Woodworking Tips
How to Sharpen a Chainsaw
The Inferno Rescue: How a $10 File Saved 12 Firefighters from a Crown Fire When the Dixie Fire overran California’s Lassen Trail, Hotshot crew boss Jenna Cortez spotted her team’s Stihl MS 462 bogging down in ponderosa pine. One chain hadn’t been sharpened since Oregon—dull cutters and collapsed rakers were creating friction that glowed orange at dusk. With embers raining down, she dropped to one knee, whipped out a 5/32" round file, and resurrected the chain in 90 seconds flat. That edge cut their escape route through 200 yards of blazing timber. As a former USFS Saw Boss (certified S-212),...