Banning Chain Saws

Abstract

The chain saw was a great invention. Stihl, a German company that is still thriving, manufactured the first chain saw in 1926. Until then, loggers had to fell and deb-ranch trees with axes and cut the logs with handsaws oper­ated by two men. The chain saw expanded the productivity of the fellers who cut down the tree, as well as of the buck-ers, who trim the top and the branches and cut the logs into specified lengths. The growth of productivity was especially dramatic after 1950, when chain saws became light enough to be manipulated by a single man, even if they were still twice as heavy as they are today.¹