New chains or sharpen them all?

I was planning to get a new chain and leave my current one with the dealer to sharpen. My thought is that when the new chain needs sharpening, I'd try to sharpen myself. I'd have two chains to work with. This is what I do for lawnmower blades. I have two. One on the shelf that is already sharpened. I switch them two or three times during the summer.

One question, and I am going to guess the answer is that it depends. Do most of you that sharpen your own chains set an amount of time used when you sharpen? Or do you just know when it's not cutting as well, and then stop to sharpen. As I start to get older, I am more on the preventative maintenance side. I try to service things before they need service.

 

Yes I too have one of the Stihl chain sharpeners and I love it. It takes the rakers down with the tooth and puts the chain pretty much back to factory. Just make sure that you don't have a skip chain because you can get an uneven sharpening by taking down some teeth to far. The rails on the sharpener ride on the tooth on front of the tooth being sharpened so that you get an even sharpening. That's what I was told by my Shil dealer.

 

You know when it needs to be sharpened. The saw will stop cutting and burning the wood and have to be forced through a cut when it's bad. But before that your chip size decreases, you get more dust and your cuts take longer.

You shouldn't really have to push a saw through a cut and don't saw motion with it like a handsaw.

 

Nah, no schedule. Just like clem said.......

 

If You are cutting rounds ,and the saw won't self feed ,to me the chain is dull . If you are "dawging in " the saw blocking rounds , then I consider the chain very dull . JMHO .
When I return a saw to the shop , it always gets serviced ,including a fresh chain,regardless of time it was run . That way ,I know it's ready to go when I need it .
My name is John ,and I'm OCD ...

 

I would use some caution taking chains to a dealer for sharpening. They will be far more aggressive on the amount they take off, drastically shortening the life of the chain. I have a lower end Oregon model grinder and just face the tooth lightly, but that is after 2 or 3 hand file touch ups. As far as knowing, you will either start throwing powder, or making a nice curve in larger rounds. Preventive maintenance seems slightly agressive as the chain is lubricated during use and some oil will remain on the bar and chain when sitting.

 

I felt like it was a stupid question, but better to ask as a rookie then do it all wrong.

Thanks for the replies.

 

Actually , it was a very good question . There are a lot of folks that run their chains way past needing a touch up . It doesn't just make cutting slow ,but beats up the saw in the process .

 

I read most of this post and IMO the most important reason to sharpen the chain is for safety. A dull blade is dangerous and a sharp blade is safe. In any cutting operation having a sharp cutting tool is ALWAYS safer than cutting with a dull tool.
A year or so ago Firewood Bandit did a great explanation of sharpening. Do a search to find that and you'll never not keep the chain dull.

 

"Never not keep the chains dull"?? What, you mean sharp?

 

My brain hurts.

 

I would say that a dull chain and a sharp chain are equally as unsafe or safe. When I sharpen the chains aggressively, they really bite and will push or pull if not ready for it. A dull chain kinda just makes powder, will not pull, but can still kick. I could be mistaken, but in either case a rotating chain will wreck human flesh and bone. I just hate to have someone misread the and think a new or sharpened chain is safer.

 

Not wanting to be confrontational and there probably is no statistic of accidents with dull cutting tools or sharp cutting tools. I would always rather cut with sharp cutting tool than a dull cutting tool. I don't operate a chainsaw everyday but I do operate either a circular saw or a table saw everyday, give me a sharp blade anytime.

 

Yea a dull circle saw is a recipe for disaster as hard as you have to force it through the wood.

 

Any dull tool, even a kitchen knife, is dangerous to use. When you have to push/pull hard to get an edge to go through something you are setting yourself up to have it slip and do real damage to you or those around you. A nice sharp edge that just cuts with almost no effort means you are not straining to get the cut to happen and you have better control of the tool. I will not back away from saying that sharper is always better unless you can give me a good reason to just throw away the idea of controlling the tool properly during a cut.

 

Oldman47,
great points.

 

I agree that a dull chain will require more work and fighting to get through the wood, so in some way there is an associated risk. My point I guess is that a chain, sharp or dull as a soup spoon will wreck human flesh. I run some aggressive chain (square ground, nice trim on the rakers), and when it is freshly sharpened it bites hard. Undercutting with a new chain on a bigger saw causes some serious kicks. Maybe I need to be a little gentler on the rakers? nah

 

I have been privileged to have plant tours of Andersen, Marvin and Pella Windows. I have attended each of their schools. At Andersen I had a chance to talk to the guys in the tool room. They are responsible for maintaining all cutters in the plant. None were under 40 yrs. old. I remember them saying that they sharpen to manufacturers specifications. If they don't they can loose their job. I specifically remember one good ole boy saying the manufacturer of this cutter knows the optimal way to sharpen this cutter, they have spent many hours researching that for their cutter. We ain't goin to re-invent the wheel.
So, my point is to sharpen the chain saw to the manufacturers specifications. The blade will then operate as intended.

 

You'll definitely know when a chain's getting dull. Even in clean wood, full-chisel chain will only cut properly on any serious saw I have, for about 2 tankfuls. A dull chain is BAD, so at least every 2 fillups, I touch up the cutters with a guided file. Couple strokes, all it takes. Practice makes perfect here. All the mechanical stuff seems to like that a LOT.

IMO it's not about sharpening a dull chain. You've waited too long if you do that. It's about keeping a chain SHARP. I find that a lot easier to do with semi-chisel chain, but still they get a light touch-up every second fillup. Makes for big chips and cool bar.

If a chain does go dull on you, you'll know first by the chips getting smaller, or turning to dust. Stop right there and deal with it. File it or swap it.

 

I like to sharpen, so my opinion is sharpen yourself. If you dont have time, or like to spend your time doing something else, do that instead.

It took me a full season to learn how to sharpen. I kept a couple chunks of wood around to cut cookies and test my sharpening. Gave me instant feedback on letting me know if somthing i tried didnt work or worked well.