6 Best Chainsaw Chain For Hardwood 2023- Details Guide

Harrison Ford said, “Wood burns faster when you have to cut and chop it yourself.”

However, with the invention of chainsaws we don’t need to manually chop woods and go through immense hassle anymore.

But still, there are complexities when it comes to sawing woods, specifically hardwoods. They provide a much harder surface than softwoods, which can wear out your chainsaw faster than usual.

So, it is crucial that you purchase the best chainsaw chain for hardwood, as it plays an important role in determining the durability of your chainsaw as well as the speed of your workflow.

And that’s exactly what this guide is all about.

Best Chainsaw Chain For Hardwood Reviews-

1. Oregon S62 AdvanceCut 18-Inch Chainsaw Chain for Hardwood

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This product definitely showcases a variety of innovative technology that is quite hard to find in regular saw chains.

The chain has a 0.375-inch, low profile pitch. It is compatible with saw bars that have a 0.050-inch gauge and constructed with 62 drive links.

The thermal treated cutters have a hard chrome plating. This method increases the impact and erosion resistance of the blades, providing a precise semi chisel cut.

Oregon applies an induction process to tighten the rivets along with increasing their toughness. As a result, rivets improve their impact and wear resistance, ensuring a more functional tensioning mechanism.

The manufacturer creates a small curve at the rear edge of each cutter, creating space between chain and the bar. Thus, the chain is able to absorb more than 25-percent of the impact created from the movement.

This feature disrupts transmission of vibration to the rest of the machine and gives you more control, comfort and protection while operating.

The LubriTec system improves the efficiency of oil distribution. So, each part receives the amount it deserves, resulting in low wastage and increased durability.

The ANSI certified, low-kickback chain can be sharpened with a 5.2-millimeter filer.

2. Trilink Saw Chain, 18-inch for Cutting Hardwood

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If we are talking aftermarket saw chains, Trilink is surely one of the best manufacturers in the market.

In this product, the chain comes with a 0.375-inch, low phase pitch and a 0.050-inch gauge. It is compatible with 18-inch saw bars, provided the pitch and gauge of both parts match.

The product is appropriate for low to middleweight sawing jobs. The 7.5-ounce chain is constructed with steel cutters and coated with industry-grade chrome, using an electroplating process. This feature provides resistance against wear, rust, and corrosion.

The chain has semi chisel cutter teeth, which can be sharpened with a 3.9-millimeter filer. It is designed to absorb vibration and lower the amount of kickback. It is constructed with 62 drive links.

Trilink applies a system called “Centri-Lube” to create an oil-channel on every drive link. These oil-channels manage lubrication to pass through each drive link in equal amount, all the way up to the connecting rivets.

Thus, Centri-Lube increases the durability of the chain by resisting stretch and friction. It also provides a better tensioning mechanism, so you don’t need to worry about tightening or loosening the chain too often.

The chain is compatible with a variety of reputed chainsaw brands, such as Poulan, Echo, Husqvarna, Homelite, Shindaiwa, etc.

3. Husqvarna 531300439 18-Inch H30-72 SawChain Chain for Hardwood

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Husqvarna is to chainsaw, as Ferrari is to the world of sports cars. So, we were naturally excited to review this product and it hasn’t let us down.

The package contains 2, black H30-72 pixel saw chains.

Each chain is 18-inches long and has a pitch of 0.325-inch. The chain gauge is .050-inch. Individually, each one weighs approximately 10.6-ounces. Each chain is constructed with 72 drive links and uses micro chisel cutting teeth.

The chain is equipped with a low kickback feature along with a vibration decreasing mechanism. It uses high profile tie straps (to prevent materials from attaching to the cutting tooth) and ramped depth gauges (to drift materials outward) to construct these features.

The product is compatible with multiple Husqvarna models, such as TrioBrake 240, 543 XP, 460 Rancher, etc. You can also sharpen the cutting teeth by a 4.8-millimeter filer.

The chains are able to function with 38 to 62 cc chainsaws and consume less electricity than regular chain models. However, the product is not recommended for heavyweight use.

4. Stihl 3610 005 0055 Chainsaw Chains for Hardwood

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Stihl is always dedicated to provide a superior quality of engineering that we’ve all come to expect from German machineries. And this product has rightfully fulfilled that expectation.

The product contains a set of double Picco Micro Mini 3 chains.  So, this purchase will keep your chainsaw running for a long time, eliminating frequent trips to the store to get a new replacement.

The chains use semi chisel cutter teeth, strategically slimmed to provide a narrow kerf. Each chain has a 0.375-inch, low profile pitch and a 0.043-inch gauge. Individually, each one measures 16-inches in length.

The chain is comparatively light with a weight of only 12.3-ounces. It is constructed from 55 drive links and equipped with a low kickback feature. You can also sharpen the cutter teeth by using a 5.2-millimeter filer.

