How do you file your chains........

[dimanager]

Kurtty, which way do you sharpen your knives? I have heard and read both ways, sharpen like you are cutting a thin layer off, and drag the knife backwards over the stone. Which do you think is better, and does it make a difference what kind of knife it is? eg. pocket, boning, or fillet

Thanks,
Sam

 

[kurtty]

scottr - heh yeah your right, I messed that up

dimanager - I sharpen from edge of the blade to back of the blade. Its what I find works best with my guided system.
but I do my first final strokes the other way to try to get it slightly burred over, then flip the knife over and straighten that burr right up.
then I also strop from back of the blade to edge
although, if I was sharpening freehand, I'd think I would do it back to edge all the time. If you accadentally angle your blade wrong, you could start dulling it faster then your sharpening it.

 

[Engineeringnerd]

I'm going to drag up an old video I did a while back on different chain types and angles. I was surprised how little difference it made in cutting speed, but semi-chisel works well on my 372 with a long bar versus chisel. I've never tried square chain. So far I like the smooth cutting and long life of the SC and it doesn't hop around in the cut like chisel sometimes does.

http://s176.photobucket.com/albums/...rrent=Roger070127HQHusky372xpchaintrialsD.flv

I figured I got so much grief last time I posted this, I'd go around again!

 

[SawTroll]

Kurtty , I think you meant to say 13/64" diameter file not 15/64" .

Yes, I'm pretty sure he did - 13/64" is what Stihl prescribes for their 3/8" chains.

..but 7/32" works just fine, except for the first filing or two.

 

[Timberhauler]

I don't file my chains,I just run em' until they're dull then replace them.opcorn:

 

[Timberhauler]

It probably leaves you more time for fishing!

Yeah,but I never seem to have any extra money..:bang:

 

[pgg]

I went along with the 'filing backwards' scam for a while long ago, it's all a crock but amazing how the human mind can convince itself otherwise, in the real world chopping down trees every day, sharpening a chain backwards makes not a goddam shred of difference, a sharp chain is a sharp chain and a blunt one is a blunt one, of course the rakers play a big part, and if you're not getting a sharp chain from filing normally then you're not sharpening your chains properly, I'm not interested in going down to the molecular level where 'facts' theories, calculations and mathematical formulas would most likely say otherwise, hell you'll even find people tell you Bosch plugs give more power than NGK's, and orange chainsaws perform better on a full moon than white or red chainsaws, I've even had 'experts' tell me it's impossible to turn a chain inside out and that chainsaw mechanics don't rip people off, there's probably scientific evidence supporting all those claims, but hey you won't find me sharpening backwards, but good luck to those that do... :crazy1:

 

[badhabits]

Though I am not a person that blindly follows every thing that is told to me, I wonder why all the manufactures of chain tell you to file inside out for round chisel. There must be a reason. Maybe its the same reason that the manufacturers tells you to torque the bolts in the engine to a certain tightness is that they designed it to be that way. Experimenting with better ways to do things is a good thing to do because you might find a better way, but in the case of chain filing I think that it would have been found and documented by the chain companies by now. The idea is to get your chain so it cuts, the standard method seems to work for me just fine.

 

[badhabits]

One reason might be that as the file is touched to the tooth if you are filing from the outside in it is easier to hit the tooth at a bad angle and blunt the outside edge of the tooth. From the inside out the tooth acts some what like a guide.

Good thought! In sharpening a chain a razor edge is not the best idea (who is going to shave with a chainsaw) the best edge will be as previously mentioned is more like an axe, sharp but with a durable edge. The art in sharpening a chain is in finding the method that can produce this. I have found that the guides and instructions from the companies that make the chain seem to work the best in the long run.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

, I wonder why all the manufactures of chain tell you to file inside out for round chisel.

There is a reason, it's a pain in the a$$ to file from the outside in, try it. The file squeeks, vibrates, and jumps around.

 

[046]

for me, main reason for filing inside out is simple.
you can see what you are doing.

tried hand filing for over a year without success.
seemed the more I filed, the worst it got.

things that got me filing sharp chains are:

1. clamp chainsaw in a vise
2. tighten chain until it barely moves
3. use sharp (new) stihl files, correct size in a holder
4. must see what you are doing. use jeweler's magnifiers with light

 

[BobL]

Last year I made a handsaw sharpening vice from some hardwood floorboards. A couple of months ago it dawned on my that it could make a great chain vice.

