Low Kickback Chain - What's the Point?

[McCullough]

I hate the so called low kickback chain! I can see a manufacturer putting this type of chain on a new saw so you have to buy a new chain right away, but I don't really get the point of selling new chains as they will not actually cut anything.

We generally have Sabre brand or Oregon replacement bars and chains (all Oregon now as no one carries Sabre any more). Some really strange stuff has been happening with the Oregon stuff lately. We visited a local store get get our usual chain for a Timber Bear, but when we locked at our usual number the chain had been converted to low kickback - the spacers between the cutters have a huge ridge which would prevent you from cutting anything but tooth pick.

On the other hand I picked up the same number I've always used for my 3516 and although Oregon calls it low kickback its the same as always. It seems Oregon is rather inconstistant as to what they mean by low kickback chain. To add further confusion the Oregon booklet at the stor says to use chain X for the Timber Bear (kickback) while their web site says to use chain Y (not kickback). However package Y does not list a Timber Bear, while X does. In any case, although the chain size is the same (20") neither of the two chains has the same number of links as the old ones - LOL!

Aside from the fact that manufacturers can get away with putting junk chain on a new saw to force you to buy another one, the only other worth a manufacturer actually gets from the chain is less liability - the maufacturer recommends low kickback to lesson possible lawsuits, because your taking your life in your own hands if you dare to use our chain that actually cuts something - LOL!

Good thing scrap metal prices are up, at least the chain is worth something.

 

[jack-the-ripper]

I just purchased a new MS660 last week and it came equipped with the 28"RC chain. Really wanted a skip tooth but the dealer told me Stihl will not sell it with that chain on it due to safety reasons. Sure beats a safety chain though.

 

[Lakeside53]

On a 28 you don't need a skip... the 660 can pull a 28 full comp all day so it will cut faster then skip.

As for safety chain... I have a few.. inherited, but they don't cut all that bad.. sure somewhat slower, and they don't bore, but they do cut fine. And I use them occcasionaly for dirty wood or loaner saws.

Oh yes, we sell a thousand or so of them a year... to people that ask for them.

 

[computeruser]

I'm not quite sure what all the hatin' on safety chain is about. A sharp safety chain can still cut respectably. Is a semi-chisel safety chain as fast as chisel non-safety chain? No, of course not. But the safety chain will still cut wood, and is a great choice for dirty stuff that you don't want to ruin your good chains on, for cutting submerged crap in rivers, or for when you are cutting the small wood you bring home on the driveway and you are too lazy to pick the wood up off the ground so you end up touching the pavement every once in a while.

Like everything else in life, it has its purposes, as do other chain types. Choose the right stuff for what you're cutting and you'll be plenty happy.

 

[sawn_penn]

The average saw buyer cuts at half revs, hold the saw loosely, stands over the bar, and pays no real attention to where the tip is.

Kickback reducing chains do reduce the chance of kickback.

Here's a file from another thread:

http://www.arboristsite.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=34136&d=1148080025

Look at what is likely to happen when the raker hits an object in each case.

And yes, even the "dreaded type 1" chains in the diagram can cut reasonably well. Not as well as a more dangerous chain, but OK all the same.

 

[TimberMcPherson]

Safety chain costs us a few minutes, saves others lives.

Its a fair and reasonable compromise IMHO.

 

[sawn_penn]

I just purchased a new MS660 last week and it came equipped with the 28"RC chain. Really wanted a skip tooth but the dealer told me Stihl will not sell it with that chain on it due to safety reasons. Sure beats a safety chain though.

I'd have thought when you were buying a 660 then any chain would be on the table. The 660 isn't a 180.

 

[Lakeside53]

I'd have thought when you were buying a 660 then any chain would be on the table. The 660 isn't a 180.

The chain he got was most likely and RSC or RS (there is no RC). It's not a saftey chain.

I sell any chain an MS660 owner wants, but full comp RS is a good choice on 28.

 

[JPP]

I've cut about 11-12 face cords of wood every year for the past 10 years using only low-kickback chains on my chainsaws.
Never had any problems with them cutting anything I need to.
I've cut maple, shaggy bark hickory, oak, hornbeam, cherry, ash, aspen, pine without any complaints.

 

[romeo]

A bench grinder will take those pesky saftey rakers off.

 

[Mr_Brushcutter]

I personly like the stuff with the drive link guard that sits up agaist the cutters raker. I've got a length with the bumper tie straps too but i only use that on the top handled saw when i know i have to one hand a lot or use it above my head.

 

[Ekka]

A bench grinder will take those pesky saftey rakers off.

That's what I was thinking, I just file the stupid things down if I happened to inherit one of those wannbe chains.:biggrinbounce2:

 

[Cut4fun]

I use them for the dirty work of stump cutters, dirt covered wood, and fence row cleaning up. Dont like to use my Full chisel for the dodo work.

 

[sawn_penn]

A bench grinder will take those pesky saftey rakers off.

Grinding the rakers off is a sure way to get yourself killed.

Buy the chain you want/need.

Or maybe if you know what you are doing take the tie-strap safety's down.

 

[clearance]

Grinding the rakers off is a sure way to get yourself killed.

Buy the chain you want/need.

Or maybe if you know what you are doing take the tie-strap safety's down.

I think he is talking about the safety bumps that are before the rakers, what a scam it is, I have helped people out and had to deal with these pos. Landing buckers have been known to snap the rakers off on big saws before (066, 394 etc). If you know how to use saw you can use a saw with the rakers filed right down. I never get in the way of a saw kicking back when I am on the ground ever. All this talk of chains making it safe is BS, it makes me mad, I have talked about it many times here. Learn how to limb and buck safely, don't stand over the chain like a moron, looking at it spin. If you make something idiot proof, they will make a better idiot.

 

[1CallLandscape]

A bench grinder will take those pesky saftey rakers off.

Romeo's right take those dam rakers down and it'll be comparable to a semi or even full chisel chain. even try square filing the "safety" chain to see how it performs on your saw.

-mike

 

[McCullough]

My main complaint is that Oregon is getting really weird with the chain numbers. They now sell a consumer grade which only the stores carry and pro grad which I guess only chainsaw dealers can get. for years and years we have been using the same chain for a Timber Bear, but now they converted the chain into the typ eof chain you see in the attachment. They call this low kickback. On the other hand the chain I use for my even older 3516 is still the same design, but they also call it low kickback. The chain that came on the new Mac AV1836 was even worse - I couldn't even cut one log into lengths. With a proper chain my smaller 3516 cut the same log with ease.

 

[sawn_penn]

Romeo's right take those dam rakers down and it'll be comparable to a semi or even full chisel chain. even try square filing the "safety" chain to see how it performs on your saw.

-mike

Do you know which part of a chain a raker is?

 

[Ekka]

Do you know which part of a chain a raker is?

Errr, pick me pick me, it's the part that cleans up the job site when your finished ... unless there's snow on the ground.

 

[sawn_penn]

If you make something idiot proof, they will make a better idiot.