In this discipline, all athletes work with the MS 661 C-M, an off-the-shelf STIHL chainsaw in the 90+ CC class. From a block of wood with a diametre 40 cm, two slices of wood must be sawn off within a 10 cm wide area using a downward and an upward cut. The pressure and speed must be precisely adjusted to the wood.
In this discipline, all the competitors use the MS 661 C-M, an off-the-shelf STIHL chain saw. At the starting gun the athlete grasps the running saw and starts cutting the wood. The competitors must cut two complete cookies off a horizontally-mounted log with one downward and one upward cut, both within a marked area of 10 cm. Sawing over the marked line or not completing both cookies will result in a disqualification. Top athletes can complete this discipline in about ten seconds. The Stock Saw counts as a basic discipline and is one of the first disciplines that new athletes learn.
Competition formats in which the discipline is featured:
Stock Saw is featured in the Individual, Rookie, Intermediate, Women’s, Trophy and Team formats. In the Trophy and Team formats, only one downward cut is performed.
To guarantee fair sawing conditions, all stock saws being used in competition are checked and calibrated digitally before the discipline starts. Lots are then drawn to allocate each saw to each stand.
In all competition formats the athletes warm up their stock saw before cutting. After this preparation phase, which lasts 15 seconds, the running saws are placed on the ground and the athletes must place both hands on the wood.
At the ‘starting gun, the athletes pick up their saw and start cutting. The first cut is a downward cut, followed by a second upward cut, although in the Trophy and Team formats, only one downward cut is made. The clock stops when the final cookie is totally severed from the block.
Michal Dubicki from Poland at the 2019 Individual World Championship in Prague.