Apart from being the best chainsaw chain for cutting hardwood, it’s also an OEM part. That means, it was produced as a replacement by the original manufacturer of the chainsaw. So, we can assure you that there won’t be any issues in terms of compatibility.

5. Homyall, 48-inch Limb Rope Saw Chain for Hardwood

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Believe it or not, this chainsaw can perform all types of sawing without a saw bar and a motor. Instead, it uses a rope, a throwing pouch, and 2 pulling handles.

The orange pulling handles are made of nylon to increase structural strength. And the entire toolkit is small enough to fit in a (5.5 x 4.5)-inch carrying bag. The package also includes a steel clipper for attaching the carrying bag to a bag pack/haversack.

However, this package doesn’t include a rope, thus you can pick one of your liking. We recommend choosing a paracord or nylon rope as they provide greater impact resistance.

The 8.5-ounce chain has 62 cutter teeth made of carbon steel. The cutters are bi-directional, meaning regardless of which side lands on the branch, the chain will perform just as effectively. They can approach 3 sides of a limb in one bite, providing a faster cutting speed.

You can directly tie a rope (with a diameter under 4.7-millimiter) to the end holes. Although, for ropes with a larger diameter, you’d to need use double D rings as a medium.

6. Tallox, 14-inch Chainsaw Chain for Craftsman

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You can always get more, and Tallox understands this sentiment. Which is why, this is the only product in the list where you get not 2 but 3 chains in one package.

Each chain has a 0.0375-inch pitch and a standard 0.050-inch gauge. They are also quite lightweight, individually weighing 7.46-ounces.

The chains use cutting teeth protected with hard chrome plating. As a result, they effectively resist wear and corrosion to increase durability. The teeth are designed to provide a semi chisel cut.

You can sharpen the cutters using a 5.2-millimeter filer.

Each chain is constructed with 52 drive links. The drive links, along with the rivets and tie links are made from tempered metal to provide toughness to the structure.

The chains are compatible with multiple Echo (e.g. CS-300) and Husqvarna (e.g. 137, 235E) chainsaws, provided they have a drive sprocket with 0.375-inch, low profile pitch.

You can also use them as a replacement for 14-inch chain models produced by Makita (e.g. 196207-5), Husqvarna (e.g. 531300372), Oregon, etc.

The chains provide extreme impact tolerance with a Tensile score of 400 MPa. It has also scored high in terms of rivet tolerance in various tests.

How To Choose The Right Chainsaw Chain For Hardwood

Wear and Corrosion Resistance

Hardwoods like Balsa, Birch, Dogwood, Ebony, etc. provide a tough surface. This feature makes them popular in construction and manufacturing furniture, but can also take a toll on the saw chain.

Therefore, if you are regularly sawing hardwood materials, there’s a good chance the saw chain will wear and corrode faster than usual. That is why we recommend purchasing chains that have hard chrome plated cutters.

When the cutters are coated (usually through an electroplating process) with industry-grade chromium, they offer excellent resistance against wear and rust. And, in terms of sawing hardwood, this feature can really play to your advantage.

Lubrication System

The fibers of hardwoods tend to be much thicker than softwoods like Cedar, Pine, etc. So, sawing hardwoods can often jam up the saw chain’s depth gauge, cutter link, and connecting rivets. It’s for this particular reason, having a proper lubrication system for your chain is so important.

The best chainsaw chain for hardwood must have a functional lubrication system like Lubritec or Centri-lube, which will manage an efficient distribution of lubricants through different parts.

This mechanism keeps the chainsaw running smoothly and protects the chain from getting jammed by cutting residues like wood fabric.

Low Kickback And Vibration

We recommend purchasing saw chains that are equipped with low kickback and vibration features.

Hardwoods can be quite rough to saw through. Thus, a chain with no feature to reduce kickback and vibration can be risky to operate in this case.

Manufacturers employ various techniques to achieve these features.

For example, creating a curve at the rear edge of cutters to disrupt transmission of vibration from the chain to the machine, using high profile tie straps to prevent fiber attachment, ramping depth gauges to spew out residues, etc.

You can look for these manufacturing details to ensure that the chain offers low kickback and vibration reduction.

Chain Pitch, Gauge, And Length

You need to make sure that the chain’s pitch, gauge, and length matches with your chainsaw parts.

For example, the chain’s pitch must match with the drive sprocket’s pitch, and the chain’s gauge (width of the drive link) need to be compatible with the saw bar’s gauge. The same theory is applicable for length of the chain and length of the saw bar.

Otherwise, the chain won’t fit well with the chainsaw, making the purchase useless for sawing hardwood or any other material.

Final Words

Our goal for this guide is simple: Presenting you the chain you need within a price that you can afford.

Through experience and consultation, we’ve learned that the best chainsaw chains for hardwood materials must have 4 properties: wear and corrosion resistance, an effective lubrication system, sharpness, and a strong ability to absorb impact.

Therefore, we chose products that exhibit a combination of these properties and at the same time, are not overpriced. We hope this guide helps you as much as the pleasure we had writing it.