# Rasps from Portugal



## Gerard Scanlan (18 Jul 2015)

Followers of Paul Sellers' blog may have already read his recommendation for rasps from the Portugese Company Tomé Feteira. I ordered a number of rasps and saw files from them yesterday and they are due to arrive on Monday. No sooner had I placed my order and they shipped them. All correspondence was in English it was very easy to order from Tomé Feteira. These are machine made rasps not hand stitched ones but Paul claims they are equally good and they are a fraction of the price. Hand made ones have their place but it is good to know there are less expensive alternatives. Once they have arrived I will let you all know if I am still happy.


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## marcros (18 Jul 2015)

it will be interesting to hear how they perform.

My experience of rasps is limited, but the hand stitched ones from dictum have been very useful for a number of tasks. I found these to be very good value, and I couldn't have justified a premium branded one.


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## woodpig (18 Jul 2015)

I'm probably not the best judge but I bought some Italian needle rasps from Rutlands and they seem pretty good to me.


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## CStanford (18 Jul 2015)

I have an Italian-made rasp. It has never failed to remove wood to a marked line. Not quite sure if there's anything more they're supposed to do. Maybe the expensive ones let you close your eyes and they know when to stop.


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## GLFaria (18 Jul 2015)

Tomé Feteira company is over 150 years old. It's rasps and rifflers are something of a standard in Portugal.

A link to their catalog in English (there are four idioms to choose from): http://www.tomefeteira.com/produtos.html

They also make hand-stitched rasps, or at least carrry them in the catalog (see the list on the left, 6th item from the bottom).
Quality is usually considered good, the only con being a somewhat limited choice of grains.


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## bugbear (18 Jul 2015)

CStanford":wobf0zjs said:


> I have an Italian-made rasp. It has never failed to remove wood to a marked line. Not quite sure if there's anything more they're supposed to do. Maybe the expensive ones let you close your eyes and they know when to stop.



*Maybe* the good ones remove wood faster, tear less, and leave a better finish.

BugBear


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## MIGNAL (18 Jul 2015)

The first 'decent' rasp that I bought was one of those bendy Chinese rasps. It was some 30 years ago and even though it was very fine grain it cut remarkably fast, leaving a fine finish. I still have it but it's long since lost it's bite. A few years ago I bought some very similar looking rasps but they are far too coarse. 
I've used the Herdim and they are very good. Pechar are liked a lot. Corradi are machine cut but supposedly act more like hand stitched. Those are some of the options apart from the usual French rasps. I haven't tried the Hittori. Going by the very low price I guess that they are from the far east. They might be pretty good, going by my experience of that bendy Chinese rasp.


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## Biliphuster (18 Jul 2015)

Interested to see how they perform.

Paying a big money for rasps is something I have a lot of trouble doing considering they are to an extent a consumable, I certainly wouldn't pay for artisan sandpaper.


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## CStanford (19 Jul 2015)

bugbear":m8ibz01h said:


> CStanford":m8ibz01h said:
> 
> 
> > I have an Italian-made rasp. It has never failed to remove wood to a marked line. Not quite sure if there's anything more they're supposed to do. Maybe the expensive ones let you close your eyes and they know when to stop.
> ...



About as likely as somebody being able to say a piece of wood was planed with a Millers Falls instead of a Stanley or sanded with 3M paper instead of Norton. 

Three-fourths or more of this stuff is a figment of the imagination. Tested blind either as a user or as judge of the finished surface very, very few people could tell the difference, maybe none.


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## JohnCee (19 Jul 2015)

Biliphuster":103rpp0i said:


> Interested to see how they perform.
> 
> Paying a big money for rasps is something I have a lot of trouble doing considering they are to an extent a consumable, I certainly wouldn't pay for artisan sandpaper.



High quality rasps aren't consumables. They can last a lifetime if looked after.


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## Andrea (19 Jul 2015)

CStanford":3i1mqfep said:


> I have an Italian-made rasp. It has never failed to remove wood to a marked line. Not quite sure if there's anything more they're supposed to do.



Italian made rasps do espresso too. ;-p


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## Gerard Scanlan (21 Jul 2015)

The Rasps and files have arrived.
Won't be needing to order rasps or saw files for some time.  
Once I have used them for a while I will report back. Although this seems a little unnecessary considering that Paul Seller's recommended this company's rasps. The three grades might be over the top for most work.
I like the idea of supporting a quality European tool making company.


