best saw i have ever bought i use it for medium to large fell and it has a 16 inch bar and it is fantastic as a profesional logger without it i would not be able to earn money

I bought this saw with the 15" bar to do light felling and mainly firewood cutting as I had the oportunity to remove a couple of windblown ash trees and a large beech which was already pretty dry.

I have only used a chainsaw a couple of time prior to this, they have been hired Stihl models. My memories of these were that they were heavy and hard to start, and drank fuel.

OK, so having taken delivery of my new 440e I tried it in the back yard on a large log and had my first problem, the numpties at the shop hadn't tightened the hand chain adjuster properly and it span off, the side cover parted company with the saw, the chain chewing itself up in the process. Good job it didn't chew me up although it did frighten the living daylights out of me. Moral of the story: Always check the tightness of the adjuster every time you use the saw or you will have problems.

The shop obligingly gave me a new chain and I was off again. I started on the beech tree first and was very impressed by the power of this small and light saw. It seemed to have plenty of torque and zipped through the dry, hard wood very quickly. My friend who was with me had brought two saws with him, and old Stihl and a McCulloch, both of which caused him a great deal of grief and me a lot of amusement as I watched him struggle to start them. He carried on struggling, I carried on cutting.

The fuel economy was excellent, the saw uses as much chain oil as it does petrol (with good quality synth 2 sroke oil in at 50:1) which surprised me a little but you soon get used to filling both tanks up on the job. I did have one or two clogging issues where the fine chips of wood found their way into the bar under the chain and blocked the small oil hole feeding the chain, you clear this by taking the bar/chain off and running a blade around the groove that the chain runs in to clean it out.

The other thing I noticed was that the chains became rapidly blunt - you need a couple of spare sharp chains for sure if you are out all day, or you need to bring a sharpening kit with you. I bought an Oregon sharpening kit which has a great file with a guide in it, so you sharpen at the right depth & angle. It's a cinch to use, especially if you also buy the Stihl heavy duty sharpening vice (About £20) that you knock into a log, that keeps the bar firmly gripped and allows the chain to be sharpened on the saw in about 5 minutes. Easy.

Well, the saw is in it's second season now, I cut enough wood to last me all last winter (I have 3 wood burners) and it has performed faultlessly all the time. Starts easily hot or cold, has low vibration, great piece of kit. Plastics are showing signs of wear now but nothing major.

My friend has now sold his old saws and bought the exact same model, last weekend we were out cutting wood and made mincememeat of a couple of 30 foot wind blown ash trees in an afternoon. Lovely!

I bought the Husqvarna 440E brand new from a local garden machinery centre as a friend who owns a paddock had a couple of trees down and had offered them to me free if I cleared them. One is a large oak, the other a large beech. I calculated that there was enough wood there to power my 3 wood burning stoves for a year and that this would pay for the saw and protective gear.

The saw is light, powerful and a cinch to use - needing no tools to adjust the chain as it has an easy wheel operated chain tensioner that works really well. I love its fuel economy too, 3 tankfuls equated to roughly 2.5 hours of cutting time including moving cut logs out of the way.

My friend came along to help with a couple of Stihl saws, one that he had bought used and the other was borrowed. Watching him trying to start these was very amusing, and he never managed to complete a session without cursing his machines for some reason or another. In the meantime I was cutting away happily, the 41cc engine being plenty powerful enough to cut huge oak rounds with no problem at all.

My saw has not ever broken down, is easy to start hot or cold and is easy to service and clean. Could not ask for more from a saw, very, very pleased. Well done Husqvarna!