Forest harvesters were developed mainly in Sweden and Finland and today do almost all of the commercial cutting in these countries. The PIKA model 75, the first fully mobile timber "harvester", was introduced in 1973 [1] by Finnish systems engineer Sakari Pinomäki and his company PIKA Forest Machines. The first single-clutch harvester head was introduced in the early 1980s by the Swedish company SP Maskiner. Their use has become widespread throughout the rest of Northern Europe, particularly in the harvesting of plantation forests.

Before modern combines were developed in Finland and Sweden, two inventors from Texas developed a raw crawler unit in the USA called The Mammoth Tree Shears that cuts trees up to 0.76 meters (30 inches) in diameter from the base. After cutting the tree, the operator can use their controls to make the tree fall to the right or left. Unlike a combine harvester, it didn't cut the tree after it was cut

Combine harvesters are used effectively on flat to moderately steep terrain to clear forest areas. For very steep slopes or for removing individual trees, people working with chainsaws are still preferred in some countries. In northern Europe, small and maneuverable combines are used for thinning operations, while hand cutting is typically only used in extreme conditions where tree size exceeds the capacity of the combine head or by small woodshed owners.

The intended principle in mechanized logging is "no feet on the forest floor" and the combine and forwarder allow this to be accomplished. Keeping people in the machine's cab provides a safer and more comfortable working environment for industrial-scale recording.

Combines are built on a solid all-terrain vehicle on a wheeled, tracked or walking excavator. The vehicle can be articulated to provide tight turning around obstacles. A diesel engine vehicle provides power to both the harvesting arrangement via hydraulic drive. An expandable, articulated boom, similar to that on an excavator, extends from the vehicle to carry the combine head. Some combines are adaptations of excavators with a new combine head, while others are purpose-built vehicles.

"Combi" machines are available that combine the felling capability of a combine with the load carrying capability of a hauler, allowing a single operator and machine to fell, process and transport trees. These new types of vehicles can only compete in short-range operations to landing.