How to Keep Your Chainsaw Chain Out of the Dirt (and Stop Sharpening Every Weekend)

Why Your Chain Keeps Going Dull

Wood does not dull a chainsaw chain quickly. Dirt does. Soil, grit, and stone dull a chain much faster than clean cutting, and the most common way a chain finds dirt is the most ordinary one: bucking a log that is lying flat on the ground and hitting the ground in the process. 

The Fixes, Worst to Best

Cutting partway and rolling. The free method: cut most of the way through, roll the log, finish from the other side. It works, and it costs you a full extra handling of every log, plus the cuts often won't line up right.

Propping on another log. Also free, when the woodpile cooperates. Logs propped on logs shift mid-cut, which is how bars get pinched.

Lifting the log properly. A timberjack wraps a hook over the log and levers the handle back onto two feet. The log ends up elevated, resting on the aluminum handle, right at cutting height. The chain never gets near soil, and you buck the whole length standing up instead of stooped over. 

What the Lift Is Worth

Every time you kiss the ground with the chain, you likely will need to sharpen or, in some instances, replace your chain altogether. Every flat log is a series of stooped cuts and at least one extra roll. 

Woodchuck Tool offers three separate solutions to these problems. The Timberjack, the TimberPro, and the DualPro. These tools slightly differ in their design and functionality. If you're in the market for a log jack, we have a guide that details the options we provide.