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My old groundie said to stop sharpening my chain so much, and 9 months later I finally get why
Back when I ran a small crew out of Bellingham, one of my older groundies named Ray kept telling me I was filing my chain too much on the big firs. I blew him off for a long time because I figured more sharp is always better, right? He said a chain that's too grabby on a bore cut will kick back faster than a dull one, and he'd seen guys get hurt that way. Last spring I was taking down a 90 foot Doug fir and my saw bit hard mid cut and jumped on me. Nothing bad happened, but it scared me good. I started filing less often and letting the chain do the work, maybe every other tank instead of every tank. My cuts got cleaner, my arms stopped aching at the end of the day, and honestly my saw has lasted longer too. Ray retired in 2021 and I never got to tell him he was right. Any of you run into this, where a slow chain saves your butt instead of hurting it?
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wyatt13519d ago
Nine months though? Ray told you straight up and it took that long to sink in, and what gets me is the kickback part. A chain that grabs too hard on a bore cut is no joke, that saw can come back at you before your brain even catches up. My uncle had a close call like that on a hemlock and he still talks about how fast it happened. Ray knew what he was doing letting you figure it out on your own, even if it took a scare to get there.
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