Wife won the first one about 32 yrs ago, guessed the CORRECT # of split wood in a 1 cord stack!! lol, it was funny, 99% of the guys guessing were loggers from here in town. One guy wrote his guess down, he's the ''President'' of one of the local logging companies. So, my wife said, i'll add one more to his # hit it right on the head!! lol. So, with it getting along in years i thought, better find another one. Found one, met the guy, he was very upfront about it, super nice guy, bought it. Never been sorry. Today after letting both sit for about 4-5 months, decided to fire them up. I"d guess 7-8 pulls on choke, flipped choke off and both fired right up. I've used mogas 92 octane from the local airport and mix 50/1 with Red Armor 2 stroke mix. Let them warm up for a bit, then did some cutting with both, boy i like those saws!! . I've got several other saws, couple of 266Xp's heavy, but, real beasts!! cuttin machines! 044 Stihl, the ole "Mack'' ear burner!! And, one Echo Timber wolf, But, i've got a soft spot for the old 026's they've cut a lot of wood for me.
Great saw for sure. Was my only saw from 1991-2010. I "found" the powerhead last year. Hadnt been started in ten plus years and i got her to start. Gave it to M2theB and he got her back up to par. More of a nostalgia saw for me now. Cut a lot of wood with it in its day.
I think if I did it again I'd go 261. The gains on the 026 weren't nearly as good as the 036. 261's port way better.
I have an 026 "daily driver " and an 026 Pro shelf queen. I like my 261 better though, seems like they have different power bands. The 261 seems to turn more rpm and the 026 grunts at low rpm.
I always felt the 260/260 Pro was a good final evolution of the 026/026 Pro. Much less if any neutering compared to the other transitions. (046 -> MS460 was particularly noticeable one.). Really like them as clean, stock, saws. At the time (when they were new), I really liked that they went out the door and stayed out. The 346’s were wild but seems to want to come home for parts all the time!
With proper care and feeding, my 028 will probably outlast me. Hope my wife can use it...lol I know my 075 will, it hardly ever gets used.
I've only owned one chain saw in my life, a Stihl 025. My dad bought it in 1993, and it became mine when he passed away. I regularly maintain it, and replaced a few parts over the years, and it just keeps going. Absolutely love this saw.
Too late to edit my post above about my stihl 025, but just wanted to add that saw is the reason for my screen name!
I've only had 1 260 and it wasn't as good as a 026. I put a carb with 2 adjusting screws on it and it helped but still wasn't impressive. I bought it used so it maybe wasn't as good as it should have been.
Stihls are great saws. Never had one i bought new fail me for the most part. Very reliable. I know a firewood seller who used an MS250 (newer version of the 025) to cut the wood he sells.
