Man after my little 25cc top handle whip my dull 60cc saw with an old dull chain made me realize how a lot of performance of a saw is in the filing like buckin says. Being lazy towards the chains sharpness by telling yourself "well its good enough" is like putting mud tires on a race car and then wondering why its not running right.
Nothing like a chain video to generate some good discussion and learnings. Me I use Oregon chain as it’s easily available, holds its edge well and ease of filing.
Where I live the stihl chain is 15 dollars more than a Oregon, I believe the stihl chain lasts longer but it used to be 5 dollars more but at 15 dollars more it’s not that much better.
I would love to feel how much smoother and faster a pro filed chain like Matt or Buckin is. Novice bout to take us down the filing rabbit hole now and i cant wait.
Love a good filing comparison video 🤘🤘 I need to do some! Though I've never seen a chain you can't improve from the factory, square file and gullet out and they are usually 20-30% faster in my experience.
Boedy...So let's do the economics. A single Hexa file for $14 or a six Pferd 7/32" files for less $13. The Hexa file has two cutting surfaces per side while the round file have 360 degrees of cutting surface. One can be ground on a grinder if really messed up. The Hexa will take forever with a file. Leave it to Stihl to come up with an idea as stupid as their flippy-caps!
Matt - your hand filed chains cut really good ... saw a vid where you picked up a handful of chips ... I think you must know how to file really good, so don't see yourself short, even if you feel like you are a little newer to the fun.
i need to upgrade my stihl 026 50cc saw im looking at husky 550xp mk2 and 545 mk2 the 545 has a tilted head and decomp and smaller air filter. any thoughts on the two saws? how will each react to porting and muffler mod. ps the 550 is$551 and the 545 is $450 in my area. thank you rich. pps i have a stihl 044 and a stihl ms400 for larger saws. o and the stihl ms261 is $660 both m-tronic and old school carb. please enlighten me, rich
The 545 mk II and 550 mk II are the same saw. The 550 also has the leaning back cylinder. They are the same saw with a few minor differences. The 550 has a hotter coil, bigger carburetor, bigger transfer caps, and crank stuffers. The differences lead to the 545 loosing about .5 hp but having a broader power band at a lower RPM. The 550 peaks at a higher RPM, revs quicker, and has more power. They are both great and either one should get a muffler mod quickly. Not much gains when ported because they are already fantastic from the factory. If you want more performance, do a base gasket delete, muffler mod, and timing advance. It'll run as good as most very well ported 50cc saws and as good as most 60cc saws.
@@novicelumberjack thank you so much for the info. im going to get the porting and muff mod done on the ms400 and just the muff mod on the 545 thank you
Great comparison👍🏻 thanks Matt for sending Boedy your great footage! He does work majic in editing! The c83 is a darn fine chain out of the box. I really like it. But... for the prices I can get chain for, I'll keep using my exl and hitting it with a file. If the oregon goes way up in $ or the husqvarna goes down, I more than likely will switch.
Me too ... I even went back and tried some old LGX and was surprised how fast that was and how well it sharpened up - a little softer than EXL. A friend made me a square grind on his grinder - and that was for sure the fastest and smoothest chain, and for my work (clean pine mostly) stayed sharp better than hand round file. But, he passed, and I've been round filing for so long, I know what I like. I wish Stihl and Husq. would lower their prices on chain a little, or everyone will be running china chain soon. I think the Oregon is fair priced.
@@aaronpowell4885 Yeah, I actually like the Stihl RS chain. A little harder, but cuts good. But, well ... maybe I'm old school ... chain shouldn't be that expensive. And, it seems I can always get the Oregon EXL for a fair shake (like almost 1/2 price of RS). I see Charles Brisco running the china stuff ... I think he has a roll of it ... and it looks like it cuts real good for him. I'm sticking with EXL, until they double the price of that.
I've always ran 33RS Chain on every saw I've ever used and finally got my first Husqvarna, (372xp) and almost went with the C83 Husqvarna chain but stuck with the Stihl chain instead. Next chain I need I'm going with the C83 to try it out and see what I think of it for myself. Thanks for the video buddy. Always good content
@@DaveyBlue32 I prefer the Stihl 23RS .325 but can’t stand the 3/8 RS idk it just doesn’t do it for me. Once I used EXL I was in love it just cuts SO SMOOTH and fast. Plus it’s easier on the wallet.
