I started my journey toward hand-filing chainsaws when I was in high school. I watched arborists run a chainsaw through wood like it was butter. I wanted to sharpen a chainsaw like that. My journey started before the internet, before YouTube. The only way to learn to hand-file a chainsaw was to know someone or …
Last week I tried a new file handle for sharpening my chainsaw. I didn’t like it. The handle was flat and I held the file only one way because it felt ‘right’. I ended up filing every tooth with the same part of the file and quickly dulled the it. I like big fat round file handles …
Hand filing chainsaws is a perishable skill. If you don’t practice you’ll lose it. Today it clicked. I no longer need, or want, a file guide. My chain needed a major sharpening. The cutters were different lengths and the top plate angles were way off. I also hit a piece of metal embedded in the wood. I use …