OCFA Chainsaw Familiarization Practice Test

Pushback, known as kickback, happens when the chain’s upper portion at the bar’s nose suddenly stops moving—typically because that part of the chain contacts a hard object or is pinched. When the top of the bar grabs and stops, the rest of the chain and the bar want to keep moving forward. The bar pivots around the stationary nose, and the momentum drives the saw back toward the operator. That abrupt reversal is why the top of the bar is the “kickback zone” and why the saw can suddenly jump back if the nose of the bar binds or hits something hard. This is why the described condition fits: the chain on the top of the bar stops suddenly, causing the saw to be pushed back toward you. Other scenarios—like the bottom part stopping and pulling you into the wood, or the engine stalling, or simply the bar striking wood—don’t produce that same rapid, backward surge toward the operator.