: The neighbors find it interesting that while I do have a chainsaw I prefer to fell trees with a saw and a hatchet/axe.
In my part of the national forest, chainsaws are banned. All forest workers use long hand crosscut saws. For cleaning trails. And all other uses. A pre WWII 6 foot crosscut saw, can be worth as much as $1,500. The old saws use higher grade of steel. Yes they are still making new one, but everyone says they're not as good.
Yes the crosscut is making a huge comeback
Vintage crosscuts that were made between 1880 and 1930 are often the tool of choice for trail workers who maintain the country’s roughly 112 million acres of protected land. That’s ahead of chain saws and newly made crosscuts.
@corlin: Those are wicked cool. My grandad has a 10-footer, inherited it from his dad and granddad, though Papa himself was a lawyer. My dad and uncle sold all the cool stuff when my grandmother died, alas.
@thedisasterautist
Young forest workers have to take and pass a 4 week field training, and safety test. Before they can use one.
If you learn how to properly use one you can saw all day long.