Looks like from the US website description that one is
PICCO Duro -3/8 low profile, 0.050 gauge:
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/specialty-saw-chains/pd3/, and one is
Rapid DURO 3 - .325, 0.058 gauge?:
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/saw-chains/rd3/
Our STIHL US site does not show a 3/8 full pitch chain with carbide cutters (at least that I can find), but they may offer it over your way. No reason why they would not.
Photo of one chain a few posts above. The other received was a '
Bullet' chain (Post #4). Both heavy duty, heavily used, and designed for fire service use (i.e. cutting building materials instead of forestry / fire wood use). These will be used for training /
show-and-tell use.
If I was to order a carbide chain to try for trees, logs, etc., I would start with one of the STIHL chains, or one of the Rapco chains designed for this use. Rapco's '
Selection Guide' (Post #3) notes that some styles are better for certain applications, and they have some insight into this. I would probably budget for a modest ($100)
diamond wheel for sharpening as well - my dealer charges a minimum of $20 to sharpen carbide loops, so that could pay for itself fairly quickly.
I am sure that there are better quality diamond wheels available if one does this on a continuing basis. I would also expect to need replacement cutters to periodically replace chipped carbide inserts, as grinding these back is different that with conventional, steel cutters.
Here is what I am interested in hearing from
You (and others)! Specifically:
- the cutting speed of carbide saw chains, compared to
stock, conventional chains (e.g. not ground to someone's racing profile); and,
- how the cutters hold up to chipping; a concern with the hard, potentially brittle, cutting edges.
Comments appear to suggest that these factors are related: a finer edge cuts faster, but is more susceptible to chipping, since there is less metal to support it. Minor dulling of the edges can be addressed via maintenance sharpening, but large chips (see photos in earlier post) essentially require replacement of the cutter.
Philbert