Stihl 46RSK. A good factory grind

[@ChainsawUsers]

And Husqvarna X-Cut has a worse problem put a round file in it and you ruin the factory profile. All you end up with a narrower kerf full chisel and less top plate cutting angle. Top Plate cutting angle on X-Cut C 85 is around 40° very aggressive. Seems a few manufacturers put out factory chain with pointy side pate profile that can not be replicated by a round file.

[@SawChainTheories]

@@ChainsawUsers I spoke about this in the last video but C83/85 factory grind is done in a strange way that results in it having more side plate angle that top plate cutting angle. I hate its shape and filing it round improves its performance in the wood I cut by quite a lot. This 46RSK is one of the greatest factory grinds I have used and is easy to replicate with a file.

[@elpolaco7654]

@ChainsawUsers A file or other cylindrical sharpening instruments will never produce perfectly flat surfaces or straight side plate edges. But I think in the case of X-Cut the “aggressiveness” of the chain out of the box is more decisive. If you use a file that extends above the top plate by about 10% of its diameter (as was often recommended in the past), you should get similarly “aggressive” cutters. Perhaps such a comparison is worth a video?

[@elpolaco7654]

@@SawChainTheories I guess you probably meant that the side plate angle is smaller than the cutting angle. That the side plate angle is larger than the cutting angle is more of a rule in other chains and has always been so. The Klassic version of RS is still available for 3/8 (1.3 mm). In the photos, the grind obviously looks different from this 46RSK. I also found pictures of an old version of 3/8 RSK, which also has no witness marks on the side plate, and judging by the fact that it has '3/8' stamped on it and the typeface of 'STIHL' is a little different than on the current one, it may even be older than this 46RSK. The grind on this version is the same or at least very close to 46RSK.

[@SawChainTheories]

@@elpolaco7654 I have a video showing a C85 cutter in more detail that will be up at some stage this week when I get time. The side plate is around 45-50 degrees but the top plate on the inside is approx 60 degrees. I have seen someone that filed chain that way and it seemed to work for them so there might be something to it, I just have not experienced it yet. Actually there is a KZbin channel called garden and forest. I think I have seen them filed in a similar way on a 562xp. Handle held up. Maybe it has a benefit in some cutting conditions? 33RSK is still sold in the US. There is some 36RSK available over here but it's the later stuff with witness marks but has the older style of depth gauge.

[@SawChainTheories]

@@elpolaco7654 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j6eYmpV_ncqCorcsi=NbuhdBggPWA2DuIH