Found out last week that most old farrier rasps aren't worth sharpening

I was going through a box of old tools from an estate sale and found about 20 farrier rasps. Figured I'd clean them up and resharpen them for my shop. Then I talked to a guy who's been doing this 40 years and he told me that once you grind the factory teeth off, the steel underneath is too soft to hold an edge. I checked a few with a file and he was right. Has anyone else run into this with vintage rasps?

3 comments

3 Comments

tyler628d ago

Yeah man, I ran into the exact same thing. Bought a big lot of old rasps at an auction thinking I scored big, but after trying to sharpen just one with a dremel, the teeth just crumpled under pressure. The metal underneath is basically mild steel once you grind past that original case hardening. I tested a few with a file too and it cut right into them like butter.

grantschmidt28d ago

Watched a segment on This Old House a while back where Tommy showed exactly this. He said most old files and rasps have that thin glass-hard case but the core is just soft junk underneath. Once you breach that outer layer the tool is done. He recommended just buying new ones from Nicholson or a decent brand rather than wasting time trying to restore old ones. @tyler6 you were right to test them with a file first, that's the smart move. I ruined three good blanks before I learned that lesson myself.

eric_murray2628d ago

Grind one and test it on a piece of steel, you'll see the teeth just fold over like wet cardboard. That case hardening is only a few thousandths deep so once it's gone the rasp is basically a brick.