Picking a chainsaw chain

[watcher]

I have a lot of trees I need to cut down and cut up and I have read about more 'aggressive' chains (skip tooth?) with cut faster but with an increased risk of kickback.

So here's my questions. Do the more aggressive chains really cut that much faster? If so do you think the speed is worth the increased risk?

[Darren]

The last saw I bought came with a skip tooth. The store went through a safety talk when I picked up the saw. They sell to loggers in that area. Having seen the difference, I'm not going back. As far as increased risk. Anyone who has used a chain saw should recognize when they're about to do something risky and take appropriate precautions.

[lonelytree]

What saw? Some saws don't have enough power to make it worthwhile.

Do you have PPE? Leggings, hardhat etc....

What size trees?

All my new chains are skip tooth.

[Spotted Owl]

What size saw? What size and type of wood? So long as you keep a sharp chain, skip really isn't all that big of a deal or need, so long as you don't lean on the saw faster than it can cut. The only time skip is very necessary is if you are in bar length or greater hard wood with big bars. Skip chain doesn't kick any more than any other chain so long as you keep your nose away from where it shouldn't be, it does vibrate and mess with your hands more during the cut though. If you for some reason have to have a skip, look into the semi comp, much smoother in the cut and you still have a tooth missing in the pattern. Look into the Oregon 75CK chain, holds it's cutting edge well and is forgiving with a file for touch ups.



Owl

[Andy Nonymous]

There is more to an "aggressive" chain than just skip tooth. It has to do with the shape of the tooth and sharpening angle as well. Ask your saw shop to show you the difference between a consumer chain (green link, low kickback), and a pro chain.

Yes, you can get a slightly faster cut with a 'pro' chain, IF it's kept sharp, and if it's kept snug on the bar. A loose and dull pro chain won't cut any faster than any other dull chain.

I personally prefer Stihl chain, as from my experience it seems to hold an edge longer than Oregon chain, but still sharpens well with a file. YMMV

[blooba]

"Pro" chains are nice, they are a little faster and don't need sharpened as often. Although they do kick back harder. With a safety chain i can hold the saw from kicking back usually, with a pro chain you have to rely on the chain brake. My chainbrake is not sensitive enough for me to rely on it because I hate hitting it by accident. So I stick with a safety chain. I just hate not having 100% control of the saw if I were to hit something.

If your just cutting down trees individually they work alot better than being in the middle of a brush pile.

[Kris in MI]

DH cuts a lot of oak, and last year he got the "aggressive" chain because he had heard good things and wanted to try it out. After testing it out on a few trees, he said he will definitely not go back to the 'homeowner' kind of chain; at least not when there's oak and hickory to cut. He'll keep his old ones sharpened and use those on the maples, etc.

[Patchouli]

Interesting! I didn't know there were different types of chains. We just cut up a bunch of trees, wish I had known this sooner!

[doingitmyself]

I cut lots of Osage Orange and Mulberry wood locally, its the hardest wood known to man!! I don't use skip tooth chains, and cut as much and as fast as my buddies super duper fancy smancy skip chain does.

I do use a "rapid cut" square tooth chain instead of the rounded cutters. Easier to sharpen and cut faster with very little increase of kickback risk.

I keep my chains sharp and touch them up in the field as needed, at 5 filings DIY sharpening i send it off and get it ground professionally. By that time the rakers need filing and my guy does a great job. He cleans resharpens, cleans again, then reoils the chain ready for reattachment to the saw.

I use Stihl exclusively.

[TnAndy]

Square tooth, or 'full chisel' tooth, chain is the fastest cutting you will find.



Most square tooth chain is filed on the inside of the tooth with a round file. There is a special file, or grinder, to make the square grind, and that is the most aggressive tooth style that there is.....but hard for most folks to maintain.

I use the square tooth, round grind. Very fast, plenty aggressive enough for me.

[idigbeets]

Unless you are running a really long bar (over 28") I wouldn't use a skip tooth. They are used for milling, or cutting with long bars where you generate a lot of sawdust and have to pull the saw in/out to clear them. Also used in situations where you are using a longer bar than the saw is rated for (or can pull effectively) and it allows the the saw to pull easier as there are less teeth in the wood.

On shorter bars, it will run rough...

Also, you will cut slower as there are less teeth....

If you're cutting down, dirty wood, use a semi chisel. Otherwise a regular round full chisel is just as good as anything. Stihl chains hold an edge longer, but harder to sharpen vs oregon which lose edge easier but easy to sharpen.

[watcher]

I've got a new Husky (well its several months old now) and I'm cutting down mostly oak and pine. They aren't that tough I've just have a LOT of them to cut down and cut up. Anything that will save a few minutes here and a few minutes there will add up to quite of bit of time saved in the end.

I just wanted to know if it would be worth it to buy a more aggressive chain. Knowledge is power.

[logbuilder]

Skip chain works best on cuts where you bury the bar. The reason skip works better is that it gets the chips out of the kerf better. It seems counter intuitive that less cutting teeth would be faster but it is all about getting the chips out that will cause a drag. Skip does tend to kickback more often. I really don't like skip for limbing due to kickback potential. I almost exclusively cut softwoods less than 20 inches. With a sharp safety chain, I have no problems.

[woodsy]

Originally Posted by TnAndy

Square tooth, or 'full chisel' tooth, chain is the fastest cutting you will find.



Most square tooth chain is filed on the inside of the tooth with a round file. There is a special file, or grinder, to make the square grind, and that is the most aggressive tooth style that there is.....but hard for most folks to maintain.

I use the square tooth, round grind. Very fast, plenty aggressive enough for me.