021 manual
Forgot to mention my email is jstout at comcast dot net. Have had the 021 for 12 years and cut many, many cords of wood to heat the house. Bought it to have a light saw to take over from the Lombard Super Lightning. The Lombard was strong, but heavy, and smoked a lot. Never have been able to figure out why it smokes so bad, but it is a very strong saw and cut a lot of wood.
The 021 is adequate for smaller wood, up to a foot or so diameter, but it is a little slow I will admit. The Stihl safety chain is detrimental, and the saw operates so much better with Bailey's 30LP chain, the 3/8" low profile "Woodland Pro" chain, which has no anti-kickback features. It makes the saw take on a whole new personality. I've cut a lot oak and black locust which slows down the little Stihl, but it will sink right through ash or cherry. Putting good chain on this saw makes a very noticeable positive difference.
The 021 cost $230 back in March of 2001, and yes if I had better guidance back then I would have paid a little more (well, quite a bit more) for the 025, but this saw has worked well for us.
Later, I bought a MS210 with easy start for my Dad, who developed a health problem and couldn't pull rope starters. That MS210 EZ cost $280 in November of 2004, which included an extra chain, a carrying case, and a Stihl baseball cap. He enjoyed cutting wood and used the MS210 a lot. Both of these saws are fine to this day and I believe they will last a long time, and will have value well into the future. There are so many fine modern saws to choose from, and no way to (for me) try them all to compare. I hope with good, sharp chain these saws will keep stacking up wood for a long time. My much larger Dolmar saws are in a different category, and it's not fair to compare speed or power, but the little Stihls have been good for us. What a relief picking up the little 021 after using the larger Dolmars.
Just thought I'd describe my experience with these two Stihl saws. As far as comparing saws though, I have to admit when it comes to turning 2-stroke mix into smoke and noise, our old Lombard Super Lightning is an engineering masterpiece.
