Nicholson File Cards

[rusty_ratchet]

I've seen a couple of options, the main ones being this one and this one. The only difference that I see is that one has a wire brush and a bristle brush for about $18 and the other one just has a wire brush for about $5. Is there something that I'm missing here? Is it worth it to get the more expensive one?

 

[yaidunno]

The plain wire brush one will serve you just fine.

 

[rshadd]

My grandfather was a sheetmetal mechanic and one of the tricks he taught me was to use a piece of brass, about 1/16" thick, and about 1/2" wide for cleaning files.

Push the flat side of the end of this diagonally across the file, following the angle of the teeth. The first couple strokes won't do much, but then small ridges will form in the brass and effectively clean the material between the teeth. This won't harm the teeth and is the quickest way to clean a file.

 

[rlitman]

^^^^^ This! File cards ruin files.

 

[rusty_ratchet]

Thanks for the help/tip!

What is the bristle brush for? Wood rasps?

 

[Steinmetz]

^^^^^ This! File cards ruin files.

Which is why, of course, they've been used for decades.

 

[e_d]

I was taught to flatten the end of a big bore rifle shell.

 

[d.mcfarland]

The file card may dull the file slightly after many many many uses, but the steel of the file is harder, hence why it's the file.

 

[rlitman]

Which is why, of course, they've been used for decades.

Yep, that must make it right. Of course.

 

[neophyte]

Softer brass has the potential to cause as much dulling to the file teeth as the harder steel bristles on a file card. If your tools are exposed to hard abrasive particles that can get on the brass or the file, even in small quantities, they can get imbedded in the piece of brass you're using and actually dull the file you're cleaning.