Which 2 rasps would you buy to make a saw handle?

[Luis Reyes]

I bought a saw kit where I need to make my own handle but I'm curious which 1-2 rasps you'd recommend in making the handle? I was thinking a round and a half round? I see Lee valley has a hand stitched round rasp but it doesn't say if it's coarse or medium or fine.

Any help would be appreciated! It doesn't have to look amazing but just something I can get by with now while I make this one saw!

Thanks

Luis

[Eric Brown]

Look for a "saw handle makers rasp" It makes the job much easier and is safer too. One place to get: https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/item/GT-SHRASP.XX?searchterm=rasp

They also have some other ones .

Edit: I have the fine one and think it's about the right size.

[John Kananis]

I personally don't care for the curved (rifflers aside) rasps. My personal preference are the auriou - 13/15 grain for finish and coarser to start. Hope they're still around.

[Jim Koepke]

I personally don't care for the curved (rifflers aside) rasps. My personal preference are the auriou - 13/15 grain for finish and coarser to start. Hope they're still around.

Those are the two Auriou rasps in my selection. The did very well on my saw handles.

506653

This was my first saw handle. The wood is apple.

Of course, my second saw handle came out better.

506654

This handle is made of rosewood on a Bontz Saw Works dovetail saw kit.

jtk

[Greg Parrish]

506656

the two in the middle are the Gramercy saw handle rasps. I don’t use them for saw handles but find them handy when used with the other Liogier rasps hanging there. The smaller Liogier, 3rd from right, might be a nice choice. It’s their 7” sage leaf rasp. 14 grain on both sides but each side has a different radius convex shape which is also handy.

[Luis Reyes]

Wow! That was your second handle you ever made? That looks great!


Those are the two Auriou rasps in my selection. The did very well on my saw handles.

506653

This was my first saw handle. The wood is apple.

Of course, my second saw handle came out better.

506654

This handle is made of rosewood on a Bontz Saw Works dovetail saw kit.

jtk

[Luis Reyes]

Thanks for the replies so far. Would the half round cabinetmakers rasps work in coarse, medium and fine?

[Jim Koepke]

Thanks for the replies so far. Would the half round cabinetmakers rasps work in coarse, medium and fine?

The fine (13 grain) and extra fine (15 grain) worked well for me. Though there are a lot of coarse rasps around the shop.

506658

This is a nice set of rifler rasps > https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/hand-tools/files-and-rasps/rifflers/73072-stainless-steel-hand-stitched-riffler-set?item=99W7665 < They are not quite fine but they are handy for shaping.

jtk

[Juergen Mueller]

Iwasaki Milled tooth files. 10" Halfround medium. https://www.leevalley.com/en-gb/shop/tools/hand-tools/files-and-rasps/files/63451-japanese-milled-tooth-files?item=62W3085
Does 80% of the work.

Liogier https://www.leevalley.com/en-gb/shop/tools/hand-tools/files-and-rasps/rasps/70660-liogier-6-inch-modellers-rasp?item=62W3181
+ a holfround small file in medium. Sandpaper after that.
Cheers P.

[Rafael Herrera]

I have the TFWW handle making rasps. In my opinion they're too small, if you are going to invest in rasps, get cabinet maker's rasps. You'll get more use out of them.

[John Kananis]

I use a 7, 11, 13 and 15. Most of the work on this plane (one of my first) was done with those rasps. Also, if you remove wood away from a line, you'll get cleaner results than working to the the line. A bit counter-intuative.

506666506667

[Jim Koepke]

"The reward of a thing well done is having done it." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

And I always thought the reward of having a thing well done was the crispy, crunchy seared meat on the ends. :D

jtk

[Jimmy Harris]

I have the TFWW handle making rasps. In my opinion they're too small, if you are going to invest in rasps, get cabinet maker's rasps. You'll get more use out of them.
Agreed. I used a Shinto saw rasp for rough work, a 4 in 1 combination rasp for most of the work, and a small round rasp for more detail work with my saw handle. From there, it was just card scrapers and sandpaper to finish. In other words, I didn't buy any specialty rasps and just used what I had on hand. The only thing a specialty rasp buys you is a little bit of time savings, and if you're not making a bunch of saw handles, they won't save you the time it took to order them online, let alone go to a store. So I recommend a few general purpose rasps in whatever size and shape you think you'll get the most use out of.

