Nicholson File Restoration

Restoring and sharpening a quality 12inch (30cm) Nicholson hand smooth file.
I tried chemical sharpening with ferric chloride and It definitely made it feel sharper. The line near te tang after the ferric chloride soak is a thickness difference between the etched part and the original surface.
Products used:
0:59 WD-40
1:34 Degreaser
1:51 Sodium carbonate
2:07 12V power supply
2:55 Ferric chloride
3:26 Sodium bicarbonate (and water)
3:56 WD-40
4:03 White mineral oil
Interesting video about Nicholson made by a fellow maker:
• Nicholsonfile
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[@kennethsee6262]

I'm a hemipaligic from a stroke your videos reminds me of the good times I had with keeping up with my tools I watched many if not all of your restorations. My favorite was the estwing hammer I am looking forward to gain movement with my left arm to do restoration myself the videos give me inspiration to try to get better

[@BlackBeardProjects]

Check description if you want to know what products I used in the video! And while you are there check out my Patreon page too for early access and a voice-over edit of my videos. EDIT: Also! If you are new here take a look at my channel, there are videos on many other topics like forging, metal casting and knife making! Thanks!!!

[@RevampedOutdoors]

What was the collar made of? Do you just buy them specific or maybe thin pipe?

[@hectorperez4053]

saludos

[@Amekdalaz]

@BlackBeardProje last time when I had to restore the file I found that there is a file brush which cleans the file, it is not regular brush it is file brush check it out, also the restoration steps are cool like the video and wondering what is coming with using that file?

[@jdog4534]

kvncszn yes. They're called file cards. I've got a couple of them and their short pointed bristles are great at unclogging a gummed up file

[@Soggstermainia]

If you tap the base of the handle on a hard surface it will drive the file into the handle for you, no need for the hammer! Only takes a few quick taps and it's done!

[@jonka1]

As someone who appreciates a nice hand tool I reckon that's one of the nicest handles I've seen.

[@GtsAntoni1]

@Matthew Wiley The file stroke is forward, driving the tang into the handle. The scenario of the wooden handle frequently coming off just doesn't happen with a properly cared for tool. A wooden handle is lighter, so it puts more weight at the cut; subjective, but in my opinion much more pleasant. A wooden handle is much more comfortable and with care lasts a very long time. Wooden handles were, by design meant to be replaced and even modified to suit the individual user. Wooden handled tools are just nicer (imo), in every way, than the modern tat that's churned out for the masses; designed for minimum cost, maximum profit. May I ask, have you ever picked up and used a tradition, proper hand tool? It's glorious.

[@RevampedOutdoors]

I just bought a whole box of never/lightly used surface rusted files at an auction I was thinking I'll try to make handles and restore them, awesome video thanks for the tips!

[@yannicstunnenberg9158]

Revamped Outdoors don’t put oil on your file you are destroying it

[@RevampedOutdoors]

How so? I am curious because every restoration article I have read so far suggests acid etch for rust/hone edges and then light coat of WD-40 or other water displacement.

[@marshalllaw123]

Yannic Stunnenberg files are made from tool steel, which will rust if not oiled. Why on earth would you say that?

[@williamodonnell1220]

the oil may trap, gum and clog up the teeth with different shavings of metal like copper,aluminium, steel ETC. but if you decide to use oil (add a very thin coat) you can buy these brush's with very fine metal bristle that will clean the cutting teeth of shavings that might stick.

[@ericcorse]

It is called a file card.

[@darangdone3932]

I live in a town that had a Nicholson file plant and I remember walking the yard as a kid after the plant closed and these files were just everywhere to pick up, very neat video.

[@marlenecunha6311]

Darangd one Hu

[@jesseramos1561]

Send me a set.ill send some Dutchman.

[@wm2427]

I think I have one without the handle it looks exactly the same as mine.

[@TysyTube]

that handle looks amazing 😉

[@joseandressalas7906]

Saben en una ocasión me pasó que unas herramientas que uso para talleres de manualidades, las dejé en un estuche y una vez al sacarlas de me oxidaron. Pero use un método vamos a decir natural use refresco de Cola, lo deje reposar por una semana y al saxar mis herramientas cual fue mi sorpresa que la sustancia del refresco de cola limpio mis herramientas y quedaron como nuevas , como si las hubiese comprado. De algo sirven estos vídeos. Muchas gracias. Y de algo sirven y uno aprende.

[@RRED2]

Your restoration has inspired me to try and have a go at some of my ‘Files’ and I have to say that your example is superb. Thanks Black Beard Projects 🤩

[@theropesofrenovation9352]

Wow. The boiled linseed oil really brought that handle to life! Super job!

[@danielcobbins9050]

I solved the problem of cracked handles that don't stay on. I have used wood and plastic handles and they are never satisfactory. I recently bought a new handle made of plastic and metal. Just turn the knob at the bottom and steel jaws tighten down on the tang of the file. Can be used to hold hacksaw blades, drawknives as well as files. It can take any shape of tang, be it square, rectangular, or hexagonal. I bought it at Home Depot for around $10.00. And yes, it is made by Nicholson.

