Talk:Stihl

RFV discussion: November 2011–March 2012

The following discussion has been moved from Wiktionary:Requests for verification (permalink).

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Stihl saw

Nominating my own creation (fair's fair). I think this is actually a branded product, I first though it was an eponym, that is named after the person who invented it, but I think it's actually a specific grinder made by Stilh (which may be valid as a surname) which is a company. Mglovesfun (talk) 22:49, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

Shouldn't it by Stihl, not Stilh.--Dmol 11:28, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Ok done. Mglovesfun (talk) 11:35, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Stihl makes chainsaws, among other equipment (just as do Husqvarna, Homelite, Craftsman and many other manufacturers). Originally, Stihl chainsaws ran on gasoline, but in recent years all the manufacturers have come out with electric models (plug-in) as well as cordless ones that have rechargeable batteries. So, a Stihl saw is not just a cordless chainsaw, it is any type of chainsaw made by Stihl. —Stephen ^(Talk) 11:42, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

There may have been a time after w:Stihl developed the gasoline-powered chainsaw in 1926 when all chainsaws were sometimes called Stihl saws. World War II probably put an end to that in the English-speaking world. DCDuring TALK 18:17, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

I found no support for the above conjecture. DCDuring TALK 00:31, 1 December 2011 (UTC)

In current usage, this is just Stihl (a brand name) + saw. I don't know about earlier. — lexicógrafa | háblame — 18:20, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

From the debate, verifiable or not, this seems to be SoP like MacDonald's burger so if it somehow gets cited, it should go straight to RFD. Mglovesfun (talk) 16:27, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

When I was in AmeriCorps (many years ago), we regularly used Stihl chainsaws, and everyone just called them Stihls. There are a few examples in literature:

• 2011, Raeanne Thayne, Blackberry Summer, p. 156:

  “It's been a few years, but I'm sure I can remember how to fire up the Stihl.” Her eyes widened with surprise. “You're far too busy, Riley. You don't have time to be cleaning up my yard.

• 2004, David Guterson, Our Lady of the Forest, p. 105:

  Appelbaum had described an hour-long program to unfold in something called the Old Forest Fire Pit with tourists seated on split-log benches under a cedar-shake faux-mossy roof while Pete Schein showed them how to sharpen a Stihl or fell a tree using the dutchman. The tree would be held together with hinge pins, and Stihl would be advertising.

• 1996, Rick Just, Keeping Private Idaho, p. 214:

  He stood there for a moment staring at the scene up river, then he shuffled around like some mechanical thing and stared at the tools hung over his workbench. He saw a line of screwdrivers stuck in pegboard, saws and clamps hung from hooks, the painted outline of a missing hammer, and pliers in their proper place. His favorite Stihl was sitting on the work top. Beneath the bench was the big McCulloch, just gathering dust.

In some of these, it is possible to surmise from reading the surrounding text more broadly that a Stihl is a kind of sawing device, although not necessarily a chainsaw. There are also a few references to caps bearing the Stihl logo as symbolizing the certain kind of person who would wear a cap bearing the logo of a chainsaw manufacturer:

• 2009, Alex Stone, Hauling Checks, p. 35:

  I knew he was a lumberjack because he was wearing a Stihl hat and a red flannel shirt.

• 2005, Thomas Sparrow, Northwoods Standoff, p. 259:

  "Sure you would, Peter," said the taller of the two, smirking and tugging on the greasy rounded brim of his Stihl cap.

• 2004, Ana Maria Spagna, Now go home: wilderness, belonging, and the crosscut saw, p. :

  At what point can you bury the fact that you drove west in the sixties and traded your VW van for a can of Copenhagen and a Stihl ball cap?

I think that this collectively demonstrates that a certain culture exists within which "Stihl" is understood to mean a chainsaw, and would move this entry to Stihl. Of course, the word is also a surname, and should also get surname treatment. Cheers! bd2412 T 19:21, 18 January 2012 (UTC)

Moved per (my understanding of) this discussion. - -sche (discuss) 07:25, 25 March 2012 (UTC)