Are Carbide Chains Worth the Extra Cost?

[juanroberts]

All very good info and feedback on carbide chains. However, please know that carbide contains cobalt, whose dust particles are highly carcinogenic. Any type of sharpening, diamond file, dremel or diamond wheel will produce fine dust particles. If you choose to sharpen the chain yourself, dust evacuation or proper ventilation is a must! Do not breathe it. It doesn’t take much to ruin your day….

Full disclosure: I’ve worked, in a past career,for a Swiss machine tool mfgr who produces grinding machines for the carbide cutting tool industry. We used high amounts of flood coolant, along with dust extraction. One time, I did service work at a “Stellite” plant in Canada , where they machine materials that contained cobalt. Life expectancy for their retirees was an average of 2-5 yrs. Cobalt in fines/dust form is as bad or worse than asbestos. Do your research before you sharpen carbide.
Peace…….

How about using a carbide chain to cut roots and dirty wood when its dry out, will that result in cobalt wearing off the chain and into the air, lungs, etc.?

 

[heimannm]

So many options...

https://rapcoindustries.com/carbide-chainsaw-chain-designs/
https://www.baileysonline.com/chain...2uggf5UAlrgPHLIrLUdvlLKRQkkKbEYsaAnRiEALw_wcB
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rd3/
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/specialty-saw-chains/pd3/
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rd3/?bvstate=pg:2/ct:r
https://forestershop.com/forester-3...zbFWhL58KhXuAOSPyppJlfCLbkYfgQkAaAoo4EALw_wcB
https://firepenny.com/Tempest_Ventm...X5HqeTTLo_mA8hbrRGqKwf5zZA2xrwlMaAuduEALw_wcB
https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Power-Deals-Carbide-Chainsaw/dp/B07JWCTNDK
Read some of the "fine print" on the Amazon chain...

• Also NOTE Correct use you must allow the chain to cool back to ambient temperature between uses the teeth with break off if you stop using the chain for any amount of time and then pick it up and start going again. Allow chain to cool a minimum of 3 hours

Mark

 

[ladnar]

Hey Ladnar!

I had a similar experience with the diamond wheel on my grinder.... there just seems to be very little room between the front of the cutter and the back of the depth gauge. It feels wrong grinding the back of the depth gauge to make room for the wheel (or in your case the file), but you may have to do it. Once there is room you'll find the problem goes away. It's only prevelent on new chains.

Hope this helps!

Mike

Thank you Mike, That helps a lot.

 

[Philbert]

Thought we had a big thread (8 pages or so) on wood cutting versus fire / rescue type carbide chains, but it appears to be on another forum.

Here is one thread here on AS:

https://www.arboristsite.com/threads/carbide-chain.361448/#post-7780150
Philbert

 

[buck2rocks]

So many options...

https://rapcoindustries.com/carbide-chainsaw-chain-designs/
https://www.baileysonline.com/chain...2uggf5UAlrgPHLIrLUdvlLKRQkkKbEYsaAnRiEALw_wcB
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rd3/
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/specialty-saw-chains/pd3/
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rd3/?bvstate=pg:2/ct:r
https://forestershop.com/forester-3...zbFWhL58KhXuAOSPyppJlfCLbkYfgQkAaAoo4EALw_wcB
https://firepenny.com/Tempest_Ventm...X5HqeTTLo_mA8hbrRGqKwf5zZA2xrwlMaAuduEALw_wcB
https://www.amazon.com/Outdoor-Power-Deals-Carbide-Chainsaw/dp/B07JWCTNDK
Read some of the "fine print" on the Amazon chain...

• Also NOTE Correct use you must allow the chain to cool back to ambient temperature between uses the teeth with break off if you stop using the chain for any amount of time and then pick it up and start going again. Allow chain to cool a minimum of 3 hours

Mark

Hi, I make and sell carbide chains.And I can't count how many times people have called and thanked us for a chain.Or wrote us letters to say how much they enjoyed using the chain. Some think they cut like butter and get sharper everytime you use it.
Yes if you hit a nail or fence, sometimes the carbide tip breaks off . But you can sharpen them with a diamond wheel.They will last twice long , and are a little more expensive but are so worth it.
And honestly I have rarely (very rarely)ever had a complaint about one.
So I highly recommend using one of you have never tried one. And I promise you won't go back to your old chain.

