It is the pinnacle discipline of the STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Series, with only the best athletes qualifying to wield the Hot Saw at the end of the competition. Jörg Bläsi works on new power tool and equipment development in the STIHL technical service department. He started out optimising saw engines out of a love for logger sports, and he now does so as Chief Engineer at saw manufacturer, WankelSpeed. The company’s 65 and 80 PS Hot Saws are individually built for every athlete and customised to their requirements. In this interview, Jörg Bläsi explains why.
How much power does a Hot Saw have compared to the Stock Saw that all athletes compete with?
Jörg Bläsi: The Hot Saw has 10 times as much power. To illustrate the comparison, while a sports car accelerates from 0 to 100 in 3 to 4 seconds, the Hot Saw does it in 0.2 seconds. We immediately achieve the top speed of 300 km/h – these are incredible forces, which the athlete must keep under control in the moment. The interaction between man and machine has to be just right, so it makes sense to tailor the saw perfectly to the athlete.
Is there a power limit to the Hot Saw?
The regulations set no displacement limit for the engine, nor do they set a limit to the size of the carburetor. The only requirement is that it must be a single-cylinder engine.
The actual limiting factor is that the saw must be started manually with a pull cord. The more displacement and, as such, more power a machine has, the more difficult it becomes to pull the cord. So we have to work together with the athlete to find the balance between ease of starting and high performance.
Why does an athlete need their own Hot Saw?
If you have a podium in your sights, you need your own Hot Saw. This discipline is of critical importance and usually decides the competition – and in a matter of less than ten seconds.
But there are no off-the-shelf Hot Saws available to buy. At WankelSpeed, we usually have the athlete test a basic saw. We will then configure it based on the athlete’s ideas – for example, in terms of the saw's balance, the size of the starter pulley, the size of the pistons, and also the compression or performance of the machine.
The basic model costs around 6,500 euros – from which there’s no upper limit. It’s all depends on the materials you choose. It is very common that the same saw will continue to be used over the course of a sporting career. That’s not a problem, because our saws are assembled like a modular kit.
World Championship athletes from Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany are currently using our saws in competitions. At WankelSpeed we build saws for athletes all over the world.
Do athletes also modify their saw themselves?
Not many athletes tune engines themselves. They often lack both the know-how and time to do so – after all, preparing and sharpening the axes takes them a lot of time. Sometimes, in consultation with us, they will look to optimise or further personalise the leg-rests or handles.
The chain, however, is another matter. The chain in a Hot Saw is as important as the tyres in Formula 1 cars. The objective is to convert the full power of the engine into cutting performance. Every athlete has to build up individual experience to be able to tailor the chain to their personal requirements.
Of course, we do feel particularly proud when our saws are used to set records or win titles. That’s the reward for our meticulous work!
