Pepe's Chainsaw World

Husqvarna 444se In 1980, Husky introduced the final development of what had started as the 140, 40cc saw, the 444se. At this time the model designation basically meant that the 4 meant it was the fourth development of this platform and the other four’s obviously related to 44cc. A whole family of saws had been based around the 140 and there were thousands of the little farkers around the place in 44, 140, 240 etc. guise. There were not so many of the 444se’s around however. This was a full on professional saw and stood head and shoulders above its siblings with its closed, well ported cylinder from the factory. These days we have been inundated by cheap “homeowner” small saws that are junk. We tend to throw every small capacity saw into the “not worth my interest” pile, unless they are a professional top handle arborist style saw. But the 444 was a little bit special. It came with a full metal handle and clutch cover arrangement that made it a little heavy by todays standard...

The Rise and Plateau of Jonsereds Farbrikers AB Started as a textile company in the 1830’s Jonsereds were one of those industrial era companies that decided that the pathway to success was to have a crack at just about everything, and so for a time you could find the Jonsereds name in a range of far flung areas. In this regard they were not unlike Solo in Germany and co-incidentally they too moved into chainsaw production in the 50’s. They already had a foothold in the forestry industry making a range of milling equipment and the like and in many ways the move into relatively simple one man machines in this era would have made complete sense as an “opening” market. So in 1954 the XA was released into the world. As would come to be the norm for Jonsereds it was both well-made and innovative. Its solution to the issues of a float bowl based carb was to use an injector system and its rotary valve engine was designed to run on a variety of fuels (diesel, kerosene and petrol). It w...

Solo is a cool brand from a time where saws were big, heavy and loud!! Even their relatively modern saws are, well, big/heavy/loud. The high point for Solo was undoubtedly with the introduction of the legendary Rex in 1958. Big and Blue, Blue and Heavy and Heavy and Loud, this sucker was one hell of a saw. It looked a bit like what HR Geiger would have designed if given the crayons to come up with a saw. It looks, one part Alien, one part Sea Monster and one part German Master Race showing off. It was however one hell of a kick arse saw as long as you didn’t have to kick arse for a particularly long performance. It was touted to be one of the first saws to “extensively use plastics”, but if you have ever picked one up you will realise that the only plastic bits are the cover at the back, which will have inevitably started to break down with UV exposure and to have warped to the point where engaging the choke requires a level of finger dexterity more in keeping with a piano...

When it comes to putting wood on the pile, there are surely few more capable saws ever produced than the Husky 371/72 series. Basically the perfect blend of old and new, with all the standard Husky features from the awesome 268/72 mixed in with spring anti-vibe and a little more shove. Off course its main rival was going to be the Stihl 044/441 and this is also an iconic, classic saw, but there is something about the 372 and its no nonsense demeanor that is comforting. Its not the best made, most powerful or even best looking, but the integrity of the basic design shines through. For the saw enthusiast, it is also incredibly rebuild-able and both OEM and aftermarket parts are readily available. In many ways the high water mark of modern saw design. All the best features of modern saws before auto tune and EPA guff took their balls out. Not cheap, but cheaper than the Stihl opposition, they have held their value well as they just keep on truckin. Aurally this saw is a little chall...

Imagine you were looking for a new chainsaw in 1987. There was no ebay, no Bunnings and no cheap imported saws. You had the choice of some of the best professional grade 70cc saws ever made however. You would not have realised it at the time but you were looking at some of the last great models from traditional manufacturers who while still making excellent saws, were not going to be able to compete when it came to both manufacturing costs or marketing. From a marketing point of view Stihl already had the show by the balls, their aggressive approach to competition and solid professional grade products constantly leveraged for even greater market share wherever there was an opportunity. Your Stihl dealer would have offered you a 038 magnum, the development of the heavy but durable 038. At 72cc the Mag had plenty of shove but was by this stage an older design that was resting on longevity and build quality in the face of ferocious opposition. Being the development of a 60cc class saw, ...