How many sharpenings do you get from your chainsaw chain?

[Dave Schell]

I just picked up a chain I dropped off at my local neighborhood hardware store for a sharpening and half of each tooth is ground away! This was a relatively new chain that I had only hand sharpened before so most of the tooth was there when I dropped it off. At this rate, I don't think I could get another "professional" sharpening out of this chain.

Or is the case that the first professional sharpening of a chain takes away most of the tooth and subsequent ones take away much less? Or did someone at the hardware store not know how to operate their sharpener?

[Bob Espy]

You need to speak with the owner. I think he had a part timer sharpen your chain. I hand sharpen around 4 or 5 times then take it to town. The chains usually last at leat five sharpenings by a pro, (10 cords of wood or more).

[Dave Schell]

Here are some pics of what I am talking about. Notice also that some of the teeth are longer than other ones now. The chain just looks really messed up. This is a Stihl chain so not a cheap item either.

[Ryan Baker]

Nothing professional about that sharpening. Probably some kid in the back room having fun making sparks with the grinder. There's no reason to take a large amount off, and even less reason for uneven sharpening.

It's a little hard to tell from the pictures, but they don't even look like they were cut at the right angle, or that the depth gauges were lowered.

I'd have some words for the store owner. There might be enough left to salvage the chain, with the life shortened prematurely. Otherwise, just replace it and stay away from that store. It probably cuts like crap the way it is now.

[Jake Helmboldt]

Dave, unless you had rocked out a bunch of teeth, all they should have done was taken off just enough to get a consistent tooth length during the sharpening, but it looks like, as you point out, that the length of the teeth isn't even consistent.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

Wow. I'd take the chain back and complain. They could have swapped your chain. There is no reason your chain should not look almost like you dropped it off. Very little metal should be taken off if they properly sharpen it with a jig.

Did you bring chains there before or is this a beginner shop? My 5 year old could do that.

Find a new chain sharpening place.....

[Bernie Weishapl]

Like the others said you need more than that. I sharpen my own with a jig bought from Baileys. I haven't taken one to a pro yet.

[Allen Neighbors]

I've got one chain that I've sharpened at least 6 times. I sharpen freehand with my Dremel, using Stihl stones. My chain still has a lot of life left in it.
If I were you, as has been previously suggested, I'd have a chat with the owner. That shouldn't happen to a chain.

[Chuck Jones]

I agree with what everyone has already said except I never, repeat never, have my chains sharpened on a powered sharpener. I use my chainsaws constantly on the farm, with my disaster response team, and with my portable sawmill/toy.

Sharpening a chain is like a lot of the tasks we all encounter in woodworking, woodturning etc. We dread the heck out of tackling and learning how to do it until one day we suck it up and learn how to do it. Then we realize how simple it is. I use the appropriate sized file and the simplest handle I can find/make. Stick the smooth section on the end of the file into the tooth to line it up. Most teeth have a mark indicating the angle, if not use your judgment by feeling the original bevel. Slide the file slowly and smoothly forward (away from you, never pull it back through the tooth). Doesn't take as much pressure as you would think either. Kinda press the file into the arc of the tooth. Repeat about three times for each tooth; maybe a few more if the chain is really dull. It's that simple!

If you are lucky enough to stay out of barb wire and nails the chain may last long enough that you eventually will want to hit the depth gauges a lick or two with a flat file. I just don't pay much attention to the depth gauge unless I become aware the saw isn't "feeding" into the wood like it should. I threw those darned little guides away a long time ago. Just hit it a couple light strokes with the flat file.

Sharpening the chain on my larger saw takes about 10-15 minutes and I can do it anywhere... on a stump, truck tailgate, or whatever.

[Jeff Nicol]

The chain itself looks like it has been through a war! What kind of wood had you been cutting with it prior to the sharpening? It almost looks like your chain oiler is not working correctly. The teeth look burnt and that would be from the grinder or the blade got to dull and was used a little too long before it was sharpened. I have never taken a chain to a shop to get it sharpened, I use a good file and touch the chain up when it needs to be sharpened. If for some reason one of the teeth on the chain was bunged up they would start with that tooth and grind all the rest to that one, that may be why so much was taken off. One little rock or hunk of wire and it takes a bit to get the chain back to cutting correct again. So Make sure that there are no bad teeth when you take them in and if you hand sharpen them use a jig to maintain the correct angles. I have been doing it by hand for 30 years and it is just natural muscle memory for me, but don't let the chains get to dull before you sharpen them as that is the next worst thing to hitting dirt, sand, rocks and wire.

