Mark...

Thank you for your reply.

You're saying something similar to what I've suspected...that a smaller saw is not necessarily less useful. Is the 8-1/2" your largest circular saw?

I'd expect the kerf of the circular saw to be much smaller than the kerf of the electric chain saw. What technique are you using when finishing a cut deeper than the 8-1/2" can handle?

Do you see and significant safety issues for a novice with respect to saw size? One side of my brain is intiminated by the size of a 16" saw and says "bigger means more dangerous". Well, maybe intimidated is the wrong word...perhaps "respect" at the very least. The othe side of my brain says "more powerful, more likely to continue cutting rather than binding up and kicking back". When plunge cutting with the litte 2-1/2 cordless Makita, I've had a few kickbacks (no harm done). My sense is that it's low weight makes for precious little inertia to absorb the forces that cause kickback to occur. An I even close with this line of thinking?

Joel