The modern-day chainsaws we’re used to seeing are mainly utilised for tree cutting. Shockingly, the chainsaw was originally invented to assist in childbirth – yes, you read that correctly. The doctors’ chainsaw was used during symphysiotomies.
The original chainsaw was invented and used by two Scottish doctors in the 1780s. Interestingly, it’s also the first Stihl chainsaw because the first wood chainsaw was invented by Andreas Stihl – the founder of the Stihl chainsaw company. Stihl also claims to have invented the first chainsaw for use by one person in 1950 – check out all the Stihl chainsaw years made for more info.
Now people are obsessing over the origins of the chainsaw, after TikTok user hellomynamesjon shared a video saying it was first invented to help with childbirth, which sounds more than a little terrifying. Yes, the first chainsaw really was invented to be used in childbirth – though thankfully it was a far cry from the electric-powered monsters people cut down trees with today. Modern chainsaws come in many sizes, from small electric saws intended for home and garden use, to large “Lumberjack” saws.
The original chainsaw looked more like a modern-day kitchen knife than what we would call a chainsaw nowadays. In the 1780s, in a bid to make the removal of the pelvic bone easier and less time-consuming two doctors named John Aitken and James Jeffray invented the chainsaw. In 1883, a patent for a chainsaw for cutting boards was passed and then subsequently more and more chainsaws developed.