Chain differences

[Kozak Logging]

My Dad and I run mostly all 20" bars with .50 guage 3.8 pitch chains. All Oregon. We run file and cut rakers. Is there a faster chain on the line? I mean is there a brand thats better and faster cutting for staying with a round file? Ppl claim a Stihl chain will cut faster, I think personally its on how good the guy sharpening the chain is. I want to stay with the round file. I'm going with a 24" Oregon and chain, what will get me the best quality but stay at a decent price?

 

[Gary Courtney]

Stihl makes an excellent chain. I find Oregon is a little softer to sharpen. I use stihl full skip chains.

 

[concretegrazer]

Cutting speed is going to mostly going to be determined by how it's sharpened. Oregon can be hit or miss on hardness for durability. Stihl chains are great but can be pricey. I've heard good things about Carlton but haven't ran any.

 

[mdavlee]

Carlton is good for edge holding and not killing files. Stihl is ok but some oregon is faster out of the box. You don't really know til you test them.

 

[Kozak Logging]

Ive been running oregon forever it seems. Never ran anything else.

 

[SawTroll]

I do not find Stihl chain faster than Oregon, Oregon LPX is the fastest and smoothest round chisel I have tried, slightly faster than LGX and RS/RSC. The difference is small, and I happily use either!
My experience with semi-chisel is very limited, so I can't comment on that.

The Stihl chain cuts a slightly wider kerf in .050 and .058.

I stay away from Carlton, after trying just a few loops - crude chain.


As @mdavlee indicated, just try the options yourself, and see what you like!

 

[mdavlee]

The older the carlton chain the better. The new stuff I don't know about. I got some skip square off ebay last year. Great stuff for holding an edge. Just like stihl and sharpened a little easier.

 

[ft. churchill]

I prefer the Oregon with the blued square chisels. My files last longer and it hold an edge well. The Stihl is a great chain, but is harder and blunts the files quicker along with the chain sharpening takes longer. The edge only lasts a little bit longer than the Oregon. About as long as the extra time to resharpen one. Stihl cost alot more.

 

[Firewood Bandit]

Sure Stihl is great chain, but the price is just out of line. Rolls of LGX are pretty inexpensive making it much cheaper than RS.

 

[mdavlee]

CL from out west is about $30-40 cheaper a roll as well.

 

[Hedgerow]

Ive been running oregon forever it seems. Never ran anything else.

Oregon chain is king in your area it seems. Stihl chain is durable stuff, but unless a dealer is running a special sale, probably not worth the extra cost.
As far as speed? Keep rolling with what ya got.

 

[jake wells]

The older the carlton chain the better. The new stuff I don't know about. I got some skip square off ebay last year. Great stuff for holding an edge. Just like stihl and sharpened a little easier.

the new carlton is comparable to tri link chain.

 

[jake wells]

i use stihl rm or rs chain.

 

[mdavlee]

I liked the RSLK and RSK stihl stuff. Too bad they got rid of the K chassis and went to the comfort chassis with the bigger raker.

 

[Frank bierce]

I do not find Stihl chain faster than Oregon, Oregon LPX is the fastest and smoothest round chisel I have tried, slightly faster than LGX and RS/RSC. The difference is small, and I happily use either!
My experience with semi-chisel is very limited, so I can't comment on that.

The Stihl chain cuts a slightly wider kerf in .050 and .058.

I stay away from Carlton, after trying just a few loops - crude chain.


As @mdavlee indicated, just try the options yourself, and see what you like!

Really enjoy seeing real world opinions on stuff like this..

 

[michaelmj11]

Stihl makes an excellent chain. I find Oregon is a little softer to sharpen. I use stihl full skip chains.

What length full skip? I had someone (off the net) tell me any full skip below 24" was pointless. ..... I'm not sure I believe/agree with this. I had thought it would depend a lot on the saw, because the full skip is making it easier to move the chain, but making the saw run longer to do it.

I'd love input.

 

[Frank bierce]

Seems to me, it would allow a smaller saw to run a longer bar to a certain extent.

 

[Canadian farm boy]

Skip chain also aids in chip removal while cutting.
I notice a big difference between full comp and skip when making noodle cuts

 

[michaelmj11]

Skip chain also aids in chip removal while cutting.
I notice a big difference between full comp and skip when making noodle cuts

A noodle cut would be face grain? Because the shavings come off in strings?

 

[Canadian farm boy]

Yup. The shavings are long and I find they bunch up a lot more between the cutters. Having a few less cutters gives more room for the noodles to gather before being ejected. This is just what I've noticed. Others may disagree