File Holder

[Timothy Miller]

This is a photo of my file rack. I made it out of 1" angle iron and 1/4" round. Probably about $30 worth of material total to build and 2 hours labor. It holds about 50 files just under the handle. I have every thing from super fine Swiss jewelers files, chain saw files, massive course square cut files, odd shapes for special jobs and run of the mill flat files. I have them organized by shape and cut. I probably use a 12" second cut hand file the most. Followed by a 12" bastard cut mill file. I also have about 100 more files without handles in storage. I have bought most of these files used at yard sales for 50 cents or less a piece. I have also sent many a file off to bogg's tools for resharpening, well worth the money by the way. I do a lot of filing as I said. I have been doing some very painstaking historical work that requires matching textures and shapes as accurately as possible. I find the normal wood handle to be best for me it gives me a good grip and the ability to easily follow contours on curved work piece. If you do any whitesmithing fatigue becomes an issue good sharp files with comfortable handles are key. Along with a solid well mounted vise with natural light and supplemental artificial light.

New Image.BMP

[Larry H]

Try shoeing a horse without a handle on a rasp ! !....or with a golf ball on it. People hate the word "tradition" around here but What would you golf ball fans do back before golf? I have cut old hammer handles to use as file handles, and put a "ring" ( pipe ) to keep it from splitting. I think I would feel a little weird having a "visitor" come to a shop of a 3,000 year old trade and see a rake holding a bunch of golf balls with files dangling from them.

[Frosty]

A hit tree? You think I may have gotten on the bad side of the Bearfather? What a grizzly thought!

Not apples and oranges at all, I've done a lot of draw filing, starting in Jr. highschool, couldn't use any powertools without passing the hand tool section. Any file that lost it's handle had to be either rehandled or put in a drawer and not used till it was. Part of the filing section was file selection and making sure the handle cleared the work was a must. Still, I have a number of single cut files without handles I use specifically for sharpening axes or machetes or the one in the kitchen drawer for the knives. I think the only reason this came to me is from years of schooling at an early age. Remember when shop classes were about learning trades?

Frosty The Lucky.

[Private Entrance]

I am old enough to remember those days, Frosty. :) Thems were the good ol' days, for sure.

I do have one file with a handle on it, that I inherited from my father in law. I was sharpening some axes for my son's scout troop a couple of nights ago, and put some thought into the whole handle/no handle thing. Using a file with a handle just feels... wrong. It just doesn't sit in my hand right. Like trying to write with the other hand or something.

[Timothy Miller]

So when you are really tiring to remove some material, not just smooth a surface or sharpen an edge you feel comfortable with that file tang pushing painfully into the palm of your hand?

[Private Entrance]

Tang isn't anywhere near the palm of my hand. The base of the file sits right at the base of my thumb, and the tang sticks out beyond the bottom of my hand. If I'm really trying to remove material, I use a different tool - a panzar/body file, a rasp, or a scraper for wood and plastic, or a power tool for metal.

I'm beginning to think I use a file completely different from the way most of you guys do. I use one generally as a fit and finish tool, mostly for fairly precise work. The heaviest thing I might do with, say, a 10" mill file is put an edge or file a burr out of an axe blade. Heavier work on metal gets done with a heavier tool, preferably one with something else powering it other than elbow grease.

Here's a pic of the grip I use on a file from the 'underside' if you will. From here, I would roll my hand over palm down. The file would remain more or less running from about 10:00 to about 4:00. The file would cut from 6:00 to 12:00, with some movement along the line of the file itself. My left hand would be at the tip of the file for guidance and/or added pressure.

[John B]

Apoligies for any offence, but I feel you are trying to justify your ignorance here, and by trying to do so are putting others in potential danger.

Files like all tools are made for a purpose, and come in many shapes and forms and, like all tools, they can be used, misused and abused.

The tangs are there to allow a handle to fit, suitable for the task in hand.

The tang in your picture isn't near you palm, but it is in close proximity to other vital functioning parts of your anatomy.

If the file is going to be used where a handle is not required as such, eg as in blade sharpening, then there is a file specifically made for that purpose.



