File handles deserve respect, too!

[d42jeep]

I found this Skroo-zon at an estate sale on 1/11. I picked it up just because of this thread.
Back when I was looking for file handles that matched the GMTK specs, I would see files with handles at garage and estate sales. Quite often if I wasn’t interested in the file, I would wiggle the handle and it would come right off the file. The sellers never seemed to mind selling just the handles at very low prices. The handles that screwed onto the files would frequently unscrew easily as well. Those came home too.
-Don

 

[Unk]

3 handles I turned on the lathe. Ash on top, then Mesquite, then Chittamwood on the bottom. The Ash and Chittamwood came from my place, the Mesquite from a friends ranch. Copper pipe for the ferrules. They are on 3 old Nicholson USA files.

 

[Beerhippie]

^ Those might just be a little too nice!

 

[fishwatcher]

As I’ve descended into this topic of file handles, I’m learning not only are there screw on style, but push on, but also universal file handles that are adaptable and reusable for different files.

What are the pros and cons of these different styles?

 

[fishwatcher]

3 handles I turned on the lathe. Ash on top, then Mesquite, then Chittamwood on the bottom. The Ash and Chittamwood came from my place, the Mesquite from a friends ranch. Copper pipe for the ferrules. They are on 3 old Nicholson USA files.

Gorgeous!

 

[Farmer J.]

3 handles I turned on the lathe. Ash on top, then Mesquite, then Chittamwood on the bottom. The Ash and Chittamwood came from my place, the Mesquite from a friends ranch. Copper pipe for the ferrules. They are on 3 old Nicholson USA files.

Nicest handles i've yet seen to honour the vintage files.

 

[Unk]

^ Those might just be a little too nice!

Thanks Gents. lol - Don't worry, I have some plain old store-bought ones too. A Skroo-on and one that clamps on when you turn a screw in the end of the handle (couldn't find any logo on it). Also some wire wrapped and Lutz, etc. I like to turn handles on the lathe - it's a quick and easy project. The last pic below is a burnisher for my scrapers (Walnut), and a knock out tool for my lathe (Ash). Also a home-made file cleaner made from a piece of bent over copper pipe. The soft copper forms to the teeth on whatever file you are cleaning. I need to make a handle for it too!

 

[Farmer J.]

After seeing Unk's lovely home made handles I was prompted to show mine. It's sort of the 'teenage farmer version' though, but it is made of Ash. The ferrule was a broken scrap 'Jubilee' hose clip welded together. I made it over half a century ago, when i could afford to buy a file for my tool kit but no spare money to buy anything that i couldn't somehow make myself.
The file is 'SpearFile' England BS 498

 

[Farmer J.]

All my files are kept tucked in to pieces of old rag, mostly the waistband of jeans, so as they don't destroy each other rattling around against each other.
2nd from left is a proper boughten handle, the ferrule says 'PYTHON PATENTED SIZE 2' and it's on a circular saw sharpening file TYZACK SONS xxxxRNER with the elephant logo.

 

[Farmer J.]

Nice set of 3 wood rasps I got in a sale of old stock, Marples Ridgway. Looks to me like they're made from Ash.

 

[fishwatcher]

I’m getting inspired to make my own file handles. I don’t have a lathe.. so files (ironic!), sand paper, drill grinder accessories and chisels seem like the tools I can employ to DIY.

I’d love to see other examples of homemade file handles here.

 

[Farmer J.]

I’m getting inspired to make my own file handles. I don’t have a lathe.. so files (ironic!), sand paper, drill grinder accessories and chisels seem like the tools I can employ to DIY.

Go for it, and please post up pics of the results.
I don't remember exactly, but I think I shaped the one in post # 48 using an axe and pocket knife, drilled a hole for the file tang and then an AC arc welder to make the ferrule. It's ugly as sin, but quite comfortable to use and I've become fond of it so never did get around to replacing it with a 'proper' handle. It's nice to use tools you have made yourself.

 

[Beerhippie]

I've been know to just hack a limb off a tree and ram the tang of the file down into the pith--particularly for saw files.

I've used tap handles from the pub in a pinch.

But, after this summer's yard sales, I now have enough nice handles to go around.

 

[lilredex]

We were treated to plastic file handles made by Cluthe up until the early eighties or so.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/gj-challenge-all-canadian-tool-set.31515/page-3 scroll down to post #99.

