Richard said:
Is one style of chain EASIER for a home owner to sharpen? I read where the full chisel is the easiest to dull in dirt, might that ALSO make it the easiet to sharpen? (I'm hoping you say yes)
Hey Richard. Man, sort of a can of worms to this question. But I'll tell you how I view the answer. In my opinion, full chisel is easy to sharpen. Let me qualify that by adding, I have absolutely no experience with bench mount grinders.
I use two different 12v hand held grinders. One is a Grandberg:
Granberg 12 Volt Grinder from Baileys-online.com
The other is made by EZE Lap Diamond:
EZE-LAP Diamond Products - Chainsaw Sharpeners
The only thing different about sharpening full chisel than semi-chisel or any safety chain, is that the sharpener must be tilted down 5 or 10 degrees (away from the corner), I don't remember which, but it's defined in the info that comes with the chain. This is pretty easy to get used to, especially if you start with fresh chain that has not been sharpened before. This is because you can visually see if you are duplicating the original edges.
Another advantage to starting with a newish chain is that the teeth are all the same length, and it's pretty easy to sharpen each tooth about the same amount so that they remain about the same size. By doing this, I've had no problem keeping my teeth uniform. In my opinion, it's false economy to practice on old nasty chain.
As I look at my various chains, it looks like I currently have some Stihl and some Oregon, both of which have index marks on the top of the tooth for maintaining a consistent proper angle on the front of the tooth. I think most brands have this feature these days.
My eyesight ain't what it used to be, so I usually sharpen my chains on the saw, on the dining table
, looking through a magnifier (the type that is on a long articulated arm, with a round fluorescent bulb around it). As a power source, I use a motorcycle battery and a trickle charger. If I should happen to need to sharpen in the field, I carry the motorcycle battery (charged, of course) and extra chains and supplies in a five gal. bucket.
My favorite sharpener is the one from EZE Lap. It is far from industrial, but I haven't broken it or used it up yet in four years of use. Two things I like about it are the size and the switch. It is small and fits easily in the hand. The switch is on the butt end and is momentary on; it's operated by your pinky.
The Grandberg is much sturdier and has a fairly longstanding good reputation as a good field grinder. I find it a little more clumsy and the stones for it are more coarse than the industrial diamond surface of the EZE Lap "diamond files", as they call them.
Part of the can o' worms I referred to above is about the efficacy of using "diamond files". I've seen plenty of heated debate about this topic on several forums. There are several brands out there, or so I've heard, but EZE Lap is the only one I've found and used. Personally, I think they give a superior edge, and have the advantage of not changing in diameter through the useful life of the file. The aluminum oxide stones such as are commonly used on the Granberg gradually wear down in diameter as you use them, so if you should decide to go this route, do yourself a favor and buy a bunch of stones, and change out when you can see the diameter change.
While I find the diamond sharpeners to give a superior edge, I use aluminum oxide if I've really messed up a chain, usually by hitting dirt hard, or running into small stones on stumps. I learned by personal experience that attempting to use a diamond sharpener to clean up a badly dull chain wears the diamond sharpener out prematurely.
I hope you find this info useful. It might be more info than you really wanted, but I was so happy to discover that sharpening saw chain can be relatively pain free and pretty easy, that I like to share. Don't forget to flip that new bar every other sharpening or so and you'll get a much longer life and straighter cutting for the life of the bar.
An 044 is a fine saw.
Mike
