A look at some Narrow kerf chains

[@SawChainTheories]

Please buy a loop Oregon 95TXL or Husqvarna SP33G. These 325, 050, semi chains are where the narrow kerf term comes from. It will be easy to tell why when you sit it next to the hurricane 325. There are down sides to reducing the kerf, they will get pinched more when used for ground work, they get hung up in different types bark and bar life is normally shorter. Plus side is purpose made, narrower kerf bars are significantly lighter. For a 18 inch bar, a NK is 20-25% lighter than an alloy filled laminate bar. If you compare them to a solid, replaceable nose bar they are half the weight. That’s a big part of why they are popular and why Stihl has moved to the light 04, 23RS pro on the 261. Husky 346 / 550 and 560 come with NK set up, Its the weight of the whole setup balancing the small saws better and the reduced kerf that makes them worth while. What’s happening with the hexa and c83/85 is part manufactures modernising there chains. EXL has gone that way as well being slightly narrower than LGX

[@ChainsawUsers]

Narrow kerf is generally used on smaller displacement, lower powered saws to minimize power loss due to cutter width and drag. The really low powered saws use 3/8 .043"(narrow kerf). Next is 3/8 .050" low profile for saws up to about 40cc or a bit more. Next would be .325" .050 narrow kerf for saws 40cc-50cc. Some saws from 45cc+ might also use regular .325 .050", .325 .058", or .325 063". Generally, once past 55cc almost all saws used 3/8 .050" or larger chain.

[@elpolaco7654]

With Husqvarna, there is often an approved choice between .325 and 3/8 (1.5 mm). A few examples: 560 XP (59.8 cc) 460 (60.3 cc) 555 (59.8 cc)

[@SawChainTheories]

The tiny end of saws is where you see the big difference. Comparing the 3/8 Picco chains, 050 has a kerf of 5.7mm, 043 is 4.6mm. Oregon 90PX is 4.0mm and when you have less than 2hp that 30% reduction in kerf is massive and why a lot of top handle guys go to 1/4 inch chains 46RS is 8.2mm

[@JoshNoss]

Stihl's 325 narrow-kerf chain is called the RS-PRO, they also have the one you showed which is the standard 325 RS chain.. both are available in .050 and yet the one is a narrow-kerf and one is standard. The .050 or .063 has nothing to do with the kerf and only has to do with the width of the drive-tooth that runs through the bar-rail.

[@ChainsawUsers]

On the brand I get the 050 and 058 had a different kerf am not saying all chains are like that but Hurricane chain 058 has narrow kerf than 063 kerf same brand

[@JoshNoss]

@@ChainsawUsers good to know that particular chain brand has that feature

[@ChainsawUsers]

@JoshNoss yes just because one is that way dont mean they are all that way

[@elpolaco7654]

@@ChainsawUsers You've already made a video about it, but it's really surprising that the Chinese install different cutting links depending on the gauge. The two, probably the most important, chain suppliers, namely Oregon and Stihl (with the exception of the 1.3 mm 'Narrow Kerf' and 'Pro' versions) use the same cutting links for the 3 gauges, namely 1.3, 1.5, 1.6 mm. Using 3 different types of cutting links rather increases production costs. Maybe Jono&Johno has different suppliers for different gauges? Is it possible to buy spare chain parts, such as cutter links, from them (like e.g. from Oregon and Stihl)?

[@ChainsawUsers]

@elpolaco7654 yes made a video but never quoted the outside edges distance in mm which really shows how narrow the chain is

[@adelarsen9776]

Yes, there is a reason the 261 CM Pro saw comes with a 325 chain and bar. When I converted my 261 to 3/8th 063 I knew it would be slower. But it sure is nice when you want to swap bars onto other bigger saws.

[@ChainsawUsers]

.325 is great for saws in the 50cc range and many smaller pro saws are in this range. On big saws you won't find .325 No need for narrow kerf on a big saw it has the power to pull 3/8 or 404

[@adelarsen9776]

@@ChainsawUsers Correct. Only idiots change their 50cc pro saw to 3/8th 063. haha.

[@ChainsawUsers]

@adelarsen9776 Or people who don't know

[@adelarsen9776]

@@ChainsawUsers I know less and less every year...

