STIHL Electric Chain Saw Review MSA 120 C

Here it is doing what it does best. Yes, I should have had a glove on for the photo. Yes, I should have had on safety boots with kevlar uppers. Yes, my left hand should have been on the black ring to balance the saw. Guess what? It was being used to take this photograph. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW the safety instructions found in the owners manual. NOTE: The saw was NOT in use as this is a beauty photo of the saw. The chain was not in motion while the camera captured this shot. Copyright 2017 Tim Carter

STIHL Electric Chain Saw Review

I took ownership of a STIHL electric chain saw about three months ago. It's the battery-powered MSA 120 C.

Over those ninety days, I've used the saw extensively on all sorts of different jobs around my home.

To the best of my knowledge, I'm one of a very few tool reviewers that puts a tool through rigid testing before sharing the news about it's performance.

I know of one tool reviewer that publishes some tool reviews within hours of the UPS truck pulling away from his apartment. You can't evaluate a tool in just a few hours.

Period.

Sharp & Sassy

This handy STIHL chain saw really surprised me. When you first pick it up, you think it's a toy. It's that lightweight.

It's a great example of the old saying, "You can't tell a book by its cover."

While this micro saw doesn't pack the power found inside its gas-powered big brothers that work in the deep forest all day in the hands of professional loggers, this saw is able to cut down a sizable tree with little effort.

I know as I did it in my own backyard.

The 40-Foot Oak

I decided to go big with the first job. I had a 40-foot-tall oak tree that needed to come down. It's trunk just a foot off the ground was 7 inches in diameter.

After making the suggested cuts in the trunk to fell the tree, it came down exactly where I wanted it to fall and the little STIHL saw never flinched. It's sharp teeth bit into the oak wood like a bald eagle's talons grasp onto a fish from the lake I live on here in central New Hampshire.

Wood chips were flying in all directions, and within a minute the tree was on the ground.

Trimming Branches

This saw is now my go-to tool for trimming any branches on the many trees at my home. Since it weighs so little, you have excellent control and rarely experience fatigue.

Sips Oil

As with any chain saw, you need to fill the oil reservoir with lubricating oil. I prefer to use the oil from STIHL because I know it's been formulated to work best with the saw and chain.

The Battery

This is a battery-powered saw. It's new technology for STIHL. The battery should last you long enough that you need a break. It charges fast and you can get back to work. If you want to keep working, then purchase a second battery.

Five Stars

I've owned STIHL chain saws for decades. It's the first saw I ever used. This new addition to the line rates five stars. If you care for it, it's going to work hard for you for many many years.

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