Which full chisel chain holds an edge the best?

[Anthony_Va.]

Stihl is the best, period. Stihl teeth are also longer for longer life of the chain. The chains barely stretch if at all. Woodland/Carlton and Oregon all stretch for about the life of the chain, sometimes out of the adjuster's range on a 28" and large bar length, so then you can use the chain or have, to have someone drop some links or up the sprocket to a 8T.

Moral of the story, Stihl makes a chain that you don't have to fuss about, it just cuts and lets you do your job of pulling the trigger on the saw and that is it. You don't get to spend your time perfecting your hand filing techniques, when you could be cutting.

I have used Carlton chain bucking up skidded logs and had both Carlton and Stihl semi-chisel on both saws side by side and the Carlton's needed to be sharpened 5x's more than the Stihl chain, and Oregon is simply a joke when compared to Stihl.

One of the last jobs I cut was 300-400+ trees cut and they were white oak, red oak, hard maple and hickory. I used two 28" Stihl Semi-Chisel chains for all felling and topping cuts and 2 or 3 Stihl 20" chains for the bucking up cuts. Of those chains maybe 2 were not used on the next job and that is just because I needed to give them a little more attention. This would not happen with any other chain maker.

The only way you can justify using anything other than Stihl chain, is if you don't care about cutting production or are cutting soft, clean wood all day (and then Stihl chain will still outlast the others by a lot). I have tried many times over the last 5-6 years to prove this little fact wrong and it can't be done. You will cut more wood with a Stihl chain, than any other maker, anyone that disputes that, is only fooling themselves.

Just the facts,

Sam

Testify brother!

Hard to beat Stihl chain. I hated oregon chain. Too soft do cut hardwood. I have to readjust one time with a new chain and after that it stays tight for the most part. Stays sharper alot longer than Oregon.

You poor unfortunate souls paying those outrageous prices for it, I feel for you. 1.00 per inch here.

 

[tdi-rick]

[snip]

I have used Carlton chain bucking up skidded logs and had both Carlton and Stihl semi-chisel on both saws side by side and the Carlton's needed to be sharpened 5x's more than the Stihl chain, and Oregon is simply a joke when compared to Stihl.

[snip]

Just the facts,

Sam

This always come up and it always amuses me that most everyone seems to have a different experience on this side of the Pacific.

Most of us have used Stihl, Windsor, Carlton and Oregon semi-chisel side by side and can't pick the difference in life, the only variations seem to be in smoothness.

MCW actually made a loop up once of half Stihl and half Carlton and the Stihl half of the loop looked worse and wasn't cutting as well
BobL has timed cuts in his mill between the brands in tough as nails old Eucs and there was bugger all in it, but IIRC the Carlton had the edge over the Stihl chain in speed in the second part of the cut (meaning it kept it's edge longer)

 

[sawkiller]

Bailey's woodland pro for me. I touch it up every tank with a file and it never seems to lose its edge. I started this year with 4 new chains 3 are still in the box and the 1 I am using has cut 15 cord and all of it was dirty dozer drug trees and half of it was hedge. A stihl may last longer but I can't complain with these I probably got another 15 cord in this chain!

 

[mowoodchopper]

Any brand of semi chisel, I used to not run it at all but anymore its about all I do run, stays sharp a hell of alot longer than full chisel

 

[MAD MAX]

I guess my experiance has been different from most. I like Oregon and Windsor. In my experiance Carlton is THEE worst It streches like crazy And does not get real sharp. Stihl also streches it cuts a little better though. They say Stihl is pre streched if that is the case I would hate to see what it is like before it is streched.

BUT every one has different experiance:notrolls2::chainsawguy:

 

[Slamm]

This always come up and it always amuses me that most everyone seems to have a different experience on this side of the Pacific.

Most of us have used Stihl, Windsor, Carlton and Oregon semi-chisel side by side and can't pick the difference in life, the only variations seem to be in smoothness.

MCW actually made a loop up once of half Stihl and half Carlton and the Stihl half of the loop looked worse and wasn't cutting as well
BobL has timed cuts in his mill between the brands in tough as nails old Eucs and there was bugger all in it, but IIRC the Carlton had the edge over the Stihl chain in speed in the second part of the cut (meaning it kept it's edge longer)

?? I'm on the same side of the Pacific as you .... the Japanese are on the other side.

