Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Chain sharpening tool

I like to hand sharpen new chains.

Factory sharp isn't as good as it can be.
And they get better with wear.


Matter of fact, I don't care for new chains.
Kinda like random new, squiggly, wiggly, soft, puncture prone tires.

The Granberg File-n-joint is the best thing I've used, I can get a chain as sharp as new with mine. Anything I have to hold by hand doesn't come close.

There's no way I'm buying a new chain every time I need a sharp one. I dulled one in 5 seconds the other day cutting down a sweetgum that had some hidden barbed wire in it. 5 minutes with the granberg and it's good as new.

Learn to file by hand without gadgets

You either don't cut much or you've more money than sense.

Why?

I own the gadget and have for years, it does a better job than anyone will do by hand, and I pull out a chainsaw every couple of months so there's no reason for me to invest time in getting good at hand filing. If I made my living cutting wood then I would, but I don't and I have much more important things to spend my time on.

I usually hand file as well and also admit I still have a lot to learn about filing rakers, how much and when. Recently watched a video on the Granberg system. They also have a guide that uses a grinder similar to a Dremel tool and a round stone. The grinder runs on 12 volt power. I like to touch up my chains with a grinder from time to time, then hand file in between. Thinking about looking into this.

I grind with a cheap HF grinder, and touch up between grindings...it works well enough for me to do the 8-10 cord a year of wood I am currently doing. As for the rakers, the best, easiest way to do it, IMO, is a Husqvarna gauge and flat file.

I run alot of stuff that you can't get in the states. I've had sht shipped from Sweden, Malaysia, Australia and a half dozen other fkn places.

One place where hand filing is difficult: a good cutting edge on 3/8 lp (Low Profile/thin kerf) pmx milling chain. The tiny files are frail, and the teeth get work-hardened on 16 ft long milling cuts. The tiny milling teeth, an Oregon file guide and the slightest of file strokes, gives mediocre results at best.

The stihl dealers dont even have this pmx chain. This all mounted in a GB-lp milling bar i had shipped from Australia. This required a special rim sprocket, regular 3/8 didn't support the chain right.

Problem with using a grinder: taking the whole fkn milling frame apart and bar/chain off the saw is stupid.

Tecomec makes all the professional grinders used in most saw shops. Everybody just rebrands them.

Anyhow, for the past 8 months, I've been tracking a real fkn tecomec grinder, that was only available overseas. Had a guy in Ireland shipping me one.

A major saw-stuff importer from the states: ArcherPlus just imported them! Should turn obsolete, all these ancient or Chinese garbage sharpeners.

BAR MOUNTED, uses good grinding wheels, cordless and uses lithium ion batteries, you're welcome:


https://www.amazon.com/Tecomec-Chainsaw-Battery-Mounted-Sharpener/dp/B0CCPNGCYT

Birch isn't even close to the density of oak. And I've cut birch in the UP of MI and far Northern Ontario.
I would be surprised if Birch has less density than Douglas fir.

Different tree species, and what you were cutting was not Alaska birch. Alaska birch has very small growth rings, and is very dense, especially the further north. I plane alot of ash to build dog sleds, which planes like nothing. Planing Alaskan birch, just about burns up my planer.

Check out USFS btu ratings on Alaskan birch. Was right on par with red and white oak. Coupla local guys just had trucked up a 32 ft trailer of red and white oak. We are comparing it to our interior birch.

Anyhow, a stove full of Alaskan Birch will burn in my stove for 12-14 hours, if pieces be large. For not having much tree diversity up here, I'm happy to use it for almost everything building/heating.

Conceptually, it looks fine probably very consistent as to angles and depth. All I would question is its durability and whether one can easily acquire replacement stones/files. I suspect the latter won't be found in the corner hardware stores.

Rakers are the easiest.

Buy a gauge, Oregon makes a good one, the Carlton file o plate is great if you can find one.

