What do you pay for it. I have been charged $20 - $25 for sharpening a 14" blade, but if I buy a quality one from Ali Express, Delivered, I can get one for $14. A no brain-er really.
annies3,
Apr 23, 9:59am
You are talking about the chain I suppose ? Bar cost $60, new chain $55.80 sharpen the chain many times yourself for naught !
harrislucinda,
Apr 23, 10:21am
buy a chain saw sharpener as hubby did the able to do your self Can do many sizes
articferrit,
Apr 23, 10:27am
chainsaw file $10, new chain last week last week $75
goose16,
Apr 23, 10:54am
Stihl shop charge me $20 to sharpen 16" chain. New price $40. Local mower shop sharpens for $10.
ianab,
Apr 23, 1:06pm
File and guide plate. Takes 5 mins to sharpen the saw. I've been cutting some dry sheoak lately, and having to touch up the chain every couple of tanks of gas.
Get a sharpening kit with the raker gauge, flat file etc and you can keep a chain sharp and cutting perfect until the cutters are basically worn away.
Also, sharpen as soon as the cutters start to dull. That way you only need a light run with the file. If you let the cutters get badly worn you have to file away a LOT more material to get a good cutting edge again.
daves01,
Apr 23, 1:08pm
Have you noticed any difference with the ali express chain?
martin11,
Apr 23, 1:44pm
I bought one off there about 18 months ago and the cutters were definitely a lot softer material than a locally bought one , it wore out very quickly .
ambo11,
Apr 23, 5:55pm
Buy the correct size files and a raker guage, watch a couple of you tube videos and do it yourself. it really is very basic and easy. I have 5 saws with varying bar and chain lengths up to 42 inch and do them all in the vice at home. Yes a chainsaw sharpener is a nice toy, but you still need to manually take down the rakers. You simply cannot beat a hand filed chain.
budgel,
Apr 23, 7:55pm
Yes, it's not hard to learn to do it yourself. Like a lot of things, the more you do it the better you get. Stihl has a new sharpening tool out that does the rakers at the same time. I'm happy to do mine freehand, it's only a firewood saw!
shaun16,
Apr 24, 4:02pm
I tried by hand and just couldn't get it to sharpen evenly. probably just me doing it wrong. but I purchased an electric sharpener and once set up correctly its so easy and quick to sharpen the chain. only downside is they can wear out the chains quicker as they take more off easily/quicker than hand filing
shaun16,
Apr 24, 4:09pm
and I just looked up my chains. can get them for $10 on ebay and $13 on aliexpress. but I'd rather sharpen them and reuse them as much as possible before buying another
peacebird15,
Apr 24, 4:21pm
Guess your going to stock up on 50c kitchen knives and socks on aliexpress to
Yeah there is a no brains somewhere in that economic conclusion, The second give away is calling anything on a chainsaw, a blade.
The ali chains generally suck. They blunt and stretch fast (at such a rate I worry about there safety), so unless your doing minimum amounts of work, your wasting money and resources.
hkjoe,
Apr 24, 6:12pm
I may be old, but a chainsaw chain delivered for $14 from the other side of the world cannot be of the right quality and durability.
daves01,
Apr 24, 6:17pm
Was it pulling to one side when cutting after your hand sharpening? Once you get it right with your electric sharpener 2 or 3 light passes after every tank or 2 and you should get it
daves01,
Apr 24, 6:18pm
It's the throwaway mentality isn't it?