I enjoy watching your videos Boedy and learning from the comments. Least I can do to help you keep producing the videos so I can keep watching the videos is to press like, leave a comment and subscribe.
hey dude, great videos. can you tell me the difference between the C85 X cut and the C83 X cut? I have a couple loops of the C85 and I am very satisfied with the speed. but if the C83 is faster then I'll be getting me some of that next. thanks man
I don't thinks so. C83 is .050 and C85 is .058. I think that is all you can get. Stihl is really the only ones holding on to .063. That has been a dead gauge size for a while now.
@@novicelumberjack 0.63 is VERY alive in the PNW but it’s just a “thing” and not any faster/slower than any others or easier/harder to sharpen. I know this from experience.
Nice video!, that guy knows how to run a file. I was wondering, doesn't the hexa chain have a different style of rakers (I think they sweep outwards)? I'm not sure the difference it makes, if any at all, but it would be interesting to see a chain that was factory round cut hand filed with the hex file versus a hex chain fresh or from the box.
Said it for a long time husky c83 out of the box is crazy good. After sharpening I’ve never got it as good but it still cuts great and last a long time between sharpening.
I made one cut with my new c83 chain yesterday and hit a rock in the tree on the second cut. It will be a while before I see what a new chain is like I guess
Seems they all run quite well. Treeson mentioned some.. quirks.. of hexa in field use, but nothing bad. Seems to act as a sort of in-between when it comes to cleaning up notches and how it tracks.
The EXL definitely looked the smoothest cutting chain (and that was my opinon even before see the results). My experince of C85 chain (same but diffrent gauge) is that it feels like its cutting faster after round fileing it but i have not done any time tests. It might have to do with the rakers beeing lower after my fileing tho.
My short experience with the X-cut was it was actually sharp out of the box. Couldn’t tell you how it held up vs a standard chain (or stihl round filed) because the “pre stretched chain” threw itself off the bar mid cut. No idea why to this day why I’d did that since the Oregon replacement I mounted the same way, same tension (bar nose up) and i never had an issue. Wishing that x-cut would’ve lasted since it seemed pretty durable for a firewood guy like myself. Hexa seems like the middle between square and round no? Probably would get some more people into a more “square” style chain but I’m not sure. Solid comparison my friend
@@aaronpowell4885 ya it trashed quite a few drive links. I’m still uncertain as to why it happened, my guess is it was a fluke. I tossed it and got an Oregon replacement and it’s served well. I think for the price increase on the x-cut I’d rather stick with the Oregon since I’m only a firewood guy. I think the x-cut was roughly a $10 per chain difference on the 20” 3/8 I needed. May have to give it another shot once this Oregon isn’t worth a shit anymore but so far it’s lasted quite a bit and I file after each tank as a touch up.
I would love to be as good as Buckin or Matt at hand filing free hand. I am persistently practicing every chance I get and gaining experience. I tried the Husqvarna guide and I have to say it’s a great asset to me. I use it to get the top of the cutter. I free hand the gullet. I just got done trying out a chain that I did this way and it’s BY FAR the best chain that I have done yet.
The hexa-filed chain will cut faster if you clean out the gullet allowing you to have more room for the hexa file and then you can drop the file 5-10 degrees giving you a thinner working corner.
I'm wondering if anyone has tried using a dremel to sharpen the new C83 X-cut chain.. I have 4 C83 X-Cut chains for my Husqvarna 572XP with 24" bar. I always hand sharpen all my chains.
why does it boggle your mind when you've admitted over and over you're a shit filer? I'm a shit filer too and usually can get a chain to cut better than box stock. All I run is c83 and exj/exl
I've seen firsthand a good filer think he made it faster and it wasn't. I've known others who have tried it and also failed. One of them is a pro racer who has probably done more serious chain testing than I could do in 5 lifetimes. Then on the other side of the argument, I have heard hundreds of people make big claims and no one has ever given me adequate results. That is why it boggles my mind. Until someone is capable of stepping up and handing me two chains of equal raker heights, one is out of the box cutters and the other one is typical round filed by hand like they would normally do it...and that chain is faster...I just can't believe it is possible with the C83. The cutter cuts as good as any square ground chain I have ran.
@@waynejohnson9855 yes that entire pile is 99% ash lol 😆 That maple log was the only one in there. It was a mill log but it was the perfect size for my video so now it’s a lil shorter 🤣
Wow someone who pronounces the name correctly....Husqvarna....not us American's...Hus-a-varna....good job....think I'll stay with my Simington Chisel Grinder....touch up by hand with a flat file....round filing is for flat landers....take care....Shoe
I’ve used a Husqvarna X-Cut SP33G chain on a Husqvarna 450 Rancher and that chain cuts really, really well.
