Stihl MS441 vs MS440...

[Lakeside53]

If it's a 441 wrap it has the HO oiler. I doubt the dealer will know, but it's in the IPL.

 

[KindlingKing]

If it's a wrap it has the HO oiler. I doubt the dealer will know, but it's in the IPL.

Lake,

Thanks for the confirmation. Nice to have this feature for the longer bar. I sure love my 660. Gonna go get some firewood this weekend and if I can remember to bring the camera will get some pictures.

I know, its a bit of overkill for firewood but I don't have a tree job lined up for this weekend, so need an excuse to break the saw in.

 

[Gologit]

Somebody posted video of BC logger dropping 6 ft cedar with a 660. It shows why they dont sell more 880s just too heavy and 660 can get it done.

Yup. You take the 880 and spend all day doing humboldts with it and you'll have forearms like Popeye. Or maybe a shoulder seperation. I do like the bigger saws for bucking big timber, though. You just kind of lay that thing up there and let'er eat.

 

[Cam501]

I posted this on another thread a while back and thought it applied here pretty well to.

That's very similar to what my our sales rep from Stihl told us. He said the 044 was originally supposed to be discontinued after 1997. As for 440 or 441 sales, our 440 sales have pretty much come to a halt. Since we got our first 441 in back in August, we've only sold one 440 since then. None of them wrap handles. It's very difficult to even get a wrap handle stihl into the store here. Our distributor(which is stihl usa owned) has to special order them in if we want one and even then it's a crap shoot if we ever get it. been a few years since we've sold wrap. Here in the east 99% of people don't even ask about them.....and big saws in general, we are selling a decent number of 441's but we only sell about 12-15 460's a yr, 3-4 660's and an 880 only once every year or two. Every customer I've got with an 880could do everything they need with a 660.

 

[Lakeside53]

Same for the MS260... It would have been be dead a long time ago except for the continued demand.

 

[windthrown]

I'm not far from Jackson. The dealer is just east of Jackson on hwy 88. Not sure the rules let me say who it is since they aren't an arborist site sponsor. I'm new, so don't want to run afoul of rules. If its OK to call them out, I'd be more than happy to. Anyhow, they really have top notch service and don't speak a bad word about Stihl or Husky. They are nothing but positivein their comments and won't push you one way or the other. That is good in my book.

Windthrown, you got me on a technicality. Thanks for catching it and keeping me honest. The Stihl pro saws are all set up with the 3/4 wrap handles (at this shop). I like the larger chain guard the 3/4 wrap saw comes with. I'll confirm with my dealer but my saw may have also come with the high output oiler. That is a plus in my book if it is the case.

Yah... its a 3/4 wrap. I am surprised that so many dealers there and in WA have those wraps on their new saws. Is that larger chain guard/clutch cover the same one with the double dog mounts on it?

 

[windthrown]

Yup. You take the 880 and spend all day doing humboldts with it and you'll have forearms like Popeye. Or maybe a shoulder seperation. I do like the bigger saws for bucking big timber, though. You just kind of lay that thing up there and let'er eat.

Egads, an 880 all day... and a shoulder separation is right. Man, that thing would rip my arm off just starting it. Huge guy I know here has an 880 and he does not even use the decomp button to start it. Popeye arms. Built like a bear. Nees to be to run that saw.

 

[tek9tim]

Hmmmmmm, I had the same conversation today with the Stihl dealer here, except we were refering to the so-called Stihl "full wrap". Its a 3/4 wrap. A full wrap bar goes all around the saw. If you look at my avatar closely you can see one. Something I had a hard time figuring out on some other AS threads. 3/4 bars being referred to as full wrap. I do not understand why they call them full wrap when they are 3/4 wrap. I want one becasue my girlfriend is left handed. And they are cool, and in those rare situations they are actually usable. But even with a 3/4 wrap the bar is still on the right side of the saw... so a south paw is still sawing with the blade on the upside of the saw.

