I have wedges, plenty of wedges… and only rarely will they free a saw pinched in big wood (not that I get the saw pinched that often). It usually happens after I’ve put a big tree on the ground and heavy branches are under some sort of tension… one little miscalculation and the saw is pinched in 14-20 inches of wood (maybe at a crotch) with a few tons of weight forcing the pinch shut. Beating on wedges for two hours won’t open that kind of pinch, it’ll just mess-up your wedges… and the more frustrated ya’ get the more likely it is you’ll smack the saw. Actually I have better luck using a 6-8 foot long heavy pry bar for freeing pinched bars.
Even if I had two saws I’d want the power head off the pinched bar… too many time I’ve seen “stuff” happen trying to free them… thinks shift, roll, spring and fall. I’ve seen mashed mufflers, twisted handles, cracked covers, crushed saws and bars bent that probably wouldn’t have bent if the power head was off. Before I try anything, I pop the power head off, and I’ve never had a problem doing that with an inboard clutch. But if the power head is pulled up tight to the wood you can’t get any slack in the chain, and you’ll never get the outboard clutch power head off.
It comes down to whatever works for ya’; instead of a second saw I have two bars (one 16 inch, one 20 inch). I carry a multi-layer toolbox that holds my wedges, hammers, saw tools, pulleys, hand ax, files, extra chains, spark plug, air filter, and more… riveted to the side of it is a scabbard for the extra bar. Having two bars is just as good as having two saws… especially if you’re gonna’ take the power head off the pinched bar anyway.
I had a saw with an outboard clutch once and got it pinched tight in the crotch of a large oak one time… pinched so tight I couldn’t get the power head off. The power head was hanging from the pinch about 3 feet off the ground; when we tried freeing it using another saw the tree shifted and the crotch let-go, rolled and pancaked my saw. Ain’t never gonna’ have another saw with an outboard clutch again.