Yes Rock maple.. 24” bar and 7T sprocket
Thanks for sharing those videos.
I see u getting that UA-cam famous lol that's awesome bud good work👍
@@matthewbutcher203 Thanks bro 👍
I use Oregon EXL on most of my saws. I really like it. Cool video
Man after my little 25cc top handle whip my dull 60cc saw with an old dull chain made me realize how a lot of performance of a saw is in the filing like buckin says. Being lazy towards the chains sharpness by telling yourself "well its good enough" is like putting mud tires on a race car and then wondering why its not running right.
Yep. A sharp chain will win the race nearly everytime.
Nothing like a chain video to generate some good discussion and learnings. Me I use Oregon chain as it’s easily available, holds its edge well and ease of filing.
Where I live the stihl chain is 15 dollars more than a Oregon, I believe the stihl chain lasts longer but it used to be 5 dollars more but at 15 dollars more it’s not that much better.
I would love to feel how much smoother and faster a pro filed chain like Matt or Buckin is. Novice bout to take us down the filing rabbit hole now and i cant wait.
Same here for someone else from AR.
Love a good filing comparison video 🤘🤘 I need to do some! Though I've never seen a chain you can't improve from the factory, square file and gullet out and they are usually 20-30% faster in my experience.
Great video love the EXL. Use it all the time.
Boedy...So let's do the economics. A single Hexa file for $14 or a six Pferd 7/32" files for less $13. The Hexa file has two cutting surfaces per side while the round file have 360 degrees of cutting surface. One can be ground on a grinder if really messed up. The Hexa will take forever with a file. Leave it to Stihl to come up with an idea as stupid as their flippy-caps!
I like the way you're limiting the upper hand in a loose pinch to allow the saw to do the work.
Matt - your hand filed chains cut really good ... saw a vid where you picked up a handful of chips ... I think you must know how to file really good, so don't see yourself short, even if you feel like you are a little newer to the fun.
Great video!
Thanks!
That saw screams
Thank you I need these chain videos.
i need to upgrade my stihl 026 50cc saw im looking at husky 550xp mk2 and 545 mk2 the 545 has a tilted head and decomp and smaller air filter. any thoughts on the two saws? how will each react to porting and muffler mod. ps the 550 is$551 and the 545 is $450 in my area. thank you rich. pps i have a stihl 044 and a stihl ms400 for larger saws. o and the stihl ms261 is $660 both m-tronic and old school carb. please enlighten me, rich
The 545 mk II and 550 mk II are the same saw. The 550 also has the leaning back cylinder. They are the same saw with a few minor differences. The 550 has a hotter coil, bigger carburetor, bigger transfer caps, and crank stuffers. The differences lead to the 545 loosing about .5 hp but having a broader power band at a lower RPM. The 550 peaks at a higher RPM, revs quicker, and has more power. They are both great and either one should get a muffler mod quickly. Not much gains when ported because they are already fantastic from the factory. If you want more performance, do a base gasket delete, muffler mod, and timing advance. It'll run as good as most very well ported 50cc saws and as good as most 60cc saws.
@@novicelumberjack thank you so much for the info. im going to get the porting and muff mod done on the ms400 and just the muff mod on the 545 thank you
Man that saw is a rippa.
Gary Buxton sure can build a mean 400.. That saw in the video has almost 2 years full time cutting on it. It’s a little beast!
What about a chisel-bit file on that c83?
Great comparison👍🏻 thanks Matt for sending Boedy your great footage! He does work majic in editing!
The c83 is a darn fine chain out of the box. I really like it. But... for the prices I can get chain for, I'll keep using my exl and hitting it with a file. If the oregon goes way up in $ or the husqvarna goes down, I more than likely will switch.
Me too ... I even went back and tried some old LGX and was surprised how fast that was and how well it sharpened up - a little softer than EXL. A friend made me a square grind on his grinder - and that was for sure the fastest and smoothest chain, and for my work (clean pine mostly) stayed sharp better than hand round file. But, he passed, and I've been round filing for so long, I know what I like. I wish Stihl and Husq. would lower their prices on chain a little, or everyone will be running china chain soon. I think the Oregon is fair priced.
@@bennyblanko3 last year I thought I wanted a 28" loop of rs until my local dealer said he wanted $65 fo one!🤯🤣 in comparison exl is China prices!
