Good quality files -What do you recomend

[Beerhippie]

Here's a sample of my file handles:



L-R: Unmarked, brass ferrule, Lutz File & Tool, LF&T, LF&T (three generations and three sizes), Unmarked wire ferrule, General urethane grip with clamping feature, Screwz-on.

All of these are good, strong handles. Some I've been using for over twenty years, some may be older than I. Most are yard sale near-freebies.

 

[Beerhippie]

Just 'cause it's different, here's one more handle:





This one provides lots of control for flat-filing and keeps my hand away from edges when sharpening tools. No idea if they're still made.

 

[Beerhippie]

You can still buy the File-Eze!

File-Eze file lubricant is an effective 19% EDTA in a water-soluble, viscous solution for chelating, lubricating, and debriding root canal preparations.

But I don't like the sound of that.....

 

[dnschmidt]

Pferd is the best commonly available files on the market today. Yes, there are boutique brands but Pferd is more readily available than any of them.

 

[terrific]

Pferd is the best commonly available files on the market today. Yes, there are boutique brands but Pferd is more readily available than any of them.

Set of 5.
$80+ Amazon.com
$35ish Amazon.de

Must be nice having a file manufacturer on their side of the ocean.

 

[dnschmidt]

Set of 5.
$80+ Amazon.com
$35ish Amazon.de

Must be nice having a file manufacturer on their side of the ocean.

Must be nice to have a manufacturer of anything where you live. Becoming quite uncommon in America.

 

[ecotec]

Take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Depending on a lot of factors…

If you have the luxury of buying second hand (garage/estate sales, flea markets…), and if you do not need these files right away, and if you live in an area with cheap and plentiful second hand tools…

I would suggest buying NOS/lightly used USA and Switzerland files.

I live in the Midwest… I get that not everyone does. On a long enough timeline, in the Midwest, you can find almost any common mass produced product for very little money. Files are definitely one of these products. If you shop second hand, in the Midwest, you can find more files than you will ever need for a dollar or less each.

This is also true for common sizes of file handles. You may not find a #5 size file handle that is marked USA, but you will find all the other sizes. If you are picky, you can find them unused. I have two boxes of files and handles. I give away a lot of them to apprentices.

There are certain tools that I put in this same category. Ball pien hammers, crescent wrenches, vise-grips, common SAE wrenches and sockets, standard socket extensions, punches and chisels… all of this stuff goes for very little on the secondary market in the Midwest. This may not be true everywhere, but you could fill your house to the rafters with these common tools for very little money here.