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## CStanford (21 Jul 2015)

Certainly look capable to me.


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## Droogs (21 Jul 2015)

Could you let us know how you get on with the saw files too. sourcing decent ones that don't break as soon as you use them is getting to be a bit of a pain.


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## iNewbie (21 Jul 2015)

I hope you weren't stitched up.


/I'll get my coat.


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## Carl P (21 Jul 2015)

A stitch in time!


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## Tony Zaffuto (23 Jul 2015)

I seem to find that it is rarely the tool, but more me! It has taken a while, but I've finally figured out how to hold my tongue, tilt to the left, with my right foot bent up behind me, squint through my right eye and my rasps also magically remove wood down to the line!

In all seriousness, my best luck seems to be the Japanese rasps that look more like a mill file used for auto body work. I have a fine and an extra fine, and they top my fancy hand stitched rasp all day long (but then again, maybe I haven't figured out the right rasp stance yet?).


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## MIGNAL (23 Jul 2015)

The problem with the cheap machine cut rasps is that they tend to be quite coarse. You'll have to stop a little short of the line and clean up with something else. There's also the potential of breakout if you use too coarse a rasp. 
There are some alternatives, although these usually mean that things take a little longer. 
The Japanese files aren't much cheaper than a good quality rasp, largely because you have to buy the round and the flat version to replicate a half round rasp. I've ordered the half round to see what all the fuss is about. I'll probably get some use out of it as well. I can always buy the flat version later or try the Bahco Oberg files. Unfortunately the Bahco only come in a flat. A half round version would be very useful but perhaps it's harder to produce the wave pattern on a curved surface.


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## CStanford (24 Jul 2015)

I find that my rather inexpensive, fine rasp tends to clog (probably faster than a more random, hand stitched rasp would) however what I get is a bit of a burnishing effect if I let it stay a little clogged right toward the end of the job. I guess this is just one way to compensate for a less than perfect tool, but it works.


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## Tony Zaffuto (24 Jul 2015)

CStanford":c9pa7o20 said:


> I find that my rather inexpensive, fine rasp tends to clog (probably faster than a more random, hand stitched rasp would) however what I get is a bit of a burnishing effect if I let it stay a little clogged right toward the end of the job. I guess this is just one way to compensate for a less than perfect tool, but it works.




Charlie,

How many go from rasps to finishing, however? I compensate, either with a scraper, or a bit of sandpaper!

My early mistake was choosing too fine a rasp, and after picking up a few others (including the Japanese milled shape and a Microplane-style). I find rasps a very satisfying tool to use for shaping and as I posted earlier, after figuring out how to hold my tongue, the quality of what I do, vastly improved.


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## MIGNAL (24 Jul 2015)

This fine rasp in the foreground was mighty cheap and mighty good in it's day. One of the Chinese swordfish rasps, at some 60 TCM. It cut more like a coarse file but much faster, very little clogging issues. I used it for refining shapes rather than arriving at them. I bought it some 20 or 25 years ago. It's far too dull to be of any use now. I tried to buy it again but without luck. It's hand stitched but if you look closely the teeth are arranged in an arc. The one in the background is much coarser and is one that Fine tools used to sell. The teeth are arranged in a straight line. I don't really care for it much but it's better than a coarse machine cut rasp that I have. The finer one would be ideal for things like saw and plane handles. Even better is that you can bend the tip and then bend it back again when you no longer need that feature. How cool is that! The transition from side to end grain is where a coarse rasp can leave seriously deep scratches that can take a lot to remove.


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## CStanford (24 Jul 2015)

Tony Zaffuto":2jyoeith said:


> CStanford":2jyoeith said:
> 
> 
> > I find that my rather inexpensive, fine rasp tends to clog (probably faster than a more random, hand stitched rasp would) however what I get is a bit of a burnishing effect if I let it stay a little clogged right toward the end of the job. I guess this is just one way to compensate for a less than perfect tool, but it works.
> ...



Agree. There are always spots that need help. I have not banished sandpaper from my shop. Gene Landon called his sharkskin which made the larger point that the old guys used what they could get.


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## Gerard Scanlan (6 Jul 2016)

I said I would report back on performance after a while. The rasps are still performing very well. I am starting to wonder why I bought so many now. Well I know why. Every rasp I had every picked up before in a workshop had been a dud. So I assumed they wore out more quickly than standard files. Not the case here. They are as razor sharp as when I first got them.