Pictures attached of some of my shopmade file handles:

DIY File Handles Without a Lathe

DIY File Handles Without a Lathe: One of my favorite "free wood" locations had some mahogany (looking) sticks, so I grabbed a few. They came in various colours and weights, and were part of some crating, probably originating in a country like Indonesia. Shown in picture #2. My proj…

www.instructables.com

 

[Private Lugnutz]

All my files are kept tucked in to pieces of old rag,

Discarded inner tubes also work well.

...a proper boughten handle...

When you put it away and leave the shop, do you remember to outen the lights?

As if I didn't already have enough reasons to like you, I am adding Olde to Middle English dialectical speech patterns featuring the occasional archaic past-participial adjective to the list!

Teasing, J., teasing, I'm sure you've heard me sling a few myself.

 

[Unk]

All my files are kept tucked in to pieces of old rag, mostly the waistband of jeans, so as they don't destroy each other rattling around against each other.
2nd from left is a proper boughten handle, the ferrule says 'PYTHON PATENTED SIZE 2' and it's on a circular saw sharpening file TYZACK SONS xxxxRNER with the elephant logo.

Nice old handles, Farmer. My dad and I made some file handles when I was a teenager back in the 1970s. They are still hanging on the wall over at my mom's house. I will take some pics next week when I visit. They are very roughly made, but they are still usable 50 years later.

 

[fishwatcher]

I made my first two file handles. This was definitely a learning experience as I did a few things wrong. I don’t have a lathe. Probably obvious.

I used an old hammer handle and some copper pipe as ferules. These were all scrap materials I’ve kept around.

Here they are along with a Scrooz-On handled file I’ve had for a while, and two more files in need of handles.

 

[Beerhippie]

Well done! I'd have made the ferrules longer, but that's me.

When using copper for ferrules--as I do on hiking staffs--I heat the ferrule to get a good, tight fit. Copper expands a LOT with heat.

 

[fishwatcher]

Well done! I'd have made the ferrules longer, but that's me.

When using copper for ferrules--as I do on hiking staffs--I heat the ferrule to get a good, tight fit. Copper expands a LOT with heat.

Thanks.

I agree.. that was one of my mistakes. On the first one, I cracked the handle even with the ferule on. It was not tight enough and I didn’t make my file hole big enough.

Having better cutting tools would have helped. I used a small, thin bladed, worn hack saw.

 

[Beerhippie]

Thanks.

I agree.. that was one of my mistakes. On the first one, I cracked the handle even with the ferule on. It was not tight enough and I didn’t make my file hole big enough.

Having better cutting tools would have helped. I used a small, thin blades, worn hack saw.

No criticism was meant! Making do is what I often do. As is learning from mistakes--mine and others.

 

[fishwatcher]

No criticism was meant! Making do is what I often do. As is learning from mistakes--mine and others.

No offense taken at all.

I actually was going to write down all of my mistakes in my post, but got lazy. I’ll do it now so I remember the next time. Maybe somebody else can learn from this as well.

First mistake I was going to write was my ferrules were too short.. so your comment was spot on.

2. Don’t use a chisel to split the wood with the grain if you haven’t already cut it horizontally below. The split will go past where you wanted it to stop.

3. Don’t get clumsy and have stuff everywhere. I knocked over my can of boiled linseed oil and spilled. I wiped it up and used it to wipe down a few other hammer handles. The soaked rags are in an oil rag can outside so they don’t ignite and burn my garage down.

4. Don’t make the handle too small where the ferule goes. I knew about this, but it was still too small. Putting the file tang into the handle expanded the wood, but also split the handle.

5. Having the right saw and that saw being sharp, will make a big difference.

All good though.. I’m happy with how they turned out.

 

[Farmer J.]

Here's a Nicholson 'Handy File' with it's original plastic handle. It certainly is handy, being coarse on one side, fine on the other and one edge coarse toothed. It's been in my get-out-of-trouble carry box so has been pretty much everywhere I go for over 30 years. About 400,000 miles in the back of various Land Rovers, and 28,000 hours on the floor of tractor cabs and side lockers of combine harvesters. It's been very useful a few times.

