How much faster is chisel chain than semi chisel?

[1stmale]

And because full chisel chain dulls faster is it a net gain in speed over a day of cutting to use semi chisel which holds and edge longer.

Basically when chisel chain starts to dull does it cut slower than semi chisel?

 

[4mocajuns]

IF and when you hit dirt with chisel (flat top chain) it will dull instantly.

 

[Austin1]

And because full chisel chain dulls faster is it a net gain in speed over a day of cutting to use semi chisel which holds and edge longer.

Basically when chisel chain starts to dull does it cut slower than semi chisel?

I disagree I hate semi chisel feels like I hit rock with my chain even though the chain is new and sharp. Granted I only cut clean wood maybe some road dust on it I will stick to my Round chisel for everyday cutting and Square in my bigger saw's. If my chain gets dull I switch saw's.For me I find a dull round chisel is better than a Semi chisel but of course that's just me.

 

[mikefunaro]

I do much more cutting of dead and or downed wood than I do of freshly fallen green stuff. I use semi-chisel a lot of the time just because there tends to be a fair amount of dirt and grit on the stuff and full chisel gets dull way too fast.

Is the difference in cutting speed noticeable? Definitely. If you're a fast sharpener even with frequent touch ups you'll still probably out do semi chisel by far in a full day of cutting, but honestly, for my needs, semi-chisel just seems a whole lot easier.

You could try doing timed cuts or something like that if you really wanted to, and then look at time spent sharpening etc.

Also note that semi-chisel tends to be much more forgiving with sharpening errors.

 

[Austin1]

I do much more cutting of dead and or downed wood than I do of freshly fallen green stuff. I use semi-chisel a lot of the time just because there tends to be a fair amount of dirt and grit on the stuff and full chisel gets dull way too fast.

Is the difference in cutting speed noticeable? Definitely. If you're a fast sharpener even with frequent touch ups you'll still probably out do semi chisel by far in a full day of cutting, but honestly, for my needs, semi-chisel just seems a whole lot easier.

You could try doing timed cuts or something like that if you really wanted to, and then look at time spent sharpening etc.

Also note that semi-chisel tends to be much more forgiving with sharpening errors.

That's true I spend like 15min on a 28'' Square ground chain with a file.

 

[Bowtie]

I like this thread. I use full chisel for the speed and fun. That being said, I have a 20" .063 Stihl RolloES bar that I have nothing but semi chisel chain for cutting the nasty dirty wood. I personally think semi-chisel isnt that bad for the average person using a chainsaw, but once you use sharp chisel, no going back. Semi-chisel is fun to cut with, but isnt fast. Then ya use square ground, and its level 3. Im happy enough with round ground chisel.

 

[OnlyHomelites]

I run full chisel on anything 20" or bigger. I don't cut super dirty wood and I can usually get a number of days of cutting before needing to sharpen. I've never measured how much faster full chisel cuts, but I know on my saws it is faster and in my opinion it cuts smoother (less vibration). Once it starts to dull, you really do notice though.

 

[1stmale]

Ok here is a hypothetical question.

If I had to make 100 cuts in a log with chisel chain and 100 cuts with semi chisel using the same saw which would finish all 100 cuts first?

If semi chisel looses its edge faster does it slow down enough to allow the semi chisel to beat it in the long haul?

On another point I have a grinder so I do not sharpen in the field. If I had several loops of full chisel and changed the chain after every tank of gas would that be better than using semi chisel all the time?

I cut firewood and it is often times dirty. When I am bucking up 24" ash trees on the ground it easy to hit the dirt esp when I have to cut all the way through the log in order to turn it over to cut the other side in order to avoid cutting into the dirt.

I also always cut hardwood. The softest wood I would ever cut would be elm.

If you have not noticed I am trying to decide which type of to standardize with. I do not have the funds to have both kind of chain right now.

 

[Brushwacker]

I disagree I hate semi chisel feels like I hit rock with my chain even though the chain is new and sharp. Granted I only cut clean wood maybe some road dust on it I will stick to my Round chisel for everyday cutting and Square in my bigger saw's. If my chain gets dull I switch saw's.For me I find a dull round chisel is better than a Semi chisel but of course that's just me.

