What's your favourite smallest handy chainsaw ?

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I guess it's all possible.. I haven't taken a close enough look at the saw... it's a bit grimy.. I just gave it a couple pulls and it fired.

I've never heard of emab before... Acres doesn't list them as a saw company.
A whole host of different mfg's sold their little saws in different colors. My M36 is another one of those.
 
I was 14 in 1990 and I cut my leg on dads homelite xl 80 cutting down our vineyard. I had tripped on grape scrubb and the homelite bit me lightly only becuase it had no chain brake. Before dad got home, I called the Stihl dealer and got my nieghbor to drive me to pick it up before dad got back. I put the saw on his account, and started cutting down the rest of the vineyard. I flew with that 009 l. It was the greatest saw i had ever used. It didnt boil the fuel like the old pioneers did. It was easy to start unlike the homelite and had a chain brake. When dad got home, I thought I was done for. He thought, I was irresponsible, but he said for the first time in my life I learned a lesson from my mistakes, and really stepped up to plate. That was one of those life lessons that I for the first time truly made me feel like I conquered. So the Stihl 009 L, 011/012 40 cc saws are my best saws for nostalgias sake. My sawbuddies ripped me on the tea kettle saws so with saddness I sold 5 of them, down to 2. There is no aftermarket support for them on p/c's. So I bought a 192 t, its no tea kettle, but it works. I had a 170 bought new but could not give it away fast enough, the grief it gave me (master control switch) and useless 16 inch bar ( all the small dealer had, way too big for that saw) My saw buddies managed to stop laughing enough to throw a couple saws my way, becuase I was bummed out at selling my tea kettles, blaiming them. My boys got smoking deals on a Echo 3450 great saw and Stihl 017 not bad and husky 36 not bad, but the saw that was cheap was a poulan wood shark that doesnt quit. Why do people rip these. Best bang for the buck, I have a jonsered version as well. Half the price, easy to fix, and light. Also honourable mention as stated earlier sears craftsman but not as smooth, no macs, pain in the prosterior to put back together (at least for me). I am creature of habit so I will stick with multiples of 1 saw. But I am curious about Tanakas and Lowes has Hitachi. Not sold on home depots makita lots of gas for little power. Sorry for the long post. i love small saws, love them. P.S your all great people, Merry Christmas
 
ramdad...good post in more ways than one !

Also, based on your post you have me "thinking" about trying to find a nice 009 - thank you.
 
Dws-az the stihl 009 is 36 cc and its better than 015 predessor, but 009l and 010,011,012 are 40 cc of torque, not so much revs but the numbers are based on handle configurations, nice little units, but if you are tight on funds any saw will do. I have been blessed with all the saws I have gotten. All but a broken saw is better than no saw. Happy saw hunting, P.S dont pay more than $75.00 in mint, mint shape as I said no aftermarket parts, good luck, God Bless
 
Dws-az the stihl 009 is 36 cc and its better than 015 predessor, but 009l and 010,011,012 are 40 cc of torque, not so much revs but the numbers are based on handle configurations, nice little units, but if you are tight on funds any saw will do. I have been blessed with all the saws I have gotten. All but a broken saw is better than no saw. Happy saw hunting, P.S dont pay more than $75.00 in mint, mint shape as I said no aftermarket parts, good luck, God Bless

Interested in those Tanakas/ Hitachi's also. My Tanaka is one from before the Hitachi buyout. I was told there was somewhat of a sell off on Ebay of those little green saws last year.
 
