So does a chainsaw. But it gets the job done quickly and with a minimum of fuss. Eye candy is fine of you put form over function, personally I prefer fast and effective. Pretty is optional.
Foresters do and they would really be insulted if you made their main tool set look 'pretty' just for the sake of it. It's a tool, it needs to be reliable, powerful, easy to service and safe.
There are lots of chainsaws that look prettier than Husqvarna's and Stihl and yet those are the ones that most professionals will use.
They don't look at their chainsaws all day, they look at the trees they are chopping down. I don't look at the keyboard I'm typing on all day, I look at the editor/code.
So if the trees aren't pretty the foresters would bitch?
Really, you are putting way too much effort into this argument. I learned how to program on 40x25 and consider what I have today an incredible luxury, if you want you can customize Leo to look better but to me it isn't worth the time, I would rather spend that time on my work.
I don’t think it has to be quite that black and white. It doesn’t have to have “eye candy” and it also doesn’t have to look like a 1998 Delphi project. Strive for the gray area and if that is not achievable... then yes, function over form.
Feel free to use the extensive settings Leo has to customize it to your taste. Personally I prefer 'minimal' but I'm sure that if you work hard at it you can make it look pretty enough to suite you.
They're pretty versatile too if you are good with them. You can easily sculpt wood with them and as long as you keep them sharp they are reasonably safe but you really should always wear ballistic clothing and a helmet.
Yep chainsaws are a very creative tool, as well as sculpture there's an amazing array of different notches and joins used for assembling log-built structures with little if any fastening hardware. And a well-tuned gang of climbers dropping a big tree, swinging from limb to limb with saws dangling from their waist, is a sight to behold.
I would put glasses, ear defenders, gloves and boots higher on that safety gear list, when cutting firewood, doing minor pruning and lopping etc.. Wear a helmet when doing anything bigger, although wood is very dense and you shouldn't expect a helmet to save you if a decent size limb comes your way. Technique is everything - learn from an expert before trying it yourself.
Chain sharpening is a mystical, ancient art, all the experts I talk to have a different view on the right technique, ranging from bench grinders to intricate jigs to simple "file and feel". I've tried them all and it basically comes down to experience. Just as important is the even wear of the bar itself, once its worn more on one side than the other the cuts bend like bananas and you can only cut so deep before the saw gets no purchase on the wood at all.
I think chainsaws are as pretty as IDEs - which maybe isn't saying much, but I love 'em both anyway...
> Joseph Buford Cox invented what is now known as the chipper type chain for chain saws. He based his design on the C-shaped jaws of the larva of the timber beetle.
> He only reached the fifth grade in his formal education.
