Should Chainsaw Chains be Sharpened At All?
Chainsaw chains can certainly be sharpened!
In fact they need to be sharpened to get the best performance out of your chainsaw.
The benefits of a sharp chain include:
- a better cutting experience
- Gets the job done quicker
- Reduced likelihood of kick back (safety incentive)
- Chain lasts longer ( an economic incentive)
So the short answer, for multiple reasons, is yes!
Chainsaw chains should and need to be sharpened!
Of course, your new chainsaw should come with a sharpened chain but after some usage, it will become blunt. The next obvious question is how do you do that?
How to Properly Sharpen a Chainsaw Chain
There are a number of ways you can sharpen your chainsaw chain. They vary from using some simple hand tools to sophisticated, purpose built machines.
The choice of which way you go will depend largely on:
- How many chainsaws you have and thus how many chains you need to sharpen?
- How often they need to be sharpened? The harder they work, the more often you will need to sharpen them.
- Are you able to work with basic manual tools? Or do you prefer/need to use more modern tools?
- Money (as always) – how much you feel you can spend on this aspect of owning a chainsaw?
1. By Hand
Well almost! 🙂
You do need some tools and time to sharpen a chainsaw chain by hand. But if you only have one or two chainsaws then its worth it in the long run. All you need to do is buy the correct tools and perfect the few skills you need to do the job manually!
You will need a chainsaw sharpening kit that includes round files, a file guide, a flat file and a depth gauge guide.
If you want to find out the ins and outs of how to sharpen a chainsaw chain with a file, then read this article.
2. Simple Electric Automatic Chainsaw Sharpener
There are a multitude of ever increasingly sophisticated automatic chainsaw sharpening tools on the market that you can use to (more) easily sharpen a chainsaw chain.
The tool on the left is an example of one of the more simple & small nifty machines that are available to you.
The advantage of these sorts of machines is that you get a consistent result across all the teeth. This means the chain wears at an even rate across its whole length.
Another advantage of this type of chain sharpener is that it is small and portable. The one shown on the left has to be plugged into a power source. However you can also get a CORDLESS VERSION which is battery powered and ideal for taking along with you.
3.The Oregon PowerSharp Concept
Oregon have come up with this tool that attaches to your chainsaw and sharpens the chain in a matter of seconds.
However, the tool is designed to only work on Oregon PowerSharp bars and chains. Accordingly you would need to replace your existing bar and chain with this combination.
Oregon caters for a variety of bar and chain size combinations which you can see HERE
Although the concept is great, you might feel that having to change your bar and chain is a step too far.
However, there is an alternative!
Oregon actually make an electric self sharpening chainsaw! (Click on the pic on the left for more details)
It has pretty good ratings from over 6500 buyers (at the time of writing) and solves the problem of sharpening and changing bars with one simple solution.
Absolutely worth considering if you are thinking about buying another chainsaw!
4. How to Sharpen a Chainsaw Chain with a Grinder
Oregon (and others) make a range of bench grinders that are designed for sharpening chainsaw chains. They vary in size to accommodate your needs.
The one pictured here is the 310-120 model which is a light duty, bench mounted machine aimed at the non professional or occasional user.
The others then rachet up in size, abilities and of course, cost!
They are:
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- The 410-120 which can be bench or wall mounted and is aimed at the semi – professional/serious amateur who does a lot of cutting.
- Smaller of the two professional machines – the bench or wall mounted 520-120
- The grand daddy of them all – the 620-120 which is designed for professionals who sharpen saws all the time.
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A Little Gem of a Chainsaw Chain Sharpener
Finally, if you have a Stihl chainsaw or similar, then you should consider getting one of these 2 in 1 easy chainsaw chain sharpeners.
They come in a few different variations so you need to do a bit of investigating as to which one you need. But they are well worth the money!
Conclusion
Chainsaw chains can be sharpened, and indeed, need to be sharpened in order to get the best performance out of your chainsaw!
The tricky bit is how will you accomplish this?
Above you will find a variety of tried and tested options that you can explore before deciding which way to go.
You can also read more about all things chainsaws here