I've had the chain jump on my Stihl a couple of times without incident. It usually jumps and then goes down. It hasn't kicked back or anything. (Knock off wood)No one makes them out of metal anymore. My old saw is cast aluminum and I love it. Plastic will never last as long. I can't imagine any new saw holding up like the one I have now. Almost 20 years of abuse and she still works great. I wonder how a jumped chain is going to react when it hits those cheap plastic hand-guards. I had a chain jump a few years ago and it took a nice chip out of the aluminum. Not sure plastic would of saved my hand like the aluminum did. Who knows? Maybe their braking systems in the new saws are quick enough to stop the chain when it jumps - regardless it won't stop the part thats free from the saw from moving. Ive been eyeing a new saw because my automatic bar oiling system has sprung a leak, but they all seem to be made cheap as sh*t.
