Best way to clean files

[MikeC]

Anyone know the best method for cleaning files? I've been using my files a good bit and wAs wondering if they need to be cleaned like sharpening a
Stones and if how?

 

[powernoodle]

I would try a toothbrush and some WD-40 (mild solvent) if I thought they were getting loaded with gunk.

 

[Any Cal.]

With a file card. That is what they are called, I am betting you could Google it for some good info. They are basically a very short bristled wire brush.

You can also make sure you use good technique when you file so you keep embedded crap at a minimum, like smacking the bench often.

 

[Ditch_Digger]

Since you specifically asked for the "best" way, I'll share what I was taught.

You simply need a ~3/4" x 3/4" x 10" piece of wood with a good square cut placed on one end of it. The exact size isn't really important and you can round the opposite end for comfort. Something closed grain and preferably a hardwood like Poplar or Maple is ideal but you can use anything really. You simply use the corner/end to rub the filings out. After the first couple of passes the wood takes on the the mirror image of the file and perfectly cleans the file. In case you are confused you simply rub it in the OPPOSITE direction you would file something. So simple a cave man can do it (and probably first thought of it!).


Under no circumstance should you ever use a "file card" if you care one bit about maximizing the life/sharpness of your file. A file card quickly dulls it and I'm convinced they were invented solely for that purpose to ensure you will be back sooner, rather than later, to buy a new file.


P.S. If you are working with aluminum it is helpful to rub chalk into your file to help prevent galling. Also a good file is worth every penny and cheap ones are just that.

 

[Any Cal.]

Since you specifically asked for the "best" way, I'll share what I was taught.

You simply need a ~3/4" x 3/4" x 10" piece of wood with a good square cut placed on one end of it. The exact size isn't really important and you can round the opposite end for comfort. Something closed grain and preferably a hardwood like Poplar or Maple is ideal but you can use anything really. You simply use the corner/end to rub the filings out. After the first couple of passes the wood takes on the the mirror image of the file and perfectly cleans the file. In case you are confused you simply rub it in the OPPOSITE direction you would file something. So simple a cave man can do it (and probably first thought of it!).


Under no circumstance should you ever use a "file card" if you care one bit about maximizing the life/sharpness of your file. A file card quickly dulls it and I'm convinced they were invented solely for that purpose to ensure you will be back sooner, rather than later, to buy a new file.


P.S. If you are working with aluminum it is helpful to rub chalk into your file to help prevent galling. Also a good file is worth every penny and cheap ones are just that.

Hmmm, I like that a lot.

 

[Ditch_Digger]

I'm glad that Any Cal. bumped this because after re-reading my reply I realize that despite trying to explain the technique I likely just confused matters to someone reading it and trying to visualize the correct technique.


When I said "OPPOSITE" the direction you would file, that isn't correct!

You simply stroke the wood across the file, 90º to the direction (not 180º) you would normally file at and parallel to the cutting edges of the teeth. I don't know how to say that more simply yet correct so I hope that helps clear things up. I was reluctant to even try to explain it because most people would say it's "common sense". The problem with that of course is I've come to realize that common sense isn't so common".



..I hope THAT helps.

 

[MikeC]

Got it, Ditch Digger that is genius in its simplicity I must say. My files were not cheap I"ve got only two but those buggers were about 20 bucks a pop and I want to take care of them. I have been able to minimize debris from filling them by using sand paper on whatever I'm filing first to clean it up real well but there starting to get a little gunked up.

Thanks again

 

[grizzled gizzard]

I don't think file cards would be so popular and used so exclusively if they damaged files, but if you were really fanatical about it, a brass brush works pretty well, especially with small, fine files. I wouldn't use any kind of lubricant, because that seems counterproductive to what you want a file to do, but you could degrease it with carb cleaner if you thought wd40 helped clean it.

You still may need a regular steel brush or file card if you get it plugged with aluminum.

 

[dillon_b12]

As has already been said, a good smack on the bench every couple minutes will knock out a lot of the crap in between actual cleanings.

I've used both file cards and the wood trick. They both work well for me.

 

[KennyB]

Since you specifically asked for the "best" way, I'll share what I was taught.

You simply need a ~3/4" x 3/4" x 10" piece of wood with a good square cut placed on one end of it. The exact size isn't really important and you can round the opposite end for comfort. Something closed grain and preferably a hardwood like Poplar or Maple is ideal but you can use anything really. You simply use the corner/end to rub the filings out. After the first couple of passes the wood takes on the the mirror image of the file and perfectly cleans the file. In case you are confused you simply rub it in the OPPOSITE direction you would file something. So simple a cave man can do it (and probably first thought of it!).


Under no circumstance should you ever use a "file card" if you care one bit about maximizing the life/sharpness of your file. A file card quickly dulls it and I'm convinced they were invented solely for that purpose to ensure you will be back sooner, rather than later, to buy a new file.


