Jump to content
I Forge Iron

File Holder


Recommended Posts

I really wish I had a picture of this one as it just came together *right*!

I generally mount my files in golfballs for a handle---drill a hole and drive them on till they are tight---and have been looking for a way to hang them near my large postvise.
That 6.25" postvise is mounted to a utility pole that's the roof support for the forge shop.

Well I was looking though the scrap pile recently and noticed that I had a bunch of garden rakes and one had a perfect curve in the tines to hold golf balls and the "tang" was composed of round stock doubled on itself and then swooping over to the ends of the rake part.

So I ran a chisel in to make a little room where it's doubled over and 2 screws later the rake is mounted on the utility pole over the vise and holding 8 files---I spaced them every other slot so they can sit flat and not touch the one to the other side---even the farrier's rasps!

Now to make one for all the other poles/vises!

(The building for my "day job" is right next to a golf course so stray golf balls are fairly common.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love the golf ball handles, I don't drill them though. I just grind a point on the end of the tang and while it is still hot I drive the file into the ball until it goes past the center of the ball. I have to throw them away with the used file or heat up the file to melt them out after that.
I will be stealing the rake idea. I have a couple rake heads lying around and that will be perfect. I might even see if I can bend the rake to the shape of the pole without it opening up to much to hold the golf balls.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to have to try the golf ball handle thing.

I generally despise wooden handles on files and usually take them off and hide them once I've worked in a shop long enough. I find they do nothing more than get in the way.

However, a golf ball might be enough to improve the grip but be small enough to hang up on things. I've never gotten the 'handle your files for safety' thing. I don't use them on anything moving, like a lathe, and I've never been injured by the tang on a file, or heard of such a thing happening, and I'm not quite sure how you'd pull that off.

Anyone able to enlighten me?

Link to comment
Share on other sites


I'm going to have to try the golf ball handle thing.

I generally despise wooden handles on files and usually take them off and hide them once I've worked in a shop long enough. I find they do nothing more than get in the way.

However, a golf ball might be enough to improve the grip but be small enough to hang up on things. I've never gotten the 'handle your files for safety' thing. I don't use them on anything moving, like a lathe, and I've never been injured by the tang on a file, or heard of such a thing happening, and I'm not quite sure how you'd pull that off.

Anyone able to enlighten me?


Have you tried hot rasping without a handle of some sort on the tang? That may alter your opinion slightly,

The golf balls are great as handles as they fit into the palm much better IMHO than the wood ones, they also stay on better.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I love wooden handles! Of course I make my own and they are sized appropriately for each file. I can make a couple dozen file handles in an hour or two. I use scrap wood anything from old broken tool handles to firewood to tree trimmings or even scrap blocks of lumber. I shape longer scrap on the shaving horse and then cut to length and carve or grind the ends. Smaller chunks might be shaped with a block knife or flap wheel. I could still use the rake rack though! I am gonna call it the "Power's Rake Rack"! Thanks Thomas!

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Have you tried hot rasping without a handle of some sort on the tang? That may alter your opinion slightly,

The golf balls are great as handles as they fit into the palm much better IMHO than the wood ones, they also stay on better.

I haven't hot rasped much of anything, much less without a handle. Didn't even consider that. :) My thought has been that space is usually at a premium for one reason or another and the handles always seem to get in the way. I will give the golf ball thing a try. I've a couple rolling around the shop I can use. Thanks!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

You know real file handles are cheaper than golf balls. McMaster-Carr sells a basic wood file handle for an 8" to 10" file for $1.02. They even come with the holes predrilled. Why anybody would use plastic stuff around a blacksmiths forge is beyond me. Melting burning plastic contains some fairly toxic stuff also plastic it tends to have a very short life in a metal shop. http://www.mcmaster.com/#file-handles/=huj1fe

Link to comment
Share on other sites

McMaster-Carr is the "wish book"---I have a copy of the big catalog; but golf balls are free, don't see how paying for something is cheaper than free? As I have mentioned the building I work in is next to a golf course; we get golf balls in the parking lot on a regular basis. I like how the golf ball fits my hand too. Ergonomics comes into play when you spend hours filing!

Never had a golf ball burn around my forge so the toxics of them burning are not a concern. Save for the hot rasp all my files are a distance away from the forges. The hot rasp usually is stored farther away from the forge than *I* am. Do you burn up your file handles on a regular basis? I figure you must if that's a materials consideration.

My shoes have plastic/rubber/? soles and I wear them around the forge too and have stepped on hot bits (Students!!!!!), what do you use to not have such issues with them? I use the smell to tell me to *move*!