@@aaronpowell4885 Yeah, I actually like the Stihl RS chain. A little harder, but cuts good. But, well ... maybe I'm old school ... chain shouldn't be that expensive. And, it seems I can always get the Oregon EXL for a fair shake (like almost 1/2 price of RS). I see Charles Brisco running the china stuff ... I think he has a roll of it ... and it looks like it cuts real good for him. I'm sticking with EXL, until they double the price of that.
I tried a loo0 of c83 yesterday it's some n8ce cutting chain smoothest full comp/chisel chain I've ran
I've always ran 33RS Chain on every saw I've ever used and finally got my first Husqvarna, (372xp) and almost went with the C83 Husqvarna chain but stuck with the Stihl chain instead. Next chain I need I'm going with the C83 to try it out and see what I think of it for myself. Thanks for the video buddy. Always good content
Buy the c83 it’s excellent chain and also fastest out of the box chain available imo.
I think the RS is a little bit softer and it’s easier to hand file it to a razor edge… I’ve actually always been a fan of the RS chain myself…
@@DaveyBlue32 I prefer the Stihl 23RS .325 but can’t stand the 3/8 RS idk it just doesn’t do it for me. Once I used EXL I was in love it just cuts SO SMOOTH and fast. Plus it’s easier on the wallet.
@@Houseworksaws only paid $28 for my 24” RS chain the other day from a dealer. That’s pretty cheap I thought
@@DaveyBlue32 feels to me it keeps it edge awhile, that’s what I liked about it. I used a Oregon chain before and it dulled quickly on me
I enjoy watching your videos Boedy and learning from the comments. Least I can do to help you keep producing the videos so I can keep watching the videos is to press like, leave a comment and subscribe.
I appreciate that
Yeah its sucks here in Wisconsin 20 to 30 below windchill but it should be in the upper 30s this weekend can't wait to see the climbing vid peace
I really love the way the c 84 skip tooth cuts
hey dude, great videos. can you tell me the difference between the C85 X cut and the C83 X cut? I have a couple loops of the C85 and I am very satisfied with the speed. but if the C83 is faster then I'll be getting me some of that next. thanks man
Same chain. C83 is .050 gauge and C85 is .058. That's the only difference.
I haven't looked yet but do you know can I get the C 83 in 0.63
I don't thinks so. C83 is .050 and C85 is .058. I think that is all you can get. Stihl is really the only ones holding on to .063. That has been a dead gauge size for a while now.
@@novicelumberjack 0.63 is VERY alive in the PNW but it’s just a “thing” and not any faster/slower than any others or easier/harder to sharpen. I know this from experience.
take a break, and come back with a great video!
Nice video!, that guy knows how to run a file. I was wondering, doesn't the hexa chain have a different style of rakers (I think they sweep outwards)? I'm not sure the difference it makes, if any at all, but it would be interesting to see a chain that was factory round cut hand filed with the hex file versus a hex chain fresh or from the box.
I run c83 and I file drags out of box. I can file them to get them really aggressively sharp. It’s feels faster it may not be
Thanks Matt! Enjoyed Your's content as always Brody(sorry if I'm mistaken)
Boedy
@@novicelumberjack sorry mate, hopefully I will remember that next time ;)
I’ve taken two strokes off rakers on all out of box chains. Try Husqvarna x cut C 85 full chisel good chain.
C85 is the same thing as C83. Only difference is the gauge. 85 is .058 and 83 is .050
Good video boedy mate 👍 I like the hat 👒 looks the goods 👌
This is stihl ms 261?
400
Said it for a long time husky c83 out of the box is crazy good. After sharpening I’ve never got it as good but it still cuts great and last a long time between sharpening.
I made one cut with my new c83 chain yesterday and hit a rock in the tree on the second cut. It will be a while before I see what a new chain is like I guess
Seems they all run quite well.
Treeson mentioned some.. quirks.. of hexa in field use, but nothing bad. Seems to act as a sort of in-between when it comes to cleaning up notches and how it tracks.
i like stihl chain best but oregon and husky seem great also
The EXL definitely looked the smoothest cutting chain (and that was my opinon even before see the results). My experince of C85 chain (same but diffrent gauge) is that it feels like its cutting faster after round fileing it but i have not done any time tests. It might have to do with the rakers beeing lower after my fileing tho.
A sharp chain is a good chain. Not sure if the Hexa will take over or not. Still like to play around with them.
