With all the chinese fakes out there

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manwithav8

ArboristSite Member
Joined
Mar 29, 2011
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Location
New Zealand
How can we tell if the saw is genuine or fake?

Id like to think that I spent good money at the Stihl shop to not be ripped off.

I recently bought a brandnew MS381 for $1495NZD and have been reading through the forums and seeing more and more warning signs.

What is a true way to tell if the saw is a genuine Stihl.

The Saw has a made in Brazil sticker on it which had me ask the Mechanic. Arrantly chroming is not allowed in some areas so a new Stihl base was opened in Brazil for these newer machinces. The sticker only informs us that that is the last place of assembly.

I have attached a pic of my new saw for you to look at.

Please tell me it is the real deal.

PS I'm new here all the way from New Zealand.

Cheers
 
Ok I have been running Stihl my whole life and I had an 038 and an 044 that were assembled in Brazil. Have you ran many Stihl? I would fire her up and tell in about two seconds. I am gonna say good on ya it's a winner. Now if it's toast in 6 months.... JK you're good.
 
Ya your local Stihl shop has an interest in selling you a legit saw. If they are unloading fakes they would be finished and Stihl would have their ass if ya catch my drift 99.9% that it is authentic!
 
Ok I have been running Stihl my whole life and I had an 038 and an 044 that were assembled in Brazil. Have you ran many Stihl? I would fire her up and tell in about two seconds. I am gonna say good on ya it's a winner. Now if it's toast in 6 months.... JK you're good.

No haven't run Stihl at all. To be honest this is my first saw purchase. I have been currently using Husky 357XP from work. NZ army has a fair few but decided to buy my own saw.

So in terms of running it up and knowing right away that is not something I could do.

It was bought from the local Stihl shop so Im thinking surely its not a knock off but have been reading a little too many threads about it here.
 
Ya your local Stihl shop has an interest in selling you a legit saw. If they are unloading fakes they would be finished and Stihl would have their ass if ya catch my drift 99.9% that it is authentic!

Pretty much what I though mate. The chap I spoke to in the shop informed me of a knock off that was sold to a customer that somehow got passed them and onto the shelf.

Luckly the customer thought something was up when he first used it, he said something in the trigger just didn't feel right. They replaced the saw promptly once they found out.

Not sure what happened from there with the supplier.
 
Welcome to the forum - lots of good people here.

You have a real 038 mag there. Lots of phonies over the ditch too but all the ones I have seen do not have a Stihl Elastostart handle. Yours does and if it came from a dealer you are good to go.
I have a couple of 038 mags and one is a made in Brazil - it is absolutely fine.

You are going to really like that saw - the guys in the US would love to be able to buy one new like we can.

Al.
 
Welcome to the forum - lots of good people here.

You have a real 038 mag there. Lots of phonies over the ditch too but all the ones I have seen do not have a Stihl Elastostart handle. Yours does and if it came from a dealer you are good to go.
I have a couple of 038 mags and one is a made in Brazil - it is absolutely fine.

You are going to really like that saw - the guys in the US would love to be able to buy one new like we can.

Al.


Nardoo, thanks for that info mate.

I have seen a lot of mixed feelings about them though. Some claim they are just old heavy saws with the old tech in a new body.

But then i have seen plenty say they would like to get their hands on one.

Im happy though, first ever saw and she is going out this weekend to deal to some wood.

Whats the key to breaking her in? Or should I not worry about that? Just get in there and cut aye lol
 
Whats the key to breaking her in? Or should I not worry about that? Just get in there and cut aye lol

First, I'd see what Stihl says. Very likely your dealer has adjusted the mixture a tad rich to start.

Some mfgs. recommend slightly more oil/fuel for the first 100 hrs or so, like maybe 40:1 vice 50:1. Check the manual.

Can't hurt to not beat on it; like, ever x minutes of full-power operation, give it y seconds of no-load at fast idle to cool down. It takes a while for insulating deposits to form on piston crown and combustion-chamber face of cylinder head, making them prone to run hot for a while.

Did your dealer ask you to visit soon?

I'd be a little obsessive about care & feeding of $1500 saw, particularly while the pieces are getting acquainted. ;)
 
First, I'd see what Stihl says. Very likely your dealer has adjusted the mixture a tad rich to start.

Some mfgs. recommend slightly more oil/fuel for the first 100 hrs or so, like maybe 40:1 vice 50:1. Check the manual.

Can't hurt to not beat on it; like, ever x minutes of full-power operation, give it y seconds of no-load at fast idle to cool down. It takes a while for insulating deposits to form on piston crown and combustion-chamber face of cylinder head, making them prone to run hot for a while.

Did your dealer ask you to visit soon?

I'd be a little obsessive about care & feeding of $1500 saw, particularly while the pieces are getting acquainted. ;)

yeah they said to go back after the first 8 hours for an initial service.

I did read something about not running it at full revs with no load, ie not cutting

Also power will increase when everything wears in is something i have also heard
 
Yea, you're genuine bud.

How much does a 381 cost new over there? I was just wondering.

I'd like tosee more pics if you have any more or could take some/.
 
Yea, you're genuine bud.

How much does a 381 cost new over there? I was just wondering.

I'd like tosee more pics if you have any more or could take some/.

Gidday Anthony,

They retail for a hefty $1895+gst (taxes) I was lucky to get mine on a field days special for $1495 so pretty wrapped.

I'm not at home till friday night but I will take a few pics before getting her dirty on sat. I have about 5 hours of sawing to do so it will be a decent first slog with her lol
 
Generally speaking the fakes are pretty easy to spot from the outside appearance. Most have the wrong type of hardware and very cheap looking/feeling plastic covers. If you had the two side by side you would definitely see the differences.
 
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