Nicholson File & KnotKlipper Update

N

nickzdon

Joined
Mar 3, 2011
Messages
398
So I put both the Mexico and the US Nicholson through their paces on the KnotKlipper. First off let me say that this is some tough steel! Looking forward to dipping it in some wood real soon. She's shaving sharp now! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to remove all of the pitting from the bit since it was just too deep in a few places.

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I must say that the warning I got at the hardware store rang true. The Mexico Nicholson dulled incredibly fast. I noticed the US Nicholson dulling out a bit by the time I was done profiling, but not nearly to the extent of the Made in Mexico version. I alternated between the two files from one side of the bit to the other, with a consistent number of strokes, so neither file, nor any one side, was given more treatment than the other.

Pictured below is the Mexico model on the left and the US on the right. The lighter areas on the file show where the teeth are dull. It's much more noticeable on this side than the reverse, although both sides of the Mexico model dulled considerably faster than the US one.
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Here's the reverse.
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Needless to say I'm a bit disappointed with this. I've been using Nicholson files for years and would love to keep buying them, but it might be time to look into some other manufacturers, or at the very least specifically requesting the US versions at the hardware store. With that being said these are probably still OK for a little woodworking. I've also been thinking that now would be the perfect time to build a forge and try my hand at making some knives out of the dull ones ;)
 
WOW that sucks. I was expecting the Mexican one to dull faster, but not by so significant a degree that you could photograph it and have it be clear! That's a huge disappointment.
 
That came out pretty nice considering the before.
I'm having real good luck and life out of my nicholson single cut mill bastard.
 
That's a shame.

I've noticed that the new Leatherman files are crap now. Or at least my new Leatherman's file is crap. The file just dissolved on a protruding nail. Thankfully I still had my 25-year old original Leatherman in my pack. The file in that one was able to finish the job easily. I guess they just assume most people won't ever use it so they won't notice that it's a POS. Sad.
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That does suck. I pretty much ruined an old, good, made in USA Nicholson double cut bastard not long ago on an axe that had a very hard spot right in the middle of the bit.

Interesting comparison, though. I think I'm going to try pferds given the good recommendation from some of you fellas.
 
well, next time im in town i need to see if i can pick up a surplus of USA nick. files...

thanks for the update...
 
M3mphis said:
Interesting comparison, though. I think I'm going to try pferds given the good recommendation from some of you fellas.
Click to expand...

When my other half learned to do natural balance hoof trimming for our horse, and was buying her farrier gear I did a bunch of research on good rasps. Diamond (a division of Cooper/Nicholson) was the standard due to availability and low cost, but folks who used Pferds were reporting them lasting 2-5 times as long as the Diamond rasps. My lady has done over a dozen trims now with the same rasp in spite of the dirty environment they get used in. A typical farrier's rasp lasts about 5-6. If I haven't been using a vintage file, lately, it's been a Pferd.
 
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