 

[Philbert]

Hi, I make and sell carbide chains.

Welcome to A.S. !

Do you manufacture the chains, or make loops up off of a reel to sell?

Thanks!

Philbert

 

[WPanhandler]

I have purchased the 3/8 X 28" stihl version carbide for my 441 and 500i. it is a good chain and cuts well. I purchased this chain because one winter I was without any wood for heat and a local pallet company placed out a ridiculous number of hardwood pallets, as I was cold and pallets are dry wood I picked up several trailer loads of them. These pallets are very dirty, large and heavy. being made out of 4X4's or 4X6's they also tend not to be square and of odd sizes. this is exactly what the Carbide chain is made for, as I have cut a whole winters amount of wood without having to change a chain. If one of the cutters hits a nail so far the cutter has cut through the nail, but the cutter top has chipped back a littler bit. which has not seemed to affect the performance of the chain any. When I used the RS chain, sometimes I would only get one pallet cut before the chain had dulled too much to be used. The damage to the cutter makes for a very short life when the top of the cutter has been damaged making lots of tooth having to be removed to get the RS chain sharp again.

No, Buck2rocks, I am not ready to give up on the RS chain. It works to well for clean green wood. It also works well for dry clean wood, though RS does not stay sharp as long, and takes the saw more work to cut the dry wood. Carbide chain is a great product for cutting up dirty wood. I will be using my carbide chains for a couple more winters before I shorten them to go on my 20" bars. I will never be without a carbide chain. they have earned a special place in my saws tool box

 

[HansFranz]

"fine print" on the Amazon chain...

• Also NOTE Correct use you must allow the chain to cool back to ambient temperature between uses the teeth with break off if you stop using the chain for any amount of time and then pick it up and start going again. Allow chain to cool a minimum of 3 hours

 

[LuDookie]

Hi, I make and sell carbide chains.And I can't count how many times people have called and thanked us for a chain.Or wrote us letters to say how much they enjoyed using the chain. Some think they cut like butter and get sharper everytime you use it.
Yes if you hit a nail or fence, sometimes the carbide tip breaks off . But you can sharpen them with a diamond wheel.They will last twice long , and are a little more expensive but are so worth it.
And honestly I have rarely (very rarely)ever had a complaint about one.
So I highly recommend using one of you have never tried one. And I promise you won't go back to your old chain.

Twice as long? Gonna have to do better than that.

 

[sean donato]

Twice as long? Gonna have to do better than that.

Twice as long for 4-5 times the cost of stihl rs..... no thanks.

 

[LuDookie]

Twice as long for 4-5 times the cost of stihl rs..... no thanks.

I’ve just never been interested in them. I’ve gotten pretty proficient at sharpening and have been doing some pretty dirty cutting lately, and with full chisel. No big deal to get them back to like New, or better, sharpness. I have a feeling those that are blown away by the carbide chains are those that buy a saw and are amazed at how well it cuts for the first 4 or 5 tanks of gas but don’t know what’s going on as the chain slowly dulls and cutting is all of a sudden a huge pain. Either that, or someone who is cutting up root bulbs. Either way, I’d want 20x more durability for 4 or 5 times the cost.

 

[oldbuzzard]

They have their place. I use them a lot but not all the time. If I am cutting downed logs or other gritty environment (fire scars) or where there is lots of wire imbedded in trees I would probably put one on. Also I work with volunteers who have limited saw experience an I am frequently supplying the saws - carbide chains are great for them. I will always remember watching a volunteer run the chain bar right down into the ground to cut roots.
I’ve used them enough to have these strong opinions -
Pros - cost wise they are a wash. They cost four times as much new and to sharpen but will last four times as long. BUT they will save you a lot of time as you are not taking them on/off and sharpening.
They will cut through some embedded metal like nails and you might not even know you have cut through it.
Cons - they still won’t handle rocks. You have to take them to a shop that has the equipment and knows how to sharpen them - I have never had this problem but I have heard guys complain about getting chains back damaged. When using them they never feel like they are really sharp - my shop says they are ground to the same specs as regular chains so I don’t know why.
I just bought a new hand file that supposedly will sharpen carbide chains but I haven’t tried it yet. I will post the results when I use it.

