There are several things to consider before sharpening your chain saw. It’s not as hard as you might think even if you’re a novice chain saw user, but if you don’t pay attention to a few basic tips you’ll end up wasting your time.  The following chainsaw sharpening guide should help you sharpen any chainsaw.

First of all, to learn how to sharpen chainsaw chains you need to make sure that you have the right size of chain saw sharpener to match the size of chain and teeth pitch on your saw. The round hand-held sharpening file must be the correct diameter to maximize your sharpening efforts. The gullet or shape of the inner part of the tooth will a have different radius depending on the chain and the saw. Fortunately these hand held files only cost a few dollars so you may as well buy several different sizes and keep them in your sharpening toolkit.

You’ll also notice that every second tooth on the chain saw cuts towards the opposite side of the bar. So you need to sharpen every second tooth from one side of the saw, and then after you go around the entire chain, file the remaining alternate teeth from the other side of the saw.

In both cases you need to stroke the file forward towards the longest point on the tip. Note that you must follow the correct angle to the bar, as well as the upwards ankle (usually 5° to 10°) for many saws. You need to maintain exactly the same direction on every stroke as much as possible or you will round the teeth and end up with a chain that is no sharper than when you started.

Make sure that you file each tooth exactly the same number of strokes or the saw will pull to one side and not cut straight. The easiest way to do this is to count the number of strokes as you file. Usually three to five strokes per tooth will keep your saw nice and sharp. It really doesn’t take much time to do touch up sharpening.

Another issue that many people are not aware of is that the chain guides cannot be higher than the teeth or the saw will not cut properly. After you sharpen your saw a number of times the guides will most likely end up higher than the teeth. You need to take a flat file and remove some of the height from the chain saw guides.

Besides knowing how to sharpen your chain saw, you also need to know when your chain saw needs sharpening.

By the time you’ve bucked up several trees into blocks, the chain will probably be at the point of requiring sharpening.  Your chain saw should cut just as well as when it was brand new. If it’s not, then this can be a good indicator that the saw is dull and requires sharpening.

Another indicator that tells you your chain saw requires sharpening is if you have to exert too much pressure on the saw to get it to cut through the log. A chain saw should virtually cut through the wood on its own with minimal pressure from the operator. If your saw isn’t doing this you should stop and sharpen your chain immediately. Continuing to operate the saw in this condition is unsafe and can lead to serious injuries.

If you notice very small chips or sawdust being spit out from the chain saw instead of nice size wood chips this is also a good indicator that you should dig out your chain saw sharpener.

Your chain saw chain can also become shiny when the chrome plating wears excessively. This could also be an indication of improper chain lubrication, but the first thing you should check is the sharpness of your chain. While you’re at it you can also ensure that the bar oil reservoir has enough oil, and that it is being fed to the bar as you cut.

Knowing when to sharpen your chain saw can be as important as the actual sharpening, because if you cut too long with a dull saw you run the risk of over-heating the teeth on the chain. If you heat the teeth up too much the steel will lose its temper and they will no longer hold their sharpness when sharpened.

If you see black spots on the teeth on the chain it means you have been cutting with a dull saw and over-heating the chain and bar. Stop and take your saw to a professional sharpener immediately. If a lot of the teeth have black marks on the tips you may have run the chain to the point of no return. This is a physical property of steel that none of us can avoid – once steel is heated to a certain point it loses certain properties that allow things like chainsaw teeth to maintain their sharp edge. Unfortunately, if your chain is in this condition you may have to purchase a new one.