Whats the best handheld electric chainsaw sharpener?

treeman19 · Apr 1, 2021

Reach · Apr 1, 2021

As far as I aware, there is no such thing. You would likely be better off with one of those Pferd combination sharpeners, it will be just about as fast and leave you with a better result. Plus, it doesn’t need power besides your arms.

climbingmonkey24 · Apr 2, 2021

Ever hear of a Dremel tool? This has me thinking along the lines of something like that with some type of grinder attachment. I did a Google search of "handheld electric chainsaw sharpener" and "Dremel chainsaw sharpener" and did get some results that popped up. Try searching along those lines and see what you can find.

Reach · Apr 2, 2021

climbingmonkey24 said:
Ever hear of a Dremel tool? This has me thinking along the lines of something like that with some type of grinder attachment. I did a Google search of "handheld electric chainsaw sharpener" and "Dremel chainsaw sharpener" and did get some results that popped up. Try searching along those lines and see what you can find.

I’ve tried that, Dremel makes an attachment just for sharpening saw chains. Unfortunately it doesn’t work real well, it’s very hard to get consistent results with it.

climbingmonkey24 · Apr 2, 2021

Reach said:
I’ve tried that, Dremel makes an attachment just for sharpening saw chains. Unfortunately it doesn’t work real well, it’s very hard to get consistent results with it.

Thanks for sharing that. I actually have a Dremel and never tried it out on saw chains.

Dan Cobb · Apr 2, 2021

I've thought about getting some of the Oregon stones to use with my dremel on chains that need a good amount of metal removed. If the dremel doesn't work well, I suppose I'll continue taking them to the local shop if they need more removed than I want to do by hand.

FWIW, I found a 10x magnifier improved my sharpening skills. Seeing the results in detail let me adjust my technique as necessary to ensure I was getting the proper profile on the cutters.

27RMT0N · Apr 2, 2021

Maybe I should try that as well. I don't know why it took me so long, but I just recently put a flexible light directly at my sharpening station, and that's certainly an improvement.

As far as hand-held electric sharpeners... I've seen a few for sale but never used one. I could be wrong, but it strikes me as one of those 'make saw sharpening easy!' gimmick tools. A file and a handle is all I use, freehand everything.

CaPowell · Apr 2, 2021

I like the Stihl sharpener. Stihl's stones seem better and last longer than Oregon's.

CaPowell · Apr 2, 2021

I was trained with an Oregon electric sharpener when I started out. I've only tried sharpening with a hand file once, and it seemed laborious to me, but I'm sure it's because I didn't know what I was doing. The handheld sharpener can definitely make a sharp chain, you just need to know what goes into a sharp chain to properly sharpen.

Another option is the Timberline chainsaw sharpener. It does a REALLY good job and doesn't require power, but it doesn't really save any time (It sharpens each tooth ridiculously fast, but you have to slide the chain and adjust for each tooth). I bought one because my workers just never seemed to master sharpening. One worker liked it a lot and it improved his sharpening quite a bit, but I still prefer to sharpen with the Stihl handheld sharpener. Overall, I was disappointed with this for the price point.

Timberline Chainsaw Sharpener

The Timberline Chainsaw Sharpener makes sharpening your chainsaw much easier and more precise. The Timberline Chainsaw Sharpener lets you sharpen your chain on the job. Allowing you to work f

www.treestuff.com

Jehinten · Apr 2, 2021

27RMT0N said:
Maybe I should try that as well. I don't know why it took me so long, but I just recently put a flexible light directly at my sharpening station, and that's certainly an improvement.

As far as hand-held electric sharpeners... I've seen a few for sale but never used one. I could be wrong, but it strikes me as one of those 'make saw sharpening easy!' gimmick tools. A file and a handle is all I use, freehand everything.

View attachment 74766

I thought the same about a flexible light. I've not found one yet, so I started using an LED worklight. It's got a slim profile but still is a bit bulky for this use, however it produces great light for sharpening.

