Stihl RM or RS

Thanks Brian !
Still hangin' in there !

 

We cut everything where it falls with no skidding or dragging. Some like dragging lengths but it's not for me. Eats way too many chains for my taste. Keep the saw out of the dirt and any chain will last longer. I run RS/RSC on everything except picco on the 192 rear handle. Unless I'm cutting dead osage, if the saw gets dull it's because I've either dirted it or hit something. I'm man enough to admit it.

 

I've been running mostly RS, but recently I got a 25' reel of LGX and I'm running a 20" loop of it on the MS362. The biggest difference I've noticed so far is the "smoothness" in the cut - out of the box, the LGX feels like it vibrates a LOT more compared to the RS. I think the difference might be in the geometry of the rakers - RS has a more "swept" looking profile. Maybe that will start to improve as I take the rakers down and round the leading edges down per the filing instructions. Or maybe they're just too low or uneven - I've not sharpened it yet.

After 2-3 tanks so far, it's still just as sharp as day 1. I also have a 25" RS that's up to 4-5 tanks through the MS460, and has never needed to be sharpened, until now. And I had to look really close at several cutters before I found one with any shine along the cutting edge. They've been cutting different kinds and sizes of wood, different ways (mostly noodling with the 460), so I can't draw any good conclusions about chain life. However, I can confirm that they will stay good and sharp for a long time if you keep them out of the dirt.

Even if I am sharpening more than I would need to with RM or B(D)PX, I need the practice anyway.