Files and Rasps, what's the story?

[Reggie]

Hi All, I am now in the market for a set of files, as usual, there are a ton of them, all claiming to be good quality items, so what are you all using, why and most importantly, what should I try and avoid if possible? I will be using these on hard/soft woods and plastic.

I'll say right off the bat that I'm unlikely to spend £100 on a hand made file, I can see my budget being around £10-20 per file but don't let that put you off voicing an opinion

Clearly I don't know that much about files/rasps, although I'm pretty sure that I need a flat one for starters and there are different cuts of the 'teeth' and how they're arranged is important, with the hand made ones being supreme quality but there seem to be other technologies, one called 'microplane' that seem to be rows of tiny planes, so I'm interested in hearing experiences on those too

 

[Paul Chapman]

Go for hand stitched rasps, they are so much better than the machine made ones. Really is chalk and cheese. Workshop Heaven have some reasonably priced ones if you don't want to pay for the best http://www.workshopheaven.com/tools/Con ... Rasps.html

Good ones last longer as well, so in the longer term they are not as expensive as the initial outlay suggests.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[Reggie]

Thanks Paul, I had no idea there were cheaper hand stitched tools available, a question that springs to mind though, there is no mention of the type of cut for the continentals, is it less important or is the type of cut not relevant here?

 

[Paul Chapman]

Yes, you want the right type of rasp for the job. Give Matthew at Workshop Heaven a ring and discuss what it is you want the rasps for and he can advise you. He's a very helpful bloke

If you choose carefully, you probably don't need many. I have just two good quality rasps which I find adequate for my needs, but it depends what you want to do.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[AndyT]

Choosing from the wide range does depend on what you intend to make.

If you just want something to ease a joint or smooth over a corner an ordinary cheap coarse file from a diy shop would do. The hand stitched rasps are lovely but unless you plan on sculpture or mass production of saw handles they may be more than you want to pay.


Another useful option is that there is a range of Japanese rasps which have lots of little chisel-like teeth. They cut fast but leave a really smooth finish. I bought them from Rutlands when they were in a sale - I just checked and blow me down but they are reduced again!

I'm pretty sure they are available somewhere else but can't recall where.

(One extra detail - the half round version is only cut on the curved surface - you don't get a flat side like you do with an ordinary file. Rutlands have promised me twice that they will make this clear on their website but have not yet managed to. Very good tools though. )

 

[Reggie]

At the moment, I wanted something that doesn't cut into corners, I made a finger joint box (2cm wide fingers, on all edges of all faces), all of the files I have are in a pack that has 'warding file set' on it, and there are teeth on all of the edges, they're cheap, they're really not suitable for this purpose, in the future, I may well make some exotic shapes, I'm not trying to talk myself into rasps etc. but not ruling them out either.

 

[Richard T]

Sounds like you could do with a quite coarse flat file with a safe edge. Really quite common.

Also, using files and factory - made rasps on wood, I think you may find a file card really useful when they clog. Any old wire brush will do I suppose, but a file card has very sparse, even bristles that are made for the job.

 

[Reggie]

Andy, do you have a link to those japanese rasps? Richard, thanks, I had figured on getting a brush/card whatever I got

 

[AndyT]

Andy, do you have a link to those japanese rasps? Richard, thanks, I had figured on getting a brush/card whatever I got

Start here http://www.rutlands.co.uk/pp+woodworking-hand-tools-carving-tools-carving-files-rasps+b03101 and look at the ones marked Japanese. Take note of the sizes carefully - the rasps with integrated handles are quite short.


Edit: also available at Axi. http://www.axminster.co.uk/japanese-carvers-files-prod857186/#

 

[Kalimna]

Just a thought regarding file cards - I have one from Liogier which has brass bristles. and also one from Axi, which isnt. The reason for brass is the lack of sparks produced when de-crudding the rasps. Sparks are produced with the Axi one on certain rasps. Sparks + lots of fine wood dust = possibility of great unpleasantness!

They may be out of your price range, but I can wholeheartedly recommend the Liogier rasps. Apart from cutting well (though not, quite, as smooth a finish as an Auriou - but it's a small difference indeed), the service from Noel is excellent.
Cheers,
Adam

 

[bugbear]

There were some Chinese rasps discussed a while back that had a pretty good cost/performance ratio.

BugBear

 

[MIGNAL]

I have a few of the Chinese rasps - the very pointy type and the bendy metal :shock: The best one I have is very fine and was a really lovely tool when I bought it - but it's 20 years ago and the rasp has done it's lifetimes work. The place that I bought it from no longer stocks it.
The other rasps were bought much more recently from Fine Tools and are quite a bit coarser. They look pretty much the same as the fine rasp though, just a coarser cut. I wish I could trace an exact replica of that fine rasp, that sharp pointy end and the bendy metal does come in useful in very tight corners.

 

[Reggie]

I think I was mostly put off by the saw file thread and the state of play with those, also looking at some retailers ditching companies like nicholson because their quality has gone since moving production hasn't helped, I know I can't afford the perfection of an expensive rasp/file but I also don't want to buy absolute junk, you can't fettle a file or a rasp like you can a plane, so it's got to be of a certain quality and I recognise that comes at a price point

 

[Corneel]

For files, you can still get good stuff from Bahco. Made in Portugal.

 

[Harbo]

Bacho - not if they are the same quality as their saw files?

Rod

 

[RogerP]

When I was a young teenager (I'm 71 now so work it out) one Christmas an uncle gave me the latest woodworking innovation - a Surform. I suppose they are the direct ancestor of these "new" Japanese carving files.

 

[marcros]

When I was a young teenager (I'm 71 now so work it out) one Christmas an uncle gave me the latest woodworking innovation - a Surform. I suppose they are the direct ancestor of these "new" Japanese carving files.

And this little tinker

http://www.hand-stitched-rasp-riffler.c ... stard.html

 

[RogerP]

[]

And this little tinker

http://www.hand-stitched-rasp-riffler.c ... stard.html

Direct rip-off of the earlier Surform - even the reversible handle. There's nowt new

 

[Corneel]

Bacho - not if they are the same quality as their saw files?

Rod

Bahco sawfiles aren't bad either. Not the ultimate and it's a pitty they don't do small ones, but for practical purposes they aren't bad at all. And the price is allright.

 

[bugbear]

When I was a young teenager (I'm 71 now so work it out) one Christmas an uncle gave me the latest woodworking innovation - a Surform. I suppose they are the direct ancestor of these "new" Japanese carving files.

Quite different surely - these Japanese rasps are "normal" rasps, been around for centuries; the distinctive property of the surform is the hole through the body to release the waste.

The other one is more like a car body file than any surform:

http://www.carbodyfiles.co.uk/carbodyfiles/Pferd.html

BugBear