[John Kananis]

Lol, oh no, medium rare please.

I never mentioned, if I had to choose two, I would choose the 11 and 13. But I hope I never have to choose.


And I always thought the reward of having a thing well done was the crispy, crunchy seared meat on the ends. :D

jtk

[Jim Koepke]

Lol, oh no, medium rare please.

I never mentioned, if I had to choose two, I would choose the 11 and 13. But I hope I never have to choose.

I've lately been contemplating purchasing an 11. LV doesn't carry an 11 in the Auriou brand. They do have it in a Logier. Maybe that and the By Hand and Eye book.


And I always thought the reward of having a thing well done was the crispy, crunchy seared meat on the ends. :D

jtk

Medium rare is how Candy likes hers.

I'm still enjoying the fading after glow of Prime Rib night at a little bistro across the river. Plus they have the hottest horse radish of any ever served to me in a restaurant. It is a PNW regional brand.

I think we will be going back more often.

In the Sacramento River Delta this might be the place to go > https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/fosters-bighorn-delta-bar-dead-animal-collection-18310542.php?utm_campaign

jtk

[John Kananis]

It's getting tougher to find Auriou rasps in general. I remember a while back they just about went under. I have a few of their carving gouges also, very nice. I understand that the Logier are on par but I've not used those.

The By Hand and Eye book is excellent but it's more of an explanatory on method of work and less of an "instructional" type publication - although it teaches a ton if that makes any sense. Regardless, I enjoyed it.


I've lately been contemplating purchasing an 11. LV doesn't carry an 11 in the Auriou brand. They do have it in a Logier. Maybe that and the By Hand and Eye book.



Medium rare is how Candy likes hers.

I'm still enjoying the fading after glow of Prime Rib night at a little bistro across the river. Plus they have the hottest horse radish of any ever served to me in a restaurant. It is a PNW regional brand.

I think we will be going back more often.

In the Sacramento River Delta this might be the place to go > https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/fosters-bighorn-delta-bar-dead-animal-collection-18310542.php?utm_campaign

jtk

[steven c newman]

Last time I worked on a handle for a saw...been a few years...I simply use the belt from my 1" narrow belt sander. Did not even cut the belt, use stuck a finger into each end of the "loop" and pulled it back and forth like shining a shoe...how fast or how slow, depended on me...and how my arms felt that day...I could walk into Harbor Freight, pick out several different grits as needed...maybe $10 total....go back home and get to work the same day..
506802
Yes, THAT sander...( that is a power planer on the shelf right above it)

I also have a scroll saw for any inside cuts..
506803
Just in case...

[Jim Koepke]

I could walk into Harbor Freight, pick out several different grits as needed

For me, the nearest Harbor Freight is about a 30 mile round trip. Most of my use of abrasive paper on wood is on the lathe. A good rasp will out last a thousand sheets of sandpaper.

jtk

[Kent A Bathurst]

It's getting tougher to find Auriou rasps in general.

Gee whiz, John - I dunno about that. Lee Valley has them, Highland had them last time I looked, I even bought an Albi version direct from them/their retail connection recently.

https://www.forge-de-saint-juery.com/

So - nope - they are "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

I used an Adria carcass saw as a template for a handle to attach to a table saw push-stick; Used a couple of Auriou rasps to cut in the edges. Gave the push stick away, so no photos.

[steven c newman]

For me, it is a 2 mile drive each way...

when one only has to do ONE saw handle......

[John Kananis]

Kent, thanks for that link. I've wanted to add a 5 grain for some time but didn't know where to find one. The other retailers you mention have only a limited offering. I stand by what I said though, they used to be much more accessible.