The clamping screws are made from threaded pieces of brass plumbing and the screwing handles are old tap bodies.

At the bottom front you will notice two tap handles. These move the clamp apart at the botton acting as a counterlever to provide additional clamping action. They work really well.

Here is a close up of the chain so you can see how neatly it is gripped.

It grips the drive links nice and tight and there is way less chattering than doing it on the bar, especially when filing square cut chain from the outside in!

A much better working height too, especially for blind people like me who need to wear a magnifier to see what they are doing

 

[badhabits]

Last year I made a handsaw sharpening vice from some hardwood floorboards. A couple of months ago it dawned on my that it could make a great chain vice.

Wow that looks really good. Though I have a question. Do you have extra chains that you change out and sharpen them all on this device when you get home or do you use this to put the final edge on them after touch ups in the field.

 

[BobL]

Last year I made a handsaw sharpening vice from some hardwood floorboards. A couple of months ago it dawned on my that it could make a great chain vice.

Wow that looks really good. Though I have a question. Do you have extra chains that you change out and sharpen them all on this device when you get home or do you use this to put the final edge on them after touch ups in the field.

The chain in the photo is 404 for a 30" bar but 95% of my CS use is milling with a 3/8 and a 42" bar. I have a number of 42" rip chains which I sharpen at home and bring these with me so I rarely need to sharpen in the field. The vice is held in a large woodworking vice and would be very hard to use anywhere else.

I like sharpening chains in the evening after my stressful day job - I find it quite relaxing.

Cheers.

 

[badhabits]

I like sharpening chains in the evening after my stressful day job - I find it quite relaxing.

Cheers.

Come to think of it sharpening chain is quite relaxing. Put on some good music and file away.

 

[Jim Mesthene]

I just tried filing from the outside in for the first time with my Granberg File & Joint. It works way better because the file stroke forces the cutter against the stop, stabilizing the whole contraption. The angle stays rock-steady and the cutter-length stop is more positive too.
I could see how it would chatter if filing freehand, but using the Granberg, filing from the hard outside toward the softer inside is the way to go.
Another great tip picked up here, thanks.

 

[RaisedByWolves]

Jim, you just cant do that..........





Or so Im told.

 

[spencer13cat]

I'm a newbie to this site but not to saws and wordworking. The explanation of the burr having a negative effect on the edge if filed from inside to outside is absolutely true.

Let's take a common sense approach to looking at this. In the worlds of Knife-making and woodworking sharpening is a highly discussed topic. Also one that has hundreds of years of experience.

I am a traditional workworker that uses handplanes and chisels on a regular basis. I have learned from many books, videos, and personal instruction. You NEVER see any of these craftsmen sharpen something away from the edge. Maybe in the early stages of ruffing something out. The reason is simple, The idea is to keep an edge as sharp as possible for as long as possible. I have learned by looking at edges under magnification what works and why. A final hone with 8000 grit on both sides of a plane blade gives an edge that looks like chrome and lasts a long time.

Butchers like my grandfather are another good example of edge maintenance. They steel the blade every few minutes, The reason is as an edge wears it peels itself open with tiny little burrs. The steel lays these burrs back in line or repairs the edge. I like the guys in some threads that say they touch up their chains every tank of fuel. This is the same principle. Odds are they get more life out of their chains by not having to grind away metal as often. I think I will start doing this.

The ultimate in edge maint is leather stropping. This is the one exception to the direction rule. It works the same way as a steel only much finer. Too bad their is no way to stropp a chain. Maybe using a very fine cut file??? Not sure whats out there but It wouldn't suprise me if race saw guys do something like this. None of this is my own theory it's been proven over hundreds of years. The big question in my mind is how to apply it to chain saws???

 

[pgg]

The razor edges on knives axes chizels, on chainsaws it's gone in a flash, admittedly new hard chrome cutters stay sharp longer, but once they're filed it makes no difference, reversed filed or not, bet $100, blindfolded, one log, no-one could tell between reversed filed or normal

 

[ralawler]

I use a oregon chain grinder. put off buying 1 for years. boy was that dumb.