P.S. If you are working with aluminum it is helpful to rub chalk into your file to help prevent galling. Also a good file is worth every penny and cheap ones are just that.

Never had this experience with file-cards, and I had used my files every day for two years before I got out of machining. I was attending a trade school, which is why my boss was called "instructor"... Anyway, one day my instructor saw me running the teeth of the file-card over the surface parallel to the teeth. Apparently what you want to do is run them over the non-cutting portion ( as if the file card were the work surface and you were drawing the file over it to reset for another stroke ) and to make sure that the tip of the bend in the teeth was pointing toward the handle so it "jumped" across the file surface. What it really does is make a lot of vibrations to knock the chips out.

But, yeah, chalk is my biggest secret with files. As another person said you don't really have to do more than get the file a light tap and you get all the chips out. I've only used wood on small file files, and as someone also said a brass brush works well for those too.

Between chalk and proper technique though you have to go a while before you need a file-card. I was taught to kind of drag the file across the workpiece to remove chips when just doing stock removal, and that helps to prevent build-up in the first place. I once removed .500" of stock from a 4 1/2" x 3/8" piece. I could have used a hacksaw normally but we weren't allowed to use anything but files at that point since it was an academic thing. In any case, I barely had to use the file card twice the whole time.

 

[Any Cal.]

Well, some of you guys obviously have a lot more experience than I do, so I am glad to learn.

I was taught to use chalk if you thought of it, smack the file on the bench after every stroke or two, and be extremely light when dragging the file back across the work. When you needed a file card, there wasn't an issue with using one, though I wasn't taught any specific way of doing so, so who knows?

I was thinking last night though, that a file 'shouldn't' have an issue with a wire brush being rubbed over it, since it is designed to cut metal. It made me wonder if there are perhaps old myths floating around about not using them, since everyone uses them when their file won't cut anymore. Maybe it is one of those things where everyone figures "correlation=causation"? I haven't had an issue using a file card or a wire brush, but I also find my files tend to be short lived for other reasons... like welding slag getting on them...

I buy them, then use them for rougher tasks as they get more beat up, or use the other side, or a portion of the other side...

 

[kelbro]

If a file card damages your file, you need a better file. I have some files that have been carded for more than 60 years and they still cut very well.

 

[Ditch_Digger]

I don't think file cards would be so popular and used so exclusively if they damaged files

Never had this experience with file-cards, and I had used my files every day for two years before I got out of machining. I was attending a trade school, which is why my boss was called "instructor"...

If a file card damages your file, you need a better file. I have some files that have been carded for more than 60 years and they still cut very well.

I find it very humorous that on a knife forum that endlessly discusses steel and how to sharpen it that somehow the idea of using STEEL, tempered to spring hardness(!) and rubbed repeatedly against a finely sharpened edge, would NOT CAUSE ANY APPRECIABLE WEAR to that cutting edge. Really?! Sorry guys, but this is simply BS and shows that we must live on two completely different worlds when it comes to how we use a file and what we consider sharp. What gets me, reading these replies, is how someone could reject a simpler, more cost effective and superior method in favor of a device INVENTED and MARKETED by the file companies to fill a need that never existed 100 years ago. If you indeed actually ever owned a file that is 60 yrs. old(!) that has seen ANY real use whatsoever during those 60 yrs. (being carded and all) and you really think it “still cuts VERY well” just drives my point home. It is the equivalent of saying “yeah man, I’ve got this killer piece of sand paper I’ve had in my shop for 60 friggin’ years and I’ve sanded everything imaginable with it, even sanded other sandpaper(!) and it still sands very well”. That’s just outrageous, right? I can’t believe somebody typed that with a straight face and hit the reply button because I’m laughing my ass off right now.



I kinda doubt they do crazy things like this today, but when I was but a wee lad(15), one of my first tests I had to pass was to make a 123 block from an odd sized piece of O1 with nothing but a hand saw and a file. It had to be SQUARE, PARALLEL and FLAT. Try that for kicks sometime. It’s really not that difficult but it is essential to have good tools and proper technique. Later...

 

[Any Cal.]

Ditch Digger, I don't think anyone was calling you out, just expressing different experiences.
Same thing happens when someone asks what the best way to sharpen is, or the best knife under $50, Sebenza or custom...

 

[chippedblade]

best way is rub the file with soap stone then file card and then repeat the soap stone. files last along time if cleaned properly and not used on metal harder than the file.

 

[grizzled gizzard]

Lot's of things didn't exist 100 years ago pal. Just because you are the first person any of us have ever heard say "Don't use a file card" when everyone else in our lives has always said "Use a file card, that's what they're made for", you might wanna revisit the info instead of getting your panties in a wad. Used properly, I'm about 99% sure that file cards are good things. Do you have more than one source for that obscure information? Can you back that up at all? Do you really think good file makers want us to wear their files out as quickly as possible? That's like saying Spyderco invented the Sharpmaker to wear knives out so they can sell more knives.

