On the subject of files....

[Bill White]

Not FLIES.......
I seem to remember that files could be soaked in some solution of acid that would sharpen the teeth.
What was the acid/solution? Is this some exotic compound that only mystics can access?
Bill

[Joshua Byrd]

Vinegar works.

[Zach Dillinger]

Vinegar works.

Indeed, it works well. The effective life of the resharpen will be shorter than that of the original teeth, but it does make an old, dull file useable again.

[Peter Evans]

Do a search on files, rasps, acid you will find a lot of posts

[daniel lane]

Not FLIES.......
I seem to remember that files could be soaked in some solution of acid that would sharpen the teeth.
What was the acid/solution? Is this some exotic compound that only mystics can access?
Bill
Vinegar works.

Great! Now the secret's out and there will be a glut of chemists on the job market. *sigh*


daniel

[Gary Curtis]

Go to these guys for professional and economical file sharpening http://www.boggstool.com/

Send them by UPS. They service the major aerospace manufacturers in Los Angeles. I had a drawer full of files resharpened for about $18. They are so sharp I cut my fingers on the rasp. The files look new, because the process involves blasting the blade with steam laden with abrasives. Most of my files are from my machinist father and date from the 1950s.

[Dave Cav]

I've successfully used battery acid, and a chemical solution named Chemsharp (no longer available, I think) which is probably some sort of acid as well. You need to make sure your files are very clean, oil and grease free first. I think I used oven cleaner for the initial cleaning and then rinsed well, then soaked the files in the batter acid for an hour or so. It's been a couple of years since the last time I did it.

[John McPhail]

Does anyone have a procedure to share that uses vinegar?

[Andy Margeson]

Here's one: http://logancabinetshoppe.com/blog/2010/12/quick-tip-7/

[John McPhail]

Perfect, thanks. I am going to try this.

[jamie shard]

Let us know how it goes, more data points are better! :)

[Joshua Byrd]

I just used a small plastic container that I had laying around. I made sure that it was long enough to hold my longest file, then I poured in enough vinegar to cover the files, plus a bit more for evaporation. I took a bunch of my files and rasps and laid them in the container, making sure to keep them apart from each other to ensure as much vinegar-to-tool contact as possible. Since I didn't need them right away, I left my first batch in for a couple of days, turning them over after a day or so to allow all sides even exposure to the vinegar. Since some of the files were pretty rusty (flea market finds), a thick, nasty layer of scum formed on top of the vinegar, but it didn't hurt the tools at all. Once I'd removed them, I rinsed them with water, dried them with a cloth and immediately dunked them into some old motor oil to prevent flash rusting. It did wonders for them, as even my saw files got a new lease on life.