Tangs and handles on files have historical as well as practical reasons for being there.

Perhaps it may be interesting to ask why (any tools) they were made like they are, before we misuse them in a way we see fit.

In the files case, I would think originally material costs and availabilty were a prominent factor

[Timothy Miller]

Not to mention the bottom half of the file never gets used.

[Neil Blythin]

I'd never heard of a golf ball being used as a handle until I read this thread ... so I tried it yesterday. It was very comfortable in the hand! However, I don't like the idea of having a plastic around anything hot.

I think I may try a wooden ball handle ... or perhaps I'll forge myself a steel golfball and use that.

[JHCC]

I know this is a rather old thread, but I finally got around to trying a golf ball file handle yesterday and I'm never going back. Bless you, TP, for bringing this sweetness into my life.

[Latticino]

In addition to the golf ball trick (which I have also used to good effect) I have found that old wine or champagne corks make great handles for jewelers or needle files.  After years of those darn things digging into my palm I can finally use them comfortably.  My wife takes all the credit as I saw that she used something similar on her old copper plate engraving tools that were unearthed in a recent cleanup.

[JHCC]

Yeah, my boss in violin repair shop introduced me to that particular tip. Also a good one.

[gote]

I agree 100% with John and Timothy. In my corner of the world, files always come with a plastic handle and there is a hole in it. I am quite happy with the shape but this is my personal preference. If you look at the bottom of the "Show me your shop thread" page 4 near the bottom you  will see my most used files hanging on nails on the wall close to the vise I use when doing serious filing. I avoid having anything plastic near the fire so the material is no problem. Old files without handles, that I find among junk, usually are so worn that they are useless as files. I cut and grind them into bits to use in the lathe. If they are useable I make a wooden handle (with a hole in).

In my experience it is good practice to use the full length of a file or saw. Not only is it less wasteful with the tool, It also seems to cut better and definitely cut truer since there is more control. The further out one holds It is easier to keep the tool straight when moving it. I find the traditional way of holding a file as shown in old books (and taught by my master)  to be the most efficient.

[ThomasPowers]

With the golf ball handles I tend to have an old garden rake head mounted to the wall above the workbench(s) and rack the files in them

[SLAG]

 SLAG Here,

I posted a note concerning file holders  in the fall 2016   . I suggested two other items that could be used for such a holder.

Let me quote,

All the above suggestions are excellent ideas. I have a suggestion for handles for very small files. Such as needle files etc.. (They are very useful for finishing details in items like decorations on, e.g., touch marks or engravings, etc.) Treat yourself to a luxurious higher-end plastic toothbrush. A brush that fits well in the hand. Brush your teeth until the brush wears out. Then replace it for tooth brushing purposes. But save the old one. That old brush will become the fine-file holder. Take the brush and cut the handle off, at right angles to the long axis.  Saw the brush end off the toothbrush and discard it. The handle portion will become the new file holder. The cut should be made at a spot behind the brush bristles where the handle end broadens out. A right angled cut is ideal. That cut end will be situated where the file tang will be inserted. Center the cut end . Clamp the cut off handle and drill a hole into the end. The drill hole is now ready for the file tang. The diameter of the drill hole should be one eighth (or one sixteenth,) of an inch smaller than the tang's diameter. The tang should then be heated and driven into the hole in the handle. Let it cool and it is ready for use.

Perfectionists can make a further refinement to prevent the file working out of the handle. Smith several small divots into both sides of the tang's long axis. The divots are orientated down toward the brush handle's base. The heated tang will fuse around the plastic divots when it cools This will help prevent the tang from working out of the handle.

Different colored toothbrush handles may be used for specific files. The color makes identification of the specific file shape or its coarseness.

Cheers.   SLAG.

Wooden file holders can be made from dowels. Discarded broom handles and finer wooden dowels are regularly discarded in the trash. Wooden clothes drier racks are sometimes also thrown away. Cut the rack apart and store the pieces. Such a rack will supply you with smaller diameter dowels for years to come. Two of them might last a lifetime!