Here's the one that I use. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-5..._-pip_sem_mobile-_-313248336-_-307904724-_-N&

As for sharpening, I also freehand file. Even a hand file can remove a lot of material quickly if needed, it just requires a sharp quality file. I prefer the stihl brand files. It's kind of amazing how much metal you can see coming off of it when you have a bright light pointed right at your work station.

swingdude · Apr 2, 2021

A hand file.

Treeline · Apr 3, 2021

We use the Stihl 12v sharpeners. They work great... my only complaint is it feels pretty cheaply made and they aren’t that cheap. They normally last us about 6 months before the wires get snatched or shorted out. They do a great job IF you know how to sharpen a saw. If you can’t hand file a chain you won’t do well with the sharpener. It’s basically the same process as hand filing but much faster, so you can mess up faster. I still think hand filing gets the best edge that lasts the longest, but in a production setting we don’t have time to stop and hand file.

ATH · Apr 3, 2021

I think the one I have is an Oregon. You can have it.

Like @Reach said, the Pferd (or Stihl's is identical) 2-in-1 is so much better. I admittedly suck at free hand sharpening. That is why I bought the electric one...my hand sharpening was better! I've gotten better over the years....but the Pferd was a game change. If it is too bad for that, I use the bench grinder.

MA Arborist · Apr 3, 2021

Nothing can get a chain as Sharp as a hand file

if the chain is badly damaged I grinder is nice

Jonny · Apr 3, 2021

Hand file and some practice will get chains sharper than brand new. A bench vise at a nice height where you don’t have to bend over, good lighting and away you go. Some music and a few drinks or a doobie. It’s therapeutic at the end of the day. Time to decompress.

swingdude · Apr 4, 2021

Jonny said:
Hand file and some practice will get chains sharper than brand new. A bench vise at a nice height where you don’t have to bend over, good lighting and away you go. Some music and a few drinks or a doobie. It’s therapeutic at the end of the day. Time to decompress.

16 years sober this month. But endorse all else.

27RMT0N · Apr 4, 2021

Yep, my shop has a fridge and four 12" tower speakers, closest neighbor is well over 1/3 mile away through thick woods. Doing tool maintenance at the end of the day is my meditation.

27RMT0N · Apr 4, 2021

Oh, and to the matter of 'new out of the box chains,' it really is a mixed bag. Regardless of brand, sometimes they come out of the box and rip, other times they can be very dull. Just the other day I put a fresh Stihl chain on one of my saws, and with a quick glance I could tell it was bad. So I walked over to my log pile where I test saws, and it was TERRIBLE, like, 'rocked chain out of the box' bad. Not sure how that happens and it isn't too often, but sometimes it does. Because of experiences like that, I check or test every new chain before bring it to a jobsite, because nothing is worse than being up a tree and being sent a dull saw.

Keeth · Apr 4, 2021

I’ve had great success over many years with these:

Roller Guide sharpener

I use it every third sharpening, but check the depth gauges with the Oregon guide. It helps you reset everything back to a very sharp baseline. The angles are much easier to maintain as opposed to a freehand device like the 2-n-1s. It will also train you how to sharpen with muscle memory.

I know several folks who use the Dremel-type sharpeners, but it takes a bit of time to get that setup dialed in well.

Knowing what a sharp chain is in the first place seems pretty elusive to a lot of folks. Regardless of what approach is used, I try to encourage saw users to become unsatisfied with anything less than a productive edge that will last with proper use.

Reach · Apr 4, 2021

27RMT0N said:
Oh, and to the matter of 'new out of the box chains,' it really is a mixed bag. Regardless of brand, sometimes they come out of the box and rip, other times they can be very dull. Just the other day I put a fresh Stihl chain on one of my saws, and with a quick glance I could tell it was bad. So I walked over to my log pile where I test saws, and it was TERRIBLE, like, 'rocked chain out of the box' bad. Not sure how that happens and it isn't too often, but sometimes it does. Because of experiences like that, I check or test every new chain before bring it to a jobsite, because nothing is worse than being up a tree and being sent a dull saw.

Interesting that you’ve had brand new dull chains from Stihl. We’ve bought hundreds of chains from Stihl and never found a dull one out of the box. Makes me wonder if someone used it and returned dull or something.