So as someone who has owned an old Stihl saw, a new Husqvarna 460 Rancher, an old Poulan (back when they were made in Shreveport, LA), and even an old Sears (made in the USA) saw which was actually produced by Poulan. I bought a Farmertec (or Hutzl, Holtzfforma, or whatever) chainsaw and it starts in the fewest pulls and cuts like how I would imagine the old Stihls would. It doesn't have kickback protection or probably even EPA compliance but it starts and pulls chain better than my Husky and embarasses my friend's Stihls. It isn't light but its a 6.5 hp motor that pulls chain. I've run an Alaskan mill on thousands of board feet and only changed the air filter and plug. I bought a second Chinese 070 to run on a double headed mill for larger cuts on denser wood. It started on the second pull out of the box and has run like a scalded dog ever since. I did spend the money on a Cannon bar because it does make a difference over the lighter bars that flex easier.
Do not buy a chainsaw because it has some German or Swedish name on it. All it guarantees is a high price tag. In my experience there are a lot of chainsaw snobs that talk trash about saws they've never used. Swedish, German, or Chinese doesn't make a difference. They are mostly made in China. If you've got an enormous income and like to brag about how much your saw costs then a Magnum 881 is likely your saw. If you like to sawmill, you don't mind a heavy saw, and don't want to worry about your expensive saw dying try one of the Chinese ones. I promise that any of the people that killed a Chinese saw by mistreating it would have killed a $2000 saw because I am not kind to my saws at all and they still run great. I just make sure the tip sprocket is greased, the chain is oiled, and I run VP full synthetic 2 cycle oil in my methanol free fuel. Maybe just that is the difference.
I also switched the .404 spur sprocket for a 3/8 rim sprocket because surface cutting area and friction coefficients do matter when cutting. I also use crosscut chain because sharpening a simple 35 or 45 degree angle vs. a compound 10 degree angle like most ripping chains (Granberg's for example) is much easier with a hand file. I like easy and most of my wood is used for structural stuff like barns.
