Chain saw chain sharpeners

[Donystoy]

I have for years just put the bar in a vice so I can spin the chain freely and just sharpen the teeth freehand with a stone in my Dremel tool. If you are gentle a stone will do at least one chain.

 

[D2Cat]

Skeets, I can use that file to sharpen a 16" chain in about the time it takes a smoker to smoke a cigerette. Make a mark on the chain with a yellow chalk. Three strokes and drag a link, three strokes and drag a link. When you get one side complete, rotate the head and do the other side. Can't get much easier. Can set the saw on the tailgate or a log set on end. Just have to set the clamp so it does not pinch the chain.

 

[bx tractorjoe]

I use to be a stihl dealer along with commercial mowers and such.. some 15 years ago.. had one of there $2500 sharpeners and a 1980s Oregon one too.. they were excellent machines.. anyway when I sold my business some years later I was cutting some oak and needed a sharpener.. didn't want to wait a week or spend the money on a Oregon one.. hate to say it but I spent 15 on a harbor freight one and still have it! Then again I maybe use twice a year
.

I think it's all the angle and your experience doing it.. then again I use to be able to sharpen a reel mower reel with a angle grinder almost as good as a commercial reel sharpener without having to take the reel off the mower and spend 30 minutes setting it up..

 

[DrankTheOrangeKoolaid]

A stump vice and a Pferd filing guide. I think the Stihl guide is an orange Pferd guide.

 

[bearbait]

I've used the Stihl 2n1 for a few years now and it works great on my Stihl 026 so I bought one for the MS170 and I didn't like it on that, I found just a file and guide was better. Same number of strokes on each tooth usually 2 to 3 with the same amount of pressure and your chains should come out good. Having them clamped in a vice while sharpening really makes it a lot easier. I usually spin the chain until I find the 2 teeth that are facing the same way to start with so I know where I started or mark the first tooth I did with a black marker. If your chain is throwing chips you did good, if it's throwing dust not good. Like anything else the more you do it, the better you get at it.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

I've used a Princess Auto 'dremel' and stone for decades even though I have files,machine mtd units and a fancy bench sharpener. It's a LOT faster and easier,maybe 2-3 minutes to 'dress up' the teeth.

 

[fruitcakesa]

I used to hand file all the time, but have graduated to an Oregon bench grinder and love it. Easy on my arthritic hands.
I will sharpen all the chains to have a stockpile then switch out as needed till it's time to resharpen again.
Never happened when hand filling, grab a new chain and resharpen later.
Still hand file in the woods if necessary but I try to carry a spare chain just in case

 

[BAP]

I used to log in the winter. We always used a hand file with attached guide. Don’t know of any loggers that don’t hand file their chains. As always sharpened in the morning and most days again mid day. While many people claim you can run forever without sharpening, even on good clean wood a chain will dull, and a good, razor sharp chain is safer to run, less work and more efficient. I still cut using the same principles. It’s just a fast to sharpen a chain as it is to swap one out. If you are going to run a saw, you should learn how to properly maintain it.

 

[UpNorthMI]

My Stihl 2 in 1 file arrived today, I used it to sharpen a couple of chains, I'm very impressed. Impressed enough to buy another one for another chain size. If you are on the fence over one of these I'd strongly suggest to buy one, very quick and very useful.

 

[DrankTheOrangeKoolaid]

It took me a while to find it again, but here is a booklet from Stihl. What they call the "4-2-1 principle" is why I choose to swap chains at mid day instead of sharpening. Besides, it gives me a chance to clean around the sprocket, make sure the oil hole is clear and turn the bar over. But it is a rare day that I'm using a saw all day long... two to four hours is more normal and that is only a half dozen times a year.