I need advice, How to sharpen Chainsaw Blades?

[Tim Boger]

I've done a bit of research regarding the various techniques and different tools available to sharpen the blades from my new chainsaw. In recent days I've used my dremel tool with the appropriate bit and have experienced mixed results ..... the new Husqvarna blades don't seem to sharpen as well as did the Oregon blades I have used in my old Poulan saw.

Oregon brand make an electric sharpener that has pretty good reviews, the one I saw was in the $185 range .... bit pricey for me, but within reach if it's the recommended choice.

What do you folks suggest?

Thanks,
Tim

[Roger Chandler]

I have one of these and it does a superior job......apprx. $350 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RFCl6u6vL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

also have one of these ..........it does a fine job as well.......$29 on sale at Harbor Freight with a coupon

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/160x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_13983.jpgeither is much better and faster and more accurate than filing by hand.........I'm just sayin' ...:D;)

[Tim Boger]

I have one of these and it does a superior job......apprx. $350 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41RFCl6u6vL._SL500_AA300_.jpg

also have one of these ..........it does a fine job as well.......$29 on sale at Harbor Freight with a coupon

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/small_image/160x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_13983.jpgeither is much better and faster and more accurate than filing by hand.........I'm just sayin' ...:D;)

Hey Roger,

I have read good and bad about the HF sharpener, actually put my hands on one in their store and was not impressed ..... it's not to bad you say.

The Oregon machine is very nice but half again what I paid for the new Husky :eek:

Thanks for the info,
Tim

[James Combs]

I use a simple chainsaw file with guide similar to this (http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Chain-File-Guide-25892/dp/B00004RA76) just before each use or if it starts cutting slow while in use. About 5 passes on each tooth and I am good to go for another session. There are angled guide lines on the file holder(guide) so that you get reasonably close to the proper angle. I paint one tooth with a magic marker and start sharpening one side with it and end when I get back to it, reverse the orientation of the saw and do the same thing for the other side. Takes no more then 5-10 minutes to do the whole chain.

[Darryl Hansen]

Oregon (I think) has one that is about $30 and runs on 12 volts. Made for use in the field but I just use a charger to power it. You do have to hold the angle that is marked but it does more than a passable job.

[Reed Gray]

It really isn't difficult to sharpen with the proper file, which is way cheaper than the fancy machine sharpeners. Mostly keep the angle constant. Most blades/teeth will have an angle guide line on them. Also, take the same number of strokes per tooth, 4 usually does it for me. You don't have to take the blade off the saw.

robo hippy

[Roger Chandler]

I like the built in accuracy of the sharpening machine........always the same on both sides of the chain.........Tim, I used the harbor freight one for two years......very good results. I had to replace the switch on it once, but I just recently gave it to my neighbor who works for the local power company, and has to cut away trees during the storms.......he had several down in that big storm recently.

I also have another HF one new in the box...........I just wanted a professional model like the saw dealers use........can't beat it, and if I want I can sharpen for others and make some $$$$ if I am ever so inclined to do so!

[Bob Bergstrom]

Check YouTube videos. There are a number of them. All you really need is the correct chainsaw file and some practice. Even if you come close it will cut a lot better than a dull one.

[Harry Robinette]

I've been useing the Dremel sharpener for about 3 years now and I do mine and a friends blades with never a complant. The big thing with this system is you MUST go slow and keep everything in alinement if you do this it works good.

[Ed Hazel]

Get a good file that fits your chain, hold the same angle same number of strokes on each tooth. After several filings take to a good sharpener and they will use an electric sharpener and get all the angles correct again. Depending on your usage you may want to have an extra chain or two. Most sharpeners will file the chain after using the grinder.

[Sam Murdoch]

I use this- it is cheap, portable (which means that you bring it wherever you go with your saw), easy to use and provides an excellent result - It is a hand file system with guides http://www.pferdusa.com/products/201b/201b01/201b0106P.html and here is another link http://www.baileysonline.com/itemdetail.asp?item=17050 Try it - you will like it!