[@BigDaddy-fx4nx]

I never thought you could do that to an old file. MY grandfather had such great old tools from working in the Brooklyn Navy yard before and during WWII I sure wish I still had them.

[@03usmcinfantry00]

Very nice work! It turned out great! I love seeing older items restored. I wish stuff was still made to last instead of being throwaways.

[@fielding68]

Artist at work. Brilliant. Thank you.

[@bipolarmotivation8454]

Awesome. Thanks for this video. I have found a lot of old, rusted tools during cleaning my wife's grandmother basement. I will also make some video about restoring them. Nice job and once again thank you for this video.

[@fabiosam76]

Esses vídeos são uma excelente terapia. Ótimos trabalhos e boas edições

[@PVBJR]

Truly enjoy watching you from beginning to end...well down.

[@bobdickweed]

Great job...you can get a "Nicholson File Card & Brush" that dose a good job of keeping your file clean

[@randyschmittou8708]

@Tom Garbo too bad they are not still making Nicholson files in the USA. I will not buy a new Nicholson file. I find the NOS on Ebay that where made in the USA.

[@mikepugh6483]

Beautiful restoration. Awesome handle!

[@fruitbatfox]

Love it! I was interested to see how you’d go about this, since usually when restoring something the goal is to make it smooth and shiny again (like with a blade), but you can’t really do that with a file

[@josejamilsouza1872]

Excelente trabalho 👍 parabéns 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@craigljardine]

Another awesome job. You rock

[@rangeto2h486]

That oil did that handle some justice!

[@ScrapwoodCity]

Beautiful tool, nice work!

[@BlackBeardProjects]

Thanks mate

[@kelvinameer8678]

i dont mean to be off topic but does someone know of a way to get back into an instagram account? I somehow forgot the account password. I love any tricks you can give me

[@judegary2766]

@Kelvin Ameer instablaster :)

[@kelvinameer8678]

@Jude Gary i really appreciate your reply. I found the site through google and I'm waiting for the hacking stuff now. Takes quite some time so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@kelvinameer8678]

@Jude Gary It did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I'm so happy:D Thanks so much, you saved my account :D

[@DiesInEveryFilm]

Awesome work bro and had an awesome weekend with you at MC man it was a pleasure to finally meet you 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@BlackBeardProjects]

It really was :) Thank you my friend

[@nc6379]

I was just restoring a Nicholson file like 10 minutes ago and now I find this in my recommended...

[@ianvirco5897]

Nice job, i have restored a couple of old tools myself, satisfying experience. Two things, i think the handle is too small in diameter, you have replicated the size but it might have had the wrong size handle on as a quick fix in the past, the tang ( point ) should go into the handle further. Secondly to fix the handle on tightly tap the end of the file with a small hammer whilst holding the abrasive part, the handle 'jumps' up the tang tighter than you can hammer it on by hitting the wooden handle.

[@clyde8759]

Great work....found 10 or 15 old Nicholson files of my grandfathers....a few needs a good going over like this.

[@rockofagesusa7942]

I didn’t know that a file could be replenished. Over the years I have threw away a lot of them so thanks for making this video.

[@eagleeye1918]

I like the new handle you made 😊 really compliments the piece

[@Pricklysauce]

so enjoyed this

[@user-uq4ov4vp6x]

You are more than wonderful .. And you have a very beautiful and professional work and I love your posts and follow انا من العراق

[@maxim377]

Oh my god, he tears it's head off, then gives it shock therapy, pours himself a nice drink AND THEN DROWNS the file, does this man know no bounds?

[@Oneabovelol]

Man you knows your stuff... great work.. love your videos ☺️

[@Ishimazure]

Thanks for that work. made me really happy to watch

[@XavierAncarno]

So satisfying

[@nickdesert7304]

Xavier Ancarno it’s cold asmr but better

[@tonys493]

for a Craftsman like me, such a video, that's already ASMR

[@ale-la4227]

quedó excelente la lima para metales, y trabaja muchísimo mejor que antes!! saludos desde argentina!

[@pangapunga3693]

i love his videos because he never talk

[@jaceyho6733]

very satisfying to watch restorations video😍

[@unlivinglake9265]

You do such fine work. I would love to learn from you or own something you’ve worked on. Keep doing fantastic work, I’ve learned lots.

[@StavrosGakos]

Beautiful file

[@nickpedley3502]

At the end of it all, nothing had been done to improve the cutting capability of the file. OK, wire brushing the cuts on the file would remove any pinning there might have been but it really didn’t looked pinned in the fist instance. What was apparent were the shiny surfaces of the file as if someone had previously attempted to use the file on hardened steel and had taken the edge of the teeth. None of the restorative work done to the file can change that.... i.e, it still remained as blunt as it was prior to the undertaken restoration work. In fact, to re-cut the file teeth, one would first have to anneal the file then re cut them followed by hardening and tempering.

[@oskarsegura6222]

M ml o

[@beermoneyworkshop9737]

If anything it's a handle restoration and file cleaning.

