I used to grind both sides of the files teeth off, but I dont bother anymore as it made no diference when forge welding them up. And as a side benifit I'm not wearing my grinders out and I have more mass in the hawk. I have not ground the teeth off of the one in this pic, didn't hurt the weld at all. as for the handle its a not a problem and it may even help keep the handle a bit snugger in the head.
Darrel