Chain saws aren’t new to me. If you burn wood to stay warm at camps and even at home, you become familiar with these howling, gas-driven cutting devices. You learn about the perils of “kickback” and the importance of keeping your chain sharp and wearing ear and eye protection. I’ve even instructed woman in proper chain saw use at the Maine Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) program.

My first saw 40 years ago was a hefty, battered old industrial-size McCollough. Hernia City. But if you could get it off the ground and against a tree it would cut anything. That McCollough once fell a Winterport oak so big that my knees shook after it came crashing to earth. There have been a lot of different saws in my garage over the years, some better than others.

I’ve tried to keep them sharp and, thankfully, none of these saws has ever taken a chunk out of me. I say “tried to keep them sharp.” There’s a knack to proper chain saw sharpening, but knowing it and doing it are two different things. Not being a detail person, chain saw sharpening has never been my strong suit. I have known this for years, but have never done anything to remedy my lack of chain saw sharpening skills. Until the other day.

Frustrated by a dullish saw that didn’t seem to cut much better after I filed down all the cutters on the chain, I visited my local chain saw mechanic. I was in a self-deprecating, confessional frame of mind.

“Bernie,” I said, “Can you teach me how to sharpen a darn chain? This new saw of mine doesn’t cut for beans. I hate to admit it, but I guess I just don’t know after all these years how to use a chain saw file.”

With palms extended and eyebrows raised, I gave him that look that says, “Help me.”

Bernie was great. He took me under his wing, and Chain Saw 101 class began. He showed me a demo display of 15 different styles of chain saw chains. Incredible, I thought. I always thought a chain was a chain. No way. There are a variety of differing chain cutters or teeth, depending upon the work expected of the chain.

Now here is the kicker, if you’ll excuse the pun. The “safest” anti-kickback chains that are designed by the liability-wary manufacturer are the least effective wood cutters. In other words, there is a tradeoff: You trade safety for a saw’s cutting capabilities. Unbelievable! Did anybody ever tell you this? It was news to me. Looking back, now I know why that 1960s vintage McCollough, with hardly any compression left, had twice the cutting effectiveness of any of my newer, high-compression chain saws.

It was the chain, dummy!

“Bernie,” I pleaded, “I know how to operate a chain saw. Pretend that I am a professional logger. Put on a chain that will cut. Let me worry about the kickback.”

Bernie complied. After installing my new real-man chain, he explained how the cutters worked on the wood and the proper way to use a file on the cutters as well as the rakers.

As I left his shop, Bernie said with a smile, “Paul, I think that you’re gonna like this chain a whole lot better.”

Boy, was he right. Like night and day. The difference between those two chains is remarkable. The new chain throws wood chips while cutting, not sawdust.

What’s the lesson? I’ve known for years that because of our suit-crazed society both government and industry will readily ruin a time-tested device to protect us from ourselves. I should have known that they would eventually get from my lawnmower to my chain saw.

Now you know, too. The next time you buy a new chain saw off the shelf, take my advice. Take off the factory chain, throw it away, and ask the dealer to install a real chain.

Be careful of kickbacks, though.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WCME-FM 96.7) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].