Steel vs Aluminum Behnke file guide?

The behnke has about a .003-.004 gap when closed. The riverside is Much more. In fact one side is offset more than the other. Total gap is about is more like .03 with the riverside.

The riverside does stick more in opening closing
 
Mine is quite the opposite. My aluminum Behnke is a PITA to adjust it's so tight.
 
That's the opposite of my experience with the Riverside guide, however, I should note, that I've had mine for 6 or 7 years at this point, and I picked the one I thought was best (none were bad however) at Blade show when I got it. Mine the carbide mates near perfectly with the inside edge of each half.

I guess, as with many things, it's a crap-shoot.



I've been planning to make some for a while that exceed the others, in the areas I've mentioned, but with hardened bodies that can be used for actual filing, with the non-carbide side, in wider configs than the Riverside. Maybe it's time I get around to that.
 
Interesting responses on file guides here.
You guys should see my first one, it’s made from 52100 and has no pins at all. It’s has no carbides either and is so out of square and half ground away its ridiculas
As a knifemaker I can’t be making file guides so after the first ones our son-in-law Benton needed to pay off bills after he married our only daughter Krista. He made them the way I taught him and they worked pretty good but about 3 years ago I gave the fileguide job to our oldest son Brian. Brian is an artist and my favorite engraver. Brian took them to a whole new level with each batch of 50 or so. He lives in Salem/Turner Oregon and travels here for a week or so working on them here with me in my shop. Brian has a local CNC Machine shop do much of the work so the tolerances are super tight now. The pockets are so close to the carbide size that there is very little epoxy used. The pins are hardened carbon steel so there is a natural frictionless smoothness against the 303 stainless steel frames.
The carbides need to have a very small gap so they are not allowed to touch the blade. Carbide does not flex and if they touch the blade when tightened down the carbides will pop loose or actually crack. We surface the inside edge to have .018 - .020” total gap.
Prices have creeped up over the last 6 years from my original $75 to $155 because of out-sourcing and materials cost. There are cheaper ones are out there.
I get one back once in a while and refurbish them here in my shop for about $40 good as new save for some hammer marks and massive metal missing. Heat and steam has a bad affect on the bond between the JB Weld and the stainless even when all surfacepreps are done.
 
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Bruce Bump said:
Interesting responses on file guides here.
You guys should see my first one, it’s made from 52100 and has no pins at all. It’s has no carbides either and is so out of square and half ground away its ridiculas
As a knifemaker I can’t be making file guides so after the first ones our son-in-law Benton needed to pay off bills after he married our only daughter Krista. He made them the way I taught him and they worked pretty good but about 3 years ago I gave the fileguide job to our oldest son Brian. Brian is an artist and my favorite engraver. Brian took them to a whole new level with each batch of 50 or so. He lives in Salem/Turner Oregon and has a local CNC Machine shop do much of the work so the tolerances are super tight now. The pockets are so close to the carbide size that there is very little epoxy used. The pins are hardened carbon steel so there is a natural frictionless smoothness against the 303 stainless steel frames.
The carbides need to have a very small gap so they are not allowed to touch the blade. Carbide does not flex and if they touch the blade could break when tightened down.
Prices have creeped up from my original $75 to $155 because of out-sourcing and inflation. Cheaper ones are out there. I get one back once in a while and refurbish them here in my shop for about $40 good as new save for some hammer marks and massive metal missing.
Click to expand...


Hey Bruce, thanks for getting on here and chiming in, sorry I got some info wrong about the history of your guides.. Hope the criticism was taken constructively. In fairness, and as i mentioned, I think I got some of the very first stainless ones, and I keep my larger one as a memory, as much as anything.

I'll definitely checkout the newer ones, and it's great to see the caveats acknowledged and being addressed. I would still, very much like to see full carbide crossing the short dimension (1/2" I guess?) across the file guide face for more intuitive feedback (feel), when riding the carbide faces across a belt or disc, and personally, would be willing to pay extra for that.


Guys from what Bruce is saying about the current ones being made, I'd definitely recommend looking into them. If they are as they say, seems like a no-brainer, and it sounds like the Riverside QC has gone down hill.
 
The carbides are only 1/4” for reduced price plus It’s easier on the file with less carbide to file contact area. I haven’t experienced the need for a wider carbide.

I,m not peddling fileguides on here, really but I am proud of my team for moving forward with quality with each batch
Check them out at brucebumpknives.com
 
Bruce Bump said:
The carbides are only 1/4” for reduced price plus It’s easier on the file with less carbide to file contact area. I haven’t experienced the need for a wider carbide.

I,m not peddling fileguides on here, really but I am proud of my team for moving forward with quality with each batch
Check them out at brucebumpknives.com
Click to expand...


Bruce, that makes sense, I suppose it's just a difference in how we each utilize them. For me, I'm a bit of a file snob, so none of my vintage US or swiss files will ever touch carbide, no matter the variables; it's hell on them, in my opinion. I prefer a hard steel guide for actual hand-filing. On the other hand, I use a carbide faced guide for a few operations with a disc grinder, and the narrow face makes it less easy to "feel" the point where I'm riding flat across the carbide, due to the increased leverage of the wider body in relation to the narrower strips of carbide.

So, to each their own, as always, however, the reasons you guys use the narrower strips, makes sense.

Thanks again for chiming in, and contributing to a constructive discussion on this topic. I'm a big fan of your work, and hopefully I'll see you in Dallas at ICCE.
 
Hey, Bruce, it's good to see ya around here. Just want to let ya know I'm still happy with the file guide I got from you :cool:

javand said:
I've been planning to make some for a while that exceed the others, in the areas I've mentioned, but with hardened bodies that can be used for actual filing, with the non-carbide side, in wider configs than the Riverside. Maybe it's time I get around to that.
Click to expand...

^^^ That's actually pretty brilliant. Use the carbide side to do any of the grinding work then just flip it over to do any filing :thumbsup:

I'm the same way with the good file I have, if I need to do any filing with the guide on I just use ones that are pretty wasted already but still have some decent areas of teeth on them. I once made the mistake of using a diamond needle file with the guide on due to not having any extra steel needle files to mess up; luckily I noticed a small scratch right after it barely begun to make contact with the carbide, and stopped. I wasn't really thinking about the carbide at the time, just my files lol


~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Just some older videos of some older knives I've made in the past)
 
Good discussion. I really enjoy reading the varying user experiences with any tools specific to our craft. One thing is certain, every maker/smith should have one of these carbide guides in their shop! Bruce Bump Bruce Bump , it's nice to see you chime in man. I sure do miss your input here. I learned so much early on from your WIP threads.
 
I am getting worried now that it might not much improvement over my original guide....just kidding. My Aluminum BB arrive within a few days of ordering. I haven't used it yet and will add some thoughts after I have some grinding under my belt.

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