Chain Saw. Narrowed it down a little.

[Egon]

In the Woods out here Husky's seem to prevail. There are lots of small dealers around.

 

[D7E]

In the Woods out here Husky's seem to prevail. There are lots of small dealers around.

..Problem is egon,"small" seems to be the word ...Husky get parts in 24hrs ,Stihl have them on the shelf...???

 

[Egon]

The dealers here seem to have what is needed on the shelf.

There are quite a few dealers too.

 

[WayneB]

Well around here the Husky boys have the parts on the shelf and the Stihl guys have to order the parts...............

 

[sunspot]

As far as Husqvarna, I can't say much about their saws, but was picking up a new lawn tractor for my MIL the other day, and had a salesman at Lowes warned me that the Husqvarna lawn tractors went to the toilet in the last couple years. He strongly advised me against getting one

O-Boy, I bought one last year. It replaced a Craftsman 11hp that was 18 years old. I have to admit that if it wasn't for the HST, I would have returned it. The belt broke at 3 hrs and either the battery or the alternator is weak. The deck loads up with clippings in a heartbeat. Maybe I should have bought the JD.

To keep on topic, I bought the smallest Stihl available at the time, a few years ago. It needs 3-4 pulls to start and a few minutes to warm up. It binds very easy and kicks back some. My very old Homelite weights in on the very heavy side but it never had a kickback. I would be willing to try a bigger Stihl when the Homelite quits.

 

[D7E]

Well around here the Husky boys have the parts on the shelf and the Stihl guys have to order the parts...............

Funny how it differs in different areas...?

 

[Ductape]

MDM, i have a 455 as well as two pro-grade Huskys and a small homeowner grade Stihl. I've had my 455 several years and it has cut many cord of wood with me. It has performed flawlesly ! I run it with both 18" and 20" bars. I'd say its better suited to 18, but it'll handle 20 as long as you are not burying the whole bar all the time. I know the 455 does not have a great reputation on the saw forums........ but mostly because it weighs a pound more than it should. Nothing you really need to be concerned about as a homeowner. Whether you buy it locally (which i recommend if the price difference is not too great) or mail order, i have one serious recommendation !!! Ditch the stock low-kickback chain for a pro level chain. My 455 worked waaaaay too hard with the low-kickback chain...... i'm getting through the wood in nearly half the time with a good chain.

 

[Podunkadunk]

I was watching the series called "Axe Men" on Discovery or one of those type channels, just the other night.

These guys are professional...and I mean professional, loggers. The show is produced/filmed in the Pacific NW, Oregon and Washington. I took notice of the saws they were ALL using...

STIHL!

I think that says a lot...even though I own a Husky 455.

Podunk

 

[Highbeam]

Really though in the NW it is pretty much 50/50 husky/stihl. There are lots of of old loggers that only use the huskys. I lean towards the stihl. It is a fiord chevy type debate with each brand making some good saws.

If resale matters to you, it is easier to sell a stihl than a husky.

 

[Knotbored]

I have a husky 350 and couldn't be happier with it. Its the first saw I had with a compression release and starts with even old gas on two pulls choke on-next pull choke off. It has a great vibration dampening system, and my arms are less fatigued then with my old Mac-which gave up the ghost.
I am confused about the discussion about parts availability- I only had my old saw to a dealer for repairs once in its lifetime, and expect the same with the Husky. I have 20 acres and mostly use the saw for cleanup and pruning-and about 3 cords of wood a year.