[Jewelry making - Article 00668] - Re: [Orchid] Files for gold and silver work

[Leif M]

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Hi Emily,

    Like the previous poster said Grobet is a good brand of file and
    they're widely available here in North America. There are other
    brands out there that you may or may not come across that are also
    quite good, such as Fischer. 

    If your question is which shapes and cuts to purchase that depends a
    lot on what kind of work you're doing exactly. I work in a trade shop
    doing repairs and custom work and the two files I use most are the 6"
    flat cut 00 hand file and the 6" half round cut 00 hand file. For me
    speed is really critical and these rough files remove lots of
    material in a hurry. When I'm working on something that needs to have
    really sharp corners and flat faces I'll switch to a cut 2, cut 4,
    or cut 6 flat hand file and work with emery sticks from there. On top
    of that I use an assortment of needle files. Barette, three square,
    square, half round and round are probably the ones I use most. I use
    those in cut 0 all the way to cut 6 and I also have an assortment of
    escapment files that get used now and then. 

    For you, starting out I would think the best bet if you don't want
    to spend a lot of cash would be to get a 6" half round hand file.
    Either cut 0 or 2 depending on how much material you intend to file
    away. If it's to be your one and only file I would choose the
    regular half round instead of the half round ring file. The regular
    half round is wider and I find its flat face to be generally more
    useful than the flat face on the narrower half round ring file. 

    If you choose a file that's really coarse like the cut 00 and you
    don't have a lot of experience filing you can put yourself in a bad
    position pretty quickly by removing a lot more material than you had
    intended. By the same token, choosing anything finer than a 2 really
    won't get you anywhere fast for any type of material removal. Again
    not knowing exactly what kind of work you're doing, you may consider
    purchasing a 6" flat hand file, again cut 0 or 2 will probably be
    suitable, only 00 if you're deadly serious about filing a ton of
    material away in a hurry. If you're doing any kind of detail work you
    might consider a 20cm three square needle file, cut 2. They're
    pretty darned handy and can be used in numerous different situations.
    Either way, don't forget to buy some handles for your new files. 

    Again, this all depends on what your inteded projects are. I hope
    this helps. Others likely have much to add on this subject. Files
    and file preferences are very personal and very closely tied to the
    work being performed. What works for one person may or may not work
    for others.
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