How many sharpenings do you get per file?

[Captain Bruce]

A file is a cutting tool that is grossly abused. I have seen so called "experts on youtube" tapping a file to clear of filings, that's ok but tap the end not the middle which has the cutting edge. I clean my files out when doing a chain with a file card... probably another name in other parts of the world but it's like a wire brush on a flat board.
Every chain has teeth that are harder or softer, if you havent noticed that yet you need to concentrate on your sharpening.
How long does a file last, ask any craftsman how long does the edge last on his plane or chisel and he will say depends on the wood..and will always touch up the cutting edge before it gets blunt!!
So my answer is, if your chain just needs to quick touch with a file then that file will last longer then the person who is hard on tools and let's the chain hit dirt or even stone. You may need two files to get that chain back to sharp. I always use top quality files and yes they do go dull, they still cut and we tend to keep going with a dull file just to get our money's worth. Then moan the file dont cut that's how brands get a bad name but if you been in the game long enough you know the good from the not so good and bad. Just remember a blunt chain can kill your saw no matter what oil mix you use.
So keep your chains sharp and look after them cutting edges on ALL tools. Never throw a file into a pot on the bench, every time it hits another file it's doing damage. If you think all this is BS you have a lot to kearn

I'm trying to understand why you still hand file? Is it because you can, or because you should? or because taking chains to the local mower shop....where they can be sharpened correctly...is costly for you?

The hand file is a band-aid in the bush, for a woodsman who has gone thru 2-3 chains on a cut that MUST be completed. The easy access to power grinding a chain back to OEM specs for under 10 bucks, is abundant.

 

[stepp of faith]

What I've learned here is I must not be changing files often enough. I feel like the Pferd German files last ages.

Are 2-3 files per chain for a German file or a Chinese file??

No they are junk files!!

 

[stepp of faith]

I'm trying to understand why you still hand file? Is it because you can, or because you should? or because taking chains to the local mower shop....where they can be sharpened correctly...is costly for you?

The hand file is a band-aid in the bush, for a woodsman who has gone thru 2-3 chains on a cut that MUST be completed. The easy access to power grinding a chain back to OEM specs for under 10 bucks, is abundant.

Because you can fine tune a chain to any saw or wood that your cutting!!!

 

[stepp of faith]

really depends on quality of the chain, Oregoon never wore out a file(granted this is partly because I despise Oregon chains, and am more likely to chuck the chain in the bin then to sharpen it... but still), Stihl a few weeks, using quality files of course. Pferd, Nicolson, Simmonds, buy junk tools expect junk results.
Saw shop in town will burn up a file every day, they mostly grind chains but will hand finish for the discerning customer.
To get better life out of all files, they only cut on the push stroke, try to lift the file or at least reduce pressure on the pull stroke. Otherwise yer just whacking the back side of the teeth for no reason, often rounding them over and dulling the file.

Lol lol Oregon junk but Pferd files are quality!!

 

[northmanlogging]

I was told never touch a file with your finger or hand the oils played apart.

old grampa's tales, oils from your fangers might corrode a file, but its fixable with any other oil, not a big deal in the life of a file though. I find that one particularly amusing as I have flat files I've been using for literally decades in machine shops that are still useable, then rarely get cleaned are handled sometimes all day and rarely "oiled" and never degreased, (a file card and the occasional dust off is about the extent of it)

I'm trying to understand why you still hand file? Is it because you can, or because you should? or because taking chains to the local mower shop....where they can be sharpened correctly...is costly for you?

The hand file is a band-aid in the bush, for a woodsman who has gone thru 2-3 chains on a cut that MUST be completed. The easy access to power grinding a chain back to OEM specs for under 10 bucks, is abundant.

Ok, I know of at least 2 saw shops that will hand file over grind especially if they know the user needs a good chain. One of them I'm pretty sure doesn't even have a grinder, does it all by hand, and folks prefer his work. (sadly I think cancers going to get the best of him sooner then later)
Grinding is all fine and good and it saves time therefore money, but it can and often does overheat the tooth rounding over the leading edge and flash hardening the tooth so a file would never scratch it again.
A bad file job is fixable, a lousy grind will ruin a good chain.

I'll say it again ALL OREGON PRODUCTS ARE JUNK, literally not worth the steel they are made out of.

 

[Mike Kunte]

On the subject of grinder vs. file, I must say that although I am heavily invested in grinders and the accompanying (expensive) discs, I have been exclusively filing for my own use over the past 6 months or so. If a customer brings in 20 or 30 chains, they go to the grinder. But for myself - cutting with a freshly filed chain is just so rewarding - not to mention how well it cuts! It's a good skill to have - and it's worth practising!!!

 

[biggerstaff94]

I'll say it again ALL OREGON PRODUCTS ARE JUNK, literally not worth the steel they are made out of.

Hipa man, eh? No problem with that.

