I use only handsaws. I enjoy the sound of a handsaw sawing through the fiber, the quietness of a handsaw, the feel of sawing through the tree, and the safety advantages of a handsaw over a chainsaw.
As for the time to take down trees of size ... well I also enjoy the great outdoors and mother nature. Some of the pines were of height that kept falling into the pond no matter how much of a wedge I removed simply because 3/4 of the branches were growing toward the water and sunlight (over the pond), so I end up climbing the pines and sawing through the top quarter or third and felling that to the land instead of the pond, work my down another section and felling that to the land, etc.
Recently a rafter of turkeys came through, kicking up the leaves foraging for food when I was hanging 40' in a pine. So I stopped hand sawing and watched for 35 minutes then got back at it. They would have never approached had I used a chainsaw (noise factor).