Don't know what to tell you. I have tried all of them and do completely wish that Oregon or Carlton would be better than Stihl and it just never works out that way. I have even "sneaked" Carlton onto the bar several times with other operators that were use to Stihl chain, and they came back at lunch complaining about how they must have messed up the chain, as it doesn't hold an edge worth a crap anymore.

The grafting of two chains together is a great idea I might try that sometime.

Sam

 

[Adirondack]

I think the Oregon LGX is the best value. I bought a stihl chain to see what all the fuss was about. Out of the box, I honestly could not tell the difference in the two chains before I notice any decrease in sharpness. I know I payed more for the stihl chain. I have used some Woodland Pro but for me out of the box and repeat sharpening it does not hold the edge as well as LGX.
I get my Oregon chains at amickssuperstore.com and you can order 1 to 3 chains for only 4.95 shipping and handling. I like that. Baileys is much higher for shipping and when I checked they were also slightly higher in price for Oregon chains.
Good luck :chainsawguy:

 

[Slamm]

Any brand of semi chisel, I used to not run it at all but anymore its about all I do run, stays sharp a hell of alot longer than full chisel

I agree on the semi-chisel, it is not as fast and not as slow as Chisel chain.

Semi-chisel just always cuts, it cuts when its sharp and it still cuts when its dull, but chisel chain cuts great when its sharp and when its dull you can't melt it through a log, and it gets dull many times faster than semi-chisel.

I won't use Chisel chain anymore.

Sam

 

[sunfish]

Any brand of semi chisel, I used to not run it at all but anymore its about all I do run, stays sharp a hell of alot longer than full chisel

Same here!

Can believe we agree on something

 

[MacLaren]

I like Stihl of course. BUT...you pay for it.

 

[mowoodchopper]

Same here!

Can believe we agree on something

Hell yes! We should agree on somthing were both from MO.! The semi chisel is alot better down there in the rocks, one rock and your full chisel is done

 

[pops21]

I get the Stihl 18" square chisel for $22.

31$ for full skip 110 DLstihl rsf here. I haven't priced stihl rsc yet.

Carlton/woodland pro holds a edge just as good as stihl IMO (in my opinion) and is cheaper. But I like oregon too cause you can sharpen it quicker when hand filing. The file just glides threw the cutter.

 

[mowoodchopper]

31$ for full skip 110 DLstihl rsf here. I haven't priced stihl rsc yet.

Carlton/woodland pro holds a edge just as good as stihl IMO (in my opinion) and is cheaper. But I like oregon too cause you can sharpen it quicker when hand filing. The file just glides threw the cutter.

sounds right to me

 

[tdi-rick]

?? I'm on the same side of the Pacific as you .... the Japanese are on the other side.

[snip]

Sam

Last time I checked I was an ocean and a hemisphere away from the US



Yep, it's puzzled a few of us as to why we seem to get different results to you fella's, although some of the stuff we routinely cut here is like iron compared to your Black Locust and Osage Orange which obviously knocks any chain around.

I think that's all i can put it down to, different cutting conditions.

BTW, someone above mentioned they preferred Windsor over Carlton as they felt it held an edge better.

Windsor comes out of the Carlton (Blount) factory in Oregon these days, and has for several years.

Having said that, I feel it files more easily than Carlton (and is definitely smoother in the cut but that's a non issue with saws with sprung AV mounts)
I mentioned that to MCW/Matt one day, (he's my supplier) thinking I was imagining it and he agreed, so who knows ?

 

[dingeryote]

The difference between Carlton and Stihl square chisel is small enough that I favor the Cheaper carlton.
Oregon LGX just dosn't hold up for me in the sandy stuff I cut and hate running it. Fast and smooth for a little while though.

Tried the Oregon "Multicut" and was sorta impressed, but it costs as much as 4 loops of Carlton LOL!!

Semi-Chisel Carlton is the answer to everything.LOL!!!
Cuts a little slower, but keeps cutting at the same pace when RSC,LGX, or Carlton square would have packed up and needed serious filing.


Stay safe!
Dingeryote