Burnham
Woods walker
In another thread elsewhere on the site I lamented my increasing difficulty at times starting my 064. Due mostly to arthritic hands and decreased hand strength coupled with the lack of compression release on an 85cc saw. I have my bad days and my better days. The kickback can hurt, besides just having a hard time getting the beast to start 
.
Anyway, I recalled that @Al Smith long ago recommended replacing standard T shaped handles with large D shaped ones in similar situations. Better grip using all fingers and opposing thumb rather than just three fingers.
I ordered a pair of Stihl OEM D handles from an Ebay supplier. Cost about $10 each including shipping. The best price per came as a two pack, so I decided to put one on the 044 as well. No comp release there either, and it can give me some trouble too, though usually much less than the 064.
The Stihl ElastoStart handles are a non-serviceable part...if the cord wears out you have to replace the whole handle and cord assembly. I decided to remove the ElastoStart handle/cord complete and save them for later use if need be. New pull cord, new D handles. No surprise really, but I found that the 064 uses a larger diameter cord than the 044. Easy job on both.
I'm happy with these handles. I will report back after some more experience with actually using them.
Pics. The last one shows the big difference in size and grip area.
.Anyway, I recalled that @Al Smith long ago recommended replacing standard T shaped handles with large D shaped ones in similar situations. Better grip using all fingers and opposing thumb rather than just three fingers.
I ordered a pair of Stihl OEM D handles from an Ebay supplier. Cost about $10 each including shipping. The best price per came as a two pack, so I decided to put one on the 044 as well. No comp release there either, and it can give me some trouble too, though usually much less than the 064.
The Stihl ElastoStart handles are a non-serviceable part...if the cord wears out you have to replace the whole handle and cord assembly. I decided to remove the ElastoStart handle/cord complete and save them for later use if need be. New pull cord, new D handles. No surprise really, but I found that the 064 uses a larger diameter cord than the 044. Easy job on both.
I'm happy with these handles. I will report back after some more experience with actually using them.
Pics. The last one shows the big difference in size and grip area.
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