Japan now makes the best saws

[Matt Hogden]

I had a chainsaw shop owner tell me today that,
Echo, Shindaiwa and Tanaka make a better quality saw than Stihl and Husqvarna. Because they dont use chinese components

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[KiwiBro]

What models did that shop owner sell? Some of the small Japanese designed dolmars/makitas are bloody good wee saws, me thinks.

 

[CR888]

Well a few months ago I had to replace a kombi unit with attachments so off I went to the Steal dealer. New km-94 power head $400, trimmer attachment $199, pole saw $399, hedge trimmer $499, extension $199 Total $1700ish with some felco secuteers thrown in. I normally don't pay retail 4 OPE but needed it urgently. Well after doing some maintenance you notice little things like no grease nipple on trimmer gear head, made in China gear head bearings, made in main China bearings onnew bg86 blower I bought. Just little cost cuts everywhere, and this is on 'pro' grade equipment. Certainly a big dissapointment going from a Solo unit where every component was either from Germany or another first world country. So yeah....I I kinda agree with your dealer sort of. Stihl ain't build the way it used to be where everything was as good as it could be.

 

[Little Al]

I would think the "proof of the so called pudding "would be not what the origin of the components is, but the performance/reliability of the saw in question ie; How long/hard can you work it before it needs replacement parts /fixing. The commercial set up I service saws for have used both Stihl & Husky & despite what the followers of both brands say we found they were more or less on par but the guys falling preferred Husky & the boss man got a better deal price wise ,so it was a no brainer.Maybe for a not all/every day user a Japanese manufactured saw would suit better their needs "Horses for Courses" As a aside for my own use I don't own a saw from either of the big 2 & I don't own a Japanese sew either the saws I have are either Italian or US They all start easy & run good that's all I require of them & a coulpe of seconds longer "chewing" though a 14/18"dia log is of no problem to me

 

[Matt Hogden]

Lol well he is a independent repairer and not affiliated with any brand

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[bikemike]

I love my echo 360t. Hangs in with the 200t no problems. Literally no problem.
I did put a carb kit and lines in my saw after 6 years. Cheep. A new air filter, Kinda spendy. And a piston ring and seals just to freshen it up a bit. Still ran strong before I dumped 4 hrs of time into it. It gets used about 200 days out of the year and I work the snot out of it. Full bar cuts

 

[Matt Hogden]

I own German, Japan and Swiss, but all are pro saws and all are the best from each manufacturer. But its an interesting comment though. 5 years ago i would have dismissed anything from China. But the other day i received a cylinder from Huztle as good as anything from Stihl/Husky/Shindaiwa. Sweeet as!

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[CR888]

I got a new H/Held blower (bg86) after I literally wore out a bg56 that had a huge 4 year service life but had a leaky crank seal. The old unit had German bearings the new unit China. When Stihl can save 20 cents here and there it adds up a LOT with the volume they sell. I like Stihl gear don't get me wrong, most of my pro saws are reliable work horses with many hours. But its funny when you start stripping down a Jap saw that was a third of the price and notice corners aren't cut and quality is there. I have some Jap stuff but the performance is not near the European designs. I have 2 Yamabiko top handles (Makita 231t's) there not as powerful as my ms150 but there light and dead reliable.

 

[Matt Hogden]

Yeah my Shindaiwas are crazy reliable. Makes you think that maybe that last little bit of performance a European saw offers is at the expense of long term life

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[OTAlucard]

Shindaiwa 357. Has to be one of the most reliable saws ever

 

[1Alpha1]

I've always said that I'd like to see HONDA build some chainsaws.

If they did, and got real serious about them, I could easily see them putting Stihl and Husky on the skids.

Nobody, and I do mean nobody, knows small engines like Honda.

 

[Perfect Harvest]

There's so many variables with chinese quality. I guess I don't know what makes jap stuff automatically better than chinese....I prefer American owned, designed, built, but those days are sadly behind us for the most part.

 

[Rockjock]

I think many forget that these are not the backroom knock off parts that one gets. In many cases these are parts that have been designed by the oems and also to their standards. The labor is where the cost cutting is.

 

[1Alpha1]

I think many forget that these are not the backroom knock off parts that one gets. In many cases these are parts that have been designed by the oems and also to their standards. The labor is where the cost cutting is.

True.....but there has always been a stigma attached to Chinese-made products.

For a lot of people, (me included) it's really tough to get past that fact.

 

[Matt Hogden]

I've always said that I'd like to see HONDA build some chainsaws.

If they did, and got real serious about them, I could easily see them putting Stihl and Husky on the skids.

Nobody, and I do mean nobody, knows small engines like Honda.

Yeps for sure[emoji106]

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Andyshine77]

I mostly agree with what your dealer said, from what I'm seeing out of Stihl, and even more so with some of the parts used on the newer Husqvarna saws. The lack of QC has me wondering what percent of a particular product is actually being assembled in the country the sticker says? If you look at parts from say my Shindaiwa blower VS parts used in say a Stihl BR600, you would think the BR600 came from Walnart, and I sure don't see gilardoni or Mahle on cylinders much anymore. Dolmar is mostly still on my good side, but some of their saws are now being made in China. I simply don't see business men ever learning or caring, as long as they get a fat severance check when they get run out of town, they could care less what happens after they're gone. Fortunately the Japanese have a different way of looking at things, at least for now. If Echo could get some real dealers, and real marketing they could walk over the other big brands. Than again everything is changing including the OPE market.

 

[Matt Hogden]

I mostly agree with what your dealer said, from what I'm seeing out of Stihl, and even more so with some of the parts used on the newer Husqvarna saws. The lack of QC has me wondering what percent of a particular product is actually being assembled in the country the sticker says? If you look at parts from say my Shindaiwa blower VS parts used in say a Stihl BR600, you would think the BR600 came from Walnart, and I sure don't see gilardoni or Mahle on cylinders much anymore. Dolmar is mostly still on my good side, but some of their saws are now being made in China. I simply don't see business men ever learning or caring, as long as they get a fat severance check when they get run out of town, they could care less what happens after they're gone. Fortunately the Japanese have a different way of looking at things, at least for now. If Echo could get some real dealers, and real marketing they could walk over the other big brands. Than again everything is changing including the *** market.

I like what you say. And i agree.
All of my saws are pro saws with the exception of my 285 Shindaiwa, but it is still all Japan and one tough little cookie. Man that thing has hit the deck a few times! Lol
I would prefer big companies like Stihl, Husqvarna and Dolmar market their cheaper chinese saws under a different brand name. That way people arent deceived and their good names stay intact!
I am saw my first Chinese Dolmar/Makita this week. Only 40cc class saw, but hey what the hell. Dolmar is supposed to be a quality machine.
I did a rebuild on a Husqvarna 440 this week. What a piece of absolute rubbish. Give me a 40cc Echo or Shindy any day over that one!


Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[mountainlake]

as long as they get a fat severance check when they get run out of town, they could care less what happens after they're gone

That's exactly right, way too many company's management are doing that and have done that and now its coming back to ruin the company. Sears for one Polaris snowmobiles who uses to have 70% of the market, now down to around 20%. Stihl is headed that way, out on saw milling jobs I see way too many almost new Stihl saws that wont start good, run like crap or are blown up . Steve

 

[Andyshine77]

So you can't use acronyms? or does it have to do with the Out door power equipment forum? If so that has to be corrected, after all this forum is about O P E.

 

[7sleeper]

I am VERY happy with my japanese hitachi/tanaka cs40ek & cs40em saws!

7