What is an American pattern file?
What is an American pattern file? |
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American pattern files are also referred to as commercial files, hardware files or engineer’s files. | |||
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While American pattern files did not originate in the US (as there is documented evidence of some of the terminology that is associated with them being used in medieval Britain), they earned their name due to the amount of high quality file producing companies in the US during the industrial age. | |||
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American pattern files are mainly used for shaping and finishing (machinist’s files or engineer’s files)… | |||
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…or for sharpening tools (saw files or sharpening files). | |||
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This is due to the fact that they are produced in larger sizes than Swiss pattern files, and in different shapes. | |||
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Some examples of American pattern files include handy files, taper saw files and mill files. Mill files are widely used to sharpen tools with a cutting edge.
For more information, see , and |
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American pattern files are cheaper than Swiss pattern files, and are the ones that you are most likely to find in a tool shop. | |||
Coarseness |
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American pattern files vary in coarseness from coarse (roughest) to dead smooth (finest). | |||
Set |
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The term ‘set’ describes the technique of grinding down the edges of the face of a file to remove the ends of the teeth, or not fully cutting them to the edge of a file in the first place. | |||
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This is most commonly seen on tools like horse rasps, and adds an extra layer of safety when filing very close to something that should not be filed (like a horse’s leg!) | |||
