When I was in tech school, we had some good quality hand files we used, I even procured a couple when I left. My dad left me a few old ones also. But lately, I have not been able to find any quality made files. Everything I get is too soft or has a rough cut more like a rasp. What are some good brand names and places to purchase some great metal files now days?
the internet says the stock some at Home Depot, of all places. I seem to find a tool box full of them every now and then for $5, so I have plenty...
I'd go with Nicholson too. And if you work much aluminum, they make aluminum-specific files that don't clog like regular files do on aluminum. Well worth the money.... just don't use them on steel.
If your old ones are dulling, I was told long ago they were resharpened “back in the day” using some type of acid mix. Not sure if true, just what I recall hearing.
I have found that you get a better quality files (and a larger selection, when you buy them at places that cater to machine shops. Even files from the same maker, like Nicholson who makes excellent files, seem to be a better quality when bought from the Machine shop venders. I suspect that the file vendors make a lower quality file to be sold at places like Home Depot for a lower price. And they make their best quality (and highest priced) files for vendors that deal with professionals that know the difference and demand the best.
I sharpen mine using Sulfuric acid solution. Recently did a hand full of files this way...and it works very well. I soak them in the acid for about an hour and their good to go.
Nice. I’ve never tried it, was just told about it years ago. Did you wire wheel them first or just put them in your acid?
All the files I've bought over the years have come from yard sales, flea markets, swap meets. If it says it's made in Germany, England, or the USA you're good to go.
Yes, I use a card brush on them, then degrease with brake cleaner, then soak them. I made up some wood blocks with holes drilled into them and store my files that way. A pic of some of my files....I have a lot more.
I cleaned out all the files in my better half's great aunt's house when her parents inherited it. They were selling it as is but had us clean out anything we wanted or that had family ties first. I took home about 50 lbs of files, as well as over 100 lbs of brass fittings.
In my experience, and I use files a lot in fabricating weird stuff, the Nicholson files I buy at the Home Depot that's 2 minutes from my house don't cut well for long. I know how to use them properly, but they seem soft, and get dull much too quickly. As a result, I have several of the same ones, but not many that work well. As someone said, it's possibly because they are from Home Depot. I think of Home Depot as the home improvement version of Walmart, with the same down spec'd versions of "name" brands. Or I could be wrong. It's happened before, they tell me, but I doubt it.
Here’s something I remember from a Lil John Buttera article in HRM about 40 years ago. John kept his files close at hand using some cheap wooden holders slammed together on the sides of a work bench. It also keeps them from being thrown in a pile in a tool box drawer. Of course it means having file handles but those are recommended, it’s safer and easier to work with them. Some of my handles were purchased and some are made from cheap dowel rod, either way they make life easier in the shop.
Golf balls make for nice cheap handles. An over night soak in vinegar will buy some life for a dull file also. Clean, degrease, then soak. Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
I keep wooden handles on all my files and hang them up above my bench. I have never liked the idea of a tool cabinet and do not own one, too much trouble digging through everything so I have 3 walls of peg boards and I hang up all my tools so they can be spotted in an instant and are always close at hand.
Lady walks into the store and asks the clerk to help her choose a specific file for her husband. She forgot what he wanted. Clerk says "You looking for a flat bastard or a half round son of a bitch?" She left in a huff.
A good file is a great tool. A shitty file ain't worth bringing home. Keep them clean, don't lay them in a drawer and, for God sakes DO NOT saw back and forth with them. In the old days, people wrapped them in brown paper to keep them sharp and undulled. You should always try to hold the file at an approximate 30-45 degree angle with your left hand leading and your right hand following, and only apply pressure on the forward stroke. This will give you maximum cutting and smoothness while allowing you to get a straight cut. It kills me to see someone misuse a file. Its a personal quirk.
Funny - that's one of the things in my uncle's garage that struck me - he had a wall of hanging files - maybe 20 in all. Also had a few smaller one's that fit in his tool box. He did say a time or two about filing and drilling out parts. They are in my shop now.
Nicholson files are now mostly over priced crap made in Brazil or Mexico for almost 10 years. You need to find old NOS files if you want Nicholson. The other options are Tsubosan (Japan), Pferd (German), Vallorbe (Swiss) or Grobet (USA).
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