Chainsaw: How to Get It, and Why It Is Not Actually the Fastest Axe
The exact Chainsaw crafting recipe, where it drops, where each material comes from, and the comparison most guides skip: the Strong Axe fells a tree in one hit while the Chainsaw needs two — so the Chainsaw is about automation and craftability, not raw speed.
The Chainsaw is the axe everybody wants and almost nobody understands. It is loud, it is fully automatic, and every guide calls it the best woodcutting tool in 99 Nights in the Forest.
That last part is only half true, and knowing which half matters will save you a lot of Cultist Gems.
Last verified: 2026-09-29. For the wood economy this slots into, see How to Get Wood Fast.
What the Chainsaw Actually Does
The Chainsaw is a fully automatic axe: hold the attack button and it keeps cutting. No repeated clicking, no waiting for a swing animation between trees.
Beyond that, it is an average axe with a bad weapon attached to it. It deals low damage with short range, and it is genuinely bad in a fight — this is a logging tool that happens to be able to hit things, not a carry weapon. If you want something to kill enemies with, see Best Weapons.
The Comparison Nobody Makes
Here is the number that reframes the whole decision:
| Axe | Hits per normal tree | Hits per large tree |
|---|---|---|
| Old Axe | 13 | — |
| Good Axe | 5 | — |
| Ice Axe | 5 | — |
| Strong Axe | 1 | 35 |
| Chainsaw | 2 | 38 |
The Strong Axe fells a tree in one hit. The Chainsaw takes two. On large trees it is 35 versus 38.
So if "most efficient" means fewest hits per tree, the Chainsaw loses to the Strong Axe on both counts.
That does not make the Chainsaw bad. It means the reason to want one is different from the reason usually given:
It is automatic. Hundreds of trees per run — pressing a button once instead of clicking a thousand times is the real appeal, and it is a real one.
It is craftable on demand. The Strong Axe depends on reaching the Pelt Trader's fourth trade or getting lucky in a Gold or Legendary chest. The Chainsaw has a fixed recipe you can work toward. Deterministic beats luck when you are planning a run.
If you already have a Strong Axe and do not mind clicking, the Chainsaw is a sidegrade, not an upgrade. If you hate the grind of repeated swings, or you cannot get a Strong Axe to drop, it is absolutely worth building.
How to Get It: Two Ways
From a Ruby Chest. The Chainsaw can appear as loot in a Ruby Chest. These turn up deep in the forest and in the Cultist Stronghold's prize room, which is the most repeatable source of them in the game.
Craft it at the Tool Workshop. This is the reliable route, and probably why you are reading this page.
The Crafting Recipe
| Material | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Cultist Gem | 4 |
| Bear Pelt | 4 |
| Alpha Wolf Pelt | 2 |
| Bunny Foot | 6 |
| Scrap | 10 |
The Workshop — also called the Tool Workshop or Anvil Building — is the large stone-brick structure marked with an anvil icon. Guarding cultists need clearing first, and the anvil itself is assembled from parts on different floors.
Where Each Material Comes From
This recipe is expensive in a specific way: it wants the top three tiers of pelt and a raid-only gem at the same time. Plan for that.
Cultist Gem ×4 — dropped by the last cultist killed in a raid or a cleared location. Raids start on day four and repeat roughly every four nights, so this is farmable if you defend the camp instead of running from it. See Cultist Stronghold for the most controllable source.
Bear Pelt ×4 — bears, the top-tier pelt. They guard the caves for Squid Kid and Koala Kid, so rescue runs double as pelt runs. See Missing Kids Locations.
Alpha Wolf Pelt ×2 — alpha wolves, second tier. Five of them guard Kraken Kid, which makes that cave an efficient trip for this material.
Bunny Foot ×6 — rabbits, the lowest-tier trade item and the easiest of the five to gather.
Scrap ×10 — loot metallic junk (old tools, sheet metal, broken appliances) from sheds, garages, barns, and ruined cabins. The tier-5 Recycler can also convert a spare Forest Gem into Scrap if you have one to spare.
