Oregon CS1500 Self-Sharpening vs Black+Decker CS1518
Tinted cells mark the better figure on that row alone: more engine, longer bar, lighter, cheaper. A lighter weight is only a win on the same basis.
What owners like and complain about
Oregon CS1500 Self-Sharpening
- PowerSharp on-tool sharpening is unique and genuinely works
- 15-amp motor handles real firewood, not just pruning
- Instant trigger start and zero engine maintenance
- Oregon's bar-and-chain expertise shows in cut quality
- Quiet enough for any neighborhood, any hour
- Proprietary PowerSharp chains and stones cost more than standard loops
- Lever sharpening consumes chain life faster than careful filing
- 12.6 lb is heavy for a corded saw
- Extension-cord leash — 100 ft of 12-gauge is the practical limit
Black+Decker CS1518
- Longest bar in the sub-$100 corded class
- Standard 3/8 LP / .050 chain — any shop has the loop, unlike the .043 chains on B+D's battery saws
- Automatic oiler and tool-free tensioning, both unusual at this price
- Nothing to winterize, no fuel to stale, no battery to degrade
- Sold direct by B+D, so warranty service does not route through a third-party retailer
- 15.7 lb listed is the heaviest of the three big 15A corded saws, and B+D does not say what the number includes
- 18 inches of bar on a 15A motor is reach, not capacity — it bogs in anything much over a foot
- All-plastic housing and bar studs; the repair path is replacement
- Corded range is whatever your 12-gauge extension cord allows
- B+D publishes no chain pitch or gauge on the product page — the spec above comes from the OEM loop