CHAINSAW SHARPENING

Chainsaw sharpening is an important skill to learn, especially if you use your saw on a regular basis. Think of your chainsaw chain as a sharp knife. When you cut tomatos with a dull blade as apposed to a sharp one you can really tell the differnce. Well the same is true when you have a dull chainsaw chain.

Before we get into the basics of chainsaw sharpening it is best to get a grounding in the different terms used in this guide.

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Chainsaw Sharpening Terms

When sharpening your chainsaw you will need to know how to tell the chain pitch and use a chain gauge. Be able to adjust the chain tension, inspect and clean the chainsaw oiling system and use a cutter depth guage. Feel free to take a moment and visit our Glossary page to familiarize yourself with these terms. Ok no that you have studied the terminology lets give you an overview before jumping into the actual guide.

Chainsaw Chain filing by hand

Professional or novice anyone who has operated a chainsaw will agree hand filing a chainsaw chain is somewhat of an art learned over time. The advantage of hand filing other than being faster is you can quickly change the way your chainsaw will cut in different conditions.

When you are bucking logs on the ground you will want to stay close to the 25 degree standard top plate angle or even a bit less say 22 degrees. Logs on the ground are often covered in dirt, sand or rocks the lesser angle will stay sharp longer as it will have less of a point on the cutting surface.

Tree falling may require a sharper angle on your chainsaw chain 30 to 35 degrees for a faster cut with less worry of dulling as a standing tree will usually be clean. Once you are used to it you can even give your cutters a slight upward angle to the last few sharpening strokes on each cutter this will result in a small hook in the cutter and the chips will really fly!

You will soon notice you will end up filing your cutter top plates more on one side than the other eventually resulting in your chainsaw cutting crooked. This is very common and is because everyone has a favorite side they like to file better. This will not be a problem if you are aware of it and make sure to keep your cutter top plates even as you go before it gets to uneven and hard to file out. Some find it a help to count the strokes on each cutter as you file giving each side an equal number of strokes.

Chainsaw Sharpeners

Chainsaw Sharpeners are the tools you use and vary from files to grinding wheels, gauges and guides. Be sure to check out our write-up on these various tools.