Machine vs hand sharpening, anybody?

neanter

neanter

The story is, we're in India and a partner in the tree care business just came back from Spain where he says people sharpen their chains by hand with the simple guides because they get them sharper than with the Bench Mounted Electric Chain Sharpeners. So I'm wondering why they do it that way, it doesn't make sense. here in India, as you can imagine, the equipment to salary ratio is quite different to Europe/US(If 4 of us work one morning, we make enough cash to buy a new chain). So I wanted to compare their long term price and utility since we have both types of sharpeners.
here is how I compare the two:
Hand Advantages:
can be used in remote areas
Can make grooves deeper to chew faster?
files cheap
Hand disadvantage:
Slow when doing bulk
Less precise
wears chains out faster
Bench Mounted Advantages:
Fast when doing bulk
precise
Longer chain life
Bench mounted disadvantages:
Can't use on site
expensive to buy

Anything else? 85, 60 degrees makes a difference? small chains, big chains? What do you think is better in the long-run and why? thanks, sorry for the non-technical terms as I'm not certified yet, Island
 
Hand filing is faster because the chain stays on the bar.

The grinder is better for taking the cutters back on a rocked out chain but care must be taken not to heat up the cutting edge.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hand sharpened advantages:
better edge

Machine disadvantage:
blue tooth

[/ QUOTE ]

Agreed. I can get a chain much sharper and stay sharper longer by using a round file. You will never see competition cutters with a machine sharpened chain.
 
Hand sharpen. You can have a razors edge on your saw anywhere you are cutting. I have worked for companies that have the "good chain bucket" and "bad chain bucket" and I found the whole system to be a pain in the butt. When it's dull, I like to grab a file and make it sharp. That simple.
 
Electric grinders also have a tendency to remove a lot more metal than proper hand sharpening so your chains will last longer. There is a bit of a learning curve to learning to sharpen by hand decently, and an even steeper learning curve to filing very well. File guides can help.
 
Hand filing is an art.
Im so good at it, if my groundy puts the chain on backwards, I could sharpen the back side of the teeth faster than the chain could be turned around.
Just kidding...I worked with this nut from Farfax county and he used to say that all the time.

Gloves are a must ofcoarse but safty glasses are just as important when filing. Twice I had to have filings pulled from my eye. The tweezer part isnt as bad as the grinding of the rust ring on the eyeball.

"Dont blink while I grind your eye with this dremel"

Felt like some kind of twisted alien abduction.
 
If you touch up the chain with a couple passes of a file every time you refuel your chain will cut better and stay sharp longer. It only takes a minute or two unless you are running a big bar.
 
I too like the hand sharpening. Ive had to take chains in to have them machine sharpened when theyve gotten way out of wack. I had one done at a shop that I had to redo by hand as it didnt cut wortha crap after they bench sharpened it. They did get it straight, but it cut bad.

I recently picked up a bench grinder w/a diamond wheel on it. Supposedly the wheel is 20yrs old and has no wear on it. Ive not used it yet.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you touch up the chain with a couple passes of a file every time you refuel your chain will cut better and stay sharp longer. It only takes a minute or two unless you are running a big bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Every time you fuel?

Im sorry, but thats just ridiculous.

If you "keep" it sharp, a proper edge can last weeks, depending on conditions of course.

and how can a chain cut better than "sharp"?
Its either sharp or it isnt. If it is, cut with it. If it isnt, sharpen it. Simple as that. And technically it doesnt stay sharp longer if you sharpen 3-6 times per day. It stays sharp, until the next time you resharpen.
 
im going to be the only one to say this, i use electric disc to file, im the only one in the shop that files and im not the only one in the shop that wears down these chians, my boss is the worst offender, i swear he is tryin to get into the underground utility business

for me, its like a single mother doing laundry for 6 kids, i need fast and i need accurate, i use the sharp boy, which is a ginder that mounts directly to the bar and opperates similar to the bench mounted grinders, it works great on bigger saws, even on low profile chains, but i tend to hand file my 200t
 
Tree work in India?? That's got to be different. Make sure all sacred cows are clear of the work zone before climbing...
 
[ QUOTE ]
If you touch up the chain with a couple passes of a file every time you refuel your chain will cut better and stay sharp longer. It only takes a minute or two unless you are running a big bar.

[/ QUOTE ]

I also touch up a chain quite often. Maybe not every refuel but every other or so.

I haven't seen square ground chain mentioned yet or the fact that it is at least 20% faster, so I won't mention it.
 
Ya in college I was on the timbersports team. At a stock saw competition we had a square filed chain sharpened by one of the saw sharpening gurus. Lets just saw it wasn't even a competion we blew everyone away.
 
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