Had a couple "what chainsaw should I buy" threads lately. Always good for a couple pages. Figured the next best thing to set the 'fire a twitter would be one on chains and the proper sharpening of such.

Read Madsen's blub - most people are likely running a bar under 28 inches and they'd recommend a full comp chain for that - then getting into skip once above for long cuts in soft wood.

What say you?

What are you running for chain? Bar and powerhead size? Wood cut?

How do you like to sharpen? Files, one of those electric grinders or do you send them out?

I keep my chains tuned up with a file[just the file & handle].
If they get dull and hot or I really screw the pooch[rock] they go to a local shop.

028 16"
TS590 20"

All run Stihl yellow, full chain

I have an Oregon bar and chain on my Echo. 18 inch. Every so often I touch it up with a little round file.

MS 460. Semi skip


Hand file. 32 inch.

I use a file to touch up my chains and I have an electric chain saw sharpener I use occasionally to even everything up. I admit I don't know much about the different tooth configurations and it would be helpful if someone could discuss that and their applications. Or I can look it and read about it.

And don't forget the depth gauges (aka "rakers"). If they are too high the chain won't cut no matter how well the teeth are sharpened. Lots of different guides on the market for filing the depth gauges.

I just buy more chains….. 🤦🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️😂😂


The brand Baileys sells work good and is cheaper there Donnie Earls full msrp Stihl shop.

028 Super 18"

Stihl green (full comp?)

Hand file with a guide and gauge

Been eyeing a 261CM real hard lately...

Way back I hand filed. Then stated using the local saw shop to sharpen chains. When the chains coming back from the saw shop started having burn marks on the cutters I bought a Pro chain grinder.

I buy chain in bulk spools, and assemble the loops (I also have a chain breaker and a rivet spinner). Mostly Oregon chain but I have two spools of Archer chain to try.

Most of my saws use 404 chain, skip tooth. I use a special grind on the milling chain for the Alaska Mill.

Darn, haven't seen an old 895 McCulloch in years. Great old saw in their heyday

I really thought there would be more arguing by now.

I use a Jolly bench grinder like the one posted above when the chain gets really screwed up. Other than that have a 3&1 file Pferd (sp?) for both .325 and .404.

Stihl 260 - 16” .325
Stihl 360 - 20” .404
Stihl 661 - 24-25” cannot remember.404

Stihl 2-in-1 doo dad 3 files on the rack includes the flat on that licks the rakers all in the same pass

Touch up with a naked 5/32 or 3/16 when out in the woods.

I’ll hit it 3-4 licks after every couple fuel refills. Why not, just takes me 5 mins. You’ll figure quick what youre doing right or wrong in these hickory hollows

Ain’t none of junipers or julip or jupiter shît around here 😃

Geno and his butter-soft firewood. Out there with an electric Remington and 300ft of cord. lol

I use a jig that clamps to the bar and holds a file - similar to this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Oregon-23820...hy=9021299&hvtargid=pla-458177207191

Depends on what type of wood your cutting. In Upper Peninsula oak and maple with a 60cc saw I would run an 18" bar full comp round filed chisel chain with conservative raker clearance.
In the west where I live now I run 24" bar with full skip round filed chisel chain, with more hook to the chain and more raker clearance. The wood out here is really easy cutting, about like white pine in the mid west.

I greatly prefer Stihl RS chain over any alternative.

I've tried several different style of file jigs for sharpening my chains and realized I just suck at it. Always seemed to get one side different from the other and the cut would wander off every time I tried to cut. If I cut something more than a time or two a year I may get better at it, but I only need to use my chainsaw a few times a year to clean up some branches and cut firewood for hunting camps.

I finally bought one of those cheap Harbor Freight electric chain sharpeners and once I got it adjusted properly it worked surprisingly well. My saw has never cut as well as it did last year . For the $35 or so I spent on this unit it was worth the risk IMO....
https://www.harborfreight.com/elect...tml?_br_psugg_q=chainsaw+chain+sharpener

For my uses, my Stihl 036 is more saw than I need, but I got a good deal on it in a trade and it works better than any other saw I've ever used. The 24" bar is probably more than I need, but it works and I don't have to bend over as much as my old saws used to require. For my uses the standard blister pack chain and bar you can buy on line- usually an Oregon bar and chain - work just fine.

LOL! No kidding! Everybody must have flamed out of the 20 page chainsaw thread?

Want know what’s best ask a production faller
When I was in the pacific NW they al would argue Stihl vs husqvarna 2 stroke oil brands were another wrestling g match but chains. Stihl chain get the nod almost always
I have used every brand out there all with good results
Stihl and Oregon I can’t hardly tell the difference probbly the same stuff
Best luck with Oregon and Stihl bars
It’s tough to wear out a bar if you run sharp chain keep it adjusted and flip it every time you file
I’m a file raker gauge guy. I have a pro model grinder and just never use it I can file on razor sharp quicker than I can remove the bar and chain and reinstall
Get rid of those goofey file guide gimiks can’t possibly see what your doing

I am dissapoint.