Either buy a file at a saw shop or make sure the file you buy is a safe edge. You want a simple small bastard file, do not let a Stihl dealer gouge you $15 for their wired file that goes in the goofy tool.
You can buy a good Swiss file from another dealer for about $8. It will only last for a couple chains.

After using the gauge, either round or put a bevel on the leading edge so it glides across the wood.

In the first place both the locations I've noted have an extremely short growing season. In the second I checked out your Alaska Birch and no its not the same BTU per cord as oak. It's a pretty soft wood and a chain saw cuts through it like butter, even when frozen.
Also skip chain has its place. It works great in the softwood in the western US with longer bars. I never used it until I moved to MT, but after trying it I like it. That and I will keep my high RPM modern saws over those 30 year old design Echos.

When I said they're comparable, they are indeed comparable

Alaska birch is 23.6 million btu's per cord

White oak, 25.7
Red Oak 24.

Do you honestly think that you'd notice that miniscule difference running a wood stove? Seriously, getting a 12-14 hour burn in the stove, and you think that wood is soft?

Do you make lumber or buy various hardwoods to build outdoor equipment, comparing density? How do you know alaska birch is soft?

Have you even cut 20 below zero frozen birch? It'll rattle your saw apart if chain type and raker depth isn't proper.

I have all sorts of husq, jonsered, stihl, and echo saws. Oftentimes, the older stuff is simpler, and cheaper to work on. Less to go wrong as well.

Merry Christmas.

to the OP, looks like you can buy the knockoff for as little at $17 on Amazon



From Amazon.....
Customers say
Customers are not satisfied with the performance, quality, ease of use, and sharpening of the outdoor living product. For example, they mention that it does not work very well, the instructions are awful, and the sharpeners dull within the first 10 teeth. They also say that the product is a complete waste of money and time.

Stihl tool. Just a guy, just 2-4 cord/yr lodgepole, spruce, fir, larch. Sundry chores/projects. MS261. Clamp in a receiver-mounted vice. Shrug.

A neat skill, the guys who can do it consistently by hand, adjust angles per task, etc.

I’m just a guy who’s got chit to do.

Just as white birch varies in density with length of growing season so does oak. I can assure you that in the upper midwest birch is considered a garbage firewood and oak isn't. It's not close either.
And yes I have cut plenty of frozen wood. I logged in Upper MI for quit a few years cutting yellow birch, red and white oak, sugar maple, ironwood and beech. All of which are much tougher than white birch. And I never had a chainsaw not blow though these species with ease. I might add that the average diameter at breast height was probaly 3 times the size of those pecker poles your cutting.

This
If you cant figure out "how to" with a dremel and round stones , ya might not outta be playin' chainsaw.

That frozen wood deal is a bit unique. Had a tough cold winter several years back and had to get into the woods early for firewood due to summer scheduling issues. We were dropping roughly 36-inch dbh dead standing tamarack in early May, and about 80% of the cut surface area still supported ice crystals. Had the bar running a bit cooler than normal. Wood must be a damned good insulator.

I hand file but admit to mounting a jig for angle reference.

Occasionally, I'll hit something and screw up one side or the other of a chain (full-chisel). If it's severe enough to alter tooth length, I'll drop that off at a shop to get things trued up and even on both sides via machinery. If not so, one generates nice curves to one side or the other, and things eventually bind in bigger wood. Another reason to pack extra chains and saws to the woods. Learned that on an early trip when I made about 3 cuts and came home with an empty truck.


Five layers deep there being about 3.6 cords of tamarack. We normally burn about 2 and 1/2 cords. Winter of 2022-23 it was 3 and 1/2. I think we're back to normal this year.

Never been to Alaska, never cut birch at 30 below.

I've cut maples and oaks at 5 below,
never cut anything as hard as old dry locust.
It will make you think you got into something, until you try the saw
in other wood. Suddenly it cuts good again. Green, it's not so bad, saw self feeds
and nice big chips.


Frozen wood is definitely worse in one way,it dulls the chain.