MetalworkingFun Forum

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Hello!
It's my first post here.  I'm an avid woodworker and automotive fella.  

Occasionally I go to estate sales to pick tools that interest me.  Recently, I snagged a group of what look like files but they are smooth with no teeth.   These were picked in the Cincinnati area.   Well, I've looked high and low on the internet, and really can't figure out what they would be.  They appear to be hand file blanks.  If that's the case, I can't understand why someone would had had those and what they could have been intended for.  Now, what can I do with them?   DO they have any value?  They are marked Disston.  A couple are triangular, a couple are flat, and a couple are half round.  See pic.  Looking for some advice and comments.  Thank you much.

Ron

My guess would be some sort of wood turning chisels or scapers.

Oh, and to the forum.

Ed

Are they hardened? Or can you cut them with another file? If they are still soft they may be just that - unfinished file blanks.

I've made metal scrapers from old hand files in the past after grinding off the teeth.

My guess is that they are salesman samples, used to show the variety of shapes they made. Blank, so they wouldn't get taken.

BTW, Disston is still around, but they don't seem to make files anymore. They are famous for their hand saws.

Welcome to the forum!!

The first thing that came to mind was wood turning chisels. But seeing that they don't have anything ground at the end, they could very well be salesman samples. If you're a woodworker you could prolly grind them into turning chisels.

(01-12-2023, 12:25 PM)Highpower Wrote: [ -> ]

Are they hardened? Or can you cut them with another file?    If they are still soft they may be just that - unfinished file blanks.

I've made metal scrapers from old hand files in the past after grinding off the teeth.

They do appear to be hardened.

(01-15-2023, 06:14 AM)rmulford Wrote: [ -> ]They do appear to be hardened.

In that case I would agree that they are possibly salesman samples. Like Vinny said you could grind them into turning chisels or maybe a metal scraper, or perhaps a burnishing tool. It's up to your imagination on how you want to use them I suppose.