The Forestry Forum

Hey guys,

Been looking at picking up a Stihl Duro Chain with the carbide tips.  Just wondering any feedback on how it performs and how long they usually stay sharp.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

I've never known anyone to buy a carbide chain a second time. Expensive and it doesn't cut as well as regular chain.

And it can't be touched-up with a file in the field, and the brittle carbide is susceptible to chipping.

It was designed more for emergency measures as in cutting through roofs and walls.
I don't know anyone that uses it outside of that.

how about in a mill?
would it be worth a punt?

No, absolutely not. Unless you enjoy cutting with very expensive, dull chain.

I have one of those chains, it's been hanging on the wall for four years now. Once upon a time I had a guy cutting logs apart for me in the yard who couldn't keep the saw out of the dirt. Everything else he did was fine, but he'd spend half his time filing chains. I got him one of those chains and he was tickled pink, I'd just take it to a dealer once a week to get ground. It cuts slow and kind of rough, not something you want to use all day. Like Kevin said, it's more for specialty applications. I used it once for cutting points on locust posts and knocked half the carbide off, it's that brittle.