Thread: Kutzall files

I've been agonising a bit lately on whether I should rush to get an Auriou rasp or too, while I can - given the demise of the Auriou company.

... but they are sooo expensive and I don't use them much.

As I was browsing through the Lee Valley catalog the other day, I came across this - a Kutzall file - so I thought I'd try it.

One of the advantages of the Auriou rasp is that the teeth are handcut and this allows them to place them randomly across the width of the file. Machine made files/rasps have regularly spaced teeth, that don't give as good a finish on wood - apparently. [Richard Vaughn reviewed them recently in Aust Wood Review - and he was doing a seminar on them at the Canberra Wood Show this year.]

The Kutzall are available in fine/medium/coarse - in round, half round, warding and flat in various sizes (but Lee Valley only have the one). They have very random teeth, for want of a better word - made of carbide.

to quote from the catalog at http://www.olivercorp.com/files.htm

"KUTZALL SSG

™These files are armed with our SSG carbide coating. They have a clean cutting action and are ideal for materials such as masonite, fiberglass, wood, stone, plastics, and graphite/epoxy laminates."

and

"Conventional hand fi les work well on many materials. However, many of our customers have experienced trouble with hardened steel tools wearing out much too quickly when fi ling very abrasive materials such as foundry sand cores or glass-fi ber laminates. They also are ineffective on soft “elastomeric” materials like rubber or polyurethane, and sometimes also load up quickly when fi ling wood. Oliver offers fi les with rugged tungsten-carbide coatings to conquer many diffi cult work-piece materials. Multiple types and coarseness grades of coatings are available, in order to better match the tool to the work-piece material."

From my short time playying around with the one I got from Lee Valley, they seem to work well on wood and leave quite a smooth finish. I've posted some pictures, which are only small cuts, so the pictures are macro - showing a fair bit of magnification.

What impressed me most was how quickly they cut and how smoth the finish. I'm hoping, too that the carbide tips, might mean that they don't get as blunt as quickly as normal files and rasps can.

I'd be interested if anyone else has any experieince with these tools.

Pic 1 - other styles available
Pics 2-4 - the one I got - loaded with talc
Pic 5 - pine
Pic 6 - tassie oak
Pic 7 - hard as hadies brush box