 

[jolj]

When I use a new file, it grabs/cuts better than an older file.
When an old file is clean & does not grab/cut,I get a new one.
Files like hammers last longer than the chains like steel.
Saws like anvils, last longer than files/hammers.
I just know when to pull out a new file or replace a worn chain, no counting needed, just more wood to cut.

 

[northmanlogging]

Hipa man, eh? No problem with that.

Hipa? never heard of her

 

[gwat]

I clean my files out when doing a chain with a file card.

Never throw a file into a pot on the bench, every time it hits another file it's doing damage.

Two super good points here.

I often see people in the bush carrying all their tools loose in one toolkit (files, bar wrenches, jet drivers, etc.). All that metal rattling around prematurely wears out the files.
I keep my files tucked into plastic sleeves inside my toolkit.

 

[rahtreelimbs]

I'm trying to understand why you still hand file? Is it because you can, or because you should? or because taking chains to the local mower shop....where they can be sharpened correctly...is costly for you?

The hand file is a band-aid in the bush, for a woodsman who has gone thru 2-3 chains on a cut that MUST be completed. The easy access to power grinding a chain back to OEM specs for under 10 bucks, is abundant.

Because you can file anywhere and anytime. Some of us prefer filing over grinding.

 

[Captain Bruce]

On the subject of grinder vs. file, I must say that although I am heavily invested in grinders and the accompanying (expensive) discs, I have been exclusively filing for my own use over the past 6 months or so. If a customer brings in 20 or 30 chains, they go to the grinder. But for myself - cutting with a freshly filed chain is just so rewarding - not to mention how well it cuts! It's a good skill to have - and it's worth practising!!!

I completely agree; the talent pool gets shallower every year. These simple hand skills have a place. So does sharpening an axe, a #2 razor back, or a filet knife. I believe the outset question was along the lines of, how long should a 2 dollar file last? which is oft posed by cheap-skates working on a man budget, while their wife gets a $200 nail job every other week.

File until the file is junk, which may be an hour, or an afternoon. Than tell your wife, you need to go to the mower shop, for a file, by way the of the tavern..............................

 

[KASH]

Not trying to start a war here just an honest question.
If the tools in the bag are medium hard steel and the files are very hard steel how can the softer tools cause any damage to the extremely hard steel of the files?
Kash

 

[user 122190]

Not trying to start a war here just an honest question.
If the tools in the bag are medium hard steel and the files are very hard steel how can the softer tools cause any damage to the extremely hard steel of the files?
Kash

Likewise, how can wood dull a chain? Same answer to how does one eat an elephant? One bite at a time....

 

[sb47]

The trick is to keep the file clean by using a wire brush. Another thing that effects file life is when you get a tooth that has crystalized or gotten heat treated and gets supper hard. But normal wear I get at least 6 to 8 chains per file.

 

[Jethro 2t sniffer]

I tell ya a trick with the old files. They make a mean scriber for us engineers. Be nice don't let it blue when grinding it up.

 

[hop3]

Not trying to start a war here just an honest question.
If the tools in the bag are medium hard steel and the files are very hard steel how can the softer tools cause any damage to the extremely hard steel of the files?
Kash

It’s hard, this equals brittle. Impacts brake off microscopic edges…

 

[pioneerguy600]

Tuck your files in a drinking straw or a length of fuel line, any make of line works wonders, a shot of oil after use and before tucking into a sleeve, straw or line and they will last much longer. My portable tool kit has one side pocket for the files, if they were not protected they would be rattling against each other causing damage.

 

[Husky77]

I'm trying to understand why you still hand file? Is it because you can, or because you should? or because taking chains to the local mower shop....where they can be sharpened correctly...is costly for you?

The hand file is a band-aid in the bush, for a woodsman who has gone thru 2-3 chains on a cut that MUST be completed. The easy access to power grinding a chain back to OEM specs for under 10 bucks, is abundant.

When I was busy I used to take chains in to be sharpened, they cut but was never great. Then one day I was talking saw talk when a chain was in the machine, when it finished I could see a lot of teeth were burned so to me they were ruined. The cause was probably a dirty contaminated grind stone which they probably didnt even notice. That was the last chain I ever took to a shop to be sharpened. I have two grinders which get used rarely but when needed I do use them. I get a far better edge with a file, if you knew how a cutting edge works you either get it or you dont. To me now as I age I am in no rush, hand filing is therapeutic and when I need to grind that is therapeutic too. A file in the bush is much more than a bandaid! It will keep you cutting all day, I know I been there and it's not all about how fast you can cut, a sharp chain is a safe chain and much less strain on a motor. There are a lot of saws in the scrap pile that blew up due to a blunt chain a screaming saw and an operator thinking I must finish the cut at ALL costs. Then blame the saw, blame the chain, blame the wood, blame the weather...... you get the idea

 

[Husky77]

Not trying to start a war here just an honest question.
If the tools in the bag are medium hard steel and the files are very hard steel how can the softer tools cause any damage to the extremely hard steel of the files?
Kash

Often, hard is brittle. It dont mean it is bad steel it just means you look after it a bit more.