Testimonials: Chain Saws

I was a little concerned that I couldn't buy on-line, but now I understand. The service and price at the dealer was excellent. The chain saw, an MS 210 C-BE, was everything I needed and more.

Starting is almost unbelievably easy, but I just love the chain adjuster. All the reviewers of your chain saws spoke about the reliability and ease of use. Boy, were they right—STIHL makes the best chain saws. Thank you.

Dave Stanford
Richfield, North Carolina 28137

I cut for 7 hours—and cut trees that a 16" chain saw was never designed to cut. I worked on a 150-year-old tree that was five FEET in diameter. I would make one cut down one side, one cut across the top, and one cut down the other side. Then a Bobcat® would come in and lift it and snap it along my cuts. Me and my STIHL had quite a workout and it's going to take this 63 year-old-man longer to recover then it will the chain saw.

James MacIlveen
Decatur, Alabama 35603

Thanks STIHL!

Mark Leavell
Braxton, Mississippi

My wife and I were visiting our daughter and family who recently moved to Australia. They took us on a trip to the Dandenong Mountains east of Melbourne one day. While on the mountain road, we noticed the gum trees (euclalyptus) which were damaged by a recent storm. As we pulled around a bend, we saw a team with hats on and STIHL saws. So, we backed up and I struck up a conversation with the person in charge. I told him I had never seen a chain saw that large. He and his team were in charge of cleaning up the area and were dressed in all the safety garments required. I asked if I could have my photo taken with the team so as to show my hunting friends back in Michigan. He said, "Why don't you hold this saw and we'll stand behind you".

I could hardly hold it up, it was so heavy. And then they told me to take the shield off so the blade would show in the photo! What a picture it is! It is my screensaver on my computer, and I have e-mailed every one of my friends in Michigan that own a chain saw. I own 10 acres of wooded property which backs up to the Manistee Forest (near Lake City, Michigan) and I take pride in the fact that I always cut enough wood to supply us in the winter months when we go hunting and cross-country skiing. But, my chain saw looks nothing like the one in the photo!

The Aussies were very friendly and this photo shows it. They took time from their work to share their experience in the woods.

Jack Cleveland
Saginaw, MI

My Dad is a retired timber faller (50 years) who still sharpens saws for the loggers in the neighborhood. He's the best and he'll only use STIHL. I took a little video of him in his shop, sharpening a saw. He is 82 and he shouldn't be kneeling on a high swivel stool to work, but insists that it's the closest thing to bracing himself over a log like he used to do in the woods. My brother wired his little shop so his radio comes on when he turns on the light (and goes off when he fires up the air compressor), so the music you hear is actually what was playing when I took the little video (on my digital camera). He's such a good guy...think you'll enjoy this. He's the father of nine (7 adopted), grandfather of 19, greatgrandfather of 5. And we call him Saint Frank.

You can find the video on YouTube, it's called Frank in his shop Please check it out...the STIHL saw is front and center.

Christine Thomas
League City, Texas

Tuesday, 25 Sep 07, My German Shepherd dog went missing at about 2 p.m. We looked throughout the night but could not find her. The next day, I had to be at work (I'm in the US Air Force) so my wife dropped the kids off at school and returned with her friend to continue with the search to include flyers in mail boxes and walking endlessly through the woods calling her name. Needless to say, nothing. I arrived home at about 9 p.m. that night to discover that my wife had just found her, she was stuck not 30 feet from her kennel.She was stuck in a wood pile which consisted of 15 to 30 foot log lengths -about 30 plus of them and the pile was about 12 feet high - which I use for my outdoor wood stove.  I discovered I could not get her out so I decided to call 911 and the local volunteer fire department arrived within minutes to my home.  You would 't believe the response - about 25 volunteers showed at my doorstep and the wife began to make coffee as we knew they would be there for a while.

Fortunately, one of the volunteers was a logger and spearheaded the operation.  He called for the chain saw from his fire truck and was disappointed at what he received.  He knew that the saws they carry where not up to the job at hand. I then mentioned to him that I owned a STIHL model 360 and he then said "Now that's a saw". Needless to say that 3 hours later we freed my dog and the crowd cheered. It was after 1 in the morning and she had been trapped for over 30 hours. The local vet even showed up to ensure all was ok and she received a good bill of health after revisiting and getting x-rays done. Another of the volunteer fire fighters is also a freelance photographer for the local paper and took some great pictures. The purpose to this story is to let you know what a great product you have. I had owned numerous chain saws in my day until I realized that STIHL was the way to go.  I've had my saw for over 4 years now with not one glitch. 

