Having been a machinist for a number of years and in my apprenticeship had to hand file a 6" block of steel down to a 1" block, I have some knowledge of filing and metal and the quality of both.
That being said when I logged a lot more up in Wisconsin. I cut and skid all my logs. Sometimes my wife would skid and buck up, but for the most part I did it all.
I was in very good shape and the slowing down to sharpen a chain or fill a gas/oil tank was taking too much time. So Karen would help by always providing a "fresh" chain and filled saw. Usually putting the chains on at the ATV and walking them into me and taking the "used" saw back out for attention. I cared two saws and no gas or oil, as she did all the filling and chain swapping.
At that time and still have some of them now. I had Oregon, Carlton/Woodsman and Stihl chains. Now mind you I just got the saws in ready to run fashion, I sharpened all the chains on the same chain grinder and/or hand filed them as needed. So that was the same.
When I was tired and recieved a "new fresh" saw and chain, I didn't check to see what chain it has on it, I just ran the thing, until the saw was empty or chain dull, and kept track of my trees cut.
I could always tell which chain was on the saw after cutting with it for awhile. Sort of a blind test if you will, and it was a blind test that lasted for a long while and many different conditions.
1. Stihl is/was the hardest or (better stated) lasted the longest.
2. Carlton/Woodsman Pro was 2nd best.
3. Oregon was/is so soft I won't use it and I don't know why anyone except someone who likes to take breaks often to sharpen their chain, would use it.
Now that is coming from a professional situation where I was paid on "piece work" or board footage. I don't like, that Stihl is more expensive initially, but it is. I wanted the costwise cheaper Oregon or Carlton to be a better chain.
That being what it is. From a professional/piece work point of view. The additional roughly $100 a roll that Stihl costs per roll is a drop in the bucket when you compare it to how much longer it lasts and the additional time it saves you and the increased productivity you get out of it. It flat out, is a better, higher quality tool.
How does all of this fit into the world of arborists, loggers paid hourly, loggers paid piece work, firewood cutters, backyard loggers, rank amateurs, racers and/or complete idiots with chainsaws?
As with any other quality tool like a Snap-on, Starret and such. Typically only your higher skilled craftmen or skilled labor will ever notice or appreciate the additional time and quality invested into a tool, or at least to a level that they can or will justify it on a financial level at a bare minimum.
If we give some backyard tree trimmer with a Wildthing, all three chains and a 6" pine tree to cut, and ask for his report.
He will say,"They all cut the wood."
If he rocks the Stihl before making a cut, he say it sucks without justification.
Now if the same amateur is now asked to sharpen the three chains, by hand, he will expound on the easiness of sharpening the Oregon, because it is soft. So he may like that, because he doesn't make any more money whether or not the chains last any longer. He only looks at the small picture of getting through this distasteful task of sharpening a chain, as if that is how we measure the success of the day and not (board footage) on the ground. If the chain gets dull, now he can drink some sweet tea and rest.
Another scenerio is that you might employ several cutters, and in that you will have varying degrees of pride in the workmanship and tools provided. You might start out buying your men the best, and hoping for the best to come of it. But alas, that does not happen (an ever increasing problem these days). So you waste the extra money on the better chain only to find that 3 out of 5 cutters end up throwing half used chains away in the timber or who knows what other excuses may arise, but they do, and so, in this case you as the owner and purchaser of the more expensive, higher quality tooling, are not "encouraged" to keep up the quality, because you have employees that don't know or don't care to take advantage of that higher quality and produce more in return.
I say all of that to say this. Stihl chain is the Snap-on of the chain world. It is the best at getting wood cut, period. You may not be in a situation where it makes economical sense to spend the money on it, and that is fine. Or you may simply lack the skill and experience to know there is much of a difference between chain qualities and therefore exclaim that whatever you own is the best (for you) therefore it must be the best for everyone (not true).
That is my opinion and experience on chain quality.
Sam
