Be Sharp!

Chainsaw instructor Tim Ard instructs us in one of Progessive Farmer's videos above. Watch Tim a few times to imbed in your brain just what you need to do to the teeth on your saw when you sharpen. If you can see a thin shiny line on the front edge of the top plate, or a shiny spot on the point, you need to sharpen. I usually touch up my blade every time I stop to fuel up, and that way my saw never is dull, unless I am careless enough to 'rock' it, or unfortunate in finding metal in a tree.

The angles he shows are very important to maintain. If you hook the side angle forward too much, it will bite too aggresively, and if you have it leaning back the tooth will not cut well. The depth gauges need to be checked regularly, because as the tooth is sharpened back, it bites less until the depth gauge is lowered to match. I usually touch up the gauges every three or four sharpenings. The advantage of the Pferd tool that Tim demonstrates is that the depth gauges are adjusted to match as you sharpen. There are several tools available to help you sharpen, and my favorite is the Carlton File-O-Plate. It works only on chains with no anti-kickback devices, but it fits easily in my ammo box kit I take to the woods. After you learn what you are doing with a file you will probably sharpen freehand most of the time, and use a tool to make things perfect when you are at your workbench. Below is a picture of the File-O-Plate, a tool that is handy to pack, but also very easy to lose in the leaves. I usually do not take it out of my kit in the woods, and have used the same one for more than a dozen years.



Next, loggers Jason and Roger are taking a break, and Jason sharpens freehand while Roger tells a mildly amusing story of going to a logger class.