Best chainsaw chain - what do the pros use?

[openspaceman]

56 minutes ago, Stubby said:

I understand all that you are saying and have heard it time and time again over the years . May be its just me but I can't " soldier on " with a dull semi chisel chain just because it sorta still cuts  . It is just me I am sure .,🙂

I thought you had done production harvesting?  One cannot stop the flow of a chap knocking over, knotting and topping 8 trees in about the same time the skidder driver can chain then up and drop them at the landing  just because the chain is not razor sharp. It's not blunt but perhaps needs a bit of pressure to bite.

 

The question I am asking has anyone demonstrated the difference in productivity when cutting direty timber starting with sharp saws of both types.

 

I use saws much less now than I did 30 years ago when I was very sensitive to dull chains and dust affecting air filters but seriously blunt saws tend to wander off to one side or produce saw dust rather than flakes.

[Pete Mctree]

I use semi-chisel working with the skidder, for the reason that it keeps cutting longer when dulled & it is easier to put an edge back on it in a rush. Helps to have a decent size saw too to keep powering through to finish that last log. Not ideal cutting and often harder on the saw, but needs must.

I keep my felling chains separate as they would be dulled in seconds cutting that crappy stuff. 

[Stubby]

9 hours ago, openspaceman said:

I thought you had done production harvesting?  One cannot stop the flow of a chap knocking over, knotting and topping 8 trees in about the same time the skidder driver can chain then up and drop them at the landing  just because the chain is not razor sharp. It's not blunt but perhaps needs a bit of pressure to bite.

 

The question I am asking has anyone demonstrated the difference in productivity when cutting direty timber starting with sharp saws of both types.

 

I use saws much less now than I did 30 years ago when I was very sensitive to dull chains and dust affecting air filters but seriously blunt saws tend to wander off to one side or produce saw dust rather than flakes.

Yes I get were you are coming from . It can get frantic trying to keep ahead .  I have always given it 3 strokes / cutter ( the chain that is , not anything else 😁 ) every fill up .

[TuscanPhil]

I think it was from a thread on here that I found this video - can't really remember - might be of use to some in this discussion though...

 

[openspaceman]

32 minutes ago, Stubby said:

I have always given it 3 strokes / cutter ( the chain that is , not anything else 😁 ) every fill up .

yea I often did the same as it gave me a breather too, similar with the fagging hook it was a break to stand upright and run the stone over the blade when weeding new planting.

[Khriss]

11 hours ago, Stubby said:

I understand all that you are saying and have heard it time and time again over the years . May be its just me but I can't " soldier on " with a dull semi chisel chain just because it sorta still cuts  . It is just me I am sure .,🙂

Moi aussie. K

 

( that doesnt mean i am australian btw Mr Stubby) 

[openspaceman]

42 minutes ago, TuscanPhil said:

I think it was from a thread on here that I found this video - can't really remember - might be of use to some in this discussion though...

 

I think I have seen this before, it's interesting how the chain is noticeably slower after only one tank of cutting and this shows @Stubby's point about sharpening after re fuelling. All the chains except Stihl's look like they would benefit from a light touch up before use.

 

The thing is his using sand glued to the wood is too harsh and none of the chains are fit to use after, even cutting skidded timber one would be forced to stop and swap saws or resharpen.

 

The video only shows one normal semichisel chain  and while it shows it had a smaller percentage change when it was blunted it doesn't really show if there is an actual benefit from using semichisel under these conditions. It does show that using full chisel will be faster in general cutting.

[Paddy1000111]

I agree with @Dan Maynard about the sharpening thing. A dull chain is a dull chain but if you clip something with a stihl full chisel I often find myself taking .5-1mm+ off a chain because the sharp chisel edge gets damaged quite far back from clipping a stone or nail 

[Silverhooker]

I agree damage to a full chisel hurts the chain more than to a semi and takes a good bit longer to fix, horses for courses. Semi when its dirty and full on clean wood for me. Although that doesn't mean that you don't sometimes find junk inside what you thought was a clean trunk and have agood chain wrecked by a bit of buried wire .

[Oddjobz]

For urban work there is always the risk of embedded metal, even concrete.

For canopy pruning Stihl or Oregon chain. Occasionally Archer or Stens on the top handle saws.....

 

For bigger wood Oregon or Archer.  Semi-chisel , (full skip on anything over 24" bar.)

Faster to sharpen than Stihl (most likely will need a touch), SC is more forgiving as many have posted.

Stihl is a very hard cutting edge, longer to file and costs more on files.

 

Plus if you have a climber who pulls laterally instead of vertically when he pinches , the chain will eventually snap

no matter what brand you use. Keep a hand saw with you at all times in the tree.  

 

FOR EVERYONE WHO USES A CHAINSAW, IF YOU GET PINCHED, TAKE THE  5 EXTRA MINUTES TO WEDGE, LIFT

OR CUT-OUT  A PINCHED BAR. A REPLACEMENT PART IS GOING TO HAVE A COST VALUE MORE THAN AN HOUR OF YOUR TIME SO TAKE THE TIME TO DO IT RIGHT......sorry had to vent that. You always have that one dipstick that the moment you turn your back he'll try to cut through a suspended log and pinch at the bottom instead of rolling the log or pulling out and undercutting.

Drives me nuts.....

 

When working in muddy/sandy conditions. Often will take a bigger saw with a shorter bar (I like to run a 28-32 on everything).

70-90cc , 24-28" , put a .404 skip chain of any cheaper brand of chain and sharpen or replace as needed.

The wider 404 cutting edge will last longer and require fewer touch-ups.  If I catch a nail or embedded fence pop on a fresh

cheap chain and go again..... I'll re-splice chains as needed  after a job and put them in the spares box to repeat the process.

 

Key point is when on production and you can keep spares with you, it is faster to swap out a chain than sharpen it on anything over 24" .  Talking urban work where the truck is close. Far in the bush, not so easy for the loggers.

 

When replacing bars, generally Oregon...... I'm about to try Tsumura bars on the climbing saws. I just put a nice lightweight

Tsumura  on my Mac 10-10 (24"SC-FS) and husky 288 (36"SC-FS) ......impressed so far, will see how long they wear before the rails need to be evened.