Why don't professionals here use professional saws?

[MikeInParadise]

I have to laugh at something that I have observed. All the talk on AS is always about requiring a professional saw.

First off, in the last couple of years, every saw I have seen here used by City workers, construction works, Hydro workers clearing brush, In the back of a commercial vehicle or any other commercial use has been a Stihl. Every single one. No huskies, no dolmars.

Second observation is that every one has had an Orange or black handle. Again every single one! I have yet to see a white handle Stihl professional saw in use here by a business.

Now I am sure that there are commercial users here using brands other than Stihl and using commercial grade saws, it is just that I have yet to see this.

So if this is common place here by commercial users to use those saws that are commonly pooh-poohed here such as the 290, why is it that every time a guy wants a saw to cut a few cords of firewood, they are always pointed to a commercial grade saw?

My question is how many of you have observed the saws used around you commercially and how many of your see non-professional saws in use day after day?

 

[JUDGE1162]

I think the examples you list as "professional" may not be "professional" in saw use.

City workers, construction works, Hydro workers clearing brush, In the back of a commercial vehicle or any other commercial use has been a Stihl.

Stihl is a good saw and has a good following For the most part many of the professional you list don't use big trees and don't need buy saw and the saws are owned by the company so price is an use and use of use is less of an issue.

Look and see what tree companies, true lumberjacks are using to see what "professional" is ment in professional saw these saws tend to be privately owned, worked on, ad the useablitly "user friendly" part becomes more of a factor then price.


For the same part you don't see the professionals you listed using wildthings and other low end homeowner saws.


I own and like my semi-pro saw 455 rancher but it is just that with this saw price play a bigger part of the equation then comfort and weight, you get what you pay for.

 

[troutfisher]

Many times the people in those positions who are using the saws are not the ones buying the saws, they are provided with the tools they use.

 

[livewire]

Mike, where is "paradise NL"? (geography escapes me)

All the pros around here use Stihl professional grade saws. No question!
Asplundh, land clearing companies, independant fallers, Fire Dept, timber company...and so on.

I asked where you are located because 'maybe' if it's Canada pro saws are too expensive to use and abuse. I'm thinking it's an economics lesson in action.

 

[Timberhauler]

Come ride with us one day....We'll show ya' a pro saw,and it won't even be a stihl.:hmm3grin2orange:

 

[Butch(OH)]

"For the same part you don't see the professionals you listed using wildthings and other low end homeowner saws."

Hey Ralph you just got knocked back to a home owner Ha Ha, Or does using a 180 to waterproof your boots count as saw usage?

The company I work for puts a 170 or 180 Stihl in every truck and for good reason, they cost less to replace when stolen (often) They do have a couple 660s in the tool room but they dont get out often, construction company, not a tree service.

 

[livewire]

The company I work for puts a 170 or 180 Stihl in every truck and for good reason, they cost less to replace when stolen (often)

That's what I'm thinking too!

Pro grade comes pro prices. Sometimes it's easier to swallow the loss of a cheaper saw. In a pro setting any saw will get hammered. One reason stihl warrants their commercial use equipment for 90 days vs one year!

 

[MikeInParadise]

Mike, where is "paradise NL"? (geography escapes me)

All the pros around here use Stihl professional grade saws. No question!
Asplundh, land clearing companies, independant fallers, Fire Dept, timber company...and so on.

I asked where you are located because 'maybe' if it's Canada pro saws are too expensive to use and abuse. I'm thinking it's an economics lesson in action.

Yes, Paradise is in Canada, NL = Newfoundland and Labrador.
(Picture is of the woodlot 40 kms away from Paradise)

I am sure economics has big factor in it as saws are more money here but less than in Europe or Australia.

The fact is if the saws that they were using were not up to doing the job then they wouldn't be using them. Business here is no different then elsewhere in that if the saws were not doing the job and holding up then they would go with a better quality saw.

Another observation that I just thought of is that in the last 2 years I have only seen 2 commercial grade saws for sale in the buy and sell for the island. One was a Jonsred and the other a Husky 272.

I was curious as to what other are seeing in use commercially around them seeing as homeowners always seem to be told to get a commercial grade saw to cut a bit of firewood.

 

[livewire]

I made a choice to go with a pro saw (361) for firewood use but I reasoned that it's built more solid and will likely be passed down to my grandkids' grandkids!

IOW, if a homeowner saw will last "XX" than I can likely make a pro grade saw last for "XXXX".

I'll stick to my earlier statements until I'm corrected by the powers that be.

Thanks for the fast geography lesson...I've been curious for a while but never looked it up.

 

[heymack]

My bet would be economics are at play. Most governments are required to purchase based on lowest bid. I'd say Stihl, in general, is much more competitive and places more emphasis on these segments than other manufacturers.

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

And most of the professionals who use professional saws don't have them sitting out in plain view in the back of their trucks. You'll see timber fallers here with saws in a rack in the back of their truck, but they're locked up. The state of WA buys MS 290's to give to their workers. These guys are clearing up storm damage and that sort of thing. They're not falling timber, and completing take downs in someone's yard. Workers on crew don't need 440s for what they do. And they didn't pay for them so....well just check ebay. Every once in a while a lot of 029/290 will show up from WA and they are beat to hell!!!

