So you know my situation, i do milling for a living. Im still very new to milling and always appreciate learning from others. Im mostly interested in findng solutions to save time/money and maintain good cut quality. If it cost more and i save enough time to make it worth it im all for it.
In 3/8 full comp iv used:
Carlton
Woodland pro (same as Carlton?)
Archer
I 100% will not use full comp milling chain any more once its all gone. Personally i did not see any benefit in the amount of time between sharpening. No matter the size of the log (all hardwood for me). Iv used full comp on 36” and 42” bars milling up to 34” diameter logs. Down side for me was sharpening time. I sharpen in the field with a Granberg bar mount 12v rotary grinder for consistency and speed. Love the shaper tho it had its issues.
Archer actually seems to stay sharp the longest and handles nails and soft metals a bit better. The chrome plating seems super thick on the cutters. I see less damage on the cutters when i hit metal. Price of Archer is VERY good too. In stock Supply directly from them is hit or miss tho.
carlton and woodland pro worked fine as well. Just seems to dull slightly faster. Still great chains. Seems wildly available.
In 3/8 full skip iv used
Archer
Really liked it. My favorite 3/8 so far for the reason stated above. Plus less cutters to sharpen.
In 404 full skip iv used
Archer
Same same here. .404 is a HECK of a chain. Very long lived compared to 3/8. Stays sharp noticeably longer. I think the bigger chain in general just handles the abuse/heat of milling much better. Very happy i switched to .404. I will switch all of my milling chain to 404 from here on out. I DID have one link crack on me AND i did find one spot in a roll of chain that the manufacturer missed a rivet with their machine and they ran the spinner into the side of a link. The rivets were still done but the link was damaged. I replaced it.
BUT!!
Im always wanting to find and explore options. I wanted to compare another brand chain of the same standard “full skip” sequence. I was having a hard time finding anything but did find this. Interesting it is in the “Versa Cut” line. I got a 100 foot roll order locally. Have not paid for it yet but i think he said it will be around $650. It’s a “micro chisel” and has the fancy blue cutters. Im super excited to try it!!! Ill report back.
https://www.oregonproducts.com/en/versacut™-saw-chain,-100'-reel/p/27ax100u
