Best Chainsaw Sharpener Reviews
Have you ever tried to cut a piece of paper with a dull pair of scissors? Or have you ever tried to slice a tomato with a dull knife? If you have, you understand the problems that can come about when using a dull chainsaw chain and why you need the best chainsaw sharpener on the market.
Or at least some of them. In addition to just not doing a good job, a dull chain can pose other problems. Since it makes the chainsaw work harder, it can cause the assembly to become overheated. With repeated use, it can actually burn out the motor. Then there are the potential safety hazards that can come about. A dull chain makes the chainsaw more likely to cause kickbacks that can knock you off your feet, and the rough cuts it makes can cause debris to fly about dangerously.
Because of the problems a dull chain poses, you need to sharpen your chainsaw chain regularly. We have compiled a list of the 5 best chainsaw sharpeners on the market for you.
Contents
Maintaining Your Chainsaw
In order to maintain your chainsaw, you should follow the directions provided in the user manual. This should cover everything from how to store the chainsaw to how much oil to use. The one aspect that usually isn’t so clear in these guides is sharpening the chain. This is for a few reasons, not the least of which is that if you don’t sharpen your chain, you will end up replacing it more often. Chainsaw manuals that do cover chain sharpening usually only look at manual sharpeners, which are so time consuming, you would most likely prefer to go ahead and buy a new chain.
Chainsaw chains become dull for many reasons, such as debris and dirt, but the primary reason is simply standard use. The more you cut with it, the more damage the blades will sustain. Sometimes the blades can be damaged due to encountering something unexpected in the wood you cut. But whatever the reasons the chain becomes dulled, the signs you look for are the same.
- The chain doesn’t want to self-feed, leaving you to push on the saw to make it work.
- The wood chips produced when cutting are too fine and dust-like.
- The edges of the teeth appear shiny.
- You notice that jobs are taking longer to complete or are more difficult to complete.
Because a dull chain puts your safety and the quality of your job at risk, you want to sharpen the chain as soon as you notice a problem.
Benefits of Owning a Chainsaw Sharpener
Perhaps the biggest benefit to owning a chainsaw sharpener is that it saves you money.If you replaced chains every time they got dull, you would be throwing away money. And if you use your chainsaw with any frequency, that is a lot of money.
For those who use their chainsaw as part of their job, this means lost profits. Even after just an hour or two of continuous use, a chainsaw chain can become dull. Few people have the room in their budget to spend an extra amount a day just to replace chains. And since it keeps the chainsaw working optimally, a chainsaw sharpener also helps to guarantee best results.
While manual chainsaw sharpeners used to be the only options on the market, electric models now make sharpening chainsaw chains easier than ever. Most of these sharpeners are guided, which takes the guess work out of the equation and ensures that you can never make an angle mistake. All you need to do is select the right file or filer setting for the chain you are using. Compared to manual sharpening, this is a breeze. Manual sharpening is slow, and you must be careful to sharpen at the correct angle while also ensuring all teeth on the chain are sharpened equally. Powered chainsaw sharpeners take care of all of this for you.
Top 5 Best Chainsaw Sharpeners Comparison Table
Product Name | Image | Portability | Complexity | Pitches | Special Features | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Not portable; must be mounted. | Medium complexity to operate | Sharpens 1/4 In , 3/8 In low profile, 0.325 In, full profile 3/8 In, and .404 In pitch chains | Built-in light | #1 | |
 | Not portable; must be mounted. | Medium complexity to operate | Sharpens 1/4-Inch, .325-Inch, 3/8-Inch, 1/2-Inch, and 3/4-Inch pitch chains | Built-in light | #2 | |
 | Not portable; must be mounted. | Easy to operate | N/A | N/A | #3 | |
 | Not portable; must be mounted | Medium complexity to operate | Sharpens 1/4", 3/8" low profile, 0.325", full profile 3/8", and .404" pitch chain | Built-in light | #4 | |
 | Highly portable; can fit into a pocket. | Easy to operate | Sharpens .325" pitch chains | Comes with carrying case | #5 |
How to Choose the Best Chainsaw Sharpener
Overall, the best chainsaw sharpener for you is a matter of personal preference. The one you pick will mostly depend on how portable you want it to be, how easy it needs to be to use, and what special features you want. The only thing you need to look into that is not just a matter of personal preference are the pitches the sharpener can handle; this determines which chains it can sharpen. There are three basic types of sharpeners.
Handheld Round File
When referring to manual sharpening, this is the type of sharpener we are referring to. It is a round tool with a diameter small enough to allow it to fit between the teeth of the chain so it can shave off material and sharpen the teeth. You must make certain that you have the right diameter for the chain, otherwise you will do damage to the teeth rather than improving them.
Bar Mounted Guide
This is not so much a sharpener as it is a guide that accommodates a file. This guide fixes to the bar of the chainsaw and then helps guide the file through the teeth, sharpening them in the process. The results are very accurate, but this method is considered to be a bit dangerous, so it is not for casual users.
Electric Sharpener
For most people, this is the ideal type of sharpener, and as such, we mostly focused our top 5 picks on this type. This type of sharpener her powerful, versatile, safe, and efficient to use. Most are designed to work with a variety of pitches, making it easy for you to sharpen whatever chains you have at home. Without any effort on your part, a 20-inch chain can be sharpened in about five minutes. In terms of variety within electric sharpeners, it mainly comes down to how they mount and how complex they are to operate.
Conclusion
If you own a chainsaw and use it with any regularity, you also need to own a chainsaw sharpener. For most individuals, an electric option will be the best chainsaw sharpener for them. Out of our list of the 5 best chainsaw sharpeners on the market today, most of them electric models, we are confident that you will find the option that is best suited to you and your chainsaw.