Jeff

 

[computeruser]

You're also presuming that the people selecting the tools being used actually know what they're selecting, and/or they have enough of a budget to buy what they truly need.

Imagine this: your city needs ten new chainsaws for your ten municipal tree workers, and the budget is $3500. Whatcha gonna do? Yup, buy a bunch of MS290s.

Or this: purchasing department is told to cut costs by 15%. They discover that an MS290 and an MS361 are both "rated" for a 20" bar, so they buy the MS290 instead and tell their bosses how much money they were able to save the city. And as a corollary to the second example, after discovering this heretofore elusive savings (and reducing future budget allotments, of course), do you suppose that the city will now ever entertain the idea of buying the more expensive saw again in the future?

What I would find more interesting than the number of "professionals" using non-pro saws would be the number of guys in these sorts of jobs who bring their own saw to work, despite being provided with one by the employer.

 

[spike60]

I don't think that city workers, utility crews, construction workers and such, really fit the definition of "professional users" for chain saws. Certainly not in the sense that it would apply to a tree service company, logger, or serious firewood operation. The primary distinction is that the first group of guys simply have a saw on the truck as one many tools, which only gets used occasionally. It's certainly different from the second group which will run saws all day long.

Also, most of the work that the utility and highway departments do is pretty much clean up work. Generally nothing heavy duty. For them, MS290's and the like are fine. A saw in the back of a utility truck probably cuts the equivalent of less than a cord of firewood a year.

And I agree with some of the earlier post that saws in these applications are more prone to accidents and theft. No point in them buying the pro models.

 

[Tree Sling'r]

To me, "pro saw" is nothing more than a label. Like our society everything gets labeled.
I had never heard of 3/4 of the saws used on this site until I joind a few years back.
IMO, a "pro-saw" I what helps make you a living. My living is made with 460s and 660s with long bars and sharp chains. But that is only half of the equation.
A saw is as only as good as they person using it.
You can have a "pro-saw" and run it like a girl - to me then it is nothing more than a saw.
If it gets worked and you get paid then IMO it's a "pro-saw"
I don't give a crap about your numbers or CCs - your tech specs or your opinion of your skills.
If it makes you the dough, it must be a pro.

BTW, I have always run Stihls.

 

[woodfarmer]

who ever started this "pro saw" crap anyway, i buy mostly jonsered, they only have one line above 50cc.

 

[Timberhauler]

I failed to mention that I have a couple of MS210's that I make one of my climbers use because he's dropped two MS200t's...Neither was destroyed,but it was very lucky.That way,if he trashes one of those 210's,I'm only out a couple of hundred...If he trashes a 200T,five hundred and some change.Both of these events happened too close together,so I told him if he can go six months without dropping a saw,I'll let him use a 200T again.

 

[Industry]

You should make him spend the 25 bucks on a chainsaw lanyard. I think the guys before me that said it was about someone in an office somewhere staring at "ratings" are correct. We run our saws for hours on end each day, and they are "pro" saws. XPs of the 346 variety. good saws for the weight. we used to run Dolmar 540s, but I had terrible luck with them. I have had great experiences however with the Dolmar 7900 I have. I guess what saw we use is more likely to be decided by the tight fisted guy who signs the checks.

 

[tek9tim]

I like the forest service. Most fire managment officers there spent some time running saw, and don't have much use for anything but a 44 stihl.

Fishhuntcutwood, you mentioned the state... the DNR around here keeps 039s on their engines. Makes me laugh. Their handcrews (all 2 of them) run 44s though. In the winter I work at a state park, and there we have a couple 360s and a 260. I guess it mostly depends on the managment and whether they will compromise on what saw they get, and how much of a priority it is to have a quality saw.

TreeSling'r, I like how you put it. Excellent point.

Edit to add: Somebody mentioned it ealier, but yes, government does get better deals on saws. Stihl gives them more of a break than husky does, which is why you see more of them being used by public workers.

 

[Timberhauler]

You should make him spend the 25 bucks on a chainsaw lanyard. I think the guys before me that said it was about someone in an office somewhere staring at "ratings" are correct. We run our saws for hours on end each day, and they are "pro" saws. XPs of the 346 variety. good saws for the weight. we used to run Dolmar 540s, but I had terrible luck with them. I have had great experiences however with the Dolmar 7900 I have. I guess what saw we use is more likely to be decided by the tight fisted guy who signs the checks.

That's just it....He WAS using a lanyard...Go figure.I'm still kinda dumb-founded about the whole thing.

 

[geofore]

dropping saws

I failed to mention that I have a couple of MS210's that I make one of my climbers use because he's dropped two MS200t's...Neither was destroyed,but it was very lucky.That way,if he trashes one of those 210's,I'm only out a couple of hundred...If he trashes a 200T,five hundred and some change.Both of these events happened too close together,so I told him if he can go six months without dropping a saw,I'll let him use a 200T again.

If he keeps dropping saws you might consider one of these for him: www.pocketchainsaw.com cheap and can be dropped with little damage.