How to Hold a Chainsaw Properly

The chain brake hand guard sits a couple of inches in front of your left hand. In a kickback the saw rotates up and back, the guard is driven back by your wrist or by inertia, and the chain stops in milliseconds. Take the left hand off the front handle and that guard has nothing to push against, so the bar keeps coming toward your arm or your face.

Reactive force decides which cuts you can control. Cutting with the bottom of the bar pulls the saw away from you, and you can brace it against the bumper spikes. Cutting with the top of the bar pushes it toward you, and there is nothing to brace against. Kickback comes from the upper quadrant of the bar nose, the no-go zone, and it cannot be muscled back, only prevented.

The numbers back up the rule. About 36,000 chainsaw injuries are treated in US emergency departments each year, and recent figures run around 70 non-occupational cases a day. Most injuries land on the hands and fingers, and roughly half involve the left hand, the one that comes off the front handle.

The grip is the same on a gas, corded or battery rear-handle saw, and the thumb is where most people get it wrong.

1. Put your left hand on the front or wraparound handle, thumb under the handle, fingers curled around it.
2. Put your right hand on the rear handle, index finger on the throttle trigger, thumb wrapped around the grip.
3. Keep the left forearm fairly straight so it can brace against a kickback, and the right arm slightly bent so it can work the throttle.
4. Keep your fingers off the throttle until you are lined up and ready to cut.
5. Wipe the handles clean and dry before you start, with no oil, pitch or sweat on the grips.

A thumb resting on top of the front handle is the classic error. It feels natural, but it turns your hand into a hook that slides off the moment the saw kicks, and it gives the chain brake nothing to work with. Wrap it underneath.

Stand like a boxer: feet shoulder-width apart, left foot forward and angled about 45 degrees, right foot slightly back, knees slightly bent and never locked, back straight. Hold the saw close to your body on your right side, never centered on your torso, and stand to the left of the cut line so your body sits outside the kickback arc.

Work between chest and thigh height. Nothing above shoulder height, and for a cut below thigh height take a knee rather than bending over the saw. Keep your eyes on the bar and the kerf, not on the tip of the branch.

Firm but not a death grip. The tighter you hold the tool, the more vibration reaches your hands, and over-gripping is one of the habits behind hand-arm vibration problems such as tingling and numbness in the fingers. A relaxed but secure hold, a sharp chain and correct tension all cut the vibration you feel.

Take a short break roughly every hour of continuous running, and keep the handles free of moisture, pitch, oil and grease. Wear gloves that let you close your hand fully around the grip.

A chainsaw is built right-hand dominant. The chain brake, the hand guard, the throttle lockout and the chain catcher all assume the left hand is on the front handle and the right hand is on the throttle. A left-hander still holds it left hand front, right hand rear.

Swapping hands puts the brake and the guard on the wrong side of your body, and it is a common route to a serious cut. If the saw feels awkward at first, that is the saw's design, not your technique.

There are three acceptable supports. On firm ground, press down on the front handle with your left hand and put your right foot through or on the rear handle, then pull the cord with your right hand. Between the legs works for a warm start by an experienced user. Bracing the saw firmly on a stump or a log works too.

Engage the chain brake while starting. Never drop-start, with one hand on the rear handle and the saw hanging: that is not an acceptable hold, and it is how saws end up in legs.

If you are moving more than one step, engage the chain brake or switch the engine off. Carry the saw by the front handle in your left hand with the bar pointing backwards, engine housing between you and the bar, and fit a bar cover for transport.

Never carry a running saw by the rear handle alone. A branch or your own hip can knock the throttle open.

Rear-handle saws, whether gas, corded or battery, are two-handed tools at all times, with no exception. Top-handle and mini saws are where the honest answer sits in the middle.

Top-handle saws

A top-handle saw puts the rear handle on top of the powerhead so it can be used at extended reach in a tree. It is an off-ground tool, and on the ground you use a rear-handle saw. Two hands wherever possible. One-handed use is a narrow professional arborist exception, allowed only where the second hand is needed to keep a stable working position at the extremities of a limb. It is never a convenience, never a substitute for poor positioning, and never done on a ladder. The US arboriculture standard requires two hands on each handle with thumbs wrapped, with a narrow carve-out for climbing work where two hands are not practicable or would pose a greater hazard.

Mini and pistol-grip battery saws

The pistol-grip design invites one-handed use, and the real danger is the free hand holding the branch right in the chain's path. Many of these saws have no effective chain brake. Hold with both hands where the design allows, keep the free hand well clear, never work on a ladder, and cut at chest height or below.

Use two hands: one on the main or trigger handle, one on the foam gripper on the shaft, thumbs and fingers encircling both. Never cross-handed, and never let your body or arm cross the chain line. Stand to one side, never directly under the limb.

Don't raise the trigger handle above shoulder height, and don't hold the pole at more than about 60 degrees from the ground, or you are cutting overhead. Extend the pole only as far as you need and keep your footing. For a thick limb, undercut about 6 inches out from the trunk to a third of the diameter, then finish from the top. Keep bystanders well back and stay clear of overhead power lines.

1. Thumb resting on top of the front handle. Wrap it under the handle.
2. Left hand off the front handle to hold the branch. Clamp the branch or use a sawhorse.
3. Saw centered on the chest. Move it to your right side.
4. Cutting above shoulder height. Reposition, or switch to a pole saw.
5. Death grip. Relax the hands, sharpen the chain and take breaks.
6. One-handed use of a rear-handle saw. Two hands, every time.
7. Drop-starting. Use a firm support and the chain brake.
8. Carrying a running saw by the rear handle. Brake on, front handle, bar backwards.