What am I doing wrong? Sharpening.

[bigealta]

One thing I got out of that video: the guy probably needs to replace his file. I've never seen it take so many strokes to get a tooth sharp (not counting a tooth that has been severely damaged by hitting a rock or some metal - which is not the case here). I went back and counted. On the 3 teeth I watched, he was over 60 strokes each. It's normal for the first sharpening of a new chain to take a few more than normal, since you are reshaping the profile from the grinder used by the factory, but 60+? Something is not right there.

Yes he definitely uses a light touch, i think he says that, and metal flakes are not flying off like they do with a new file. But i like that he shows how to just keep going till you get to where you need to be to be sharp.

Most people are using dull files so this might be a real world use case.

Guys here usually know when the files are dull but still push them before replacing them. I'm certainly guilty of doing that.

 

[John Mc]

Yes he definitely uses a light touch, i think he says that, and metal flakes are not flying off like they do with a new file. But i like that he shows how to just keep going till you get to where you need to be to be sharp.

Most people are using dull files so this might be a real world use case.

Guys here usually know when the files are dull but still push them before replacing them. I'm certainly guilty of doing that.

I don't use a heavy touch: files work best when you let them do the work. I'll push a file a bit past its prime, but nowhere near the point to where it takes me 60-70 strokes or more to touch up a single tooth that has not been rocked.

 

[Dieselhead]

I don't use a heavy touch: files work best when you let them do the work. I'll push a file a bit past its prime, but nowhere near the point to where it takes me 60-70 strokes or more to touch up a single tooth that has not been rocked.

Yep life’s too short to be using dull files that’s for sure.

 

[TradEddie]

Why are you counting strokes? You need to keep filing until each cutter is sharp, duh! End of story.
So "what are you doing wrong?" You're not filing long enough. Like until it's sharp.

Not really counting strokes, I'm saying that freehand or using the husky guide on my old saw, that 3-5 strokes usually did the trick. I could see this wasn't working here, but not knowing what was wrong, I didn't want to keep going and make it even worse, e.g. if the suggestions that my file was wrong size were correct. The (Pferd) 2in1 makes it more difficult to get the filing pressure sideways towards the saw. TBH, for the speed of doing it freehand, I may stick with that even if it's never perfect, it's always good enough. It is nice not to need to go back to do the rakers though.

TE

 

[bigealta]

Not really counting strokes, I'm saying that freehand or using the husky guide on my old saw, that 3-5 strokes usually did the trick. I could see this wasn't working here, but not knowing what was wrong, I didn't want to keep going and make it even worse, e.g. if the suggestions that my file was wrong size were correct. The (Pferd) 2in1 makes it more difficult to get the filing pressure sideways towards the saw. TBH, for the speed of doing it freehand, I may stick with that even if it's never perfect, it's always good enough. It is nice not to need to go back to do the rakers though.

TE

If you wear a headset magnifier you will easily see exactly when you have a beautiful sharp top plate and corner. I won't sharpen without it because then it's just a guessing game for me. No way can i see a truely crisp edge with the naked eye.

And even my "dull" chains feel sharp to the touch when i can clearly see they are not at all sharp.

 

[salecker]

Yep life’s too short to be using dull files that’s for sure.

That is why i use the dremel type, nobody carries files around here

 

[bigealta]

That is why i use the dremel type, nobody carries files around here

I can still get decent files in 3 packs for good prices here.