My short experience with the X-cut was it was actually sharp out of the box. Couldn’t tell you how it held up vs a standard chain (or stihl round filed) because the “pre stretched chain” threw itself off the bar mid cut. No idea why to this day why I’d did that since the Oregon replacement I mounted the same way, same tension (bar nose up) and i never had an issue. Wishing that x-cut would’ve lasted since it seemed pretty durable for a firewood guy like myself. Hexa seems like the middle between square and round no? Probably would get some more people into a more “square” style chain but I’m not sure. Solid comparison my friend
Did it damage the chain beyond a nick in a drive link or two? If just a burr on a driver, file it smooth and give another go!
@@aaronpowell4885 ya it trashed quite a few drive links. I’m still uncertain as to why it happened, my guess is it was a fluke. I tossed it and got an Oregon replacement and it’s served well. I think for the price increase on the x-cut I’d rather stick with the Oregon since I’m only a firewood guy. I think the x-cut was roughly a $10 per chain difference on the 20” 3/8 I needed. May have to give it another shot once this Oregon isn’t worth a shit anymore but so far it’s lasted quite a bit and I file after each tank as a touch up.
I would love to be as good as Buckin or Matt at hand filing free hand. I am persistently practicing every chance I get and gaining experience. I tried the Husqvarna guide and I have to say it’s a great asset to me. I use it to get the top of the cutter. I free hand the gullet. I just got done trying out a chain that I did this way and it’s BY FAR the best chain that I have done yet.
Not a fan of c83 because I can get better results with anything else after sharpening
👍
The hexa-filed chain will cut faster if you clean out the gullet allowing you to have more room for the hexa file and then you can drop the file 5-10 degrees giving you a thinner working corner.
I would like to see you try this and make some more cuts on video with the thinner working corner.
That saw is a screamer
Here ya got a stray. Anyways I like tht chain. And kudos to u man for climbing tht tree 2x and cutting them limbs. For a non climber it is scary.
Thank you very much. So glad I got back up there.
C83 is the fastest best cutting chain out of the box I've ever used
I'm wondering if anyone has tried using a dremel to sharpen the new C83 X-cut chain..
I have 4 C83 X-Cut chains for my Husqvarna 572XP with 24" bar.
I always hand sharpen all my chains.
Sugar Maple would be my guess
Correct 👍
I hit it with a dermal and a Stihl sharpening stone, and it's just as fast.
👍🆙BigGuy
I like my Hexa chain
throw a HARBOR FREIGHT sharpened chain in the mix..........
why does it boggle your mind when you've admitted over and over you're a shit filer? I'm a shit filer too and usually can get a chain to cut better than box stock. All I run is c83 and exj/exl
I've seen firsthand a good filer think he made it faster and it wasn't. I've known others who have tried it and also failed. One of them is a pro racer who has probably done more serious chain testing than I could do in 5 lifetimes.
Then on the other side of the argument, I have heard hundreds of people make big claims and no one has ever given me adequate results. That is why it boggles my mind. Until someone is capable of stepping up and handing me two chains of equal raker heights, one is out of the box cutters and the other one is typical round filed by hand like they would normally do it...and that chain is faster...I just can't believe it is possible with the C83. The cutter cuts as good as any square ground chain I have ran.
You called me a what? Lol.
Oh, that was you? I am the worst with names!
@@novicelumberjack I just assumed because most people do end up calling an bleep! Great channel love the content!
im so jealous of you guys getting both stihl and husqvarna bars in 50 gauge. Here stihl is 0.63 and husqvarna 0.58...
Yeah. I witnessed that when I was in Europe. I think it's dumb as hell.
@@novicelumberjack it is what it is. i jist want to run C83 on all saws.
x-cut stays sharp for forever
Looks like ash he is cutting.
Good ole NH rock maple
@@Houseworksaws the center looked like our maple but the bark looks like our ash. Is there some ash to the left of what you’re cutting?
@@waynejohnson9855 yes that entire pile is 99% ash lol 😆 That maple log was the only one in there. It was a mill log but it was the perfect size for my video so now it’s a lil shorter 🤣
@@Houseworksaws I was wondering. 😂😂😂
Wow someone who pronounces the name correctly....Husqvarna....not us American's...Hus-a-varna....good job....think I'll stay with my Simington Chisel Grinder....touch up by hand with a flat file....round filing is for flat landers....take care....Shoe
After the 10th time I had to stop watching?
Why? Might as well keep going. Your momma didn't raise no quitter!
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