Dolmar chainsaw history: dated facts from a 1941 advertisement and Norwegian and Swedish museum catalogue records
Dated facts about Dolmar chainsaws from 1938 to 1980, drawn from a 1941 Norwegian farm paper advertisement and eight museum catalogue records in Norway and Sweden.
Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.
This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. It sets museum catalogue records beside one advertisement, and nothing here ranks one maker against another. The advertisement is the seller's own claim, so its figures are attributed to it. The Norwegian texts are in Norwegian: the wording here is our own summary of them.
Dated facts
| Date | What the source says |
|---|---|
| 1938 | A Norwegian forestry museum record catalogues the engine of a two-man saw from the German Dolmar factory, named "Dolmar C", made by Dolmar Maschinen-Fabrik at Altona-Bahrenfeld in 1938. The bar and the muffler are missing. The saw has two handles behind the engine and a spark plug on top of it. Source: DigitaltMuseum record SJF.14798. |
| 1938 | A second record from the same museum catalogues a presumed muffler for the Dolmar C engine, made by the same firm in the same year. It describes a build of two cone-shaped metal cylinders, with a welded-on flanged collar for screwing to the cylinder and a bent metal pipe on one side. Source: DigitaltMuseum record SJF.14799. |
| 1941 | A full-page advertisement for Dolmar on the back of the farm paper Norges Bondeblad, number 2 of 1941, is catalogued with its text. The advertisement calls it a petrol-engined fast saw for felling, crosscutting and splitting, and claims the figures below. Source: DigitaltMuseum record SJF-F.007817. |
| 1941 advertisement claims | The advertisement states cutting times of 18 seconds for a 50 cm trunk, 46 seconds for 65 cm and 65 seconds for 80 cm. It states a weight of 40 kg, an 8 hp motor, and 2 litres of petrol per working hour. It also claims a fully enclosed build, a built-in centrifugal governor, a chain that engages when the throttle opens and disengages when it closes, an automatic chain oil pump, and a bar that can be set at any angle. The record says the advertisement was placed by an Oslo hardware firm. Source: the same record, SJF-F.007817. |
| Not dated | A Swedish museum record catalogues a two-man motor hand saw named "Dolmar C", with accessories in a box, incomplete. The record gives no year. Source: DigitaltMuseum record AM.075561. |
| Not dated | A Norwegian museum record describes a two-man Dolmar saw with two handles behind the engine, one with a rubber sleeve and one coated in tar, and two more handles at the bar tip. The petrol tank has a green paint that has weathered badly. The record gives the maker as Dolmar Maschinen-Fabrik, Altona-Bahrenfeld, and no year. Source: DigitaltMuseum record SJF.06308. |
| 1976 | A Norwegian museum record for a saw made in Hamburg, Germany, is named "JO-BU SL 35B/Dolmar Hobby 104" and is dated 1976. Source: DigitaltMuseum record HFN 13770. |
| 1976 to 1980 | Another Hamburg record is named "JO-BU SL3 / Dolmar Hobby" and gives 1976 to 1980. Source: DigitaltMuseum record HFN 13761. |
| 1978 | A third Hamburg record is named "Sachs Dolmar Hobby" and is dated 1978. Source: DigitaltMuseum record HFN 13769. |
| Not dated | A Norwegian museum record describes a "Sachs-Dolmar 100" as a semi-professional saw with a left hand guard and a chain brake. It lists a 33 cm3 cylinder, a weight of 4.1 kg, a 0.4 litre petrol tank, electronic ignition and an automatic oil pump, from a note that came with the saw and other sources. It says rubber elements damp the vibration from the engine and chain. It gives no year. Source: DigitaltMuseum record SJF.13994. |
The Hamburg records name the same JO-BU SL3 model that a Louisiana saw maker's museum record also carries: that second record is on the page about Poulan chainsaw history. The brake and vibration features listed on the Sachs-Dolmar record are set out by regulators on the page about chainsaw kickback and chain brakes.
To correct or remove an entry, write to the address at the foot of this page.
Sources
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record SJF.14798 Motorsag Dolmar C, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record SJF.14799 Eksospotte Dolmar C, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum record SJF-F.007817 Dolmar advertisement in Norges Bondeblad number 2, 1941, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Swedish museum catalogue record AM.075561 Motorhandsag Dolmar, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record SJF.06308 Motorsag Dolmar, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record HFN 13770 Motorsag JO-BU SL 35B Dolmar Hobby 104, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record HFN 13761 Motorsag JO-BU SL3 Dolmar Hobby, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record HFN 13769 Motorsag Sachs Dolmar Hobby, read October 9, 2026
- DigitaltMuseum, Norwegian museum catalogue record SJF.13994 Motorsag Sachs-Dolmar 100, read October 9, 2026