[@hephaestusrestorations4885]

Nick Pedley You wouldn’t have to necessarily remove the temperature from the file when wanting to repair the teeth a quicker way is using acid it will actually get into the grooves of the file and re-etches the teeth

[@Zorbawon]

I inherited well over 200 files of various types and sizes from as far back as my great grandfather. Keep them clean, away from moisture and store them separately...……..they will last much longer than one lifetime!

[@woodaddict1]

You did really good job cleaning that file.

[@polarstern5481]

Jeder alte Feilenhauer wird hiermit feuchte Augen kriegen. Bravo, Klasse!

[@738polarbear]

Very useful . I particularly like the way you describe the method and items used to do this.

[@MrDrofinnah]

very professional... this guy accepts nothing less than perfection... the file is probably better than it was when i first bought it...!!!

[@dalemagners404]

Great job my man. I enjoyed the video. Ty.

[@BruceBoschek]

Excellent video. A tool you can be proud to own and use after that. Thanks very much.

[@davidholliday6772]

Nice resto video. Nothing else can replace what a good file can do. I own many old files.

[@fernandogama3594]

Voce manja em heim do restauro virei fã muito bom good ...

[@alastavi9630]

Good job ans video ! And with description !

[@Aven-Sharma1991]

Love the clarity of the camera.

[@ZeroTheHeroGOAT]

Rasps and and files are under appreciated hand tools.

[@copasetic216]

You are the man 🤜🤛

[@steelfellows3873]

very nice work !!! keep up the great work

[@anandpanchal6390]

Thanks for share your precious experience

[@petere.9138]

This is as fantastic as any pressure washer video out there.

[@stgray35]

I have one of these in the shed that looks the same state, think io might give it a try.

[@netoitaliano1943]

Great ! Perfect !

[@tombob671]

Excellent work my friend, excellent work!

[@gerardoaveldano3638]

Nice job!

[@gooner9038]

To my shame, I had no idea this could be done. Now the scales have fallen from my eyes and I can see the light! Thanks for revealing the mystery of file restoration.

[@dennisobrien3618]

I have had success at restoring old files' cutting ability by first cleaning & degreasing (with almost any type of general purpose detergent/household cleaner), then soaking in a solution of sodium bisulfate (available as ph decreaser for swimming pools in the US) and water. Warm or hot water seems to be more active (more effervescence), but the files soak for a long time (can be hours, even overnight), so the temperature will decrease. Afterwards, I use baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and water to neutralize the acidity, then dry and apply oil as a rust preventative.

[@evilgremlin]

For those who live in remote villages doesn't have ferric chloride readily available, there is really simple solution: Hydrogen peroxide 5% 100ml Citric acid 30g (because citric is most convenient) Salt (NaCl) 5g It's most effective and clean solution to etch copper and make PCB's at home. I didn't really compared efficiency on iron, but math says it also should etch faster than FeCl3.

[@jackthompson2132]

Very nice !

[@Anmobgoccult20]

Perfect restoration.........!!!

[@MonkeysAreAmazing]

I really like this kind of video!

[@sanser2812]

Рукастый !!!! Уважение и лайк!

[@steventrosiek2623]

Real nice job

[@bazichs]

Браво! Вдохновенно

[@andrehoffmann2931]

I have a bunch of files some of them are Nicholson. Nice to know that you can clean them.

[@PJGalati]

Good stuff, I have a few files that could use this treatment.

[@LetsPrepTogether]

Nice work my friend!

[@nayantechnology]

Nice idea

[@1962vid]

Awesome 👍

[@j.a.mcbean.4043]

Great work

[@johnlong2k9]

Beautiful.

[@sergiofernandomedeiros]

Nice job.

[@adonisbittar8582]

I love your channel

[@exsgt007]

nice work.

[@akashkumarbiswas1426]

Awesome 😎

[@lez7875]

nada como ferramentas bem cuidadas. muito bom.

[@RickaramaTrama-lc1ys]

Great job=enjoyed the video very much!!

[@chebbahdjamel9459]

Super job, bravo, belle remise en état.

[@Sideshow320]

Nice job

[@khalidal-shammari8839]

Nice job dude 👍

[@tropifiori]

I understand how that works on a dirty or rusty file. A file that has been dulled by excessive use can be recut ( with huge effort). , but won’t be resharpeded chemically.

[@adrianoliveranski8969]

Com essa trabalheira toda mais fácil comprar uma nova!!

[@williamwoody7607]

Good video excellent ergonomics for the handle.

[@imanerd7360]

I love restoration videos.

[@therealknapster]

Love the restores . Did similar not long ago . Just used rotary wire wheel in grinder with grain of file and light oil to seal . Thinking ' tang ' needs to three quarters into handle and use beech instead and attach by dropping weight of file into handle ;)

[@MonkeysAreAmazing]

What a good video!

[@jadenpascal3329]

I only watch ur vids because it’s SO satisfying

[@belgacem77]

Very nice work

[@aarondalton2223]

Well done.

[@tykellerman6384]

Well done

[@karolsobolewski1465]

Good Job!

[@roguedog6799]

You must Really Love that File. (:

[@saulsandoval2313]

Bravo!

[@philh5829]

good work