[David Dobbs]

I am with the hand file guys !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You dont need no grinder. Do as Robo Hippy said an you will be just fine. You will take better care of the chain also. One heck of a lot cheaper also. Use a marker to mark the tooth you start on.

Maybe I am old school

[Bernie Weishapl]

I am with Reed on this one. I bought a Granberg Model #106B. Cost around $27. Nice thing is when I am out cutting in the woods it mounts on the bar and the angle has already been set. 4 strokes per tooth and I am back sawing. Haven't had to change out a chain except if I hit barbwire or nails.

[Ryan Baker]

Definitely a hand file. You can sharpen the whole chain and be back to cutting faster than you can take off the chain, set up the machine, sharpen the chain, and put it back. You can do a better job by hand too, and not burn the teeth. It's easy to keep things even. You just have to do the same number of strokes on every tooth. Keep the angles and pressures consistent. Simple. The only time you may need a grinder is if you rock a chain and need to remove a lot of material.

[Scott Hackler]

I am on both fronts. If I am going out into the timber, I have a file AND an extra freshly sharpened chain.

If I am processing logs at home, to heck with that file. I have the HF el cheapo power sharpener and it is, hands down, one of the best purchases I have ever made. I have 3 chains for my Husky and I sharpen them all at once. Takes about 10 minutes per chain, once its set up on the bench. And afterwards, they are as sharp as brand new. Plus I don't have to take them in and have them redone at the dealer.

[David Starks]

As a professional arborist, I only machine sharpen when the angles get way off and I dont have a replacement on hand, which is rather rare as I buy them 4-6 at a time. Ive got and have used the oregon 12-volt sharpener but I feel I can hand sharpen just as fast. You loose some accuracy sometimes but you wont over heat the chain doing it by hand.

I only use oregon chain as it has the witness mark on the tooth (stihl chain does too but I buy as a dealer so its cheaper). I dont know about husky chain, dont own any husky saws.

I hand sharpen everything and one thing ive learned over the 18 yrs in the business: WEAR GLOVES ON YOUR FILE HAND! Ive got too many scars to count on my index finger middle knuckle including one cut that took 3 stitches to close.

Also, make sure to pay attention to how your cutting to keep the saw out of the dirt to start with, this will make your chain last longer. I know there are hidden dangers but if possible, cut most of the way through, the roll the log and finish the bottom side.

[curtis rosche]

As a professional arborist, I only machine sharpen when the angles get way off and I dont have a replacement on hand, which is rather rare as I buy them 4-6 at a time. Ive got and have used the oregon 12-volt sharpener but I feel I can hand sharpen just as fast. You loose some accuracy sometimes but you wont over heat the chain doing it by hand.

I only use oregon chain as it has the witness mark on the tooth (stihl chain does too but I buy as a dealer so its cheaper). I dont know about husky chain, dont own any husky saws.

I hand sharpen everything and one thing ive learned over the 18 yrs in the business: WEAR GLOVES ON YOUR FILE HAND! Ive got too many scars to count on my index finger middle knuckle including one cut that took 3 stitches to close.

Also, make sure to pay attention to how your cutting to keep the saw out of the dirt to start with, this will make your chain last longer. I know there are hidden dangers but if possible, cut most of the way through, the roll the log and finish the bottom side.

All the guys that just logged out our property swear by hand sharpening as well. Figure if you didnt hit nothing with your chain, it only needs a touch up. I watched them sharpen their saws, three strokes with the file per tooth or less and they were done. and man were they sharp.

That being said,, I take mine to a local amish guy who sharpens chains for $3 and only a dollar extra if he has to do the leaders,,

[Reed Gray]

Ditto on wearing gloves. I have donated blood that way a few times. Yup, it is sharp. You don't push hard, just enough to cut, and cut with the push cut, not a pull. Also, one logger I knew used to tap the file every cut or two to knock off some of the filings. The Husky chains do have register marks for the angles. I don't mark the teeth, just look into the gullet to see if it is shiny. It does help to have some one who knows what they are doing to show you once or twice. I generally have a rag or glove for holding and advancing the chain as well.

robo hippy

[Greg Just]

I'm with Harry - I use my Dremel tool with attachment.