[@ChainsawUsers]

@adelarsen9776 getting to old lol

[@dennisthemenace57]

In Australia for general use over 60 cc and up to the 80 cc 500 i it is generally 063 and 3/8. 90cc and up is 063 and 404. But what is not discussed here is the length of bar in use. 25 inch 77 dl 404 will do most things a firewood bloke or farmer needs here other than milling which is a different story. I think we do more bore cutting. So a 36 inch bar buried in a Douglas fir back cut is not a thing for us. That many 404 dls would test out any 660 or 395. 30 inch, 404, 91dl would be what most 88s or 3120s carry.

[@ChainsawUsers]

Yes I agree with what you have said. Australia has very hard wood and our requirements are a bit different than soft wood.

[@Mightycaptain]

What's your thoughts on .50 vs 63 gauge chains?

[@ChainsawUsers]

Gauge is dependent on chainsaw cc I use 050 gauge for 3/8 lp I use 063 60cc saw and upwards. I have 8 saws so I just use the correct gauge for that saw

[@elpolaco7654]

@@ChainsawUsers You can use 3/8 (full) 0.050'' on larger saws without a problem, provided you have a matching guide bar. The original gauge for the 3/8 was just 0.050''. It is very popular in America.

[@ChainsawUsers]

@elpolaco7654 not here in Australia We use 3/8 063 in most saws above 50cc Funny how it's so popular in America. Probably the most popular bar size is 20 inch also 063 gauge. Only the smaller pro saws use 050 gauge and 058 .325 gauge Same as the chipper chain not popular here at all. Here in Australia semi chisel is about 90% in use. Husqvarna is also not as popular as stihl. All of out government services use Stihl only And semi government also use stihl. Every country can be different So 050 gauge is popular with small saws only. 063 is popular with bigger saws

[@JoshNoss]

@@elpolaco7654 absolutely right. I run 3/8 .050 on my 572 and 592 and on the 325 narrow-kerf on my 550xp. Never seen any reason why they have the .058 and .063 as 050 provides plenty of drive-link strength even for 10hp ported 92cc

[@ChainsawUsers]

@JoshNoss 92cc we would be running 404 chain on that 063 gauge

[@PaganiniPagani]

the pitch of the chain has nothing to do with the majority of the cutting tooth, as pseudo-experts claim I saw a 3/8 1.5 chain with a pico-sized cutting tooth. as shown in the video. whether the cutting tooth will differ depends on the manufacturer and his ideas.

[@ChainsawUsers]

I never said the pitch of the chain had any affect on the kerf

[@PaganiniPagani]

​@@ChainsawUsers and I wrote what I know, not what you said

[@nseric1233]

I see I triggered you in your last vid lol. None of the chains is this video are narrow kerf, they still use regular bars. You have a different definition of narrow kerf than the chain manufactures. Narrow kerf chains need narrow kerf bars too as they're too narrow to work on a regular bar. Now go buy an Oregon speed cut bar and chain and compare it to regular .325 chain so you can see what a narrow kerf chain actually is lol.

[@elpolaco7654]

Because it can indeed be confusing for many. Oregon uses the name “Narrow Kerf” for chains and bars that are different from the "usual" ones. On the other hand, of course, the kerf width can be different for different chain types, and we can then for example say that chain A has a narrower kerf than chain B.

[@nseric1233]

@@elpolaco7654 It's only confusing on this youtube channel, no one else calls hexa or c83/c85 narrow kerf.

[@ChainsawUsers]

You don't call a 15% reduction in tooth width narrow kerf. What do you call it then thin chain lol

[@elpolaco7654]

@@ChainsawUsers As @SawChainTheories wrote try to get, say, Oregon 95 TXL or Husqvarna SP33G Pixel to compare with this Jono&Johno .325 0.050''. Another easier option I think is to get Oregon 90 PX (Husqvarna H38, Dolmar 290), with which a lot of 30-32 cc or battery saws from various manufacturers are equipped. Then you can do a comparison with Stihl's 3/8 Picco.

[@gunterbecker8528]

U always talk a lot of sense . All those different chains ,which one to buy, which one will be best is very confusing!

[@ChainsawUsers]

With any chain you buy you either like it or you don't. This is a guide only in the end the user purchase what they consider is best for themselves. Narrow kerf chains suit small to med saws mainly