after i used it 3 times (lol). not needed, i can pull a cord no prob. my neighbor has a stihl and i used it once and it just seemed like it was more torque orientated, with the husky its more rps's i dunno. keep the replys coming, good help

[Quad18star]

I've always had good luck with a Husky . We use our chainsaw nearly everyday during the summer months and atleast 3 or 4 times a week during the winter up at the cottage , and not once has it let us down . She fires right up in -20 Celcius weather with no problems at all .

[killed300ex]

Iv got a husky 365 love it my dad is a stihl man he has had his for 25+ years and it still starts right up when ever he needs it. I have had my husky for 3 years now cut 15-20 cord a year and have yet to have one problem. As long as you stay with one of those two brands you should be good. Both are solid saws that you just cant beat.
Evan

[Stevie-D]

i've got an old stihl M-028. it's a midsize saw. the darn thing is older than i am. my dad used to use it when he was a tree trimmer. thing always fires up and runs beautifully. just put a new bar and chain on it, and she cuts great. never used a husky, but after seeing how well the stihl has held up, it definately gets my vote.

i've got a homelite in the garage that hasnt run in years. ive got an echo that just needs some carb adjustment. tiny little SOB..only have a 12' bar on it. when my buddies are around, i let them use it to de-limb trees, then i follow behind them with the stihl and cut up the logs. :devil:


i've also got one of these up in the garage. i've never seen it run. the old man used to use it for work years before i was born. i'd like to clean out the carb and see if she'll fire
http://www.bigdmc.com/db-7.JPG

[CDCHONDAS]

for a smaller saw that will last forever look at shindaiwa, not real well known but from all I know very long lasting, some people like the jonsereds too. my one friend has a 066 and another has a 460 stihl, both are cool but not alot of fun cutting branches, too damn heavy...

[hardkoratvmxr]

stihl definately

[outlaw450r]

My dad was in the sawmill and logging business and always used Husquavarna chainsaws. I still have one and it runs great every time I use it. Although either of those choices would be fine.

[stalefish_132]

my dad has an old stihl 028 with a 24 inch bar and i have a little stihl MS170 with a 16 inch bar. my dad bought the 028 back in the early 80's i belive used and belive it or not we have not had the spark plug out of it once! allways mixed 32:1 and she still fires up first or second pull, we replaced the air filet back in 97 because it was abotu due. and we've cut alot of wood, when we used to live in manitoba we did alot of wood for the cold winter months. since we've moved here to B.C. in '93 we havn't done as much wood but still a large amount. i acutally just bought my little MS170 about 2 months ago. i mainly do all the de-limbing and cutting up the smaller trees. i like the fact that it is so light ( dry weight is 8.6lbs) it was alot cheaper than any of the husky's that i looked at and it came with a spare chain, guard and case and some 2 stroke oild and bar oil and file for $275cdn.

here are a few pictures of some the trees we cut down this year. 86 and 82 year old douglas fir. the 84 year old one was 102 feet tall and the 82 year old one was about 85-87 feet tall. speaking of which i should really be splitting right now....

[stalefish_132]

annother pic, these lengths are around 15-20 feet long.

[Stevie-D]

my dad has an old stihl 028 with a 24 inch bar

thats what ive got. awesome saw for how old it is. i've got an 18'' bar on mine. theres a 2 footer laying around the garage somewhere. don't really need it for the kind of stuff i cut

[jdwxv3]

I work in the tree removal bussiness and we us Husky and we have no problems. We probaly cut a good 200+ big trees a year and the only problems we have with out Huskys is when we drop them out of the bucket truck or run them through the chipper(long story!) I have heard the Sthil is going down hill though. The dealership we go through will not even work on Sthil anymore....he said they used to be good saws but they are going downhill fast.

For my personal saw I have a Husky 338XPT it has a 14" bar and its easy to use with one hand. It will not cut down a big tree but It works great for firewood. If I need a big saw I just borrow one from work lol.

