Archer vs Stihl

[Redbull661]

@RI Chevy wanted me to compare these two.

Stihl RSK - which is a little faster than RS most of the time on the 661.

Archer Full comp round ground - basically just like RS.

28" 9pin.

log 1 - 10.7 , log 2 - 12.4 12.4 , log 3 - 16.7

log 1 -8.5 , log 2 - 10.0, 10.3 , log 3 - 13.8

 

[huskyboy]

Didn’t even have to time them. I can tell the stihl chain is faster by watching.

 

[Redbull661]

stihl faster than most/if not all of oregon out of the box as well.

 

[Cat 525]

Agree! Have to sharpen some chains and hit rakers before they even begin to cut at all!

 

[deye223]

speed is ok and all but does the archer stay sharp as long as the stihl chain ?

 

[Redbull661]

speed is ok and all but does the archer stay sharp as long as the stihl chain ?

Well I just filed on a stihl, an archer, and a Oregon.

I would say the stihl was hardest no question and Oregon was softest no question. I would say the archer was right in the middle of them as far as hardness.

So on a 1 outta 10 scale if stihl was 9 and Oregon was a 3, then archer would be a 6.

Best I can describe it.

So I would guess it wouldn't last as long as stihl but a good deal longer then Oregon on staying sharp.

That said, I got 4 tanks out of the 404 full skip archer before I had to sharpen it.

I think for the price, the archer is worth a try

 

[deye223]

so close to Carlton then ..... the reason I ask is here in AU a roll of stihl is $750

and Carlton is even up to $550 so I am trying to find a cheaper alternative .

I bought 4 rolls of stihl chain 5 years ago and they were only $415 ea

 

[deye223]

Well I just filed on a stihl, an archer, and a Oregon.

I would say the stihl was hardest no question and Oregon was softest no question. I would say the archer was right in the middle of them as far as hardness.

So on a 1 outta 10 scale if stihl was 9 and Oregon was a 3, then archer would be a 6.

Best I can describe it.

So I would guess it wouldn't last as long as stihl but a good deal longer then Oregon on staying sharp.

That said, I got 4 tanks out of the 404 full skip archer before I had to sharpen it.

I think for the price, the archer is worth a try

oops I forgot to ask how was the archer like stretch wise

 

[deye223]

Close to stihl

must be a reasonable chain then because most chicom chain stretch's like a rubber band
I must try one of these as we have a dealer here that sells it .

 

[RI Chevy]

Thank you Julian.
I ran the 24" loop yesterday. Same results as you. Out of the box Stihl was quicker by a few seconds. Oregon was also faster.
I found after running on a 440/460 hybrid after one cut, Archer chain really stretched a lot. So much I had to stop and re-adjust.
Chain cut ok. I will take a few pics today. I made about a dozen cuts with the 24" 3/8 .050 chain. Cut hard oak wood only.
Stihl must come pre stretched from factory. Oregon too. Didn't stretch nearly as much.

 

[J. Loe]

Got to run some archer 36” loops that were square ground.

I didn’t have a chance to file on the loops before running but the chips they threw were heeheehuuuge

Wasn’t able to do a good test tho.
Too busy cleaning up these freaking box elder uproots
I’ve got a lot of filing to do to get some real results.

More to come

 

[srcarr52]

Thank you Julian.
I ran the 24" loop yesterday. Same results as you. Out of the box Stihl was quicker by a few seconds. Oregon was also faster.
I found after running on a 440/460 hybrid after one cut, Archer chain really stretched a lot. So much I had to stop and re-adjust.
Chain cut ok. I will take a few pics today. I made about a dozen cuts with the 24" 3/8 .050 chain. Cut hard oak wood only.
Stihl must come pre stretched from factory. Oregon too. Didn't stretch nearly as much.

Stihl is pre stretched.

I've found that Archer chain does stretch a lot on the first few cuts but stabilizes quickly and holds length after that well.

 

[RI Chevy]

Yessir. After the initial stretch and retighten, it seemed to hold.
Ported saws stress the chain so much. LOL
It did hold though.

 

[RI Chevy]

Here is a pic of the 3/8 after a dozen cuts in oak and maple.

And after 2 swipes with the 3/8 round file.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

I tried a loop of RSK a few years back. Cut good but had a ton of vibration.

A few years back I got 3 rolls of LGX for $200/roll. It is good enough for me and will last me the rest of my days.

 

[RI Chevy]

LGX is good chain for sure.

 

[Lightning Performance]

Just got my mitts on a loop of Archer 3/8 105 dl to test. It will get tested and then post my thoughts on this chain and how well it did out of the box and may run it on the mill if some clean wood shows up soon. Most of the hardwood stuff is over 30" for slabs. I'm fighting with the mill now with chain that is just too aggressive for dead red oak. That loop runs fine in fresh pine. I'll find some live wood to test in first and work my way to dirty old nasty hardwood stumps.

First impressions are better than most out of the box. Many things here to like. Took many pics the other night of this Archer chain.

 

[RI Chevy]

It's not anywhere near as good as Stihl chain Kenny.

 

[Lightning Performance]

It's not anywhere near as good as Stihl chain Kenny.

Why?

 

[huskyboy]

Stihl and exl cuts about the fastest out of box. I can get lgx to cut faster for me than the others after all hand filed and dialed in... for whatever reason.