Hugo Ramirez, MSgt, NYANG
Wurtsboro, New York

Three STIHL saws worked hard :)

This picture is of my uncle, brother and myself with 3 STIHL saws on a pile of wood we cut.

Dan Mccoy
Scappoose, Oregon

(Editor's Note: STIHL always recommends the use of protective apparel when using outdoor power equipment. Please see you instruction manual for complete information)

I was in the market for a chain saw and went to a store to get one, but I found out they did not carry STIHL products. At that time, I was unaware of how great STIHL products were. The store I went to had zero customer service, and the chain saws were like any other product on the shelves, "just buy at your own risk".

I was not going to purchase a chain saw without some education about it, so I left and went to an authorized STIHL dealer. They had already closed for the day; however, there were still cars in the parking lot and I knocked on the door.

A salesman opened the door and I explained I needed a chain saw. Even though the store was closed, he welcomed me in and educated me about chain saws. That day I bought a STIHL MS 250 chain saw. It is a great tool. The salesman took me outside and showed me every detail about the saw. The saw was so good and the service was so good, I later came back and bought a STIHL weed trimmer, which works great as well. Thank you for such great tools.

I have a good friend of mine (Wade McNutt) who is a former member of The Doug Moreland Show (a band that is sponsored by STIHL). He recently made a chain saw carving for me using your chain saws. Here 's the photo.

Matthew Wood
Midland, Texas

I just wanted to drop a line and let you know how pleased I am with the performance and toughness of the STIHL chain saws. I used a STIHL when I peeled pulp in Michigan about 10 years ago. I am still using the same chain saw today...it has a lot more miles on it (and a few spare parts) but it continues to get the job done.

Thanks for producing a quality product.


Steve Baumgartner
Vicksburg , Mississippi

I remember the day that I bought my first STIHL chain saw. It was a STIHL 028 Super and it lived up to its name. Around the farm, I used it to cut firewood and clear fence rows. Wind damage is frequent here in Oklahoma.

One day a tornado hit and left the area impassable, blocked by downed trees and utility poles. There was an urgent community effort to clear the roads. Even though everyone had a chain saw of their own, the month-old STIHL 028 Super was the tool of choice. When I needed a break, somebody else was eager to get to use it. The saw impressed the other farmers so well that they purchased STIHL chain saws for themselves.

That saw served me well for sixteen years before I finally wore it out. That was a sad day. Through hard labor, and occasional adventures, the saw was like trusted friend. I hated to give up on it but I scorched the cylinder using a bad mix of fuel. I replaced it with an MS 280.

The new saw was an improvement but it lacked the battle scars of its predecessor. It is nearly impossible to tell adventure stories about a new chain saw. About a month later the severe ice storm of January 2007 hit. The weight of the ice striped branches off nearly every tree and even felled many of the big ones. Power lines had collapsed and roads were blocked once again. It took a week to restore power and everyone had to heat with wood. The new STIHL served heroically.

Needless to say the new MS 280 grew dear to me rather quickly. I still have many large trees to remove because of the ice storm. All of them are so thick in the trunk and some of the limbs that the MS 280 couldn't cut through with a sixteen-inch bar, so I purchased a STIHL MS 441 Magnum this afternoon. As I wrote out the check, it occurred to me that today was seventeen years to the date that I bought the old STIHL 028 Super.

Bobby Gann
Pryor, Oklahoma

I have bought about $8,000.00 worth of your equipment in the last two years. I started a landscaping business after retiring and going to school for horticulture. All my purchases have been from Bowen's Farm Supply in Annapolis, Md.

I find your products the only name I will buy in your field. The design, toughness, practicality, and availability of parts and service is outstanding. I also needed some info and came to your website, and I find that well-engineered also. STIHL is the only name I will buy in the future

My thanks for providing a good product in a world where that is all too rare.