[jdwxv3]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by stalefish_132
[B]my dad has an old stihl 028 with a 24 inch bar and i have a little stihl MS170 with a 16 inch bar. my dad bought the 028 back in the early 80's i belive used and belive it or not we have not had the spark plug out of it once! allways mixed 32:1 and she still fires up first or second pull, we replaced the air filet back in 97 because it was abotu due. and we've cut alot of wood, when we used to live in manitoba we did alot of wood for the cold winter months. since we've moved here to B.C. in '93 we havn't done as much wood but still a large amount. i acutally just bought my little MS170 about 2 months ago. i mainly do all the de-limbing and cutting up the smaller trees. i like the fact that it is so light ( dry weight is 8.6lbs) it was alot cheaper than any of the husky's that i looked at and it came with a spare chain, guard and case and some 2 stroke oild and bar oil and file for $275cdn.

I would reconmend the Husky 338 or 334 for limbing out the trees. I climb around in the trees with the 338 on my harness and cant even tell its there plus they are really really well centered and light and its easy to use one hand to cut the limbs so if your ever over a house or something you hold the wood in one hand and the saw in the other. Just a thought but the 338s are expensive.

[stalefish_132]

well i allready bought my MS170 so why would i go out and buy annother saw?:huh both husqvarna and stihl are great saws, it all depends on when color you like, orange or orange;)

[trick450r]

go buy yourself a jonsered, i work at a power equipment shop and i know first hand that the jonsered is an amazing saw

[roundsy]

we cut firewood as a full time job, and all we use is STIHL!, we use about 4 different saws a day and sharpen them at night...i think we own about 5 or 6...ill see if i can find a couple pics of our 2 piles, we cut about 2000 face cord this year so theyve been tsted and we have no complaints about our STIHL saws! i'll see if i can find the models we run, i think 2 are ms 170s but i know the one we use occasioinally for the big stuff has a 47in bar!:macho

[400eXr1d3rZ]

My dad's had a Stihl for about 16 years and never had one problem.

[TANNER250r]

i work at the stihl dealership they are the best saw made i see people come in all the time with 15-20 year old saws now that is telling you some thing

[fast_enough]

We own a logging business and all we go by is Stihl the 044's and 066's is all we use. Personally if your just gonna have one to do the occasional limbing or to cut up some firewood or about anything you should try out efco's saws. They are a very cheap and reliable saw. If im not mistaken Olympia may have bought them out, not positive though. Its really all about your preferance though. Most all new saws nowadays have the compression release on them.

all we use are stihl's...we have a farm boss for little stuff and i think its a ms260 for bigger stuff

Wills77

[1fst400]

Originally posted by quads14589
my dad and I split like 6 cords this yr.

this made me chuckle. I cut somwheres in the area of 250 cords of wood last year.:devil:

I obvioulsly dont use a chain saw for that tho.

for trimming the small brances and stuf we have a husky rancher 350. I dont realy like it, to heavy, not enough power. but it was cheep.

Then we have the old sthil, it has like a 14" bar on it. Dono what series it is. but it always fires up.

[bulkdriverlp]

just wanted to update everybody who helped me make a decision, much appreciated,

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v347/bulkdriverlp/100_0987.jpg

[krt400ex]

STIHL....my grandfather has one that is over 20 yrs old and still running like a champ. he has never had any problems with it, and it just keeps going and going and going

[krt400ex]

haha, oops...i should have read the whole thread first....oh well. u made the right choice

[Ghost-Rider]

I split my firewood with an axe....somtimes i use the **** and wedge for the tougher stuff.Much cheaper than a chainsaw but we have one ...duno what brand its old ..alsmot ..no i duno to lazy to walk outside and look for it but its yellow and its old lol.

[quads14589]

farm bosses r one of the best chainsaws out there that they make

Originally posted by 1fst400
this made me chuckle. I cut somwheres in the area of 250 cords of wood last year.:devil:

thats really hard to believe, 250 cords is a lot of wood, i highly doubt you cut 250 cords yourself, no matter what you used...just seems like a lot. my dad and i cut about 5 cords a year

[Tom TRX250R]

Honestly, I used to sell Husqvarna equipment and I own both from a Stihl chainsaw to a Husky weed eater. Honestly, you cannot go wrong with either brand, they're die hards!! I would just look to see what brand you can get a better buy on because either one of them will run forever. We still have a Stihl weedeater from 17 years ago!!

[ilpadrino113]

definitely stihl