Hello Joy,
regarding the files you’re looking into. I bought my files from a
local hardware store in my country (Belgium). I know that you can by
files from Friedrich Dick, Nicholson, Grobet and other welknowen
brands The ones that I have are good industrial files, nothing
special and about 8" (200 mm) cut 2. I buy only one cut and the
reason for that is that they will get dull in time by using them
ending up in cut 0. In this respect, I do not buy cut 0 files. Make
sure about the cuts because they may alter from country to country.
The handles I use are made out of wood and nothing special to it.
I had a look on several files with a loop and inspected the cut of
the files. I’ve notices that they are not thatmuch different at all
as far as I can see! The ones that I have are about 7 years old and
still do the job. I’m aware that the skills of the user are a major
factor of howlong they can hold up. The way of how you handle them is
a second factor of howlong they stay sharp and not get rusty.
I use them every day for working on silver and gold. Next to these
files I have Valitan files for platinum work and only platinum !
They are a complete different story. Extremely sharp and hard and
they are just wonderful to work with. Every strike is a clean cut
but… they are more expensive.
The needle files I use are all of cut 0. I don’t need to take of
thatmuch material and they’re used for final and detail cutting
anyway. I know that some people like to use diamond files but I
don’t have a use for them. I purchased a set of them, used them a few
times and stick with the regular steal files I preffer to use.
What I do recommend is that you make a holder to store your files on
the end of the day. Lots of craftsmen just kind of “dump” them in a
drawer which are a reason for premature wear. I made a holder out of
(in matter of fact my wife did) a towel devided into several slots
holding the files in place. I clean them ones a week by a short hit
on my wooden workbench. Small pieces in the groves are pushed out by
a copper needle I made myself. No steal brush needed in my shop.
Have fun and enjoy
Pedro