Well if we are talking available saws today I wouldn't recommend anything smaller than an Echo cs352.
Yes the old Poulan 2150 WAS a great little saw BUT no antivibe. And as far as I know not made anymore. I bought a cs 310. Way to small for me. The Sthil 026 is about 15 pounds fully dressed. To heavy for my ATV. The Sthil 024 is actually about as heavy as the 026 and less power. The saw I use MOST is the Echo cs352 and the second most used is the cs490.
I think Echo cs352 can be a good bargain but look around. Maybe Refurbished or eBay. DON'T fall into the you must buy from a Dealer trap. That can be good or bad. My dealer DID NOT help me with a warranty. But sometimes a Dealer will give you 20% off and thats about as cheap as refurbished. Echo warranty proved to be a joke so buy the best deal you can can get and cross your fingers.
The cs400 with a mm and tune is making some folks proud. I don't recommend the cheap stuff from China but, some folks luck out. Any Husqvarna less than a 440 wouldn't catch my eye. But if an Echo cost less I'd go with the Echo. Not everyone agrees on this. I once tried a 37cc Ryobi. At first it was amazing. Light, easy to start and cut good. The adjustable oiler was either on or off no real adjustment. Within 5 days ( I ran 4 or 5 tanks of fuel) it was so weak it could barely cut. Ask 100 people and you'll be lucky if 5 agree. My suggestions are free. Keep em or toss em. Good day.
 
I've been using
I just bought a new Echo CS330T. Nice and light. Just have to get use to all the plastic.
an echo 330T for a year or two and like it for smaller stuff. I also have a Stihl 192T but it seems down on power compared to the Echo..both were about the same price used but I'd take the Echo if I had to choose one..
 
I've been using

an echo 330T for a year or two and like it for smaller stuff. I also have a Stihl 192T but it seems down on power compared to the Echo..both were about the same price used but I'd take the Echo if I had to choose one..
Saws are like women. Some please one man but not another. Then some age better than others and some are cheap but fun for a short time and long on trouble. No two are alike. Just because a certain brand makes a great model don't mean all models are equal. Then I stuck in a bad marriage for 13 years thinking it would get better and I had to much invested to throw it away. I lost my butt in the end. Saws do that also. A POS saw can eat up enough time and money you could have trashed it and made money. Any saw I like today can be trash tomorrow. Therefore, the best small saw in my possession for the money spent to date is the Echo cs 352 at 34cc. The worst was the cs310. I did a mm and tune up. It gained some power but is like a bad employee. Short on power and not worth messing with. I sold it to a little ole lady at a loss. I bought my cs352 for 208 inc. tax out the door. Sold the 310 for 130 bucks and gladly lost 75 bucks. Put the 130 I got plus added 78 dollars to it and bought the cs352. Best deal I've ever made. Don't let commercials fool you. The cs310 isn't even close to the cs352. They may look very similar but just because one dog favors another don't mean they hunt alike. 199 + tax for a cs 310 and you have no idea how much mouth wash you'll need to get that crappy taste out of your mouth after running the cs352. Pay full price for a cs352 and run an echo 400 and you may need more mouth wash. Echo has us doing that old dance, hokey pokey. Open your wallet, put your left hand in, take your left hand out put your right hand in and shake it all about. The best saw is the best saw sold at the best price. That changes like Granny changes wigs. I play pick a card between Sthil, Husqvarna, and Echo because those ladies are the most dependable girls working the local streets. Nutting Honey from China unless it's sold under one of those brands. Now days, AV is as important as sheets on my bed. Some old Green Poulan saws were handy backn the day. The little Poulan 2150 was my favorite small saw but my arms were young and I didn't wear partial dentures. Vibration only feels good to me now when im getting a back massage.
Then there is the cc motor size. A 37cc Poulan didn't seem to cut any faster than the 34cc Echo. Smaller ain't necessarily weaker unless it's a lot smaller. A couple CC's advantage difference can evaporate quickly from brand to brand and saw to saw. A tune mm ported etc. So far most things made in Germany , Sweden, and Japan seem to be good quality. I like Honda cars, Kubota tractors, BMW, and Rolls Royce to name a few. I once dated twin sisters. I choose one then left for the military and lost contact. Both married. Years later I saw both of them and realized what a mistake I'd made. The skinny one was fat with an attitude. The fat one was perfect with a wonderful attitude. Even twins can be different and it's difficult to swear by anything. Every cow milks different. Each saw is different. Choose your saw your way. Enjoy it or toss it, what you do is your business. Blessings
 
My cs300 and 301. Both great saws and easy to work on. I use them for limbing and marking cut distance when bucking.
 
As long as it's less than 4kg...

You can pay twice and feel like Napoleon -
or you can pay what it cost's and be happy.

:hi:
 
That's an achievement I envy.

I love you mate, I'd rather be you - than me.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top