Saw sharpening

I sharpen my own saws - hand file them. And even if they are bad (hit a rock, or old fence wire), the amount of the tooth you file off a tooth isn't visibly noticeable.

Dropped my saw off this week at rental village for some minor work (wish now I had done it myself). The saw was fairly sharp - it had a new chain from Oct/20 on it. It's been filed several times since then, but still had 90% of it's life left.
The guy at the shop (rental village - a stilh dealer) decided it needed sharpening. In one go he took off about 3/16's of the length of each tooth., left burrs on top of the teeth and the teeth blackened from the heat.
Literally destroyed the chain. I gave them crap and got a 50% discount on a new chain and am sending the mangled one to Stihl Canada.

I'm of the opinion if I didn't ask to have it sharpened, it shouldn't be touched.
Rental village says that if they get in a dull saw, the just go ahead and sharpen it.
The way he sharpens chains - you get one, maybe two sharpenings before the tooth is completely gone.

Anyone ever run into this?

If this is the norm - Stihls biggest problem isn't Chinese knockoffs.

I run husky's. They don't need to be brought in? LOL

But yes, you're right about them trying to sharpen the chain. Sounds like it may have been a kid in the back that most likely didn't know what he/she was doing regarding sharpening? And, if it wasn't on the work order, it shouldn't have been touched? Did they at least file the rakers down to match the tooth?

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

I sharpen my own saws - hand file them. And even if they are bad (hit a rock, or old fence wire), the amount of the tooth you file off a tooth isn't visibly noticeable.

Dropped my saw off this week at rental village for some minor work (wish now I had done it myself). The saw was fairly sharp - it had a new chain from Oct/20 on it. It's been filed several times since then, but still had 90% of it's life left.
The guy at the shop (rental village - a stilh dealer) decided it needed sharpening. In one go he took off about 3/16's of the length of each tooth., left burrs on top of the teeth and the teeth blackened from the heat.
Literally destroyed the chain. I gave them crap and got a 50% discount on a new chain and am sending the mangled one to Stihl Canada.

I'm of the opinion if I didn't ask to have it sharpened, it shouldn't be touched.
Rental village says that if they get in a dull saw, the just go ahead and sharpen it.
The way he sharpens chains - you get one, maybe two sharpenings before the tooth is completely gone.

Anyone ever run into this?

If this is the norm - Stihls biggest problem isn't Chinese knockoffs.

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I used to do ours at work, we had 4 with the top handle and another 6 200-300 models. I could easily do 10-12 sharpenings per chain, all depends how close you get the stone to the teeth, you only need to take off about 1/64th if the chain hasn't been cutting granite. We had this model and sharpens right to spec. Comes on sale every now and then. https://www.princessauto.com/en/120v...t/PA0008601577

I run 2 Stihl saws and same as you hand file them. They last a very long time. Never had issues with the dealer but can't remember the last time they were in either.

Saws get used quite a bit as well with 8-12 face cord cut per season. I'd be pissed. They should have given you the new chain free.

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Originally Posted by Bushmoose

I run husky's. They don't need to be brought in? LOL

But yes, you're right about them trying to sharpen the chain. Sounds like it may have been a kid in the back that most likely didn't know what he/she was doing regarding sharpening? And, if it wasn't on the work order, it shouldn't have been touched? Did they at least file the rakers down to match the tooth?

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Not on the work order. It was in to have a shock absorber bushing replaced. I should have done it myself - it's literally a 5 minute job - and I've done it before, but I had to go there to get the part anyway.
Next time I'll just order the part from China via amazon and do it myself.

I've been really going out of my way to support local dealers when I can. Now I feel stupid about it.

I Sharpen my own chains as well and I generally give two or 3 passes after every 4th tank.
Most things I repair myself on the saw but I did find a retired small engine mechanic who use to own one of the more popular places in East Ottawa. I got him to put a carb kit in cost me 30 bucks.

If you want to know anything about chainsaws or small engines go to Steve's Small Engine Saloon on you tube - this guy is great and funny - and likes his beer -

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

I've been really going out of my way to support local dealers when I can. Now I feel stupid about it.

