Chain & bar poll

[artwood]

What brand chain and bar combos do you prefer?
I like GB & Carlton myself.I've found Oregon chain to be too soft, doesnt seem to have enough chrome to hold an edge. I've used others, just not enough to judge which is better.

 

[brent denny]

Although many dont seem to, I really like oregon stuff. The chain is a bit softer than the carlton or stihl but it sharpens easier. The oregon chain also seems to have a little nicer/finer working corner. I've only had one GB bar (a pro-top) and it is holding up well but it seems heavier than the power match I had before. I am actually going to get a pro-lite next time as I probably wouldnt bother replacing the tip. For smaller saws I really like the 95vp narrow kerf. I am currently running 21LP on my 5100s and I think the saw has enough extra jam to make it faster than the 95vp (the 95vp was the fastest on my stock 353).

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Stihl and Stihl.

 

[stihltech]

bars

Stihl all the way, but I am biased.

 

[Al Smith]

Stihl all the way, but I am biased.

Why is that?

 

[artwood]

What about Windsor chain? How's it compare?

 

[kf_tree]

for the most part i think chain is chain..........i've never run stihl chain because of price. i only buy 100ft rolls. i prefer oregon chain but have been running carlton lately because of a good deal on price. i run stihl bars on the stihl saw's. i always ran oregon bars on the husky's but recently picked up a bunch of the orange gb bars to try out.

 

[Marco]

Oregon multicut seems to be the best I've seen for holding an edge, rather tough to file. Kinda spendy too. Carlton is about the best for the money.

 

[bvaught]

Stihl Chain and Stihl Bars have been my favorite. The stihl chain no doubt holds an edge longer than my carlton chain.

I have also tried a GB Pro Top bar, and it has worked well, however I only tightened it twice before I was to the limit of my adjuster. This seems to be because the adjustment slot on the GB was not as well placed as the stihl slots.

 

[Butch(OH)]

On the full sized saws we have been using RS Stihl for many moons and see no reason to look elsewhere, but cut we very little dirty wood. On the pocket saws that use low pro 3/8 we are on our first batch of Carlton N1C and really like it so far, a great imrovement over the Stihl Picco we ran before. I have never had reason to go bar searching (as apposed to bar hopping which I did do a lot in younger days Cost per hour, day or whatever for bars is close to zilch so I go to my friendly Amish Stihl dealer when we need a bar. ES's go on the H-D saws and Es on the lighter stuff. Having a lathe and mill in the shop easily puts the Stihl bars on the other brands. Of course you have to realize my saw shop choices are limited to STihl, Lowes, TSC or the internet. Purdy limited around here.

 

[chainsawworld]

for every day cutting: GB bars and laser chain.
for competetion: sanvik windsor or GB bars with either stihl or oregon chain.
marty

 

[DanManofStihl]

Sitl or windsor bars with stihl, woodsmans pro or oregon chain. I am not a big fan of oregon but when push comes to shove I will use it. I just think it stretches to much and doesn't hold an edge as well as stihl.

 

[kf_tree]

for every day cutting: GB bars and laser chain.

marty

i've had rolls of laser chain where i say the cutters were oregon on their chasis, and i've had some roll's that were completely different cutters. the laser 3/8 lp is absolute garbage. we would spit that crap off our ms200's in a day or 2, the drive links would split. we also had 6 laser bar's for the ms 200's and the tips would split after a few week's.

 

[WESCOMAN]

I dont know about bars but have been testing diffrent chains lately. Oregon, Windsor, Carlton (Woodsman Pro) all seem to be about the same as far as how long they stay sharp. I have found "some" Oregon that was not exactly dull but not sharp either right out of the box. The Windsor and Carlton have always seemed to be sharp right out of the box. BUT in my opinion the Stihl chain has always stayed the sharpest longer than any of the other brands. I have found Oregon Windsor and Carlton to be easy to sharpen. The Stihl is by far the hardest to resharpen by hand file compared to the others (get a grinder). This tells me that the steel in the cutters is of a superior metal and therefore will and does stay sharper longer. I do feel that the cost is a bit high BUT as with everything else you do get what you paid for. If you are a weekend firewood warrior as I was then it really doesnt matter what brand you get. BUT if you are going full time like me now then the more time cutting and the less time sharpening makes a huge diffrence in the long run. OH yah that brings up another point. Chain stretch With every chain BUT Stihl you will need to stop and re tighten it a couple of times at least. I have found that the Stihl chain maybe needs to be tightened once (maybe) So there you are saving time to. Time better spent throwing wood chips!

 

[chainsawworld]

i was running the laser brand bars on the 044's for about a week. they too blew the bearings out and split. i have had good luck with the 3/8 lo pro. they did just change chain builders. i tested the full chisel and told them of a few things i would change. i like the stay sharp ability and the ease of sharpening. the cutters are a bit longer too.
marty

 

[kf_tree]

The Stihl is by far the hardest to resharpen by hand file compared to the others (get a grinder).

i have never used a round chain grinder in my life. if stihl chain is so hard to sharpen in the field, being a city wood cutter then stihl chain is not for me. there is so much hidden hardware in the tree's i cut i need a chain that is can hold a "decent " edge and is quick to resharpen that is why i always prefered oregon. as of late i run square grind on a few saw's that i only use in the tree, but once i dump a stick it's anyone's guess what i'll run a saw into.

 

[chainsawworld]

i find that a file floats through stihl chain. someone has to really rock out a chain for me to use a grinder. they are bad news for saw chain (unless you really don't care). marty

 

[bwalker]

they are bad news for saw chain (unless you really don't care).

Maybe you just havent met the right one???

 

[begleytree]

windsor bars.
on chain, stihl and oregon, prefer oregon. Just got some tiger (carlton i'm told) and I don't like it at all. from the minute I put it on, I had to push the bar through the wood. After I sharpened it, its better, but it is slow IMO. The stihl and oregon suck the saw into the wood, this stuff didn't
-Ralph

 

[artwood]

grinders

Grinders aren't bad. It's the operator that gives them a bad rap. Hand filing definitely does a better job, and I think is faster if you only need a few licks per tooth.