 

[Leviton]

Here's a Nicholson 'Handy File' with it's original plastic handle. It certainly is handy, being coarse on one side, fine on the other and one edge coarse toothed. It's been in my get-out-of-trouble carry box so has been pretty much everywhere I go for over 30 years. About 400,000 miles in the back of various Land Rovers, and 28,000 hours on the floor of tractor cabs and side lockers of combine harvesters. It's been very useful a few times.

Bonus points to you for the use of the blue jeans waistline hem for the sleeve/holster!

 

[Farmer J.]

Bonus points to you for the use of the blue jeans waistline hem for the sleeve/holster!

Thank you! It's worked well, the file is still sharp after all that rattling around. I think the jeans were my Daughters, to find a waistband narrow enough to fit the file snugly.

 

[Unk]

Thank you! It's worked well, the file is still sharp after all that rattling around. I think the jeans were my Daughters, to find a waistband narrow enough to fit the file snugly.

Farmer, that's a clever solution to keep your file sharp. I have 5 files hanging on the wall - but the rest are bouncing around all together a in tool chest drawer, which is a no-no. I feel guilty every time I slide the drawer open. I've been considering different ways to store - but I have in the neighborhood of 60 files / rasps and have limited wall space. Thin plastic sleeves would be nice - but I haven't been able to find any for sale.

 

[RTM]

Here are some of my file handles. The first is made for Vixen files, and instead of being that cool Arch shaped handle shown above, mine makes a nice flat file out of them. It is essentially a smooth half round file body, with places to anchor a Vixen. The logic is backwards, you hook the tightening end first, then drop the other end over the fixed post, and tighten it down.



Next up is my standard Stearns type cast iron handle. I've passed several of these on to friends, as I typically only need one at a time. Greatly underestimated, til you use it.



And finally, the tin of handles I've pulled off other incoming files. As I've noted earlier, I send lots of files to Boggs for sharpening, and I don't need to pay to ship and handle, and they would probably prefer that I didn't. So off they come, and just sit around til I need another one. Watchful eyes will spot Disston, Skrooz on, House Handle, Lutz, and probably many home made ones in the pile. The one with a collet top leftish is great for the mini files.

 

[RTM]

Well, I guess I'm a bit of a hypocrite. I just went to my rasp drawer to put a recent find away, and apparently I have concerns about file handles, but rasp handles don't bother me in the least. When I put this drawer together I was using my rasps a lot more than I have the last 5 years. When I made a saw handle from scratch I was using two or three different rasps within minutes of each other so I bought more handles from House Handles.

 

[Mintgrun]

I made some crude little bamboo handles. They're small enough that they still fit in the needle file drawer.

 

[Private Lugnutz]

So you have an invasive bamboo problem out there, too, eh? When they get culled out here people lay the canes by the curb for pick up and I grab them for garden stakes.

Those are sleek and almost ornamental with the knuckles.

 

[leg17]

File handles deserve respect, too!

Even me?

 

[fishwatcher]

I cut up a broom stick to make handles for my last two files. I made the copper pipe ferrules bigger than my first two.

I think filing some indentions or finger choils might be helpful, but honestly I’m not shaping a bunch of things so these should be fine.

I’ll add boiled linseed oil when the temperature warms up. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[Copymutt]

Been using CO2 spent cartridges for years. Turns out somebody in the 50’s figured it out first.

 

[d42jeep]

Although not as positive holding as the screw on handles, I like the way these look.
-Don

 

[NoahG]

I don’t have any pics handy but an old coworker had golf balls as his file handles.

 

[Beerhippie]

I don’t have any pics handy but an old coworker had golf balls as his file handles.

A man with balls....

 

[slowtwitch73]

wine corks work well for smaller files.

 

[RTM]

wine corks work well for smaller files.

And champagne corks will really up your game over wine corks.

 

[WisJim]

I keep some appropriate size wire nuts handy for file handles or at least to cover the end of the handle.

 

[Unk]

I posted a couple of pics of this handle last week, and couldn't see any markings on it. I cleaned it and looked a little closer. Turns out it is a Blue Point GA 98 file handle. You can see what is left of the "Blue Point" logo above the part number. Looks like it was probably made by General Tools.

 

[Beerhippie]

^ Yep, it's a General tool handle. Mine is urethane or similar, but mechanically the same.