How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

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How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by RealNick » 23 Dec 2016, 4:22 pm

How often do you sharpen your chainsaw blade?

Is it all the same with a decent quality blade or are there different types and routines?
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by deye243 » 23 Dec 2016, 4:26 pm

RealNick wrote:How often do you sharpen your chainsaw blade?

Is it all the same with a decent quality blade or are there different types and routines?


you have lost me . so I will think you are talking about the chain and the answer is how long is a piece of string

I used to cut firewood for a living and it all depends on the wood you are cutting .

when I was working in stringy and messmate it would be every meter as the bark is full of grit but in green redgum

and the like it would only be 3x a day but the secret is not how many times but too learn how to do it properly in the 1st place
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by Bent Arrow » 23 Dec 2016, 5:00 pm

Getting it sharp and then using it properly make a big difference to how long it will cut efficiently. I take two sharp chains when I go cutting firewood. If the first goes dull I can quickly swap the chains. Saves trying to sharpen the chain in the paddock
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by bigfellascott » 23 Dec 2016, 5:08 pm

I generally sharpen the chain every time I fill the tank back up but depends on how dirty the wood is or if I find something other than wood to cut - ie a rock or fencing wire etc. which soon see me sharpening the chain or swapping to a back up saw.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by Apollo » 23 Dec 2016, 7:56 pm

If you are asking how often to sharpen the chain on a chainsaw, it sounds like you don't have any experience with a chainsaw. To be polite I would suggest you find a friend who does have some experience and even better someone who has a lot of experience and get them to show you. The other point here is when to sharpen and when to know how much too sharpen. Big difference.

Like Scott said, every refill of the tank BUT... that then means you need to know how much to sharpen.

It can be from a single swipe of the file to a few to get that cutting edge back. The idea is to keep it sharp and cutting clean, don't do like some and push pressure on the thing because it won't cut which simply burns the cutting teeth. One guide as to how things are going is to look at the chips that are coming off the chain, if you see dust then it's very blunt.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by BBJ » 23 Dec 2016, 9:24 pm

He's obviously talking about the chain :roll: What else needs sharpening on a chainsaw... Let's not be grammar nazis.

So with that out of the way.

Technique aside and just answering the question of frequency, I do mine after every tank of fuel.

2-3 light passes with the file until it feels smooth, no more than that though. It happens quickly.

Have the guy at the shop or a mate who knows what they're doing show you how and get a feel for it yourself. :thumbsup:
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by on_one_wheel » 23 Dec 2016, 9:29 pm

I sharpen my chain every time it goes dull. A good sharp chain will save time, reduce heat, minimize chain stretch and wear on your bar.

Most of my cutting is done on dry wood so my chains cop a beating.

On average I'd get around 6 tanks of fuel per sharpening.

Other than how well it cuts, If you look closely at the sharpened edges of your chain you can see when it needs a sharpen.
When the chain goes dull you can see the top leading edges rounding off slightly.

You can get a feel for how sharp your chain is by lightly running your fingertip over the sharp chisel edges of your chain. They should feel very sharp.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by knowsnothin » 23 Dec 2016, 9:57 pm

there are different types.
Tungsten carbide blades will stay sharp for a very long time. However they need to be sharpened at the dealers, almost impossible to do it yourself. They are also super brittle. don't hit a nail, fence wire of hard rock or every tooth will shatter. resharpen necessary.

learn to sharpen your own regular steel chains, touch them up after nearly every use and you'll be happy. its a good skill to have.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by happyhunter » 24 Dec 2016, 6:06 am

It's pretty easy to sharpen the chain. I do it often to keep the thing cutting well. You can feel when it needs a sharpen by hoe easily the chain is slicing through the wood. After a few sharpening cycles you will need to file down the depth gauges to keep the chain cutting to the correct depth.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by bigfellascott » 24 Dec 2016, 6:27 am

happyhunter wrote:It's pretty easy to sharpen the chain. I do it often to keep the thing cutting well. You can feel when it needs a sharpen by hoe easily the chain is slicing through the wood. After a few sharpening cycles you will need to file down the depth gauges to keep the chain cutting to the correct depth.


Or you do what I do and just buy the Stihl 2in1 sharpeners - they do the cutters and rakers in the one motion so you never have to worry about them not being set correctly. Bloody brilliant little things really, I also just use a file and guide but do love the 2in1 setups, nice and quick and the other thing to keep an eye on is making sure the cutters are all the same length, you will notice after a while one side being long than the other (which is often why you saw starts cutting round cuts instead of straight), you have a weak and a strong side when it comes to filing, I usually just use a small shifter and find the shortest cutter and adjust the shifter to fit it then use that to check the length of each cutter I sharpen and just sharpen until they are all the same length as the shifter, you don't have to do it every time just when you start to notice the cutters getting uneven length wise. :drinks:
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by Mich » 24 Dec 2016, 2:29 pm

You can feel from how the saw rides and see from the waste when your chain needs sharpening.

A sharp chain will cut with little pressure applied to the wood, you shouldn't need to do much more than rest on it. If the saw just rides in the cut without going deeper and you have to push to get it to cut it definitely needs a sharpen.

And look at the waste, a sharp chain will spit out chips with clean, defined edges. If it's spitting out dust or pulp it needs a sharpen.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by <<Genesis93>> » 24 Dec 2016, 3:13 pm

Mich wrote:You can feel from how the saw rides and see from the waste when your chain needs sharpening.

