Somebody Owes Me Some Money

[davidwyby]

Are grinder hardened/burned/blued cutters a bad thing?

They are ok if you are going to grind. Not fun if you have to file.

 

[Wilhelm]

Are grinder hardened/burned/blued cutters a bad thing?

They are ok if you are going to grind. Not fun if you have to file.

What he said!

If You grind exclusively, blue that sucker as much as You can/want?
Just give the cutters a light final pass to get a sharp edge and remove any burs.
At least that's what works for me.

 

[Hinerman]

They are ok if you are going to grind. Not fun if you have to file.

That was kind of my point. If you are using a grinder, it doesn't matter.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Doesn't a blued cutter edge chip easier due to being more brittle?

 

[huskihl]

Doesn't a blued cutter edge chip easier due to being more brittle?

It does

 

[natorade89]

So, I'm a Tool & Die Maker, retired with 48 years of experience. Years ago I started using Nicholson Chainsaw files for a reason.
Recently I was reading a thread on here about files, and a few of you said that you use Pferd. What the heck, I bought a half-dozen and gave them a try. I didn't even get half of my chain sharpened until the file was junk. As I tossed a brand new Pferd in the trash, I remembered why I have been using Nicholson for so many years.

Vallorbe files are the best I've ever found. I've used nearly every brand on the market. Husky intensive cut come close.

 

[av8or3]

I think an important distinction should be made here. It’s always been my belief that if you grind a cutter until it turns blue, you have ruined that cutter. If it gets hot enough to change colors, the temper has changed and it’s not harder, but softer. However, cutters that are blued from the factory are very hard but can still be ruined by heat.
Wrong?

 

[av8or3]

I know for certain that if you heat treated steel red and allow it to cool, it will be softer as a result. If you heat the same steel red and the quench it ,
it will be harder, in the middle and especially at the surface. A “case hardening” is the result.
As a matter of interest, if you heat brass red and quench it, it becomes softer. Is a way to remove hardening from working the brass when resizing.
It’s called annealing the brass .

 

[huskihl]

I know for certain that if you heat treated steel red and allow it to cool, it will be softer as a result. If you heat the same steel red and the quench it ,
it will be harder, in the middle and especially at the surface. A “case hardening” is the result.
As a matter of interest, if you heat brass red and quench it, it becomes softer. Is a way to remove hardening from working the brass when resizing.
It’s called annealing the brass .

I believe you’re correct with bar or solid steel stock, that annealing happens when cooled slowly, hardening happens when cooled quickly. But with a chain, the sharpened edge is so thin that air quenching cools it too quickly and makes the edge hard and brittle. Too hard to file but so brittle that the edge breaks off early while cutting