I love this file guide... But I have some gripes... A little bit of a learning curve in the beginning because of the piss poor instructions, but you'll figure it out. Fast and easy to use, I sharpen the chain every time I add gas and oil. I have a Stihl MS460 so after a tank of gas I need time to recover and this is the perfect way to do it. Buy this, learn how to use it, do it yourself... If you're lucky, you can find a local guy that knows how to sharpen chains properly but most of them working part-time at the hardware store will butcher your chain with their grinders, you will lose half the life of your chain getting it re-ground when all it takes is a little clean-up to make it sharp again. My advise for new users is when you become comfortable with how the tool works, pay attention to make sure you sharpen your chain equally on both sides. By that I mean the left teeth and the right teeth need to be sharpened the same amount, consistently. If you don't do that then you will find that you won't be able to make a straight cut, the chainsaw will pull to one side in the cut and if it's a big enough log it will start to bind. First couple times I used this tool I didn't realize that I had been filing heavier on my strong side and the teeth were shorter than the other side. Re-filed and all was fine. I usually run the chain around, find the dullest looking tooth, sharpen it and count how many strokes I took to clean it up and make sure I do the same for the others, left and right. Five strokes is usually more than enough, three if I'm just done for the day and putting it to bed sharp. Two gripes on the kit... Throw the file handle that this kit comes with away or gift it to a neighbor you don't like, it's usable but there are so many better ones out there that it's not worth dealing with. Advice: Make sure you file only in the push direction, I only say this because I watched a neighbor sharpening his lawnmower blade with a file and he was filing away like mad with pressure on both the forward and backstroke. He was a smart guy, he just didn't understand that the file only cuts on the forward stroke and pressure on the backstroke only dulls it. Not impressed with the depth gauge on the file guide, I understand how it's supposed to work but it just doesn't do it very well at all, don't waste your time. Oregon makes a decent one (model 27742). A good file gauge is important for the next step. This step is important... As you sharpen your chain the teeth get shorter, if you don't file down the raker in front of the tooth then you will have a sharp chain that doesn't cut. The rakers control the amount of wood that gets fed into the cutting teeth, if they are not filed down as your teeth wear down through sharpening you will make sawdust instead of chips. If you are making sawdust, there is something wrong... You don't need to do it every time you sharpen but I would recommend at least every other or third time. Depends on what you cut, you'll figure it out.. Also... If you're going to be doing a lot of sawing, here are some suggestions... Buy your round files online in bulk... 12 files for $20, that's like a buck fifty per file (Oregon 70502). You're going to need them anyway and you'll save the hassle of dealing with a dull file. Give those to your wife for her craft projects, she'll love it. Get a stump vise..., it's easy to sharpen a chain in your shop on a table but sharpening a chain in the field is harder unless the bar is held properly. Put it in your chainsaw tool bag or carry it in your back pocket. It doesn't take up any space and will make you happy to have it when you need it. (Oregon 26368A). As a last resort in the woods, find a good stump or log, cut into it about 2-3", kill the saw and use that as a holder for your blade while you sharpen. I just re-read this review and it sounded like I was a sales rep for Oregon. I'm not..., their manual chainsaw sharpener that I was gifted (I smiled and said thank you... ) is the biggest plastic POS I have ever tried. (Oregon 23820) Happiness is a sharp chain, keep it out of the dirt... -
