Archer vs Stihl

[RI Chevy]

Just mentioning in passing, I have no issues sharpening Stihl round file chain. Yes, it is a bit harder metal, but with round files, it files well for me. Oregon is definitely easier.
I will continue to use this loop of Archer round file chain.

 

[J. Loe]

Uses that for carrying liquor

Alternate wheelchair lines include.

Uses it to....
Carry yermom to the bone room.
Carry his nuts.
Push yermom down the stairs.
Get in the front of line at Disney.
Make Julian jealous/horny/spiteful.
Guilt me into buying him a 30rack.
Hide the guns.



I could go on here but it probably would do better in its own thread.

 

[Hedgerow]

I bought a few Loops of Forester chain. One Loop was 84 Links of semi chisel and the other was 72 links of semi chisel. The 20" was rebranded Carlton with shark fins and the 24" has long round cutters and looks more like chipper chain. Clearly not from the same manufacturer. I think they're just buying up cheap chain and shoving it in their own box. I doubt you'll ever really know what brand you're going to get when you order Forester. It does cut okay though

Forrester products are like a box of chocolates...

 

[Wilhelm]

I have a single Archer loop that came with a saw purchase, chisel tooth round ground.
I used it a little for testing and fun and gave it a touch up with a 5.5mm Stihl round file.
It is mounted on my Dolmar PS-7300 and I put two tanks of fuel through it on Wednesday before it got noticeably dull. I was bucking a mix of skidded oak and hornbeam logs for a coworker, cut after cut till fuel ran out.
The loop did OK, much better than the TriLink I have, but it was no match to the mildly modified Oregon Vanguard loops I utilized on my Dolmar PS-6400 & PS-7310.

For me the Archer loop I have is OK, but I hate it's poor bore cutting performance, which was a necessity the other day as the logs weren't sorted nor stacked and we weren't allowed to cut marked logs nor any of the cherry - needless to say it was *s-wordty work without heavy equipment to sort the logs. The Archer loop also performs poorly with the bar tip buried, it just stops feeding.
It is good for bucking cuts on logs of smaller diameter than the bars length.

I don't own any regular Stihl chains, thus I can not comment how my Archer loop compares to Stihl chain - but I guess I'd prefer the Stihl chain.

Having utilized TriLink chains on my Dolmar PS-7900 for the last tree years I came to realize that the savings on purchasing an affordable, even cheap chain are not worth the additional work, time and fuel spent to make said chain perform well enough to come close to the performance of a good/high quality loop.
I personally prefer Oregon LGX and Dolmar 099.

I might like Stihl if I had any.
I loved my Stihl RD3 till it got dull, now I have to figure out a way to sharpen it myself.