skin1235,
Apr 24, 6:52pm
lol, I've used that cheap chain, very successfully too who in their right mind stretches a chain - thats indicative of a poor operator, and invariably involves rakes on saws etc, if you cannot let the chain do the cut without you hooking the rakes in and leaning on it, thus asking the chain to exceed its actual ability, then its not the chains fault if it stretches, learn to use the saw properly, learn to sharpen it properly and who's the wafflers yapping about cutting down the depth guides - have you no idea how a chain is designed, a specialist chain for ripping may need the guides lowered as new, but then thats why you buy full chisel, the guides are lowered to suitable depth, most here would not even know what a full chisel looks like, some may have an alaskan or other mill know but most have no idea Is this the snob value brigade in full song?, next thing you'll be claiming the only saw is a stihl, all others are a heap of shit, unless you personally have a husky, then even stihl are shit
but then what would I know, I still run my old ( and I mean OLD ) Pioneer 650 with a slipper tip, and a thumb pump, brought it new 45 years ago, still beats a stihl when its got the 36 inch on it and gets its teeth into a double cut
skin1235,
Apr 24, 7:00pm
shaun, you'll find that if you set the slide so the blade actually does not touch on the way down, then rock the head gently sideways it will sharpen perfectly without gobbling up your chains, contrary to most claims it also does not heat the cutter and consequently harden it ( which causes it to chip the leading edge off and the damn thing is blunt again inside 4 cuts through a medium hardwwood 600mm bowl ( fresh gum or fresh marco ) be gentle and make sure you don't blue the side of the cutter and you'll enjoy a better time on the end of your saw
skin1235,
Apr 24, 7:04pm
I've worked with cowboys, commercial scrub cutters, who cannot get more than 2 weeks out of Oregon Chain, and a new bar every new chain, yet 6 weeks out of the elcheapo knockoff on my own saws is common, the bar can last almost a season, 10 hr days, 3 chains per day, sometimes 4, sharpened each night, manuka, kanuka, even punga, and anything else standing in the path
ianab,
Apr 24, 8:32pm
There is a bit of an art to sharpening saw chain, but it's well worth learning. As you say, 4 chains or sharpens a day is reasonable. You replace or sharpen once it STARTS to get dull. Then they only need a light touch up to be perfect again. Whether you sharpen on the saw, or bring the spare chains home and deal to them later is up to you.
Technique matters too. If you keep cutting dirt your chain doesn't last long.
But the $20+ per sharpen is crazy. Not that the shop is ripping you off, you are paying for their time and overheads, so they have to charge. It's more that you might need to sharpen 4 or more times a day, at ~$20 a time? Yeah Nah.
cantabman1,
Apr 25, 9:54am
Sorry, but you are wrong. The Chinese are producing so really good products at fantastic prices. Not all that comes out of china is of great quality, but enough to pick and choose the best of it. Chainsaw blades is one product, that if you pick the better listed commercial blades, you will, or should get a very good product. Mine has yet to arrive, but going on the existing blades on my Ozito electric, I have nil complaints.
cantabman1,
Apr 25, 10:01am
I always sharpened my blades when blunted, but never as good as done in the shop. I now have osteo-arthritis, so for me a new chain each time is a far cheaper option. A $100 14 " electric chain saw and $13.67 replacement blades; I love it. Just for around the home use!
ianab,
Apr 25, 7:09pm
Fair enough if you are just doing a bit of gardening, chances are the chain will last you months? I've been doing storm cleanup and firewood with mature pines and assorted hardwoods. I'd be getting though 4 or more 28" chains a day. Sitting down on a log, having a short rest and touching up the chain with a file makes sense to me.
mrcat1,
Apr 25, 11:30pm
I have a Oregon commercial sharpener like the shops have, all you need to do is just set it up so it only just changes the colour of the cutter if its just a touch up needed, if you have hit something or it needs a straighten up from hand sharpening then it will need a little more.
mrcat1,
Apr 25, 11:46pm
New chains will stretch from new regardless of who makes it, if I'm running my 3120 with the 32" bar, then yes I can push the bucking spikes in and lean on it, and there is still a steady stream of wood chip flying out the back, and yes as a chain is sharpened the depth guides do need taking down, every couple of times sharpening they should be checked and on a chisel chain its 25thou (thickness of a hack saw blade) down from a straight edge laid across the top of the cutters, some of the large .404 gauge Oregon chains need 30thou from top of cutters.
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