Chainsaws were invented in the late 18th century, originally for medical use such as cutting bone during surgeries, not for cutting wood or trees as many people assume. The earliest prototype was created by Scottish doctors John Aitken and James Jeffray around 1783-1785. The first chainsaw resembling the modern design was built by German orthopaedist Bernhard Heine in 1830, called the osteotome, specifically for surgical procedures.

Early Medical Chainsaws

• The 1780s saw the creation of the first chainsaw types for use in obstructed labor and bone surgery.

• Bernhard Heine's 1830 invention, the osteotome, featured a rotating chain of cutting teeth and was a significant step towards the modern chainsaw design.

Transition to Forestry

• The application of chainsaws for cutting wood developed much later. Patents for chainsaws designed for producing wooden boards and felling giant trees appeared in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

• The first portable, motorized chainsaw for timber work was patented in 1918 by Canadian James Shand.

Modern Chainsaws

• The electric chainsaw was developed in 1926 by Andreas Stihl, with gasoline-powered models following soon after.

• By the mid-20th century, chainsaws became lighter and manageable for single-person operation, revolutionizing forestry and landscaping.

Modern chainsaws owe their origins to medical innovations from the late 1700s and early 1800s, only becoming a tool for woodcutting after significant technological advances.