Why is the Stihl 026 so coveted?

[4pwr]

The Stihl 026 has not been offered for a number of years. You still hear it mentioned with almost reverance. Why would a discontinued saw have such a loyal following? Why is its replacement not better or as desired?

 

[MasterBlaster]

Yah I wanna know, too! I didn't know it was shut down.

 

[sedanman]

THe Stihl 026 is now known as the MS-260 and is a current model. I had one and thought it was a decent saw. I replace it with a MS-361 and am very glad I did. The 026 was well built and reliable, never failing to do what I asked it but mine did not like 3/8 chain as others have run with no problem.

 

[klickitatsacket]

The reason the 026 is so loved by the average person is because of the big money money spent on a little saw. You have to justify it in your mind (weather or not it is rational). It's a marketing thing first. #2 They are built like the big brother pro saws and thus give credibility to this. #3 They are an extremely reliable saw. #4 (My favorite and my reason) is that the 026 has so much room for improvements and be built into an exotic high performance machine and still retain it's durability. With the proper tuning they can be made to kick the crap out of a MS361 and save all that weight that no one wants to carry. #5 oh yeah they are very well balanced.

 

[Marky Mark]

For a saw of the same class you will never get the gains a Husky 346 has to offer. I own several of both the 346 and the 026 and the 346 always beats them. Here's the shinny stick 346 that caused havic and it will eat 026's all day without the pipe. Ask EHP that question about the 026 he's played with both of them.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

With the proper tuning they can be made to kick the crap out of a MS361 and save all that weight that no one wants to carry.

This is a funny line.
You can modify any saw to outcut the next larger saw in the line up, or are you saying a modified 026 can out cut a modified 361? If not, then a modified 361 can outcut a stock 046, and a modified 046 can outcut a stock 066, and so on. So the only saw to buy is the Preditor!

But wait, there is a flaw in my logic, because a modified 020 can out cut an 026, and a modified 011 can out cut a 020. So the only saw to buy is a 12 volt Makita battery powered cordless saw.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The Stihl 026 has not been offered for a number of years. You still hear it mentioned with almost reverance. Why would a discontinued saw have such a loyal following? Why is its replacement not better or as desired?

About 3 or 4 years ago Stihl changes the model numbers on most of the saws. The MS 026 became the MS260. The saw remains essentially the same, though through time there have been some minor changes.

The model number is spoken, "Oh Twenty Six". Once said, everyone knows your talking about a Stihl. There is no confusion between that and some other saw maker.
If you just say, "My 360 won't start." I don't know if I should tell you to throw it away, like I would if it were a Homelite 360, or work on it, like I would if it were an Oh-Thirty-Six (Stihl MS-360).

(Is there even an MS 360, or did they go straight from 036 to 361?)

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Crap! Two posts about the 026 and I didn't mention once what a total, useless, piece of crap it is. Man, I must be slipping.

 

[begleytree]

Yeah Mike, there was a MS360. Its a piece of crap too. I own one.
-Ralph

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

We have a couple 036's. They seem alright, kinda small for my taste, but a lot better than the 026.

 

[jokers]

The 026 was for several years the best overall saw available for ROW clearance and bucket work in my opinion. They are even light enough to be one handed like the 020t when necessary but they have alot more power than the 020t. These saws are pro saws developed for and sold in the pro market. The price isn`t out of line for what you got.

The 026 has excellent balance, good antivibe, and a well operating chain brake flag attached on both sides unlike the cheesy offerings from the other big boys of the era. The overall construction of the 026 is top shelf and when properly maintained, will last a very long time in daily use.

The 026 also had about the best power to weight ratio of any mid sized saw for a long time and combined with the fact that it will turn 13,500 rpm vs 12,500 for most other mid sized saws, put one in the right hands in medium to small wood and nothing would touch it. The 026 is also powerful enough for the average guy cutting 10 - 20 cords of typical east coast hardwood a year to get it done in a reasonable time without breaking his back. The 026 is a highly productive saw under the right circumstances.

You also need to consider that the 026 was one of the first saws to have side chain adjusting and an outboard sprocket that could be removed by popping the clip off. Nice features that added to it`s user friendliness. The balance of this saw combined with small details like the angle of the front handle, handle spacing, and the diameter and roundness of the rear handle make it feel very natural in hand.

People who say the 026 is underpowered for it`s intended use either don`t know how to use the saw or keep it`s cutting components in order, right Mike? I do however agree with Maasholeo that the 036 is normally a slug, no match for the 361.

Since the arrival of the Husky 346xp, the 026/ms260 has taken somewhat of a back seat. IMO the 346 is slightly faster out of the box and modified, the 026 can`t keep up either. The 026 still feels slightly better in hand and it does have the better clutch arrangement, but the superior anti vibe and air filtration of the 346 and the use of a standard spline size rim still makes for a better package. Stihl also commited a major blunder when they put the fixed hi speed jet carbs on the 260 for awhile, but they have since corrected that problem.

I`d bet that anyone who badmouths the 026 has probably not used one very much, if at all.

Russ

 

[Marky Mark]

Russ your so right, I like my 026's but to say it will keep up with a 361 HMMMM maybe we do need that port off. This is getting to be like the 7900 doesn't take porting well. Most people on this site will never own a modified saw other than opening up the muffler. A Walkerized saw is what 99% of the members here would be happy with it's the other 1% that want more and more from there saws.

 

[Stihl Crazy]

I have never been without a 026/260 since they first came on the market. Use them for East Coast logging. Never had one fail. Run 3/8 chains, muffler mods, and set them to 14,800. My modified 260 (used for logging) can out cut a stock 361, but not my 361 EHP. I have 3-346's but prefer the Stihls. Have never had a stock 346 that could cut faster than my 026's. My modified 260 is slightly stronger than my modified 346. It is just one of those freak saws that for some unknown reason is special. 026/260 or 346, both are great saws.

 

[klickitatsacket]

First off - Mike do not play with logic... apparently it is a little too complicated for you. My philosophy as a builder is to give the Professional or Discerning Customer a saw that weights less but has the same or more power as a bigger saw, with out loosing durability or reliability. On the other end of the spectrum, I also build saws for the guy who just needs more power in the big saws. I can honestly say I do not get the opportunity to work on a lot of Husqvarna's . I live in the land where Stihl is king, so I have not got to play with a 346 yet. Marky if you are interested in giving me some good feed back I would love to send one of my 026's out to you to play with. I am not looking at some sort of port off or anything, just some feed back. These are not race saws just good work saws for the professional.

 

[Marky Mark]

Send one out KF Tree and I will be meeting in the next week or so. We'll give it a try I will pay all the shipping.

 

[West Texas]

"Why is the 026 such a favorite?" Well for a guy who never used one until I was age 73, I can tell you it doesn't take a 'Rocket Scientist" to use, maintain or repair. In the past two years a friend and I have cut a lot of firewood and repaired, rebuilt and/or modified at least a dozen Stihl's for high altitude. We've torn them down to the last part and reassembled them with no difficulty at all. You can repair or replace a carb in a matter of minutes. And the older twin jet carbs are definately the best for tuning and performance. For the heavier stuff I love my 036 Pro and my friends 044.

 

[stevenb]

Mark what is that a glass pack on the husky?