[Bill Bulloch]

Me too -- on the Harbor Freight Sharpener. I sharpened with a file for many, many years, then I saw this HF Sharpener on sell for $29 and coundn't resist. Works great. Don't know how I got by without it all those years.

[Tim Rinehart]

I have gone thru using files, little attachment rigs that mount to your bar, Dremel wheels, and never got consistent results as I do with a bench mounted sharpener similar to the Oregon, but much better than the HF. Northern tool model 193020 is a knockoff on the Oregon, and has adjustments for any chain, including tilt. For restoring a chain to spec, or modifying it to be more or less aggressive by changing angles, hard to beat. Properly setup, you can just kiss the teeth and restore them without imparting appreciable heat if teeth haven't seen abuse! They run about $120, but I got mine during a Black Friday sale for about $90, which I think was on last year too.

i do carry a file when I go somewhere, It's a SaveEdge file from Baileys, and it's an excellent file.

I think for some folks, using a file is all they'll need, but I also think long term for anyone doing much cutting is going to save money with a decent grinder sharpener. IMHO.

[Thomas Canfield]

I bought the HF grinder sseveral months back after seeing good reviews. I have sharpened 6 chains with good results that were equal to what I was getting done at local shop. It is handy to not have to leave chains for a week to get sharpened, and it has paid for itself already. I was using my saw Saturday and thinking how nice it is to have a sharp chain and how long the chain stayed sharp. Of course, then I started ripping bark and had to change chains pretty quick when I saw sawdust and not shavings come out of ripping. Light passes is all it takes to touch up usually and I think that my chains will last longer also.

[Jim Burr]

About 5 years ago, my BIL, a custom furniture maker in Stockton Ca, bought about a billion tons of redwood burl root from Granite Construction that sat in an apple orchard just out of Watsonville. He has an Alaskan saw mill run by a Still 090 head on a 6' bar. We had the correct Dremel stone x2 and a 12v power supply. After 6 slabs...we'd sharpen and have a sandwich...we had a lot of sandwiches. In a day, we'd load a 12x6 trailer and the bed of a F-250. This went on for 3 weekends. My coffee table is a rememberance of those sharpening days!! 13' of saw ain't easy...but it happens!

[William Bachtel]

Just a chainsaw file, nothing else except work thur the learning curve, it will take time but keep at it. I have used just a file for 40 years. Most important rule is sharpen before it gets to dull. Keep a new cutter tooth around so you can make a comparison to get the correct angle.

[Hilel Salomon]

I have both electric and hand filing systems. Generally, I use the hand filing system, as the chains last longer. Pferd makes a pretty cheap ($20) system that also files down the rakers (very important that they be filed). Husqvarna sells this under its own name as well. I doubt that Husqvarna chains are made by them, and my first guess would be that they too are Oregons w/Husky names. I also very much like the chains which Stihl makes. They make an aggressive series that cuts beautifully, but as with any chainsaw use, you have to be extra careful, wear protective headgear. The aggressive ones are more liable to kickback.


Hilel

[Fred Perreault]

I have used the Oregon electric bench mounted unit for years. I have 4-6 quality chains at all times in the sharpened inventory. About a third of the time I use a quality hand file, but frequently put the chains on the electric unit to get the cutters all to a uniform length. With the electric unit I usually barely take off enough to make orange sparks, and the chain always cuts to 95%+ of a factory edge. I believe that I have sharpened each chain at least a dozen times, but soon they will be too short to use as they will start breaking off. Keeping the rakers tuned is as important as anything. I don't think that I have seen any resharpened chain cut as well as a factory edge.