We also have big-azz conifers here in central Oregon. They also have them in WA, NV, ID, MT and BC. Old growth less than a mile from here is 4+ ft DBH. The Stihl shops here sell 90% of their saws (pro or otherwise) with half wraps. Nothing pro or homeowner about that. Really... there are 5 Stihl shops within an hour of here, and they sell mostly half wrap saws. The 441 I saw today was one of the few I have seen new with a 3/4 wrap on it.

You know, I like the Stihl 3/4 wrap better than a full wrap, you can grab it closer to the CG of the saw when you have the clutch side up. But, that's just me.

Running a saw with your left hand on the rear handle is not safe. Saws are designed to be run with your left hand up front. Period. Heck, my left arm gets way stronger than my right because when you're running a saw, your left arm is the one that actually lifts the saw. Why is a full wrap better for a lefty anyway? Trees are felled from the safe side, which isn't the same from one to another. Either way, with a half wrap you only have a handle on one side, so why is it any worse if you're running the saw wrong-handed?

 

[windthrown]

You know, I like the Stihl 3/4 wrap better than a full wrap, you can grab it closer to the CG of the saw when you have the clutch side up. But, that's just me.

Running a saw with your left hand on the rear handle is not safe. Saws are designed to be run with your left hand up front. Period. Heck, my left arm gets way stronger than my right because when you're running a saw, your left arm is the one that actually lifts the saw. Why is a full wrap better for a lefty anyway? Trees are felled from the safe side, which isn't the same from one to another. Either way, with a half wrap you only have a handle on one side, so why is it any worse if you're running the saw wrong-handed?

Saws are designed... and not safe for lefties? How is that? What is the difference if you are sawing with your left hand up front, or your right? If you are left handed you are running the saw from your weak side. Problem that my girlfriend has. So she can only run our 210 and 3000. Strength is one thing. Control is another. Try batting from the left side, or writing with your left hand and you will see. What is safer?

 

[KindlingKing]

Is that larger chain guard/clutch cover the same one with the double dog mounts on it?

Windthrown,

Yep. They work great. Especially on the large barked trees.

 

[Cheese]

I couldn't imagine running an 880 all day. Though I would love to tell the story, I am not sure it would be worth it.

I know when I put too much time on the 660. The 440 doesn't wear on me yet, not to mention getting used to letting the saw work.

Hard to argue with a 440 and a 25" bar. If you need more bar, you need more saw.

In the world of hunting, you are never over gunned, just some times undergamed. Does that apply here too.

 

[Lakeside53]

I
In the world of hunting, you are never over gunned, just some times undergamed. Does that apply here too.

TOTALLY

 

[SawTroll]

Saws are designed... and not safe for lefties? How is that? What is the difference if you are sawing with your left hand up front, or your right? If you are left handed you are running the saw from your weak side. Problem that my girlfriend has. So she can only run our 210 and 3000. Strength is one thing. Control is another. Try batting from the left side, or writing with your left hand and you will see. What is safer?

Just a thought, leftis have the advantage of using the strongest arm up front, where it is most needed..........

 

[Eccentric]

Just a thought, leftis have the advantage of using the strongest arm up front, where it is most needed..........

Seems true to me. I've never felt any an disadvantage running a saw with my left hand up front, and I'm a southpaw!

 

[tek9tim]

Saws are designed... and not safe for lefties? How is that? What is the difference if you are sawing with your left hand up front, or your right? If you are left handed you are running the saw from your weak side. Problem that my girlfriend has. So she can only run our 210 and 3000. Strength is one thing. Control is another. Try batting from the left side, or writing with your left hand and you will see. What is safer?

I was out in the woods for a week, long delay on reply. YES. Saws are designed to be run with your left hand up front. Safer? Compare where the chain is when you hold it diagonally in front of your body with your left hand up front and then with your right hand. Chain's right next to your leg if your right's up front. Buck a log wrong handed, where's your body in relation to the kickback arc? Seems like an especially bad situation with an inexperienced operator standing in the kickback arc with their weak arm as their main protection from kickback. The difference between running a saw with your right hand up front and batting or writing off handed is that bats and pens aren't made to be operated only one way with serious consequences if you don't.