What files are sitting on your bench?

A

AlteredMopar

Joined
Nov 30, 2011
Messages
22
May seem like a silly question, but it is real. I use Nicholsen and a few that are no name that really should be put to better use as tent stakes. I'm sure there are brands that are better and I would like aquire them. Like all tools you have to ask the folks that use them to get honest opinions.
 
I don't leave files on my bench. However, the ones in my drawer include a large variety of brands, old and new. Among my favorites, though, are the cheap bastard files from Harbor Frieght. Not because they are the best or because they last longer... no... because they are usually the right shape and size for what I need to do.

One of my lager half rounds is a big old Nicholson. It is probably 14 inches long, and it is useful for flat grinding the dagger bevels because you can draw the stroke all the way from ricasso to tip at 45 degree angle without stopping. Very nice!
 
I have a mix of Nicholson and Simmonds, but for peopl not wanting to spend a ton of money, the Sears Craftsman line are pretty good and you just take them back when they are dull.

Like Greg, I don't leave them on my bench. :p


-X
 
Ok, sitting on your bench, was a figure of speech. I suppose "what are you using?" would have been the correct term. ;)
 
tryppyr said:
However, the ones in my drawer...
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You know you could make a nice file rack if you got rid of that ugly display case right? :p

I have many files from my dad that I don't know the brand. The only ones I bought are Nicholson and I am satisfied with them. I only use them for handle and guard shaping though, not bevels.
 
I use these strips.

Keeps them off my bench.

ts
 
I personally am a fan of the Nicholson magicuts. They are just beastly and remove metal quicker than any I have ever used.
 
The best-cutting, longest-lasting file I've used is a Tome, made in Portugal. If I ever stumble across more I'll be happy. Nicholson and Simmonds are both good, and as mentioned above the Craftsman ones are pretty decent too.
 
I have a bunch of Nicholsons for steel work, I have a bunch of Simmonds that I got a great deal on a box of, they are case hardened crap that bends and dulls quickly, but not as quickly as the Sears Craftsman files, I have a bunch of Sears Craftsman files that I use for filing tang shoulders square against file guides, when they dull on all usable sides I throw them in a box to take back to the store next time I drive by. They are such unimaginable crap that they will dull on mild steel, but Sears exchanges them so I have a pile that just gets rotated. For jewelry work I use Grobet, Valitan, and a german brand that I forget, but those are very fine cut and the Nicholsons work great for steel

-Page
 
lazlo said:
Heads-up on Nicholson: last February they closed all their North American plants and moved them to Brazil and Mexico :(
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Yeah Dewalt was bought out by stanley also and there quality is already going down. little things like metal gears etc replaced with plastic in drills and what not. Only their uper high end stuff seems to be staying the same qulaity.
 
I just use an 8-euro set of three files I got when I started out. They're supposedly made in Sheffield. They actually work pretty damn well for profiling and making finger grooves. I always first forge a very rough bevel, even it out with files and use my cheap belt sander to get rid of the file marks.
 
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