What is the name of this float/rasp hybrid?

[Bencuri]

I have just purchased this tool that I cannot identify. How is this thing called? The basic shape is the same as on a planemaker's float, it is milled in a saw teeth pattern. The only difference to a classic float is that this one has notches as well milled into the "teeth" that interrupt the continuous line on the tip of the teeth, making it look like for the first sight as if it was a rasp, which it is definately not:

[Slav Jelesijevich]

Never seen that one before, it is in the float family. The vixen file that have the curved teeth with notches is for metal to be more aggressive. Think I have one stashed away I’ll try to find it. Do some end grain cuts and let us know how it works. Think it wood work good on aluminum. Don’t use on steel.

Slav

[AHill]

If Slav hasn't seen one before, you can rest assured it's a rare beast. I've not seen the curved side before. Maybe it's that way to be slightly less aggressive compared to the traditional float side.

EDIT: I'm going to change my opinion and suggest that the curved part with flats was a conventional rasp at one point which the the user ground down. The points or edges don't look sharp to me, and the left side was ground taller than the right side. Perhaps the user only needed the float side of the tool and didn't like grasping pointy rasp points when using it, or he wanted to avoid the points of the rasp teeth from damaging the other side of whatever he was trying to use the float for.

[Bencuri]

I managed to find this thing. It is called Tooth File. But practically, it works as a float, the only difference is that it is from hard tool steel, so it is not as easy to sharpen as a classic float, and a classic float may have larger "teeth", while this one seems to have smaller ones. Plus there are the notches. All in all, this cuts much faster than normal wood files and rasps, and leaves a smooth surface. I tried it on beech (not end grain though), but I will update. It should work on metals as well I think, but I don't want to test that until I modified one of my wooden planes, that it can do effectively I expect. I don't want to dull it before that.

[Slav Jelesijevich]

Can you take a pic from the top showing the whole file?

Slav

[Bencuri]

Can you take a pic from the top showing the whole file? 

Slav

Here is it:

[Hank Knight]

Here is it:

It's a Japanese milled-tooth file/rasp. They cut wood fast and leave a realtively smooth surface. Lee Valley sells them in several styles (flat, half-round and bent).

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/too...ooth-files

[Bencuri]

It's a Japanese milled-tooth file/rasp. They cut wood fast and leave a realtively smooth surface. Lee Valley sells them in several styles (flat, half-round and bent).

https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/too...ooth-files

It is something similar indeed. Mine is suitable for metal, too, Lee Valley doesn't mention that. I think all these, including the Japanese ones at Lee Valley are similar in concept, there is the sawtooth surface and they notch it according to a certain pattern. 


I wonder if mine could be sharpened though when worn? I tried, and the small regular saw sharpening triangular file fits into the sawteeth that are on my file. But I guess it is  hardened tool steel, so it would ruin the triangular file in a minute. Is it possible to buy something diamond coated, that is similar in shape to the triangular file? I have just reshaped a machinist scraper with a diamond stone, it was tough job but succeeded, and that was a really hard metal. So maybe with some diamond coated stuff it would be possible?

[iclark]

These EZE-Lap Diamond Needle Files were in an ad on gmail today.

I don't know if they would be small enough for what you need or not.

[Bencuri]

These EZE-Lap Diamond Needle Files were in an ad on gmail today.

I don't know if they would be small enough for what you need or not.

If the triangular has the standard cross section dimensions, it will fit, and probably do the job, thanks a lot!