Appreciation post: those old school metal body files

I was cleaning out my toolbox the other day and found my grandfather's old body file from his shop in Denver. That thing has gotta be from the 60s or 70s, but man it still cuts straight and smooth. I remember watching him use it on a '65 Mustang he was fixing up, the way he could knock down a skim coat of filler in like half the time I can with a block. These days it's all about those 36 grit discs and DA sanders, but there's something about the feel of a good file. I swear the metal was thicker back then too, this thing weighs a ton compared to the one I bought at Harbor Freight last year. Ever since I started using it again for rough shaping I've been saving on sandpaper. Anyone else still keep a old school body file in their rotation?

2 comments

2 Comments

angela_grant5d ago

oliver_morgan you nailed it with the Harbor Freight part, that's honestly the issue half the time with new tools. But I think there's a bigger pattern here about how we treat stuff now vs then. Back in the day people bought one file and used it for 30 years, now we grab a cheap one, toss it when it goes dull, and call it a day. Grandpa's file still works cause it was made to last, and we kinda lost that mindset across the board. Not just files but everything from garden tools to boots, nobody expects stuff to hold up like that anymore.

oliver_morgan5d ago

Hang on, is this really that deep though? I mean yeah, grandpa's old files are nice and all, but half the reason people swear by them is just because they're old and heavy. You can get a new one that cuts just as good if you don't buy the bottom shelf junk. And that Harbor Freight file you mentioned, well, that's kind of your first problem right there.