Gee whiz, John - I dunno about that. Lee Valley has them, Highland had them last time I looked, I even bought an Albi version direct from them/their retail connection recently.

https://www.forge-de-saint-juery.com/

So - nope - they are "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere!”

I used an Adria carcass saw as a template for a handle to attach to a table saw push-stick; Used a couple of Auriou rasps to cut in the edges. Gave the push stick away, so no photos.

[Jim Koepke]

Kent, thanks for that link. I've wanted to add a 5 grain for some time but didn't know where to find one. The other retailers you mention have only a limited offering. I stand by what I said though, they used to be much more accessible.

Yes, Lie Nielsen used to carry a full line. Now they do not carry them at all.

Lee Valley only has a few from which to select.

Weird, but Highland Woodworking gives me a warning screen.

506845

Tools for Working Wood has hand stitched rasps from Pakistan.

jtk

[Kent A Bathurst]

Yes, Lie Nielsen used to carry a full line. Now they do not carry them at all.

Lee Valley only has a few from which to select.

Weird, but Highland Woodworking gives me a warning screen.

506845



First - youse fellers are correct - the domestiques do not carry a full line. I did not include that flavor in my response. Oddly enough, when I went to buy an Auriou ALBI, Highland had the coarse one available, but not the fine. The Auriou factory had the fine but not the coarse. The factory is back in stock, last time I looked - but even they will have some stock outages.

On the Highland website - yeah, they took an attack, I think. I called them Monday 28 Aug so I could get a price on something to compare with other sources [they are only 10 minutes away, so don't need shipping]. I mentioned the web site problem, and he said "Yeah, we know about it, and are working to get it fixed". The funny/sad thing was he couldn't look up the price on his computer, and had to walk back to the shelves to get the price off a can. Old school.

[Jim Koepke]

For me, it is a 2 mile drive each way...

when one only has to do ONE saw handle......

My misunderstanding of your comment >
I could walk into Harbor Freight

Until moving from California, most of my residences were within a short walk to the nearest hardware store, sometimes two.

jtk

[Brian Gouldman]

Another vendor worth checking out for European hand tools. I’ve had good experiences ordering Auriou tools from classichandtools.com based in the UK. The shipping has always been fairly reasonable for an international order and pretty quick each time.

[Jim Koepke]

This thread has had its effect on me.

It triggered me into purchasing an 11 grain Liogier rasp. It arrived from LV yesterday evening. Well one has been on my wish list for a while.

jtk

[John Kananis]

Congrats on the new toy...ehem, I mean tool.


This thread has had its effect on me.

It triggered me into purchasing an 11 grain Liogier rasp. It arrived from LV yesterday evening. Well one has been on my wish list for a while.

jtk

[Matt Lau]

Best rasps I've ever used were from Udo Pechar. He's a one man shop who also makes surgical tools in Germany.

I bought a fancy Auriou rasp off Craigslist/ebay (never used)....and it's nowhere near as nice.
not sure about the Liogier rasps.

[Chuck Hill]

If anyone else is interested. The prices don't seem too bad.
http://pechar-rasps.com/en/ (http://pechar-rasps.com/en/)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Another vendor worth checking out for European hand tools. I’ve had good experiences ordering Auriou tools from classichandtools.com based in the UK. The shipping has always been fairly reasonable for an international order and pretty quick each time.

Bingo. Auriou has assigned Classic Hand Tools as their "fulfilment partner". So you can order on the foundry's site, but the action takes place with Classic. Or - you can just order from Classic as per Brian. Same thing.

[Juergen Mueller]

If anyone else is interested. The prices don't seem too bad.
http://pechar-rasps.com/en/ (http://pechar-rasps.com/en/)

Thanks for the heads up. I orderer a small halfround in his stitch #5. Quite coarse. But good work.
I have a few Liogier in much finder stitches. That are complete different animals.