Where to Buy Chains and What Type?

Hello, where do people buy chainsaw chains online? I have had good experiences with SawSuppliers.com. However, they often have limited selection. Amazon has a bunch of sellers of no name stuff with suspect reviews. One brand that seems OK is 8Ten. There's a lot lot of stretch initially but they otherwise hold up well.
Usually my saws have full comp, full chisel chains. What are others running?

 

I am still working on a 10 pack of chains from Bailey’sonline.com I bought a LONG time ago. I think it was $100 for the whole thing at that time. I don’t remember what brand they were but they’ve held up fine and I seem to remember shipping and packaging was good as well.

 

No chain experience, I use their lawn mower blades and I really like them.

 

I've bought some Oregon from Amazon before. Trick is to put them in your cart and just leave them there for a while until a sale or discount is offered. Have also purchased chains from fleabay before. Haven't bought any chains lately as I have a 25lb tote full of new ones. They don't spoil, so I've collected them when I find good prices. At least 3-4 new loops for all my configurations.

 

Amazon has been hit or miss with sending me the correct ones. Price wise they seem to have an edge over most everyone else though. SawSuppliers.com sent me the wrong one but then promptly sent me a replacement and told me to keep the original. Zero complaints there. Bailey’s has been very good the couple times I used them for files/chains, and I really like how their site is laid out. Very easy to navigate. Stahl’s in PA has an awesome selection too but the shipping prices have been a deal breaker for me. I run mostly Oregon and Archer but have a few Stihl chains I bought used recently off eBay. eBay has been good for finding rolls of chain at reasonable prices. I have both a partial roll of Oregon and one Archer. I have bought a few new loops from various sellers on eBay and they’ve been competitive, beating in store prices from TSC, Lowe’s and Home Depot.

 

Bought a case of chains for each of my 3 says from Stahl’s saw shop when they did full case sales and free shipping. Also got a couple rolls of chain that were on sale at Bailey’s. It’s been a few years, I’ve got a good stockpile of chain. Most of my chains are Oregon, with some Husky X-Cut.

 

Personally, I run the Stihl RS chains on anything I can. Might be a couple bucks more but they seem to hold up better than others I have used.

 

I have a 20" loop of it in my amazon cart waiting for them to throw me a bone on it so I can try it.

 

The Dukes chains are great and reasonable

 

I use RS and Xcut. Buried under stuff in my truck are 1 or 2 Oregon chains. I have purchased online, from saw and ope shops and yard sales.
My #1 is RS, 2 Xcut, if there’s nothing else Oregon. If I don’t hit metal or rock I get decent mileage from 1 or 2. My recollection of Oregon is that it’s a little harder than crayon.

 

That's strange because IIRC Oregon makes Husqvarna's chains. I know on the few Vanguard style I have they're identical between the chains stamped Husqvarna and the ones stamped Oregon.

I sharpened some no name CCP chains for a buddy once that were definitely soft steel. Waste of my time.

 

The last time I sharpened Oregon stamped chain was around 94-95, so it could be an exaggeration. It was probably the lowest grade Oregon at the time, but I do recall the file removing a bucket of metal in 1 swipe.

 

I have been buying chains either at logging shows or Baileys. Baileys had 10 for $140 recently-I believe there Carlton. I’ve been happy with them.

 

eBay used chain buying experience

 

Stahls is semi-local to me. Cool place, prices were great the couple times I been there.
I bought a good bit from Flawleys which used to be loggerchain.com (I think) Frawleys Saw Shop They used to have great sales.

What really increased my hoard, I found a local add on I believe Craigslist, it was 10 32” loops of Oregon LGX for very very cheap, if I remember right it was $100. I square grind my chains and carry spare loops, never field filing. They definitely don’t hold an edge near Stihl chain but certainly not made of wax. It’s all in the angles I guess. EXL is a bit harder metal than LGX, so they did get a little better. Completely satisfactory in my book.
Have 2 loops of older Carlton that are great IMO & a couple random loops of Stihl RS. 90% being full comp, full chisel.

 

I think last I bought were from Stahl also; IIRC T.Jeff Veal mentioned they were having sale here on FHC so bought
10 loops 20”
10 loops 24”
5 loops 28”
All husky X cut
I think 20s were $13 a loop few years ago I haven’t worn them out yet

 

I like stihl RS. Expensive and sometimes hard to find depending on location. Good chain. It holds an edge longer than anything else.

I picked up some xcut on ebay for pretty cheap. Good chain.

oregon chain is crap. Won’t hold an edge very long and never stops stretching.

Spend the money on good chain and you will be way ahead.