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The worldbuilding context is that I have a character who is in a terrible urban-fantasy situation, and is led somewhere where there is something he could use to defend himself with. It's unfortunately a chainsaw. The person who led him there is the ghost of a teenager who had no idea chainsaws are terrible weapons. The person he led there is very aware of this, but decides to use it anyway, because something is better than nothing.

The character will need to use it to defend himself against humanoid monsters - many with clothing - and dog-like beasts. I'm focusing on cloth, because I'm supposed to focus on one question here, but if you all have thoughts about flesh and fur, totally feel free to throw them out.

The chainsaw in question is a standard gas chainsaw one might see in a logging operation.

My question is, where would you say is the line between plausible and nonsense, in terms of how much cloth (the biggest enemy of chainsaws I've gathered) one can cut through before messing up the chainsaw? Or is it just more of a roll of the dice/clothing thickness thing?

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    $\begingroup$ What is the worldbuilding aspect of this question? (I realise that you have already been pinged with a different criticism, but this seems to be a real-world safety - or maybe anti-safety - question about chainsaws. We are here to help you build an imaginary world, not explore the limits on misuse of logging tools in this one.) $\endgroup$
    – KerrAvon2055
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 5:08
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    $\begingroup$ @Stef - the question says "standard gas chainsaw", which I presume is petrol which American's hilariously call "gas". $\endgroup$
    – Davor
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 15:50
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    $\begingroup$ Just in case someone proposes that 1 or 2 layers of fabric would stop or foul the saw for sure, when I was 10 I saw my great grandfather cut his own kneecap in two through jeans and a pair of thermal underwear. The saw did not require maintenance; grandpa did. $\endgroup$
    – Jason Patterson
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 16:45
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    $\begingroup$ (a) The standard chainsaw one might see in a logging operation is NOT the standard chainsaw you might find at a local hardware store. They're much larger and much more powerful with much longer bars. The word "standard" applies within the logging industry, but it doesn't apply at all to chainsaws in general. Are you sure your protagonist is actually at a logging site that such a saw would be the most likely grab? (b) It seriously matters how sharp the chain is, how powerful the saw is, how loosely worn the cloth is, and what kind of cloth we're talking about. But... (*Continued*) $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 17:26
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    $\begingroup$ ... (c) I also see @elemtilas' point, there really isn't a worldbuilding problem here. This is an issue of narrative necessity. Do you need it to cut through the cloth for the plot of your story, or do you need it to jam up? You're completely believable either way so long as the victim takes some damage. $\endgroup$
    – JBH
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 17:28

4 Answers 4

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Frame Challenge

There are plenty of horrendous accidents involving chainsaws where ordinary clothing had virtually nothing in the way of protective properties.

Now, there are chainsaw chaps which have multiple layers (Stihl advertise 6 separate layers for theirs) of cut-resistant material - and these will absolutely stop a chainsaw (plenty of videos online of them doing that) but these are not regular clothes or clothing material.

Realistically - the most anyone would be wearing is 2-3 layers of normal clothing - and if they are humanoid monsters, the chance it would be fully intact clothing is minimal.

So in short - I don't think you'd have much trouble.

The reasons a chainsaw isn't a great weapon is more a combination of weight, noise and ease of control.

Once you've made contact and can keep the RPMs up - it will quite happily make a mess of flesh and cloth.

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    $\begingroup$ I think the question is more about "how many time could it get through the 1-3 layers" because with every monster taken down there will be cloth remains stuck in the chain leading to malefunction eventually $\endgroup$
    – datacube
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 7:13
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    $\begingroup$ @datacube - will it? Chainsaw chains are made for efficient cutting, which includes sort of "self-cleaning" while cutting through things. I don't think anything would remain on them except very thin layer of blood, gore and fiber. I think the main failure point would be the chain getting blunt after thousands of cuts. $\endgroup$
    – Davor
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 15:52
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    $\begingroup$ @Davor wood and clothing are very different though. I'd expect it to get clogged eventually $\endgroup$
    – Hobbamok
    Commented Nov 24, 2023 at 15:56
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    $\begingroup$ I just watched a youtube video of a chainsaw vs ballistic dummies. Whatever they were using as bone simulant appeared to be quite resistant to cutting through, but nothing got in the way of the blade's motion. There are also youtube videos of chainsaws vs denim/jeans which appeared to offer (unsurprisingly) absolutely zero protection. There is a reason you pay money for chainsaw chaps. $\endgroup$
    – sdfgeoff
    Commented Nov 25, 2023 at 9:35
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    $\begingroup$ Chainsaw chaps work because the threads are woven in a way designed to come off easily and gum up the chain. Normal cloth doesn't do that. $\endgroup$
    – causative
    Commented Nov 25, 2023 at 18:26
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The first piece of clothing he tried to cut would probably entangle his chainsaw and jam it. You'll still make a mess of a guy in a t-shirt, but you'll need to unjam it for the next.

If you just chop and pull off then you might be ok for a while as it's still attached to whoever is wearing it. But sooner or later it will jam, probably sooner.

Chainsaws only rip through things really well if the thing is rigid and anchored.

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  • $\begingroup$ My man, have you ever seen a chainsaw accident? Regular clothes do absolutely nothing to a chainsaw. $\endgroup$
    – Davor
    Commented Nov 26, 2023 at 10:02
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, because that's not a sustained chainsaw attack, it's an accident. There's a big difference. Covered that scenario in my second paragraph. Chainsaw will power through things for a while, but eventually even long grass will kill it. $\endgroup$
    – Kilisi
    Commented Nov 26, 2023 at 11:00
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Cutting with a chain saw is about moving X number of blades past a target faster than the target can naturally bend. The blade action cuts through the target. The blades on a chain saw are bent in a way to help move wood out of the way clearing a path for the bar to move through the block of wood.

If I were preparing a chain saw to go against cloth wearing animals, I would change the angle of the cutting blades to simply be straight cutting. There is no need to move stuff out of the way of the bar. Now, I have so many small knives moving through cloth and flesh which would be far more "self clearing" meaning far less likely to grab the clothing and clog up.

Finally, there are "carbide tipped chains" for chain saws which are used by fire departments to cut through reinforced walls.

The usefulness depends on how many monsters one would have to face in a short amount of time. If the protagonist has time to stop and rip out the clog, they can use it for long enough to empty the gas tank.

Edit: When I look at my chainsaw chain, it has a blade, then two humps before another blade. I believe those two humps are to help move chips out of the way. But those humps might be what catches clothing and pulls it into the gearing. Changing the chain so that it only has blades may make a big difference in catching on the clothing.

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For this answer I will assume a standard chainsaw, i.e. not one used in the logging industry, although the answer could still be valid in case of the latter.

  • I can imagine the maximum lies roughly around the height of the chain.

    Chains on standard chainsaws are naturally slightly loose. The problem with cloth and other 'fibred structures' is that these will easily get drawn along by the hooks if the saw only catches them, but doesn't cut them (I'm not sure what the ratio of fibres caught vs fibres severed is, but I believe it is substantial enough to merit this answer).
    Especially when a chainsaw is used to attack moving targets, cutting them at various angles with varying amounts of force, a mass of cloth of sufficient rigidity might reach beyond the chain itself, and force the chain off of the bar, resulting in what we in the timber business call "a problem".

  • The amount of layers also might make a difference. With many layers there is the additional problem that they likely have different kinds of stiffness, of fibre length, strength, and elasticity, posing a structurally difficult mass to tear apart.

  • And then there is chainsaw safety clothing which is made to jam chainsaws, so the type of material also matters for an accurate answer.

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