# Which stihl chain type cuts the best?



## yuri t (Feb 20, 2012)

I'm looking for a "quick" education on the different chain types available from Stihl. I've been to their website, and due to the many types available I'm more confused than ever. 
I'm looking to get something that really rips thru the wood. I've been cutting for years, and now use a rapid super. I see skip tooth blades, square ground, etc. etc.....are the carbon tipped blades worth the price? Any help would be appreciated.


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## mdavlee (Feb 20, 2012)

Square is the fastest but will dull in dirty wood as does the RSC and RSK along with the skip versions. If you cut clean wood or fall and buck where they land then you might try square ground. It is hard to file with good results and most end up round filing it when dull or when they don't want to square file it any more.


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## Arbonaut (Feb 20, 2012)

The carbide tipped duro chain would be a good investment for cutting firewood, but you would need a diamond grinding wheel to sharpen it and most dealers can't even sharpen duro.

What you are using is the best just keep the incisors the same length. Or go to micro, but its really awash, all Stihl chain is the best. If you been cutting awhile, don't bother with the green chain if you switch to RMC.


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## ratso (Feb 20, 2012)

Skip chains provide better chip discharge and work well with 28" plus size bars they have less cutters so sharpening is faster.


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## SPDRMNKY (Feb 20, 2012)

a sharp chain is best...so for grind, whatever you can sharpen well

chisel for clean green wood

semi-chisel for dead dry dirty wood

carbide is usually double the price, and must be sharpened with a diamond wheel

heard that skip chain cuts faster, but haven't tried it out yet

yellow or green is mostly preference

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I run picco duro (3/8 picco carbide) on my small saws because I do a lot of brush and cleanup work, and the extra cost is offset by not having to sharpen every 15 mins (in my application)

I run semi-chisel 3/8 yellow full comp on all other saws, but my longest bar is only 25"

talk to your dealer...his input is probably worthy of consideration


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## Dalmatian90 (Feb 20, 2012)

> I'm looking to get something that really rips thru the wood.



Don't believe Stihl sells any chains meant for ripping -- which is a specific type of cut used to produce boards, normally in conjunction with a chainsaw mill to keep them straight.

The best chain is one you keep sharp. Which rules out carbide and square chisel for most folks.

Yellow will take a bigger bite at once then the green reduced kick-back chains, and you can file the rakers lower then standard for an even more aggressive cut. Hmmm, there's that sharpening thing again.

So you may want to spend some time learning how to hand sharpen well and figure out what works well in your situation before you get too much into looking through catalogs for "best" chain.


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