How do you folks sharpen your files?

[Joe Tilson]

Saw this on you tube today, wondered how some of you sharpen your files.
I have been using citric acid and clean with a brass brush and water.
The fellow on YT used a very strong acid and a milky baking soda wash with a wire brush.
Seemed a little dangerous to me. He did use a full face shield for protection.

[Frederick Skelly]

I plan to send mine out to a service. Dont have the name handy right now but there's a post in the archives.

[Patrick Chase]

Saw this on you tube today, wondered how some of you sharpen your files.
I have been using citric acid and clean with a brass brush and water.
The fellow on YT used a very strong acid and a milky baking soda wash with a wire brush.
Seemed a little dangerous to me. He did use a full face shield for protection.

I grab a fresh file from the box. You do buy by the box, right?

I tried vinegar and various acids back when I did a lot of ski tuning, and the results were never anywhere near as good as a new file.

A lot of people have good luck with Boggs Tool (a sharpening service) but I've never tried them.

[Patrick Chase]

I plan to send mine out to a service. Dont have the name handy right now but there's a post in the archives.

If they paint the tang red when the file is too far gone to sharpen then it's Boggs Tool.

[jack duren]

My sharpener told me they no longer do it, too dangerous. Files aren't that expensive.....

[Stewie Simpson]

I just use a brass wire brush to remove any build up between the file teeth. Generally caused by the marking agent used to highlight the saw teeth. I don't bother with the notion of having the file serviced.

Stewie;

[Patrick Chase]

I just use a brass wire brush to remove any build up between the file teeth. Generally caused by the marking agent used to highlight the saw teeth. I don't bother with the notion of having the file serviced.

Stewie;

Stewie brings up a good point - I do use a file card and brush religiously. There are few ways to wear a file out faster than by skidding it along the workpiece with loaded-up teeth.

[Glen Canaday]

I think to prevent pinning (the problem mentioned here), it used to be common to run chalk into the teeth to fill the gullets.

I find it a lot on old files from people who used them for a living, often in the same drawer as a chalk stick.

Made sense to me, though I have never done it.

[Matt Knights]

I put chalk on my saw files before using them, they seem to cut a little smoother with the chalk and apparently makes the file last longer.

Matt

[Mark Baldwin III]

I take mine to work and run them through the sandblaster during my break.

[Derek Cohen]

I have always rejuvenated files with citric acid. It has always done a great job for me - usually better than new. Some files I have had in use for over 10 years.

In use on metal (especially aluminium), always chalk the teeth to prevent loading. Push the file in one direction only. I rarely have to clean the teeth. When I do, I use a hard bristle brush, never a brass wire as these can wear the teeth. The idea is to keep them sharp.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Joe Tilson]

Thanks for your responses.
Stewie,
I do the same thing with a wire brush.
Patrick,
I may buy a half dozen at one time. Money is is an issue.
That's why I will clean them in citiric acid over night, then clean them in water with a brass brush,drying them with a hair dryer, and coating them with
WD-40.
They will work for a while after that, which helps.

[george wilson]

The Blacksmith's shop in Williamsburg uses Boggs service. And,I have seen their files get way beyond what i'd consider too dull. They use very coarse files mostly.

I have sharpened needle files with reverse electroplating( electro stripping) using a mixture of sulphuric and hydrochloric acids. Mustn't over do it,as the teeth get shorter every time!!

My 19th. C. reciept books (recipe) says that a new file is good for 40 hours of filing. When filing our 1095 saw blades,they certainly don't get remotely there!! But,the saws stay sharper longer than any old ones ever did.

[Tom Stenzel]

I remember being told years ago in a shop class chalking a file wasn't to prevent the teeth from loading up but it to make it easier to clean afterwards with a file card.

I could have been told wrong or remembered something that never happened but I've always chalked files. They clean up with no problem. I've picked up a couple of files at garage sales that were loaded up and looked salvageable. Cleaning them was not so easy- I remember one of them took watching a couple Star Trek reruns while I used a dental pick on each tooth.

-Tom

[David Eisenhauer]

I've never heard of chalking files but it sounds good to me. What kind of chalk? School chalk board type chalk?

[michael langman]

I think that the key to getting the most out of your file is to clean them often, as you are using them.
I have a brush with soft bristles that I use most of the time.
File cards do more harm then good in my opinion.
I never used chalk, but it sounds like it would help greatly filing aluminum.

[george wilson]

regular chalk works fine. Very useful when filing copper,WROUGHT IRON (The real stuff,which is very gummy!!!) ,or any metal that sticks in the teeth.

[Stanley Covington]

All the blacksmiths I know here in Japan anneal their worn out files, cut new teeth, and then heat treat often without tempering, I had Takijiro do this to two of my old files, and they cut better now than when new.

Any decent blacksmith can do this.

[Chris Fournier]

Muriatic acid works well, you'll get it at a box building store. Do this outside away from your shop. Chalk reduces loading of the gullets.

[Jim Koepke]

Any decent blacksmith can do this.

Yes they can, but how much would they charge for their time to do it?

jtk

[Stanley Covington]

Yes they can, but how much would they charge for their time to do it?

jtk

He charged me ¥3000/ file. New ones of lower quality and much softer hardness would have cost more. I had to wait 3 months, though so he could heat them in the same fire as the saws he made for me.

[Pat Barry]

If a file is truly dull it really can't be sharpened, with acid or by other means. It may be that the acid can attack the rust and or built up gunk and dissolve those things away, but thats it. Any actual acid etching of the file will just dull it more. What Stanley described is really not a cost effective process. If you can't clean it up with a card scraper / brass bristle brush then its probably time to chuck it.

[Patrick Chase]

He charged me ¥3000/ file. New ones of lower quality and much softer hardness would have cost more. I had to wait 3 months, though so he could heat them in the same fire as the saws he made for me.

I think we may be talking about very different sorts of "files" here. I think the OP is talking about the sort that cost quite a bit less than $30/Y3000 new.

[Stanley Covington]

If a file is truly dull it really can't be sharpened, with acid or by other means. It may be that the acid can attack the rust and or built up gunk and dissolve those things away, but thats it. Any actual acid etching of the file will just dull it more. What Stanley described is really not a cost effective process. If you can't clean it up with a card scraper / brass bristle brush then its probably time to chuck it.

The files I am talking about are larger handmade ones, with lots of meat, and start around ￥6,000. It would not be cost effective for cheaper files.

There is a trick to using the wide chisel to cut the closely-spaced lines in the annealed file, and not all blacksmiths are good at it. The older guys are more frugal, and take pride in reworking their old tools, like files, and making their own hammers, tongs, and sen from scratch.

However, if you wanted to upgrade a cheap file, so long as it has adequate thickness, it would improve performance.

Stan

[Joe Tilson]

Patrick is correct, I am talking about the files we use for everyday filing. Saw file or flat files.
To think of it, Stan makes a good point. Good files are worth the effort.
6000 yen is quite of money to throw away.
Oh for the days of 365 yen to the dollar!!!
Sorry Stan, You wouldn't able to make a good profit that way.

[dennis davidson]

I sent several old files to Boggs File Service. Very satisfied with the result.