An indispensable tool of freedom, the chainsaw has debated origins that included a cringeworthy use
Many information sources agree that chainsaws were invented for use not by lumberjacks, but by—eew!—doctors.
BY REID CREAGER
He was distracted while peeling the Christmas wrapping paper from the square-ish box, his eyes and attention focused on another conversation across the living room. But when he looked down and realized what he had in his hands, it was powerfully obvious that my brother was reveling in a glorious present for his present and future.
A Stihl 180 chainsaw is not just another gift when you treasure your time outdoors and have a T-shirt that says 9.2—the number of tree-laden acres your land occupies. It becomes a trustworthy, essential companion that shapes this increasingly messy world in precisely the ways you choose.
Less than a year later, hundreds of miles to the southeast in Greenwood, S.C., the authoritative whrrrrr of chainsaws took on a different kind of importance for me.
When Hurricane Helene unleashed its deadly torrents of wind and rain on my hometown on September 27, dropping countless towering trees onto roads and houses like so many toothpicks, chainsaws were indispensable tools of freedom for those trapped in their homes and otherwise hemmed in by nature’s fury.
This got me thinking about how these mainstays of the forestry industry—ironically, capable of inflicting their own sudden destruction—came to be. They are essentially simple machines that consist of an engine, drive mechanism, guide bar, cutting chain, tensioning mechanism and safety features.
But determining their origins is anything but simple when researching online, where answers are as scattered as tree limbs on a hurricane plain.
Lesser-known claims
The first working prototype for a chainsaw, powered by a hand crank, was developed in the 1400s by German military engineer Konrad Kyeser, according to The Enlightened Mindset—which claims to be the “world’s first fully AI-generated website.” Whether this purported first adds to or subtracts from the credibility of its information is up to the reader.
Sawtheory.com says the chainsaw was invented in the early 1800s by German blacksmith Konrad Borchardt. “The original design was used to cut down trees and had a saw mounted on long handles with two metal arms connected by links, resembling a chain,” the site says.
Alas, the site also says, “The first patent for a mechanical saw was granted in 1830 to a German inventor named Andreas Stihl” —which would be an unprecedented feat, given that Stihl was born in 1896.
Sawtheory claims the chainsaw as we know it today was invented in 1918 by Canadian engineers Joseph Buford Cox and James Shand. (We could find no other source crediting them for this.) Reportedly, their original design featured an internal combustion engine attached to a long bar with teeth along its edge.
The unkindest cut of all?
Most information sources agree that chainsaws were invented for use not by lumberjacks, but by—eew!—doctors.
According to BBC Science Focus, their purpose was to more seamlessly remove diseased bone and even “cut away flesh, cartilage, and bone from the mother during childbirth if the baby became stuck in the birth canal.”
BBC Science Focus cites Scottish doctors John Aitken and James Jeffray as inventors of this flexible but crude saw; This Week in Libraries magazine agrees. Popular Mechanics at least partially supports this notion, reporting that in 1785, a chain handsaw model appeared in Aitken’s Principles of Midwifery, or Puerperal Medicine and describing a process whereby a “serrated chain is used to remove diseased bone.”
The flexible saw later became the osteotome, developed by German physician Bernhard Heine in 1830.
Allthatsinteresting.com, interestingly enough, makes no mention of Drs. Aitken and Jeffray. But it provides impressive detail about Heine’s saw:
“Heine added guards on the edges of the chain to protect the surrounding tissue, so surgeons could now cut into the skull without causing bone splinters or destroying soft tissue. It vastly improved any medical procedure that required cutting through bone, such as 19th-century amputations.
“Before the chain osteotome, surgeons used a hammer and chisel to take off a limb. Alternatively, they might use an amputation saw that required jarring motions. The medical chainsaw simplified the procedure and improved results.”
Heine’s design earned him international acclaim. Manufacturers in France and New York began making the surgical instrument in mass quantities.
‘Endless’ impact
Eventually, an inventor discovered that a chainsaw could rip through a redwood tree even better than it could cut through human bone.
In 1903, San Francisco logger Samuel J. Bens applied for a patent for his “endless-chain saw” with a looping chain that he said was based on Heine’s osteotome. His 1905 patent is considered the first for an electric chainsaw. (Allthatsinteresting.com calls Bens’ conception “the first recognizably modern chainsaw,” an obviously subjective proclamation.)
What can’t be argued is that these early chainsaws were large and heavy enough to warrant use by at least two people.
In 1926, the aforementioned inventor Andreas Stihl patented the “Cutoff Chainsaw for Electric Power,” weighing in at a whopping 116 pounds. Because it is generally acknowledged as the first electric chainsaw in the world and led to a company that remains a leader in the market today, Andreas Stihl has the interesting unofficial title “Father of the Chainsaw.”
Chainsaw Daddy revolutionized the lumber and logging industries with a machine that easily cut down trees with precision. This also led to the development of new woodworking and construction practices.
Eventually, the development of lighter aluminum alloys and forged steel parts helped facilitate one-person, portable saws. Other improvements followed.
Stockholm-based Husqvarna launched its first chainsaw, the Husqvarna 90, in 1959. It featured mufflers that the company claimed reduced noise levels by 100 percent. Five years later, Stihl introduced the first anti-vibration handle that used buffer elements to absorb vibration from the blade and engine.
More recent innovation includes the progression from gas-powered to electric chainsaws, and now chainsaws powered by lithium-ion batteries.
The latest technologies include laser-guided cutting and automatic blade sharpening—all part of a centuries-old evolution that is increasingly cutting edge.
Patent Pathway
Samuel J. Bens applied for the first patent for an electric chainsaw on July 17, 1903. The assignee was John S. Kimball. U.S. Patent No. 780,476 was granted on January 17, 1905.
Bens wrote in his application: “My invention relates to saws, and my object is to produce a saw adapted for general use, and particularly to crosscut-sawing, for which at the present time hand-operated saws are almost universally employed.”
A Myth and a Record, Massacred
- The slasher cult film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”—inspired by a true story that didn’t involve Texas, chainsaws, or massacres—premiered on October 1, 1974. Actor John Larroquette has said he narrated the prologue of the movie (budget: $140,000) in exchange for marijuana.
- In 2011, Canadian Ian Stewart broke the Guinness World Record when he made 94 catches while juggling three active chainsaws.
Chain of Destruction
Ten days following Hurricane Helene, more than 220 storm-related deaths were reported.
The hurricane’s wind and rain destruction covered 600 miles.
Hurricane Helene and other storms dumped 40 trillion gallons of rain on the South, from Florida’s Gulf Coast to Tennessee.