This for the chain saw crooked cutters
It not the chain it’s the bar chain will cut fine with different size teeth
Bars need flipped to even out wear
I have a grinder special made to dress bars
It can be done with a file if your carful
Buckin billy ray smith has some fantastic sharpening videos that explain this in detail and dispels all these myths

Depends on the application...working saws get round filed chisel chain, semi-skip, rakers around .030". Sometimes square filed, it's better for stump work but harder to touch up on the job.

The competition/hotsaws are square filed chisel, full comp, gullets filed, chassis/rivets ground smooth, tunneled tooth, stoned, etc etc etc. I use a modified Silvey SDM-4 for the race chains.

https://youtube.com/shorts/HJWme7YC6nc?feature=share

I had several square files chains I bought in Washington they would rip in Douglas fir hemlock and such
Here in the Midwest our bark is dirty form farm fields blowing dust I guess the dull in minutes just a few cuts and they slow down
We are best served with round tooth type chain
I like chisel chain for some applications where trees are dead no bark

I run mostly Carlton chain from Bailey's. I sharpen with a Grandberg. Works awesome. Can't say enough good about the system. Chain comes out sharper than new and cuts straight as can be. I use a purpose built powered grinder if some major material needs to be removed, but try to stick with a file most of the time.

As far as full comp chain, as BWalker pointed out, it largely depends on the hardness and cleanliness of the wood you're cutting. For logs that have been dragged through some mud or gravel before you're cutting them, I generally like full comp as there's more teeth to stay sharp after others have been dulled by ground and small stones.

Similarly, proper raker hight is best defined by how hard the wood is that you're cutting.

For 2 stroke oil I've pretty well switched over to Husqvarna premium. Ran gallons of Stihl for many years, but am really turned off by the smell and aftertaste. It might well be the best oil as far as protection goes, but it really hangs on a guy's clothes for a long time. And it seems to plug spark arresters quicker than other oils. Have a friend who's an engineer for Mercury Marine, and he claims thier multipurpose 2 stroke oil is very high quality and low smoke. Going to run a few tanks if it.

Stihl, Husky, Oregon, Carlton, Bailey's. Have run them all, and some are
made by the others.

20-24" bar, full comp, round filed chisel. Pro-chain, minimal to no
anti-kickback BS. 3/8, .050.

Hand filed. Raker jig usually, eyeball the gap by laying a file across the
teeth in a pinch.


Hand filing is not that hard, don't understand why folks make it so?
I think it's guys who can do it, wanting to be special. Or wannabes,
parroting things they have heard.

Ranier , Is dead nuts on.
Get the point of the tooth pointy, the top plate and side sharp,
rakers close, the bitch gonna cut. Sometimes, surprisingly good
with some ugly teefths.
Kinda like one a them Hollower Women
eatin" a roastin' ear. She shouldn't be able to chew that corn off there
wif dem ugly, gappy teefths.
But bygawd, she's gettin' 'er done!

Several years back I took a chain that had about an hour's use on it to the local shop. Picked it up the next day and they had taken at least half the length off of each tooth. Could not afford much of that over the long run. Been hand filing since but have a reference angle jig clamped to the bar and file within a couple inches of that.

A couple old ProMac's 600-20", 650-24", and a couple Stihl 460's with 32". Oregon Super Chisel mostly in Western Larch for about 3 cords annually. One full skip OEM chain.

I have 3/8, 3/8LP and .325. Have always hand filed cutters and rakers until last year. I bought a Granberg clamp on jig and Stihl/Pferd combo for each type. They all work great except the 3/8LP Pferd.
The Stihl/Pferd units are pretty slick if they fit your chain. Once the cutters get on the short side, it's time to go back to hand filing.

This fellow threatened my life while I had a Mccullah chain saw running, and Son Jake was armed with a piece of firewood. Not so smart.

Running 16" Oregon bar and chain on my Stihl MS 180 C-BE, the local stihl dealer is just a 2 minute ride on my UTV so I rarely sharpen them my self..

Got one just like this. Only way to fly!

I use a Oregon chain sharpener. Works great and is fast. If you take your time you can remove just the smallest amount so chains last a long time. All my cutting is within 1/4 mile of my workshop so when it is time to sharpen the chain it is time for me to go home and enjoy a cool drink.

Those work OK, but they are not repeatable from left to right at all. Hand filing nets better results, is faster and is pretty easy with a round file.

You brought up dirty wood and I forgot about that. When I have to cut logs that have been skidded or are muddy I would use a loop of Stihl RM semi chisel chain. It cuts a bit slower than RS chisel but will stay sharp a bit longer.
Thankfully I have the ability to be a firewood snob now and don't have to cut dirty wood.

I know nothing about saws or how to sharpen them.

I generally run Sthil chains and like they're three in one sharpener for touch-ups. For heavier sharpening granberg jig is what I like to use and do the best job. Followed by the proper gauge for the rakers and filed out. I've got an electric sharpener it does pretty good, but me being of a slightly impatient sort at times tend to put too much pressure in generate too much heat therefore losing temper on the tooth and it won't stay sharp very good no longer. So I don't use it much.
. Sthil 131 pole saw
Sthil 170
Sthil 261
Husky 346XP
Husky 372 XP