The pelts are the bottleneck. Everything else you accumulate by playing; four bears is a deliberate hunting trip.
The Axe Trim Kit
The Chainsaw can be upgraded with an Axe Trim Kit (8 Meteor Shard, 3 Gold Shard), which takes large trees from 38 hits down to 35 — matching the Strong Axe's base number.
The Chainsaw does not sit on the normal upgrade ladder. The Old Axe, Good Axe and Strong Axe follow a standard progression; the Chainsaw and the Ice Axe are the two that sit outside it.
Is It Worth Building?
Yes, if you cannot get a Strong Axe to drop, or you cut enough wood that the repeated clicking genuinely bothers you, or you want a goal you can work toward deterministically.
No, if you already have a Strong Axe and were told the Chainsaw is strictly better. It is not — it is one hit slower per tree.
Either way, do not use it as a weapon. Low damage, short range, and you will lose the fight you picked.
Where Sources Disagree
Does it need fuel? Several guides claim the Chainsaw runs on Gasoline or Biofuel, with detailed fuel tanks, capacities and even fuel upgrades. We do not believe this, and here is why: the sources that claim it also make claims that are demonstrably wrong — one says the Chainsaw cannot be crafted at all and is found in a locked cabin, another says a "Lumberjack boss" drops it after night 50. The structured wikis that agree precisely on the recipe and the hit counts say nothing about fuel, including dedicated Chainsaw guides. We are flagging rather than repeating it. If your Chainsaw does turn out to need fuel, that is the part of this page that is wrong.
Bunny Foot in the recipe. Three sources list 6 Bunny Feet; two omit it entirely. Every source agrees on the other four materials. We have included it as the majority reading, but budget for the possibility that you will not need it.
Which chest drops it. Most sources say Ruby Chest. One says Strong Chest, which is a notably lower tier. Ruby Chest is the safer expectation.
Hits per large tree. Two sources say 38; one says 25+. We have used 38 as the majority figure.
FAQ
How do you get the Chainsaw in 99 Nights in the Forest? Craft it at the Tool Workshop, or find it in a Ruby Chest. The craft is the reliable route.
What is the Chainsaw crafting recipe? 4 Cultist Gem, 4 Bear Pelt, 2 Alpha Wolf Pelt, 6 Bunny Foot and 10 Scrap. See above for the disagreement over Bunny Foot.
Is the Chainsaw better than the Strong Axe? Not for speed — the Strong Axe takes one hit per tree and the Chainsaw takes two. The Chainsaw wins on automation and on being craftable rather than luck-dependent.
Can you use the Chainsaw as a weapon? Technically yes, practically no. Low damage and short range.
Does the Chainsaw need fuel? We do not think so. See "Where Sources Disagree" above.
Related Pages
- How to Get Wood Fast — the sapling loop this tool feeds
- Cultist Stronghold — the repeatable source of Ruby Chests and Cultist Gems
- Missing Kids Locations — where the bear and alpha wolf pelts come from
- Best Weapons — what to actually fight with
- Best Base Design — what all that wood is for
Keep Reading
How to Get the Rifle in 99 Nights in the Forest
Every way to get the Rifle: the Gunsmith Shed, Iron and Legendary Chests, and the Pelt Trader's third trade. Plus what it actually does for damage, and how it compares to the Revolver.
How to Get the Tactical Shotgun in 99 Nights in the Forest
Where the Tactical Shotgun comes from (Ruby Chests in the Cultist Stronghold, or a Workshop recipe), its real stats (8 pellets, up to 150 close-range damage, 3-shell mag), how to manage its rare ammo, and when it beats the Rifle.
Best Weapons in 99 Nights in the Forest
Which weapons are worth carrying: the consensus top tier across published tier lists, the only damage numbers anyone has published, where each weapon actually drops, and the early-game ladder that gets you there.