 

[LuDookie]

I’m sure they do have their place. My nemesis is old metal fixtures in trees, whether wire or an old eye hook or something. I’ve messed up a lot of chains beyond the point that I wanted to repair them.

 

[firekindler]

A while back my ex and I bought a freshly logged parcel. There were huge slash piles on the landings. All cat piled and dirty, which as the rainy season set in right after the purchase, became mud (which of course, is harder to clean off). In the beginning of the clean up process, I was having to sharpen every five minutes, even with semi-chisel chain, and cutting dull for half of that. I bought a roll of Bailey's carbide (with the speckles all over the cutter, not the carbide tipped cutters that fire departments use). With that chain I was able to limit sharpening to once per tank of fuel. Absolutely worth it, for the 30 cords or so I cut off those landings.

 

[rtrsam]

I knew a guy who kept about a 14" Husky on his dozer with carbide chain, just for cutting roots. Not going underground but cutting off the roots that were flapping around after a dozer pass. Very dirty but no rocks. Worked well enough for him, I always used a sharp grub edge on a pulaski.

Side note, anyone remember Baileys used to sell a ditch chain? I think you had to use it on an outboard drive saw, either modify the chain cover or run without, and worked best with a solid tip bar. But it would cut/dig a ditch I think the options were either 1" or 1 1'2" wide. Look at a Ditch Witch, it's basically a big chain saw.

I knew another guy many years ago who worked for the phone company, he always kept a kind of trashed saw in his truck for quick trench jobs, Don't need a real wide hole to poke some phone cable down into it...

 

[Philbert]

I like a cordless reciprocating saw / Sawzall for roots. Either a cheap, disposable blade ($3), or a carbide demolition blade ($20).

There is a chainsaw trencher sold in New Zealand and Australia (might be more?):

https://terrasaw.com/

https://www.terratrencher.com.au/product-category/trenchers/

 

[singinwoodwackr]

So, I ordered a pair of 20s for the woodyard I do maintenance for. He had gotten a stand of fir that had been cut and skidded so full of dirt…and dulling chains very fast.
I ordered a couple carbides off eBay to try on his 261s.
Major fail. The chain would not pull itself at all and was too slow to be worth the trouble.
I ordered a diamond wheel from Balistic to try re-shaping the grind. That actually worked. I ground them to the standard perimeters as well as lowering rakers to standard chain height. Result? They cut as well as a good semi-chisel chain but last all day.

These chains are designed and ground for demolition, not woodcutting.

 

[HansFranz]

These chains are designed and ground for demolition, not woodcutting.

Well, demolition and drive-by slabbings:

I wonder whether you can get a mount for one of Philbert's "Terratrenchers" ... might be good for shooting yard moles whilst trenching

 

[guysmiley]

I’ve just never been interested in them. I’ve gotten pretty proficient at sharpening and have been doing some pretty dirty cutting lately, and with full chisel. No big deal to get them back to like New, or better, sharpness. I have a feeling those that are blown away by the carbide chains are those that buy a saw and are amazed at how well it cuts for the first 4 or 5 tanks of gas but don’t know what’s going on as the chain slowly dulls and cutting is all of a sudden a huge pain. Either that, or someone who is cutting up root bulbs. Either way, I’d want 20x more durability for 4 or 5 times the cost.

Try this with full chisel (~18" deep cut pictured) . Carbide more than pays for itself in the right circumstances.

 

[LuDookie]

Try this with full chisel (~18" deep cut pictured) . Carbide more than pays for itself in the right circumstances.

It would have to.