What are good file brands?

>>1134070
Nicholson

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The cheapo ones

They all get really rusty in the humid salty islands no matter the brand

Get BlueBear files, made in Canada and absolutely the best I have ever used. Hard to find though.

>>1134100
Not all of us live on the cost.

My Harbor Freight ones cut through axe head steel like it was butter.

I don't know what would convince me to pay more than $0.50/file now.

>>1134236
Because once you get through the surface case hardening after 1 hour you will want a real fule.

HRD, expensive enough to work, cheap enough that you don't cry when you lose/break it.

>>1134070
Non-chink ones, plus a GODDAMN FILE CARD

That's pretty much it.

>>1134071
Nicholson--buy a small stainless steel bristle brush and clean the file regularly.

Boom, good file for decades.

>>1134071
>>1134472
Too bad they're made in Mexico/China now, and I've read a lot of complaints about them being inferior.

>>1134292

And chalk.

File: Bastard_File.jpg (24KB, 450x338px) Image search: [Google]

24KB, 450x338px

I'm a land surveyor who works in the field, we use pic related to keep our machetes sharp. My question is what the proper sharpening method is...

My current crew chief runs the file from a few inches above the handle to the end of the blade in long slow strokes.
My former crew chief insisted on short strokes going straight into the edge at a 90° angle to the blade and working small areas at a time. He said this method keeps the file and blade lasting longer.

Both methods get them sharp, but I have noticed machetes a few years old are noticeably thinner and some even have a concave shape instead of the normal blade due to so much sharpening.

>>1134604
Both work, if you do it right. If you over sharpen the blade in some areas you end up with the concave shape. You want to sharpen the blade evenly even in areas that haven't yet gone dull. What the previous users are doing is saying "oh, it's dull in the middle and sharp on the ends. I'll only sharpen then middle." Next thing you know it's fucked looking.

>>1134604
wait... you mean your former chief only filed directly across the blade?
...that's step one of one method of grinding out a nick in the blade, but will fuck up the bevel angle so you can't follow it.

you get longer life out of the file by using long strokes, because you use the whole file, instead of dulling only the middle of the file.

machetes will get noticeably thinner as they age with heavy use. I will say that the concave shape is probably not a bad thing, you are sharpening the same amount from the working area of the blade as you would if you sharpened the whole thing, but you keep more material and the blade keeps the weight to let it bull through tough material.
personally, I would say that the correct method would be starting about 1/4-1/2 of the blade away from the handle, doing long strokes. the stroke doesn't have to be the full length of the blade, but work your way down. eg you can move 3" along the blade with each stroke, but each stroke should only slightly overlap the last until the tip, then start over.

I also suggest honing the blade with a round whetstone before you use it. sharpen at a slightly steeper angle than the bevel you put on with a file. you'll get a much tougher edge. and it'll last longer, because heavy sharpening happens when it gets dull enough to catch and dent the metal.
Also, a slightly convex edge will last longer because the wedge shape of the blade behind the edge will split woody material instead of just cutting through it. too much and it will just get stuck though.

For the record, a concave shape isn't bad, a machete only beats a billhook because it's easier to sharpen.

Stihl raker files are pretty good single cut file, they are good for rakers and sharpening any tool because they are very smooth. also I prefer their round files for sharpening chainsaws.
Good files are italian Stella Bianca, spanish Bellota, Pferd, Vallorbe/Grobet, Bahco and I guess Nicholson too

>>1134604
short strokes

the file is pattened to use in a straight motion i.e. going along the axis of the file, not sliding across going sideways (one long stroke on machete) where the action will align with the groove in the file, creating a toothed surface finish and irregular surface

so the right way is to stroke the entire file (still long strokes) completely on a small portion of the machete at a time, not the entire machete

>>1134604
I use flap discs in my cordless or corded angle grinders to sharpen machetes, mower blades, axes, etc. It's fast. Speed is time and time is money. Metal is expendable. I'm not saving some collectible katana, I have chores to do.

>>1134612
>>1134630
>>1134812
>>1134833

Thanks guys. I'll definitely take that into consideration. Keepinh bastard files in the trucks are just the most convenient method for us. The guys are old school and will disregard new techniques, until they see how long my edge will last

it's a good idea to keep your files sheathed, a file constantly bumping against other tools will become dull very quickly

>>1136135
ideally yeah

i put them in a flat drawer on a thick towel not touching each other

in order of cost:

Grobet-Vallorbe
Grobet
Dick Herdim
Bahco
Nicholson

not a lot cheaper than Nicholson that are worth buying except as one-off uses where you're grinding a safe edge on it or the likes.

>>1134070

7zip