Does wood have a longer life around a metal shop? I've been smithing for over 30 years now and can't recall a golf ball "wearing out" but I have had wooden items split on me over time, Ohio had a bad winter/summer humidity swing and out here in NM single digit humidities are common---though today it's a swampy 23% RH.

Now if you prefer wooden handles Great!---De gustibus non disputandum est--- and you've shared a great source for them. I must admit I picked up one of the old cast iron file holders at the fleamarket last week. Mainly so I will not be using a flaming yellow golf ball handle at historical demos...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know Thomas, your golf ball situation reminds me of the Hogzilla, "problem," having your file handles fall from the sky sounds almost as good as having pit roasts and BBQs wander into the yard. I call that delivery.

I may have to disagree about the flaming golfball file handles, I think it'd make darned good theater. Nothing beats good theater for keeping an audience's attention.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have had several bad experiences with plastic stuff in the shop plastic storage bins catching fire, milk crates, rulers, pens, screw driver handles, water bottles and so on. We are talking over of 15+ years 40 hour weeks with several employes. Wood will burn but it tends to survive a bit longer than plastic when in contact with hot stuff. Also wood stuff wont slump next to hot objects so you dunk it in some water and get back to work. I do often find that I melt the soles of my boots and have given some serious thought to alternative foot gear. I don't know if I could bring my self to wear clogs though. Golf balls are not free for me i would have to take the time to search them out and they are still not file handles. I do many hours of filling a week. Prefer the grip of a traditional handle over round ball or a blunt ended dowel I feel that it gives me more control and comfort. McMaster-Carr is not a wish list for me it is a good source for supplies. The quality is better than 99% of stores and I almost always get what I was looking for . I can place an order in about 2 min through the website. They ship for out of state so I don't pay sales tax. The stuff shows up the next day via ups. I save time by not going the store not to mention $4 per gallon gas. The cost of shipping is more than offset by that. I understand the allure of free but for a buck you can get the right thing and never look back. I seriously doubt one would regret such a modest expenditure. Most of the files I use were yard sale finds that I cleaned up and or resharpened. I got a milk crate of files last summer for 40 bucks over 200 in most were in very good condition. The replacement value of that would be in the thousands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Three different guys, three different opinions... Tim likes wood handles, Tom likes golfballs, I currently despise handles of any sort.

It's the different opinions and experiences that make this group so much fun. The handles are one thing. You guys probably have a different tolerance than I do for solvents and plastic fumes - there's another. I know my knowledge of gas welding is limited enough that it scares the hell out of me, but you might consider it routine - yet a third.

I personally think we're better off with a friendly sharing our likes and dislikes (along with the reasons for them) than getting bent out of shape over them. I've worked in shops where everyone takes their own opinions so seriously that no one will listen to anyone else, and it ain't no fun.

But then again, what do I know? I'm still new. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Using a file with out a any kind of handle is very dangerous. You should reconsider your opinion. If you ever try to bear down with a file you run the risk of impaling your hand with the tank of the file. This is not my opinion its written in almost every metal working book I have ever seen as a safety precaution. Also I don't see how you could get the most out of a file with something to comfortably hold on to. This is an example of what can be done with files I could not have done this with out handles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Putting a handle on a file has always felt like putting a sledgehammer handle on a scalpel and trying to do surgery. I can't feel what I'm doing when I have a handle on the file. Most of what I've done is hand sharpening or bevelling ski and snowboard edges - varying from 0-3*. Also, the handles tend to hit the ski/snowboard vises I'm using, or damage the base of the ski/board, especially when trying to make patches flush with the base.

Of all the tools that I've been injured by in a shop environment (usually due to operator error), files have never been one of them, whether a 6" mill/bastard or a 14" panzar/body file. The thought's never crossed my mind that it would be an issue. But then I've never done anything really (in my book) silly, like using a file to shape something on a high-speed lathe. In that case, if that were an acceptable practice (I have no idea, I'm not a machinist), then having a handle on the file would be a good idea in my book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A file handle isn't likely to be of much use or enhance safety if what you use files for are draw filing edges so it's not an issue.

Oh yeah, using a file on a high speed turning isn't at all uncommon it sure beats having to adjust the angle feed to cut a coarse chamfer, etc. We used to debur with a hand held lathe bit and sometimes do an inside chamfer. (Is that the right term?)

While I'm thinking about it virtually every accident I've ever had was my own darned fault, that's why I sure wish I could remember what happened with that stupid tree.

Frosty The Lucky.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...