You probably hit a rock. Most semi -chisel I ever used doesnt feel much slower then any full chisel I have used . I have had a chain or 2 semi-chisel I didn't like,I think at least 1 Oregon. I rarely will use a dull chain any length of time but my experiance a slightly dull chisel chain will be worse then slightly dull semi-chisel. Working on the ground semi-chisel is my first choice.

 

[redprospector]

Ok here is a hypothetical question.

If I had to make 100 cuts in a log with chisel chain and 100 cuts with semi chisel using the same saw which would finish all 100 cuts first?

If semi chisel looses its edge faster does it slow down enough to allow the semi chisel to beat it in the long haul?

On another point I have a grinder so I do not sharpen in the field. If I had several loops of full chisel and changed the chain after every tank of gas would that be better than using semi chisel all the time?

If you have not noticed I am trying to decide which type of to standardize with. I do not have the funds to have both kind of chain right now.

Hypothetically, if you had a log you had to make 100 cuts in.........You'd have a looooooooooooong log.

Joking aside. In 100 cuts (if you keep the bar out of the dirt), a chisel chain would finish far enough ahead of the semi-chisel that you'd have time to touch it up with a file, and be into the next log by the time the semi finished.
And a square chisel would finish about that far ahead of the chisel.

Contrary to popular belief chisel chain (round and square) isn't as delicate as many let on. It won't be dull if you just show it some dirt. Loggers use chisel chain, and they are after production. That should say something for the difference between chisel, and semi-chisel chain.

Changing chains at every tank would probably be a little over kill.
Andy

 

[Brushwacker]

Ok here is a hypothetical question.

If I had to make 100 cuts in a log with chisel chain and 100 cuts with semi chisel using the same saw which would finish all 100 cuts first?

If semi chisel looses its edge faster does it slow down enough to allow the semi chisel to beat it in the long haul?

On another point I have a grinder so I do not sharpen in the field. If I had several loops of full chisel and changed the chain after every tank of gas would that be better than using semi chisel all the time?

I cut firewood and it is often times dirty. When I am bucking up 24" ash trees on the ground it easy to hit the dirt esp when I have to cut all the way through the log in order to turn it over to cut the other side in order to avoid cutting into the dirt.

I also always cut hardwood. The softest wood I would ever cut would be elm.

If you have not noticed I am trying to decide which type of to standardize with. I do not have the funds to have both kind of chain right now.

You should be well enough off whichever way you go. Me (just me I am speaking for) if the price was the same I would take semi-chisel and if you can afford it Stihl RM. If you can learn to sharpen with a file you probably would benifit more and semi chisel is easiar to keep sharp and cutting straight. About the only time I use a grinder is when I hit something with the chain. Have a few chains hanging that need it as I haven't run my grinder in several years. I like putting the chainsaw in a vice with good light and reading glasses then make the cutters look uniform like they should.

 

[B_Turner]

Hypothetically, if you had a log you had to make 100 cuts in.........You'd have a looooooooooooong log.

Joking aside. In 100 cuts (if you keep the bar out of the dirt), a chisel chain would finish far enough ahead of the semi-chisel that you'd have time to touch it up with a file, and be into the next log by the time the semi finished.
And a square chisel would finish about that far ahead of the chisel.

Contrary to popular belief chisel chain (round and square) isn't as delicate as many let on. It won't be dull if you just show it some dirt. Loggers use chisel chain, and they are after production. That should say something for the difference between chisel, and semi-chisel chain.

Changing chains at every tank would probably be a little over kill.
Andy

 

[avalancher]

I run full chisel on anything 20" or bigger. I don't cut super dirty wood and I can usually get a number of days of cutting before needing to sharpen. I've never measured how much faster full chisel cuts, but I know on my saws it is faster and in my opinion it cuts smoother (less vibration). Once it starts to dull, you really do notice though.

You get a number of DAYS of cutting between sharpening? I dont know how much you cut in a day, but it cant be a whole lot. I generally touch up every 3 tankfuls or so, depending on the wood, etc.
Cant imagine going several days between sharpening.

 

[1stmale]

I only cut fire wood and it is all hard wood about half is green the other half is dry. I usually get it from farmsteads or tree lines. It is also usually storm damage trees or dead standing trees. I do cut down and buck up some live trees mostly elm that people want to get rid of.

