The chainsaw was originally invented by an MD. named Bernard Heine in around 1830. His design had a toothed chain that was moved around a guide with the use of a hand crank. Although many companies claim to have invented the chainsaw for logging use, it is unclear who really invented a saw to serve that purpose.
Andreas Stihl ( the father of the modern chainsaw) a German Mechanical Engineer, patented the "cutoff chain saw for electric power" in 1926. Andreas patented the first gas powered chainsaw in 1929, it was called the tree felling machine. These was the first patent for the true hand held saws that we see today.
Logging today is hard, back breaking work, this was true two times over before the invention of the chainsaw. Men had to go through the forest, braving snakes and other dangers to get to work. These men would have the tools available at that time, those tools being double bladed axes, and big cross-cut saws. The cross cut saw was a huge blade with handles at both ends, where two men ( 1 per side ) would have to move back and fourth very vigorously to saw their way through the large trees, this was very hard work, not to mention very time consuming.
The double bladed axe was a tool used by many loggers. The man wielding the axe would notch the tree on the side in which he wanted it to fall, the proceed to hack on the other side until he was through far enough for the tree to give way, this was also a very hard time consuming task. The invention of the chainsaw revolutionized the logging business, with this equipment men could cut twice the amount of trees in a day, at half the time, as opposed to the old axe and cross cut saw.
You can go to any job site where trees are being cut down and come across chainsaws with the name Stihl, Husvarna, Poland, or a few other brands. Even with the invention of a useful piece of equipment such as the chainsaw, logging remains one of the more dangerous occupations around, the hours are long, and the work is hard.
The invention of the chainsaw, is without a doubt the single most important event to happen to the logging industry. It also gave the common man the ability to remove wood from his property whether it be for aesthetic purposes, or for fuel. They come in many different shapes and sizes, as well as, being gas or electric powered.
Kevin is an outdoor specialist with a love for nature, and especially the forest. Kevin is in tune with the history of logging and writes about many topics related to logging and logging equipment, such as chainsaws and parts from various chainsaw brands, like Husqvarna chainsaw parts. Follow Kevin for more articles on the great outdoors.
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