Chainsaw
Motosierra de cadena
- Date
- 1926-1929 · confidence medium
- Place
- Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Credited to
- Andreas Stihl; Emil Lerp
- Field
- Tools
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A saw whose cutting-tooth chain is driven by an electric or petrol motor, replacing the axe and the two-man saw. Andreas Stihl patented an electric chainsaw in 1926 and the petrol model in 1929.
The chain saw began as a surgical osteotome (Aigle and Jeffray, late 18th century; Heine, 1830) and there are patents for forestry chainsaws from 1905 (Samuel J. Bens, San Francisco). Stihl and Dolmar (Emil Lerp, 1927) made the first commercial ones.
What it led to
- mechanised forestry and industrial logging
- lightweight portable one-person chainsaws
- urban pruning and tree care
Built on
- Band saw1808
- Circular saw