When we talk about dirty wood are we talking about wood that is covered in mud. everything I cut just has dirt and mud on the bottom where it has been either laying on the ground or drug across the ground. I just do not want to making a mountain out of a mole hill.

What would be the best all around chain?

If chisel chain is much better all around I will buy about 5 loops and change them or touch them with a file when dull. But if they are going to dull to fast and it would be a great inconvenience to have to sharpen them all the time I would rather use semi chisel.

I have used Oregon 95vp and I think it cuts pretty fast but it is narrow kerf.

I have also used 72lp but I have not had enough practice with it. I keep stalling the chain in my 359. I know it is because I am applying to much pressure I am still working on the sweet spot. And yes I have changed to muffler to the non-cat and re tuned the saw.

 

[Austin1]

You probably hit a rock. Most semi -chisel I ever used doesnt feel much slower then any full chisel I have used . I have had a chain or 2 semi-chisel I didn't like,I think at least 1 Oregon. I rarely will use a dull chain any length of time but my experiance a slightly dull chisel chain will be worse then slightly dull semi-chisel. Working on the ground semi-chisel is my first choice.

Nope no Rocks lol. I tried Stihl took the plunge and bought the expensive stuff thinking it would be good for dirty stuff, Not. It vibrates like crazy compared to my usual chain and cuts much too slow for my likening. I really don't think Round Chisel goes dull that fast,reading some of the other posts on here I think they are right just a file stroke or two and they are sharp again. but in the field I just grab another saw. We all cut in different places so what works for you might be best I consider a tree dirty wood if it is 100yds from a gravel road. Except large Poplar or willow dam that stuff soaks up the sand you can see sparks fly.

 

[1stmale]

Well I made some calls and all they have locally is rmc3 (with the exception of one dealer who has rmc it but he wants $28 for 1 loop the other dealers want $20 for the rmc3) I can get an 18" loop of rsc for $22-$23. I am considering buying 1 loop of the stihl chain and 4 loops of bailey's 23rc-74. This is all for my 026 Stihl 18"

I am leaning towards rsc for speed and taking a break to touch up with a file when I fill up with gas. I have a feeling that a chain that cuts faster and digs more on its own will be easier on my body and that will more than make up for the time spent sharpening.

I have as a rule when I am bucking a log that has dirt in the bark cut using the top of the bar so in theory it should throw the dirt off the log. This is of course after I have cut most of the way through the log and have rolled it over to finish cutting. Maybe if I continue this full chisel chain will work well for me until I make a mistake and run my chain into the gravel or dirt. In which case neither chain will perform well after that.

 

[2dogs]

I run primarily full skip chain on my saws over 20". Since I mostly am cutting trees this works well. However I also run semi-chisel, Oregon 72DP, when I am cutting brush or dirty logs. This full comp semi-chisel works very well when cutting coyote brush (baccharis) which can get 8" in diameter. If I touch the ground, which I will when cutting brush at ground level, semi-chisel is much more forgiving. For logs that have been pushed around by a dozer or skidded through mud it works very well also. Yes it does cut slower than chisel when the wood is clean but when the wood is dirty this chain really shines. A 36" DBH fir can be up a lot of dirt in the bark after being pushed around and just "touching up" a chisel chain is not reality. The chain needs serious filing after that. For a general purpose chain, esp in dirty conditions or even a novice bucking logs, semi-chisel is a great way to go.

 

[tdi-rick]

While some of the blokes above have far, far more experience than I cutting timber, if it's hardwood for firewood use Semi.

It's all the full time (pro) firewood cutters here will use, they all say full chisel dulls miles too fast in our wood/conditions.
I tend to prefer Carlton over 72DP, seems to hold an edge a little better in the dirty stuff and there's a perception (mine) it cuts a teensy bit better, although it chatters a little more.

 

[barkies]

semi all the way
If you cut through caked mud with round chisel your gonna have to stop and sharpen every time

semi is a little more forgiving but no chain is gonna stay sharp in muddy wood
like you describe

 

[1stmale]

I give up I am just going to buy both chisel and semi chisel.

Use the I will use semi when the log is muddy.

Thanks for the answers