chainsaw sharpening rat tail files that are NOT crap...??

[Bnich93]

My first thoughts are Craftsman and Snap on, though I don't know if they have any guarantees of quality for a $10 file.

[alfredr]

Not too long ago, a hardware store around here, relatively speaking, sold Husqvarna brand chainsaw files that you could buy loose, one or however many you want. I believe they were made in Sweden. As for file handles, many of mine are just a piece of a tree branch with a hole drilled in the end slightly smaller than the tang of the file and then driven on by inserting the tang and tapping the bottom of the handle on a hard surface. Magnolia is what I used most recently. Whatever I have pruned that is about the right size to hold. Skin the bark off, round off the edges a bit. And then take a sharpie and write on the end of the handle what size the file is. I go through times when I don't use my saws much and times when I do. The quality of sharpening you get with a machine depends on the skill of the operator, just as with using a file.

[Three Valves]

...and I think mowing my own lawn and mulching my own flower beds are a big deal!!

[alfredr]

Ladder work requires a lot more care and thought.

Or at least have someone hold your beer and film you so it can be put on youtube in the epic fail category.

[alfredr]

Stihl files are usually well thought of too.

[hup_d_dup]

...so what brands of chainsaw sharpening files are worth a crap, these days...??

...and - also - who makes a REAL chainsaw file HANDLE (not just a piece of wood with a band of sheet steel where the file is jabbed into a hole, and doesn't hold) ?

Stihl files work pretty well, although the handles for the rat tail files could be better.

A tool I have been using since last fall is the Stihl Filing Guide.
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain ... /2in1file/" target="_blank

It's easy to hold, and It does two filing operations at once; it sharpens the saw while also lowering the depth gauge. Lowering the depth gauge was always sort of guess work when I did it as a separate operation. Now I just assume that the tool is doing it properly for me.

In a way, I disagree with your comment that cutting trees and limbs is not difficult. It isn't that the operation itself is necessarily difficult. The difficulty is that every possible thing that can go unexpectedly may not be anticipated. Anyone who has a lot of experience using chains saws has had surprises.

Hup

[Big Francis]

My Stihl files work great. The first file I used from their sharpening kit lasted me.a full season and change. I’m the kind of guy that gives my chain a quick tune up every time I fill up so it stays sharp, which may be why it lasts so long.

[Dan Schultz]

There was a local fellow several years ago who manufactured a chainsaw sharpener called GAM'N. It consisted of a fixture that clamped onto the bar. The chain was advanced one tooth at a time and a conical burr was turned with a small handle to hollow-grind the inside of the tooth. It took some time but worked very well.