I ordered a Granberg G-106

Gang,

For a decision over $35.00, this was long and troublesome. A buddy of mine bought the Harbor Freight grinder for $29.95, and I was less than impressed with the quality. Couple that with having to pull the chain off the bar, and I ruled it out. Northern Tool has a grinder that clamps to the bar and operates off two battery clips, but I decided against it because battery power in the woods, in the absence of owning a quad, is not something that's guaranteed. The Granberg is powered by coffee and donuts, the chain doesn;t have to be pulled off the bar, and the price is right. We'll see how it does, but given my tragic chain sharpening skills, a blind castrated three toed sloth could do a better job than me. the Granberg should be a vast improvement.

You want a nice sharpener to take in the field with you, check this out. It was posted on the Hearth before. No, they are not cheap (saw one for sale on Amazon at around $130.00!), but they look very easy to use for even the most novice sharpener, and with a carbide bit it should last for many years to come. The only thing you would have to do with a file is bump the rakers, this thing looks like it will make the cutters line new, and right quick!

That's nuts!

The Timberline is on my wish list. I don't think it would be so great if you need to take off a lot of material (rock damage). I would probably find myself picking up the file a lot in the woods. Otherwise it looks pretty slick. I especially like the groovy music in the video.

I just returned the Harbor Freight unit. I can do a better job with a file. The Grandbeg looks interesting and the price is right, please post your "review" after you have used it a few times.

I didn't have to agonize over my decision to learn to file feehand. LOL

I bought my father one of those gizmos cuz he never could file freehand. Problem was he could not set it up for the right angles and depth either. In trying to teach him how to use it, I came to the conclusion that if you can learn/understand the angles and depth required to properly sharpen a chain, you should be able to hand file.

Well... maybe not... some folks lack the motor skills needed.

After 10-12 years of automatic screw machines, and a lot of time in the tool room, hand filing is pretty easy for me. We had lots of guys that couldn't do a decent job on a grinder, even after 30+ years. That includes freehand, or setting something up in a fixture. So, yeah, some folks just never get it.

I know that the entire hearth.com community was on the edge of their seat, waiting for my decision on which chain sharpener I would buy It just seemed like the Granberg was simple, required no power other than coffee and donuts, and could sharpen a chain while it was still on the bar. I've tried hand filing and despite lots of good advice here and from a tree guy, just can't seem to get a chain "like new". We'll see if this thing works out. Who knows, I may just wind up buying a bench grinder....dumb as a bag of hammers I can be.

I inherited a Granberg from my Dad last year. While I could do a decent job by hand, the slightest inclination to hurry or be distracted (or yes, on my third PBR) would not give consistent results. The Granberg seems to have eliminated those problems for the most part. Couple of weeks ago, broke my reading glasses and got the wrong setting on the inclination. Oops, caught it after the second tooth and some bad words. Good luck with it.