Sharpening the Chainsaw Chain

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What happens here

To sharpen the chain, first ensure you have the correct size round file for your specific chain (e.g., a 5/32nds file). Secure the chainsaw in a vise. Identify the most damaged cutter tooth on each side of the chain and mark it with a black Sharpie as your starting point. When filing, use consistent strokes (e.g., 5-6 strokes per tooth) to remove the same amount of material from each cutter tooth. Apply light pressure on the forward stroke only, lifting the file on the return stroke to avoid dulling. The file should be positioned so that 80% is in the gullet (the curved area between the cutter tooth and the raker) and 20% is exposed above the top plate. After sharpening all cutter teeth, use a raker gauge (typically 25 thousandths for standard chains) to check and lower the rakers. Place the gauge over the raker and file any material that protrudes above the gauge with a flat file, again using forward strokes only, until the raker is flush with the gauge. Properly set rakers prevent the chain from biting too aggressively or too shallowly.

Goal: Sharpen the chainsaw chain using a hand file and adjust rakers.

Tools and materials

Black Sharpie Sharpie — Marking starting teeth for consistent sharpening
Chainsaw Stihl — The item to be sharpened
Flat File Unbranded — Lowering rakers to the correct height
Raker Gauge — Measuring and adjusting raker height
Round File — Sharpening the cutter teeth
Vise Unbranded — Securing the chainsaw for stable sharpening

What they say

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let's get into it all right so we're in the sharpening now yeah okay so what are we going to do first so if you already went out and bite your chain you're gonna have to make sure you have the right file okay this chain is a five takes a five thirty seconds file again that's the key you can't just throw a bigger file in it you're gonna throw your whole tooth off oh okay so file buy a file the same time you buy your chain and label your file so that you know stamp two oh okay so you have the right file okay so let's get into it yeah so a lot of these you can get guides what with your files and everything but for example on this chain see that Dash right on top yeah that's gonna Identify two things the angle of your tooth and the end of life so that's gonna be the angle you want to sharpen it at that little line right next to your thumb is that that's it yup that's your end of life on that chain yup and that's also what angle you're going to want to be sharpened into that oh that's a guide not all chains have them okay chain right here doesn't have them okay that's where a guide can come in handy if you've been doing it long enough you don't need them okay so once we've got we're ready to sharpen we got the right file right chain let's go what do we do I always find my worst tooth I already went ahead and marked them I just use a black Sharpie mark them so I know where to start so you mark your first tooth so each side okay on each side on each side yep because you're gonna that's that's why there's that Sharpie Mark there and that Sharpie Mark there and it's not on that tooth okay so that's your starting point okay and the key is same amount of Strokes per tooth but you also want to consider taking out the same amount of material so if you're going really heavy on one tooth if you're taking off more material okay be consistent on every tooth so if you put 12 Strokes on one tooth put 12 on the next put 12 on the next same size uh-huh okay but just meet a little bit of pressure let me tighten my vice up foreign this file too far down into the gullet you don't want to start going into your tie strap you kind of want to sit it into the gullet into the tooth you want to make sure you're contacting the top of the top plate too so they give you a 80 20 rule 80 of your file is down in the gullet okay 20 should be exposed above your top plate okay are you twisting that file as you're going no I'm not these files actually if you look at them they got spiral to them…

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