KAKEI guide
Semi-chisel, full chisel, skip tooth or ripping?
How KAKEI semi-chisel, full-chisel, skip-tooth and ripping chainsaw chains differ, and which cutter suits storm cleanup, firewood or milling.
Cutter shape changes how a chain feels in the wood far more than brand or price does. We make four kinds.
Semi-chisel
Rounded working corner. Holds its edge in dirty, frozen or barky wood, easy to file, forgiving. Our low-profile semi-chisel chains meet ANSI low-kickback performance.
Full chisel
Square working corner. Fastest cut in clean, seasoned wood. Dulls sooner when it touches dirt, and it is not a low-kickback chain.
Skip tooth
Full-chisel cutters with every other one left out. Fewer teeth in the cut on long bars, more chip room, less engine load.
Ripping
Cutters ground at a shallower angle to slice along the grain. For chainsaw mills, not for bucking.
Which one for your job
- Storm cleanup, roots, dirty wood
- Semi-chisel.
- Firewood from clean rounds
- Semi-chisel or full chisel, depending on experience.
- Big hardwood on 24" and longer bars
- Skip tooth.
- Milling slabs and boards
- Ripping chain.