There is a learning curve for everything,

Jeff

[Mike Lipke]

Tell me if when you sharpen a gouge, if you grind away half of the tool.
That's what they did to your chain.

All they needed to do was put an edge on each tooth.
Can you say "hosed".

Never take your chain there again if they don't give you a new one. That would be the right thing to do. The only right thing.

[Denny Rice]

That chain is pitiful looking.....I hope you didn't take a chain that looked anything like that to try to have it sharpened. That chain looks like you tried to cut a 2 ton boulder in half with it. I use to have a job a long time ago where I maintained park dept. equipment including large tractors, weed-eaters and chain saws. I use to very often question the abilities of the workers that used the chainsaws I maintained as I seen some pretty bad stuff come back to me for repair, but that chain has to rank "up there" with the "TOP 10" of the worst chains I have ever seen. Is there any teeth left on that chain? If that chain didn't look like that when you had it sharpened, take it back and demand a new chain, because who ever got their hands on that one destroyed it. Sharpening a chain saw chain is not rocket science.

[Dave Schell]

Wow - I guess that answers my question! :) This was a relatively new chain that I treated with kid gloves. I never hit any rocks or dirt with it - the only sawing I did with it was maple logs sitting atop two oak logs (to keep the maple off the ground while sawing blanks). I hand sharpened frequently (but about 10 x) with a file per the Stihl instruction video. My hand sharpening was working great for a while and I was thinking "I've finally learned how to sharpen a chain correctly" Then a week ago I sharpened and it didn't cut well so I took it in. I was thinking the depth gauges actually needed adjusting.

The burning on the teeth is from the sharpening they did. When the kid working at the store first gave me back the chain, he looked at it said "wait, this hasn't been sharpened yet." Then we looked closer and it had been - it just looked all beat up. It was a Sunday when I picked it up, so none of the service people were there.

Also, I took the chain to this store specifically because they are an authorized Stihl dealership - they also have a big service dept where they service all types of commercial lawn and maintenance equipment. They are in a small rural town, but it is a good-sized operation.

Thanks for all of the comments - I'll take the chain back and see what they say.

[Dick Strauss]

Dave,
It's a good thing they are a Stihl dealer...they shouldn't mind making you up a new chain at no charge to replace the one they damaged.

[Matt Ranum]

When they replace your chain, go get yourself one of these. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93213

Be the best $40 bucks you ever spent. Been using one for years with no issues. Set it up to just graze the tooth and those chains will last for eons.

[Dave Schell]

I just got back from the store where I had the chain sharpened. They fought me tooth and nail for about 10 minutes. During that time, they brought 3 guys to the battle but in the end they finally gave in and gave me a new chain. I think they didn't know what else to do with me because I just sat there calmly, but really refusing to consent or leave. I also did mention I posted pictures online and the consensus was that "they butchered it." :)

They never really conceded any fault. They said they use a Stihl sharpener, it's preset, and it just takes that much off the tooth to get the grinder in there. One fellow thought that maybe one of the teeth was really bad and the guy sharpening had to grind all the rest back to match (I doubt it).

Not really sure where to take the chain again if I do need a sharpening. Like I said in a previous post, this place is an authorized Stihl dealer and a relatively large commercial power equipment service center. Maybe I should ask to supervise next time to see exactly how much is going to be ground away before having it done.

My next trip to HF I'll take a closer look at their sharpeners. Thanks for all the great advice here!

[Ryan Baker]

The argument that they ground them all down to match doesn't hold water since they aren't colse to matching now. They also aren't cut to the right shape now.

Perhaps you should send your pictures to Stihl along with your dealer's assertion that this is a properly sharpened chain. There are definitely some dealers out there that are not up to snuff despite being authorized dealers.

[Roger Bell]

Chuck pretty well nailed it.

Learn to sharpen yourself. If you can do a better job first time around than the putz you paid to botch the last job, you are already coming out ahead.

Since you have the wherewithal to engage in woodworking, it is self evident that you have what it takes to hand file your own chains. Moreover, I really don't think you need a guide. If you can sharpen a chisel or lathe tool freehand without a guide, a saw chain is even easier. It really is. You don't send your skew chisels out now, do you? And why not?

I also recommend owning several chains. If you rock a chain you can always stop, put on a fresh chain and continue with the work. After you get a few chains dull, then you can then sharpen them all in a single focused session. Like anything any other cutting edge, a dull chain will not perform. So don't depend on a single chain to meet your needs.