I've seen it mentioned twice in this thread, "if the chisels are not the same length". So I must ask, is the chain sharp if the chisels are different lengths?
If the cutters are not the same length, they will also not be the same height, or stick out the same amount to the side. This is done by
jointing and
setting teeth on conventional crosscut saws, but is 'automatic' on modern saw chain. The top and side plate cutting bevels may be 'sharp', and cut wood fibers, but the cut will be rougher and less efficient if the cutters on a loop are all different. This may or may not be noticeable, depending on the user and their expectations. Same thing if the depth gauges are not set equally.
So the answer may depend on what the user considers as 'sharp' and 'good enough'. Ideally, all of the cutters and angles would be the same. As SawTroll notes, not a big deal if it is only one or two cutters that were damaged.
Anybody just use a Pfred file/raker file combo? It seems to work well on my milling chains.
Forgot about those. Thanks for bringing them up. I have never used them personally, but there have been a lot of positive comments about them here on A.S. from members who have. As I understand, the depth gauge offset is fixed - that is, you can't make them a bit higher or lower if you prefer. And they don't work on skip tooth chains? Please correct me if I am wrong. Again, a lot of users are happy with them.
If I have the time I still use a flat file and radius the rakers, takes a lot of time. If a negelected chain I will use an angle grinder to get close then finish with a flat file.
I think that rounding over depth gauges/restoring the original profile is important. Otherwise, you can create a point that tries to dig in the wood instead of sliding along in the kerf. I now will use a special depth gauge file or a grinder to set the depth (took me a while to get the hang of the grinder). I used to use the same file to round/profile the depth gauges but found that a ScotchBrite 'deburring' wheel does this much faster.
http://www.arboristsite.com/community/threads/depth-gauges-on-a-grinder.200410/
By the way, the difference between special 'depth gauge files' and ordinary flat files, is that the depth gauge files do not have any teeth along the sides, so they are less likely to accidentally damage the freshly sharpened bevels on the cutters. Some people will use the depth gauge tool to protect the cutters when filing or rounding depth gauges.
Philbert