Defective Stihl Chainsaw Chain

In my area there seems to be a vast quantity of defective Stihl chainsaw chain.

The defect is that the chain cutters (teeth) are ground is such a way that you are unable to sharpen the chain with a standard round file.

While I was at the dealer I noticed and pointed out the all the newer replacement chains as well as all the new chains mounted on new saws for sale had this same defect. This prompted my dealer to call other dealers in the area who reported the same issue with their inventories.

This defect has been found several sizes and types of chain.

If you are buying Stihl brand chain, be sure that you are able to correctly insert the proper sized round file into the cutters before you purchase the chain.

I was unaware of this problem when I bought my chain. Even after having the chain sharped one time at the dealer with a bench grinder, I am still unable to insert the proper sized round file at the correct depth for proper sharpening. This is a real vexing problem when you are out in the field and want to touch up the chain.

At this time I am not sure if the dealer has talked to the field rep about this issue.

MasterMech said:

You have a bunch of square ground chain showing up out there? Usually that's labeled Rapid Super Klassic. Could be they got a few of those chains in RSC boxes.

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No they are not the square ground. These teeth seem to have been ground with a very thin grinder that leaves a "J hook" looking cut. There will be a hump left in the area where the file needs to pass through.

My work schedule is all bonkers right now, but I will get and post pics as soon as I can.

Wow, this is getting interesting. Welcome to the forum Roger! Sorry for the late reply, I didn't think the issue was getting anywhere so I didn't ever check back.

To bring everyone up to date. The problem has been acknowledged by two Stihl dealers in Pryor, Oklahoma. The problem has been discovered in retail package chain and chain on spools. Some of the .325" chain may have this same problem, I'll investigate on this more tomorrow. I was able to talk to Stihl tech support on Thursday, the 12th at about 14:45 central time. I was told that they had been contacted by both dealers in Pryor and that the problem would be investigated.

The chain in question is 3/8" pitch, .063" gauge, "yellow link" - 36 RSC 3 seems to be the number for it.

The problem with the chain is a hump between the leading guide of the cutter (the part that sets the depth of cut) and the cutting edge of the cutter. This is similar to the hump pictured in this harvester chain cutter.

The hump in the chain in question is a bit taller and much closer to the cutting edge. I have a theory that the grinding tool used to shape the cutting edge was too thin or set too far back. This hump prevents the file from being inserted anywhere near the correct depth according to the file guide included with the sharpening kit (Part # 5605 007 1029).

In contrast this is similar what the cutter is supposed to look like on my chain.

Taking a detailed picture of chainsaw chain is not easy to do with a phone camera. We did manage to get a decent picture with one of the dealers I-Phone and he was going to sent it to Stihl tech support. I'm not sure if he has done that yet. I do plan on borrowing and SLR camera to take pictures of the chain in question tomorrow.

I do have a question. Is there a lot number that may be found on the cardboard spools used for bulk chain?

Pic credits --- Pictures from Stihl's website used without permission.

http://www.stihlusa.com/chainsaws/types.html#RS

Here are pictures of the problem.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachm...1/?temp_hash=5cb383d7c46bd2aea5e2c9cedae6a366
The same hump was found on two spools of different types of 3/8" chain and in several retail packages of 3/8" chain.


I also have samples from the two spools of chain and one unopened package of retail chain ready to ship to tech support as soon as I have an address.
I hope this helps.





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BrianK said:

I noticed something similar (but not nearly as pronounced) sharpening my MS 250 last week (the same areas on the chain on my new MS 290 Farm Boss were perfectly flat):

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Good job on the photos! I had to put a "like" on that.

We had similar observations on various .325 chains here also. Since the hump seemed small enough to allow proper sharpening in the field, we decided not to raise an alert regarding .325 chain. I think the hump is annoying because it does make the sharpening job a bit more difficult, but - as your photo's show - it can be done.

On the other hand, the hump in the 3/8" chains was deemed excessive because we could not get the round file down to proper depth to get a correct edge on the cutter. I tried to file the hump away and I couldn't do it without getting the file into the cutting edge or the leading depth guide and I didn't have all day to spend on it either.

I have taken the chain back to the shop twice to have sharpened on the bench grinder. This time I think the cutter is ground back far enough to allow sharpening with a file which is good. The bad thing is now about 1/4th of my chain is gone after only two sharpenings.

wkpoor said:

That little hump is common when filing square chain. I just take a rotory file and carve it out. Don't really see why it can't be hand filed out. Wouldn't want to pay full price for chain ground that way though.

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I was thinking along the same line Wkpoor and SmokinJ about using a Dremel tool on the hump, but you guys make a good point about "50% off" and "full price".

Should I admit that I bought two of these darn chains?

I might consider selling the other one for half my money back if somebody wanted to take a rotary tool to the hump, but look closely at BrianK's third photo. I'm not familiar with the Timberline sharpener with the carbide tool that BrianK used, but it took the face off the cutting edge to where it is almost 90 degrees to the wood while the hump seems untouched. I had the same results when I tried to gouge the hump out with a round file. It took the face off the cutter while the hump only had a scratch.

I'm not so sure that half price would be a good deal.