A sharp chain will cut with little pressure applied to the wood, you shouldn't need to do much more than rest on it. If the saw just rides in the cut without going deeper and you have to push to get it to cut it definitely needs a sharpen.

And look at the waste, a sharp chain will spit out chips with clean, defined edges. If it's spitting out dust or pulp it needs a sharpen.


Absolutely....when sharp, a chain will eat through the timber, when it start slowing down....you know its time to get out the file.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by bigfellascott » 24 Dec 2016, 4:00 pm

<<Genesis93>> wrote:
Mich wrote:You can feel from how the saw rides and see from the waste when your chain needs sharpening.

A sharp chain will cut with little pressure applied to the wood, you shouldn't need to do much more than rest on it. If the saw just rides in the cut without going deeper and you have to push to get it to cut it definitely needs a sharpen.

And look at the waste, a sharp chain will spit out chips with clean, defined edges. If it's spitting out dust or pulp it needs a sharpen.


Absolutely....when sharp, a chain will eat through the timber, when it start slowing down....you know its time to get out the file.


I find the opposite - it tends to rev like s**t and cut bugger all and smoke too much :lol: I guess it depends whether you dropped the rackets down or not - most people just sharpen and forget those and wonder why it won't cut after being sharpened - the determine how deep the cutters cut and if they aren't slightly lower than the cutters the cutters can't cut so make sure you pay attention to those too - if you've bought a file kit it will have the gauge for those too as well as a flat file too. :thumbsup:
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by <<Genesis93>> » 24 Dec 2016, 6:42 pm

I hear you scott, I meant slow down cutting-wise, but yes, tends to skip over without cutting...
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by bigfellascott » 24 Dec 2016, 10:35 pm

<<Genesis93>> wrote:I hear you scott, I meant slow down cutting-wise, but yes, tends to skip over without cutting...


Yeah mate or you just end up spitting out sawdust which is a dead giveaway too. :D

I hear my neighbour revving away on the chainsaw all the time and I can tell just by the sound that the chain is as blunt as - I keep telling him to sharpen them but he just keeps on trying to cut with a blunt chain - he will work it out when the chainsaws stuffed I guess :unknown:
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by John » 11 Apr 2020, 5:26 pm

Before it goes blunt is your best option it you stay on top of it it’s much easier to keep it sharp than to file a complete edge back on the teeth and running a saw blunt causes a lot of heat and lessens the chain and bar life
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by Ziege » 11 Apr 2020, 8:59 pm

Dunno, I installed A reverse cycle aircon and never cut wood again
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by ScottyD » 21 Jun 2020, 1:17 am

bigfellascott wrote:
happyhunter wrote:It's pretty easy to sharpen the chain. I do it often to keep the thing cutting well. You can feel when it needs a sharpen by hoe easily the chain is slicing through the wood. After a few sharpening cycles you will need to file down the depth gauges to keep the chain cutting to the correct depth.


Or you do what I do and just buy the Stihl 2in1 sharpeners - they do the cutters and rakers in the one motion so you never have to worry about them not being set correctly. Bloody brilliant little things really, I also just use a file and guide but do love the 2in1 setups, nice and quick and the other thing to keep an eye on is making sure the cutters are all the same length, you will notice after a while one side being long than the other (which is often why you saw starts cutting round cuts instead of straight), you have a weak and a strong side when it comes to filing, I usually just use a small shifter and find the shortest cutter and adjust the shifter to fit it then use that to check the length of each cutter I sharpen and just sharpen until they are all the same length as the shifter, you don't have to do it every time just when you start to notice the cutters getting uneven length wise. :drinks:


+1 on the 2 in 1 sharpener systems. I just switched to one of these and love it (not the Stihl one, but same sort of thing). So quick, efficient and accurate, especially used along with the little bar clamp thing that I hammer into a nearby log. Makes it way more stable. That's a good idea for gauging the raker heights, going to have to pinch that one. :thumbsup:

I've just finished cutting up a heap of big logs (about the size of my torso), think they're river/spotted gum or something. Whatever it is, its bloody hard timber with dense, tight, interwoven grain, a real bastard to split. I've been sharpening after every second log (maybe 12 to fifteen cuts), and top the fuel and bar oil each time. As mentioned here a few times, the shavings are the best clue that the chain is getting blunt.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by Noisydad » 21 Jun 2020, 10:01 am

You’ll pretty quickly get to know the feel of a blunt chain. You’ll notice it just seems a bit harder work and takes a bit longer to cut through. Don’t force a blunt saw to cut. As mentioned earlier it’ll wear the bar, burn more fuel for less result and be harder on you too.
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by Blr243 » 21 Jun 2020, 6:25 pm

If useing your cahainsaw becomes hard work you probably should have stopped and sharpened it 5 mins ago ..this is also a chance to stop and have a breather and a cigarette because cutting up logs is hard work .....then as soon as you fire up again it will feel great to just carve thru with ease
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Re: How often do you need to sharpen a chainsaw?

Post by perentie » 22 Jun 2020, 8:24 am

I gave up hand sharpening. Bought 3 chains and a little electric sharpener. Chain sits in it and it rotates left and right to do each side evenly. Works for me.
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