Operation Manual
36
English / USA
MS 361 C
The saw chain must always throw off a 
small amount of oil.
Never operate your saw without 
chain lubrication. If the chain runs 
dry, the whole cutting attachment 
will be irretrievably damaged within 
a very short time. 
Always check chain lubrication and 
oil level in tank before starting work.
Every new chain has to be broken in for 
about 2 to 3 minutes.
After breaking in chain, check chain 
tension and adjust if necessary – see 
“Checking Chain Tension”.
The chain brake system on your saw 
has two functions:
: Standard STIHL chain brake and 
: STIHL rear-handle-activated 
secondary braking system
The standard STIHL chain brake utilizes 
the front hand guard as the activating 
mechanism and is designed to stop the 
chain within fractions of a second. The 
secondary braking system, on the other 
hand, is designed to stop chain rotation 
within a second of you completely letting 
go of the rear handle.
To reduce the risk of personal injury or 
property damage during cutting, 
observe the characteristics that make 
this saw different from saws not 
equipped with a rear-handle-activated 
brake. Before operating the chainsaw for 
the first time, make sure you are familiar 
with how secondary braking system 
works. See chapter "Starting/Stopping 
the Engine".
Secondary chain brake activated 
by throttle trigger interlock
: When you let go of the rear handle, 
including the throttle trigger 
interlock lever.
Disengaging the secondary chain 
brake
: Press down the throttle trigger 
interlock lever. This releases the 
clutch drum and allows the chain to 
rotate.
Checking Chain Lubrication
143BA024 KN
Chain Brake 










