Puckdropper wrote:
"Mike Marlow" wrote in
:

*snip*

Sharp chain - the number one qualifier for any chainsaw discussion.
Too many occasional users never learn how to sharpen a chain, how to
recognize when it needs sharpening, et. al. It takes 5 minutes to
learn how to do it properly from someone who knows, does not even
require a guide, and only a couple of oops' before you're really
pretty good at being able to keep a chain sharp enough to do good
work. But - for some reason, this escapes most people.

*snip*

I've seen devices that are supposed to "sharpen" a chain that mount on
the saw and you run the chain through it. Do they actually work? Or
are they like most "sharpeners" out there that take a dull edge and
gives you something that actually cuts (but not well) or reshape the
edge like a hone?


Most of those work well in that they guide you to hold the proper angle.
You can learn to do that yourself very easily without a guide, but the
guides do indeed work in that regard. You don't run the chain through it
though. You can't run a chain through any sharpening device. You still
have to apply the sharpening to the cutter. That's usually with a file.
And yes - you can indeed get the chain back to factory spec by sharpening
it - either with a guide or without one. Forget the hone - you don't have
to get all woodworker anal retentive when sharpening a chainsaw chain - or
even woodworking tools for that matter...

--

-Mike-