If you can back that up with something, I'd like to see it. See what Nicholson or Bahco have to say. Otherwise, I'd appreciate you using some manners.

 

[Ditch_Digger]

Lot's of things didn't exist 100 years ago pal. Just because you are the first person any of us have ever heard say "Don't use a file card" when everyone else in our lives has always said "Use a file card, that's what they're made for", you might wanna revisit the info instead of getting your panties in a wad. Used properly, I'm about 99% sure that file cards are good things. Do you have more than one source for that obscure information? Can you back that up at all? Do you really think good file makers want us to wear their files out as quickly as possible? That's like saying Spyderco invented the Sharpmaker to wear knives out so they can sell more knives.

If you can back that up with something, I'd like to see it. See what Nicholson or Bahco have to say. Otherwise, I'd appreciate you using some manners.

I love this train of thought.
Somebody, especially a newcomer, comes along and presents a method and technique that has been handed down for hundreds of years and it just so happens to fly in the face of what someone else was taught? or just assumed to be true/correct? and the newcomer’s ideas and notions are scrutinized and a cry is made to demonstrate multiple sources of proof. Well, pal, don't hold your breath on that one because this is such a simple issue that anyone, with “common sense” can look at the problem at hand i.e. cleaning your file and the few possible solutions presented and know immediately what is the least abrasive/damaging method to use. Let’s see, rub some wood on the teeth to get the pinnings out OR take spring tempered steel and rub against the cutting edges? It’s as simple as that and in the interest to everyone else following this thread, I’m going to spare everyone the dissection and refuting of your specious arguments and poor analogy put forth to bolster your “99% sure” opinion. I’m 100% sure of what I said and the ONLY reason I replied to this thread in the first place was because of the title, “BEST way to clean files”, and seeing that using a file card had been suggested, I felt that it would greatly benefit everyone seeking knowledge on this subject if I shared what I did.

“Best” is always a loaded word to use when seeking an opinion on the internet but I can assure you that anyone doing due diligence by researching this matter will immediately find that I am not alone in my opinion and it is in good company.

Ditch Digger, I don't think anyone was calling you out, just expressing different experiences.
Same thing happens when someone asks what the best way to sharpen is, or the best knife under $50, Sebenza or custom...

I appreciate the support/help and I never took it that way. SOME people apparently do get their panties in a twist when confronted by notions that run contrary to beliefs they hold, but I can't help that, it's the internet after all and is to be expected. Peace.

 

[kelbro]

I find it very humorous that on a knife forum that endlessly discusses steel and how to sharpen it that somehow the idea of using STEEL, tempered to spring hardness(!) and rubbed repeatedly against a finely sharpened edge, would NOT CAUSE ANY APPRECIABLE WEAR to that cutting edge. Really?! Sorry guys, but this is simply BS and shows that we must live on two completely different worlds when it comes to how we use a file and what we consider sharp. What gets me, reading these replies, is how someone could reject a simpler, more cost effective and superior method in favor of a device INVENTED and MARKETED by the file companies to fill a need that never existed 100 years ago. If you indeed actually ever owned a file that is 60 yrs. old(!) that has seen ANY real use whatsoever during those 60 yrs. (being carded and all) and you really think it “still cuts VERY well” just drives my point home. It is the equivalent of saying “yeah man, I’ve got this killer piece of sand paper I’ve had in my shop for 60 friggin’ years and I’ve sanded everything imaginable with it, even sanded other sandpaper(!) and it still sands very well”. That’s just outrageous, right? I can’t believe somebody typed that with a straight face and hit the reply button because I’m laughing my ass off right now.

Well, I was taught that you card WITH the teeth, not against the teeth. Not sure where you got that idea from. I believe that a lot of the metal that I have filed is much harder than a couple of swipes with a wire brush.

I am not rejecting your idea, it's just different than how I have done it in the past. It even sounds reasonable and I plan to try it.

You also implied that I do not own several working files that are over 60 years old and that thousands of people are idiots for using a file card. Yes, you do need to learn some tact.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Properly used, file cards will not harm a file. They will remove metal that a wood block won't. Cards are used in the same direction as the teeth.
Certainly, a wood block is less abrasive than a file card, but after all, files are designed to cut metal. Spring steel is around 50 RC. Files are hardened to over 60 RC.

 

[David Martin]

Properly used, file cards will not harm a file. They will remove metal that a wood block won't. Cards are used in the same direction as the teeth.
Certainly, a wood block is less abrasive than a file card, but after all, files are designed to cut metal. Spring steel is around 50 RC. Files are hardened to over 60 RC.

I agree with Bill . Nickle silver seems to stick in my files and wood won't get it out whereas a file card will and WD-40 sprayed on before helps . DM