How to Sharpen Your Chainsaw

To get optimal chainsaw performance, keeping it sharp is crucial.  But know that a sharp chain does more than ensure peak performance and efficiency. It also can help reduce chainsaw repairs and makes the saw safer to operate. Regular basic maintenance and a sharp chain is the surefire way to keep your saw in tip top shape for years to come. 

Learning how to sharpen a chainsaw is a worthwhile venture and a great skill to know. So here from the experts here at ECHO, are the essential steps you need to keep your saw in top-notch condition. 

How Do I know if My Chainsaw Needs Sharpening?

To determine if you need to sharpen your chainsaw, you need to know what signs to look for.   

How to tell if a chainsaw is dull: 

  1. Wood chips are small and dusty: When your chainsaw is sharp and cutting efficiently, you’ll see large woodchips with minimal fine dust. However, if your chips are becoming smaller or more like sawdust, it’s a definite sign that your chain is dull and needs to be sharpened. 
  2. You need to use increased pressure to cut: Sharp saws will glide through the wood you’re cutting with relatively minimal effort. When you need more pressure than usual, your chain has likely lost its sharpness.
  3. Low performance: When a chainsaw runs at high speed, but the saw still struggles to cut through wood, it might be due to a dull chain. If a chain isn’t sharp, the chainsaw and you must work harder, leading to potential damage and increased wear on your tool. 
  4. You’re getting uneven cuts: If your saw produces uneven cuts or pulls from one side while using, it can mean the chain is dull, unevenly sharpened or loose.
  5. Burn marks: Seeing burn marks on the wood or the chain itself after you finish a job indicates excessive friction, which is most often caused by a dull chain.
  6. Experiencing a longer cutting time: If it’s taking noticeably longer to cut through wood, or the chain no longer seems to want to ‘pull’ or ‘eat’ through the wood on it’s own.        That’s another good sign to check the sharpness of your saw.
  7. Battery Runtime: a sharp chain is essential for battery powered saws.  Dull chains do not cut efficiently, and therefore can shorten your battery runtime.

Steps for Sharpening a Chain

Sharpening a chainsaw is an easy, straightforward process worth your time and effort.  But before you start, be sure to read your owner's manual and at a minimum, wear protective gloves and glasses. Now, let’s learn how to sharpen your chainsaw. 

Choose the Correct Sharpening Kit

The right tools make all the difference in maintaining chainsaw performance. ECHO’s Chainsaw Sharpening Kit has everything you need to sharpen your chain and service the guide bar on your ECHO chainsaw with your tools in one convenient place. 

First, find what type of chain fits your chainsaw, this will guide you to what file size you will need, as well as your filing angles.  This information is in the owner’s manual and ECHO catalog and printed on your chainsaw and bar.  If you own multiple saws with different chain types, or need a file replacement, ECHO offers all common round file sizes and flat files to supplement your sharpening kit.

Parts of Your ECHO Chainsaw File Kit

Your kit contains everything you need, so let's review what is in there:

  • Kit Rollup Pouch: holds all your tools with a securing strap.
  • File Handle: for a better grip on your files.
  • Bar Rail Scraper and Depth Guage Combo Tool: this features a bar rail scraper for bar cleaning and gauges to set chain depth gauges to the right height.
  • Flat File: a hardened flat file for filing depth gauges and dressing the bar rail.
  • Round Files: hardened round files for filing chainsaw teeth.
    1. You will specify what round file size comes in the kit: 5/32”, 11/64”, 3/16”, 13/64” or 7/32”.
  • Round File Angle Guide: attaches to a round file as a filing angle guide.
  • Filing Guide: simple reference guide on how to sharpen your specific saw chain type.

Turn Off and Cool Down the Saw

Before doing any service to your ECHO chainsaw, make sure it is off and cooled down.  If it is battery powered, remove the battery before service.  If it is gas powered, disconnect the spark plug lead.   And don’t forget to allow the saw to cool down before servicing.

Remove, Inspect and Clean the Cutting System

Assemble the bar, chain, sprocket cover and bar nuts onto the saw.    At this stage, the bar nuts need to be finger tight, the chain will be loose.  You will notice the bar nose with have a little up and downplay.  For proper tension, hold the bar nose in the up position while taking out the chain slack. Slack out, check tension by lightly pinching the middle of the bar, pulling the chain away.  Proper tension is when it can only be pulled a little less than ¼ inch from the bar rail, but when released, there is no visible slack in the chain.  To finish, tighten down the bar nuts, and recheck the chain moves freely.


Filing Pre-Check

With the cutting system clean and tensioned, you are ready to start sharpening.  Begin by referencing the kit’s Filing Guide.  It will tell you what size round file to use for your specific chain.  But also, the filing angles for the cutting teeth, and at what gap to file the dept gauges too.  For a better grip, attach the Round File to the File Handle, and if you choose, install the Round File Angle Guide to the round file.  This helps you consistently file cutting teeth at the correct angle.

Filing Cutting Teeth-Angles

Your cutting angle will vary between 25 - 35° depending on the type of chain your saw has and may require an additional vertical tilt angle of 0 to 10 degrees.  Just follow the Filing Guide instructions.  

Filing Cutting Teeth - Technique

Start by finding the shortest or most damaged cutting tooth on the chain, ideally you want all cutting teeth the same length. Position the round file in the gullet or hook of a cutting tooth and with moderate pressure push the file with smooth, even strokes maintaining your angles as reasonably possible.  It is good practice to do a few teeth, stop and check your work.

Adjust the Depth Gauges

Depth Gauges, sometimes called ‘rakers’ determine how much of a bite the cutting tooth takes out of the wood with each pass.   If too high, the tooth is barely cutting, and if too low, the tooth is taking too big a bite leading to performance and safety issues.  You don’t have to do this every time, but adjust the depth gauges every 3 to 4 sharpenings.   To set the depth, place the Depth Gauge Tool over each depth gauge, and file it down with the Flat File.  

Using the steps on how to sharpen a chainsaw here, you can keep your saw sharp, efficient, and safe every time you use it. Regular maintenance maintains peak cutting performance, increases safety and prolongs the life of your saw. Saw sharpening is a great practical skill, but to do it well, it requires focus and PRACTICE. So, if you are a newbie or a grizzled logger, set a goal to be consistent and go at a pace where you can do so. 

Get all the chainsaw maintenance accessories you need from ECHO.