Joseph Wing
Annapolis, Maryland

I don't remember when I bought my STIHL chain saw but it is several years old. If this had been a new one, maybe this story wouldn't have amazed me like it did. Here it is. My saw has always cranked on the second pull just like every other STIHL saw I've worked with has. My son and I went camping sometime in October 2006 and I had taken the saw to cut some firewood. When we left, I inadvertently left the saw sitting on the ground next to a tree I sawed. It was out in the wide open - no shelter whatsoever. I did not need the saw again until the end of May 2007 and couldn't find it. I thought about it for a while and finally remembered I had taken it camping and hadn't seen it since. I went back to the campsite and there it laid a little rusty with dirt all over it and semi-covered w/ leaves. We had gotten worse than usual weather during the fall, winter and spring and I didn't think there was any way it would crank, much less run and be usable. I choked it and pulled the rope and could not believe it started on its regular second pull. Not only did it start but I took it and used it just like nothing had happened. I'll never own anything but a STIHL now.

Brian Hardy
Ivanhoe, Texas

I just wanted to take a few minutes to drop you a short note to let you know how pleased I am with the quality and durability of my STIHL Farm Boss MS 290 Chain Saw. Please allow me to explain:

In the past 20 years, I’ve owned 3 other brands of chain saws: Poulan, McCulloch, and Husqvarna, and none of those ever came close to the performance I’ve received from your product! Granted, the first two mentioned were not in the same price category. But aside from the price, the cutting ability and durability of your saw is far and away superior to the others, even factoring in price.

Talk about durability and strength of product. I recently had an experience with your saw that proves how strong and durable your MS 290 Farm Boss is. I was felling a large pine tree, doing everything by the book, and had the tree fall away from the intended direction. My saw got hung-up in the process and the tree (at the base) fell on my chain saw pinning it into the ground. A few tons of weight from the tree fell directly on my saw. When I saw what happened, (I was helpless to stop it in any way), I figured my rather new chain saw was gone. I proceeded to stabilize the fallen tree by putting “shims” under it at various points.

I then had only one option to free my saw. I dug a large hole under the saw and managed to dig it loose. Fearing the whole saw was ruined, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I realized that the only thing broken on the saw was the plastic (black) front handle housing. My next thought was "Will it start?" Here I am with a fallen 60 ft. tree, and I might have no way to get rid of it. I put my duct tape around the broken handle and began the starting-up process. Much to my amazement, the saw started and I was able to cut-up the tree and dispose of it that very day! I couldn’t believe the strength & durability of this machine!!! Great product. I won’t buy any other brand!

E. Matisak
Sugarleaf, Pennsylvania

Last year I was deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. While I was in Balad, Iraq for a year, my wife bought a STIHL chain saw to cut a whole load of timber so she could heat the house. The load was over 60 full size trees. Your STIHL got her through that safely.

This year she is in the process of cutting another full load of trees for firewood. I will leave her again in June to deal with all of her duties as a wife and as a mother of 2 small children. She loves her STIHL and would not think of using anything else.

1SG B. (name withheld) - stationed outside of the U.S.A.

In the mid 1980's, I purchased a STIHL 028 WB chain saw. At that time we lived on several acres, and I used the chain saw to cut firewood for a wood stove.

In 1985, we moved from that property to a smaller lot, but I still used the saw to cut firewood. In 1997, I installed a new gas fireplace and gave up cutting wood.

In 2000, we moved again to a smaller lot on Lake Norman. I stored the saw in the basement, and never used it.

However, I am now building condominiums along the North Carolina coast, and these buildings are constructed on pilings. The construction process requires the pilings be notched. The easiest way to do this is with a chain saw. So, I pulled the old 028 WB out of the basement and took it to the coast. A 22-23 year old chain saw with 10 year old oil/gas mixture in the tank. Same old spark plug.

We installed our pilings yesterday and this morning I pulled out the saw. It started up on the second pull!!! I used it all day, notching 8X8 pilings.

Would I buy another STIHL chain saw? You bet I would. Thanks for making such a good product.

Phil Schroeder
Stanley, North Carolina

I had acquired a STIHL 045 Supersaw that had been seized up for a couple of years. I wasn't really optimistic about it, but it was free so I had nothing to lose. I pulled the spark plug, poured some oil in the cylinder, used a ratchet to turn the crank, and broke the piston free. Then I drained the old gas, added some new, pulled the cord about six times, and the old beast took right off, hardly missing a beat. I am really impressed by that kind of dependability. I thought you just might want to know. In my opinion, you can't hold a STIHL down! Thanks for a great saw.

Tim
Fenton, Michigan

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