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I've been burned a few times by a few different businesses over my life, it's encouraged me to do all my own work. It's a rare exception now for me to trust anybody, especially with how available parts and information are these days. As far as chainsaws go, we run Stihl at work and they are hand sharpened by the operator every day.

Most of the season I hand file...a sharp cutter is the only way to start the day :)

I sometimes use the Dremel type attachment with a tungston file if I have nicks that need to be cleaned up.

Come spring I take a look and any that need 'expert' touch-ups gets taken to the local 'Mom and Pops' Stihl dealer. They've taken care of my saws for over 20 yrs. They'll sell me the parts or fix the saw, never had a problem with their work.

It's nice to have a professional sharpen, he catches problems (like wear) I miss.

Yea they shouldn't have touched the chain if not requested, but probably appreciated by the average 'homeowner, their primary 'unwitting' customer. :)


Anyone ever hear of this ? : I was told by a logger never let them us an electric sharpener, the heat generated tempers the steel and you can never get it sharp again with a hand file.

I ran my saw today and had to touch it up with a file. Very tricky as I ended up with ribbons instead of chips. This is on a new Stihl factory bar and chain.
Once you touch dirt while cutting, game over.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

Most of the season I hand file...a sharp cutter is the only way to start the day :)

I sometimes use the Dremel type attachment with a tungston file if I have nicks that need to be cleaned up.

Come spring I take a look and any that need 'expert' touch-ups gets taken to the local 'Mom and Pops' Stihl dealer. They've taken care of my saws for over 20 yrs. They'll sell me the parts or fix the saw, never had a problem with their work.

It's nice to have a professional sharpen, he catches problems (like wear) I miss.

Yea they shouldn't have touched the chain if not requested, but probably appreciated by the average 'homeowner, their primary 'unwitting' customer. :)


Anyone ever hear of this ? : I was told by a logger never let them us an electric sharpener, the heat generated tempers the steel and you can never get it sharp again with a hand file.

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Ya the cheap grinders will change the temper of the saw chain and they literally are not able to be hand filed. The expensive automated grinders use high quality grinder wheels and also air cool the tooth as it's ground- keeps the temper for in field sharpening.

I much prefer to hand file my saws- I run chainsaws every day for work and sharpen saws every day ( I get the pleasure of removing lots of trees filled with nails, fences, rocks and all kinds of hidden treasures!)

Most dealers use electric grinders and if they aren't setup properly or maintained properly they do an awful job.

Sounds like the OP got burned ! Don't send your saw in with a bar and chain on next time lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by MikePal

Most of the season I hand file...a sharp cutter is the only way to start the day :)

I sometimes use the Dremel type attachment with a tungston file if I have nicks that need to be cleaned up.

Come spring I take a look and any that need 'expert' touch-ups gets taken to the local 'Mom and Pops' Stihl dealer. They've taken care of my saws for over 20 yrs. They'll sell me the parts or fix the saw, never had a problem with their work.

It's nice to have a professional sharpen, he catches problems (like wear) I miss.

Yea they shouldn't have touched the chain if not requested, but probably appreciated by the average 'homeowner, their primary 'unwitting' customer. :)


Anyone ever hear of this ? : I was told by a logger never let them us an electric sharpener, the heat generated tempers the steel and you can never get it sharp again with a hand file.

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That's why I said at most you take of about 1/64th of an inch, barely touching it, you don't get the black burn on the the cutting edge.

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Originally Posted by adolan

Ya the cheap grinders will change the temper of the saw chain and they literally are not able to be hand filed. The expensive automated grinders use high quality grinder wheels and also air cool the tooth as it's ground- keeps the temper for in field sharpening.

I much prefer to hand file my saws- I run chainsaws every day for work and sharpen saws every day ( I get the pleasure of removing lots of trees filled with nails, fences, rocks and all kinds of hidden treasures!)

Most dealers use electric grinders and if they aren't setup properly or maintained properly they do an awful job.

Sounds like the OP got burned ! Don't send your saw in with a bar and chain on next time lol

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this is very cool. :)

I never understood the need for an electric sharpener, it's a gimmicky thing for suckers. It's not hard to file a saw, used to do it over and over throughout the day. Come to think of it filing was the only time we got a break.

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