Shindaiwa 446s

Shindaiwa 466S – My first chainsaw, a 1950's Mobilco Be-Bo weighed 63 pounds, they should have made anchors from the metal they wasted. My second '50's chainsaw was a Danarm, weighed 33 pounds, 24" Gibson bar, wonderful, well balanced, reliable, excellent ! Years later, 1987, a friend recommended a Husky 265 ? 365 ? 65cc. It was not a thing of joy. Bad vibration to both hands, air cleaner insufficient for the motor, muffler (such as it was) kept coming loose, cranky to start, especially when hot. No more Husky's. In 2000 I bought a 60cc Shindaiwa, 20" bar, magic ! I was most impressed with its performance, Very easy to start when hot, powerful, reliable, The Bee's Knees so to speak.

In 2007 I bought a Shindaiwa 466S, 46cc, 20" bar, and I use almost exclusively it to cut dead Ironbark and box for firewood. All who see it perform are very impressed. It has all the traits of its big brother, very easy to start, powerful, light weight, I love it ! It caused me to buy a Shindaiwa 22T whipper snipper and it starts first go too after being unused for weeks.

The bad news: Shindaiwa gave the distribution rights to Allpower at Narangba, Qld. Allpower are pushing Echo brand against Shindaiwa and parts are hard to get and the price of air cleaners has gone from around $25 to $40 (last week). Dealers are departing Allpower, they are just too hard to deal with.

My local dealer quit Allpower, I now have to get parts from the next town, 67km away and he is on the verge of departing Allpower. Hopefully, Shindaiwa will twig to this situation and award the dealership to some other outfit.

Excellent – My new 446 is replacing a Shindaiwa 451 purchased some 20 years ago when they were not at all known. This one looks to be as good, and is just as good to use. It has retained all the easy access features of the old one, plus lighter and not as wide, so some improvement. These saws are reliable and good value. Not aligned with the suppliers etc. just a satisfied user. Easy to access all serviceable items in the field. Very comfy to use. Minimal plastic. All designed very well. Nothing with the saw, but not too many dealers! on the other hand my experience is that they dont need much specialised servicing, and other parts are universal [bars, chain etc. ]

Excellent – In my opinion, the Shindiawa saws I have used thus far have done nothing but impress me with their power and ease of use. From the mid-weight 446 to the big daddy 757, they simply out perform any other breed of saw that I've used. The combination of balance & power leaves you with energy to spare after a full day of cutting firewood. I can't say that about any other brand Powerful. Easy to Start. Rugged and Reliable.

In working comparison to Stihl & Husqvarna saws of equivilent weight and capacity, the Shindaiwa felt much lighter/balanced in two hands. The result of this was much less fatigue after a day of cutting firewood.

In a mechanical/design comparison to Stihl saws, the Shindaiwa has one major reliability advantage in that Shindiawa have retained the seperate steel drive key in the flywheel assembly. Some years ago Stihl redesigned this area by die casting the key into the flywheel to cut costs. It is the amount of broken keys I've repaired(Stihl) that converted me from a Stihl-man to a Shindiawa-man.

For the cheapskate out there(like me), the .057 bar is an advantage. When an 057 bar gets worn, you can simply buy an 062 chain to get a second life from your bar, effectively saving you the cost of a new bar. None that I've found so far.

Keep them maintained as they should be and you'll have no worries

Excellent – I reviewed the 446 in 2008, when first bought, I felt an update in 2011 would be helpful, well all I can say it has been outstanding, you can use this saw all day without fatigue, due to it's light weight, and superb anti-vibration design. I cannot praise the Shindaiwa highly enough, if dealers availability is no problem, I truly believe Stihl and Husqvarna, can only be equal not vastly superior. You can buy with confidence! Very easy to start, powerful for engine size. Robust, None bar price. Dealer availability?