Having a chainsaw is going to be very convenient when you need to accomplish certain tasks in the yard. You probably use your chainsaw for many things such as clearing fallen branches in the yard.
As much as you love your chainsaw, it can be annoying when the blade gets dull. Some people even feel as though their blades dull way faster than they should.
Is there a reason why your chainsaw blade is dulling fast? Could it be that you’re doing something wrong?
Keep reading to learn about chainsaw blades and what causes them to dull. Having all of the information might help you to get better results moving forward.
1 – Constant Use Will Dull Any Blade
The first thing to understand is that constant use is going to dull any blade. Even if you do a good job of sharpening and maintaining your blades, they will dull eventually.
If you’re using the chainsaw a lot, then you can expect it to dull. It isn’t going to stay sharp indefinitely no matter what you try to do.
Knowing this, you should expect certain things to dull the chainsaw blade faster than others. Particularly tough jobs might cause the blade to become dull faster than other jobs would.
Sometimes you might not think that you’ll need to sharpen your blade so soon because you just did it. You might not have realized how much you actually used the chainsaw blade during the day.
This doesn’t mean that there aren’t other things that could be causing the blade to dull faster than normal. It’s just that you’ll often find that people lose track of how much they’re really using the chainsaw.
2 – Having a Steep Angle on the Cutters
Did you know that the angle of the cutters can play a role in how fast the chainsaw blade is going to dull? The best sharpening angle is generally going to be between 25 and 35 degrees.
Of course, there are some differences depending on what you’re trying to do with the saw blade. If you’re trying to cut something that is very hard, then you’ll need a greater angle to make it happen.
Optimal sharpening angles can differ based on the type of blade that you have as well. Generally, you should refer to the owner’s manual of the chainsaw to get advice.
If you happen to have lost the manual that came with your chainsaw, you should be able to find the necessary information about the model number that you own online. Do your best to get the sharpening angle right so that you don’t dull the chainsaw blade too fast.
3 – Having the Rakers Too Far Down
Something as simple as having the rakers too far down could contribute to the blade dulling fast. If you’re noticing that the chainsaw blade is dulling a lot faster than you expected, then it’ll be worth checking into this.
Setting the rakers a bit higher might help you to use the blade for longer periods of time before it gets dull. Often, people set things too low without realizing it and only correct the error when they have trouble keeping the blade sharp.
If you’re sure that you set the rakers at a proper height, then it could be another issue entirely. There are many possible reasons why a chainsaw blade could dull faster than normal.
4 – Cutting Dirty Wood
Another thing to keep in mind is that cutting dirty wood might dull the chainsaw blade faster. Is the wood that you’re cutting with the chainsaw particularly dirty?
Many chainsaw enthusiasts have noted that their blades dull faster when they’re cutting muddy wood. If the logs that you’re cutting up are muddy, perhaps that is the sole reason for the problem.
It won’t be hard to notice whether the wood that you’re cutting is dirty or not. The dirt and mud can be a factor that will cause your blade to dull.
Whenever you’re cutting dirty wood, it might be appropriate to expect this to happen a bit faster than usual. You can be ready to sharpen the blade after finishing and you won’t be surprised.
5 – Certain Types of Wood Are Hard On Chains
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that certain types of wood will be harder on your chainsaw than others. You’ve heard that dirty wood can dull your chainsaw blade a bit faster, but cutting through tough wood can do the same thing.
For example, maple is a type of wood that is known to be rough on chainsaw blades. You can cut through it just fine, but it’ll dull your blade a bit faster than many other types of wood.
Hickory, ironwood, and hedge apple are also known to be tough for chainsaw blades. You might wind up having to sharpen your blade after cutting through these types of wood.
Bigger jobs will take more out of your chainsaw blade than smaller jobs. You can’t expect the chainsaw blade to dull at the same rate every time because you’re likely doing different jobs that will take a different toll on the sharpness of the blade.
6 – Accidentally Touching the Ground with the Tip of the Bar
Is it possible that you’re accidentally touching the ground with the tip of the bar? You might not think that this could be the case, but some people have this happen without realizing it.
You could be just slightly touching the ground with the tip of the bar. This might cause the chainsaw blade to dull quickly instead of remaining sharp as you want it to.
Try being careful about how you’re cutting the wood so that this doesn’t happen. Perhaps knowing to look out for a problem such as this will help you to get better results.
7 – Chainsaw Sharpening Issues
You might simply be sharpening your chainsaw wrong and that is causing you to get less than stellar results. Often, people who are new to owning and maintaining chainsaws won’t know how to sharpen the blades properly.
This doesn’t mean that you’re not sharpening the blade at all, but you might not be sharpening it as well as you could. For instance, you might be using the wrong file size and that could be throwing things off.
Sometimes people will even use dull files without realizing it. This can make it so that the chainsaw blade isn’t getting sharpened as much as it should be.
You could even be stopping the sharpening job before you’re truly done. If you’re only sharpening the blade a bit, you might not be going far enough to truly sharpen it right.
If you’re stopping too soon, the blade is definitely going to dull faster than if you had sharpened it all the way. Perhaps you just need to learn more about sharpening chainsaw blades so that you can get better results moving forward.
Of course, you could know exactly what you’re doing and this won’t be the case at all. You have to look at what’s happening and try to figure out the reason why your blade is dulling so fast.
Maybe the Blade Isn’t Getting Dull Faster Than Usual
Now that you know more about the topic, it’s wise to consider the idea that the chainsaw blade might not be getting dull faster than usual. It might be getting dull at an appropriate time based on what you’re doing.
You’ve seen that certain jobs can make chainsaw blades dull faster. Sawing through a lot of wood or sawing through dirty wood will be rough on a blade.
It might be that you just need to get used to sharpening the blade more often. Chainsaw blades need to be sharpened regularly so that they can be used properly.
So long as you’re caring for the chainsaw to the best of your abilities, it should be able to last a long time. Chainsaws do require a lot of maintenance, though, and they won’t have the longevity that you would expect if you neglect certain things.
Final Thoughts
It should be possible to figure out why your chainsaw blade is dulling so fast. In some instances, your blade won’t be dulling faster than it should.
Some jobs are going to cause a chainsaw blade to dull faster than others. For instance, cutting through dirty wood will take more of a toll on your blade.
Certain types of wood can be tougher than others as well. Maple and hickory might be particularly tough for your chainsaw blade to get through sometimes, and this can make it so that you’ll have to sharpen the blade again sooner.
There are occasions when mistakes that you make will have an impact as well. For example, you could be hitting the ground a bit and causing the blade to dull.
You also might be experiencing problems during the sharpening process. Perhaps you’re not sharpening the blade as well as you should or you might be using the wrong type of file to get the job done.
Try to recognize any problems that you might be having so that you can remedy the situation. Otherwise, you just might have to accept that you’ll need to sharpen the chainsaw blade fairly often when you use it regularly.
Ben has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering. When not constructing or remodeling X-Ray Rooms, Cardiovascular Labs, and Pharmacies, you can find him at home with wife and two daughters. Outside of family, He loves grilling and barbequing on his Big Green Egg and Blackstone Griddle, as well as working on projects around the house.
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