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## D_W (6 Jul 2016)

re: the company and their saw files. Looking at the linked catalog, they look like the same profile as bahco saw files. Does anyone know if they're the ones making files for bahco?

Bahco files are available inexpensively in the US (especially if willing to buy a pack of 10 directly from a drop shipper who just has williams tool ship them direct), BUT the 2x slim taper files are not available even though bahco has a part number for them. 

These look like bahco files in profile (sort of chubby), look fairly clean, and bahco's files are made in Portugal. Wondering if they are the ones making Bahco's files.


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## D_W (6 Jul 2016)

One quick look on google suggests this is the company making the files for bahco. They are being sold by an overly verbose saw refinisher in California who does various hokey specialty filings, and his loyal followers bid them up past the price of bahco in the US. I'm not surprised, I guess the gurus have money-spending followers. 

More a question of curiosity than anything, but maybe worthwhile for 2x since you can't get those from bahco (which are only about $4.50-$7 per file in the US for standard sizes).


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## CStanford (6 Jul 2016)

... what matters most is the feeling you get when you're hypnotized...

...seems like a dream, they got me hypnotized...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZeTlMpnfHk


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## pedder (7 Jul 2016)

How do the saw files work? The last Bahcos and Tome Feteiras I've tried magnetized after a few strokes. Nasty thing.

Cheers
Pedder


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## mqbernardo (8 Jul 2016)

I don´t think bahco are made by Feteira. at least not all of them. Bahco are made in the north of Portugal , while Feteira´s factory is near my place in Leiria. Feteira is an old and respected brand around here.

I have some small files from Feteira and find them very nice, but i use them sparingly in small stuff (mostly guitar fretwork) - they never magnetized! the price is right too.


all the best,
Miguel.


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## D_W (8 Jul 2016)

Thanks Miguel. The most direct claim of those being the maker of Bahco is a saw doctor in the US, but not someone I would put in the same regard of "being right" as someone like Daryl Weir (another saw doctor who is less showy and grandiose). 

Thanks for providing accurate information about them. 

I haven't had bahco files magnetize, but in the US, I'd probably try to demagnatize them because we don't really have any other good options here. Grobet and simonds are not the same as they used to be, and neither is nicholsons. I switched from grobet to bahco a couple of years ago because there were too many rejects in the grobet boxes that I was getting, in some cases, the entire boxes were basically junk (no file was the same shape and geometry as the others).


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## mqbernardo (8 Jul 2016)

please note that i´m not 100 % sure, maybe Feteira has bought the northern factory or something. But i doubt it.

cheers,
Miguel.


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## DennisCA (27 Apr 2017)

Gerard Scanlan":4847m7a6 said:


> I said I would report back on performance after a while. The rasps are still performing very well. I am starting to wonder why I bought so many now. Well I know why. Every rasp I had every picked up before in a workshop had been a dud. So I assumed they wore out more quickly than standard files. Not the case here. They are as razor sharp as when I first got them.



Nice to hear, last night I placed an order for 4 wood rasps (got 2x300m and 2x200mm rasps, one of each grade, medium and fine) and 3 machinist files (coarse/medium/fine). The price was very affordable, even with shipping it was cheaper than most cheapo files in the shops here.

If I had found someone to split shipping with it would have been even better.


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## DennisCA (4 May 2017)

Mine arrived yesterday:
















And the metal ones:


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## Droogs (4 May 2017)

I'm sure you'll be very happy with them, I am with mine.


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## DTR (4 May 2017)

Thanks for bumping this, I need to get myself a new rasp.

And some files too...... :-k


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## marcros (4 May 2017)

DennisCA":3bq42so7 said:


> Mine arrived yesterday:



Are machinist files and lathe files the same thing?


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## DennisCA (4 May 2017)

I don't know and I had to google that:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/ge ... ons-87094/

From what I can tell, it's basically a smooth cut file with a safety (smooth edge), so one of these 3 might be considered a lathe file, the two others are turnip cut and 2nd cut, these files had one smooth edge I noticed.


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## shed9 (5 May 2017)

For what it's worth and a little off-tangent, there is a seller on Ebay right now selling off some Tome Feteira metal files (Collar brand) fairly cheap. Must be New Old Stock as he seems to have loads and they are brand new.

He is open to offers and I just bagged a set of 6 metal files significantly less than the buy now. The seller is wired4sound2008 although I've never bought from them before so can't vouch at this stage. If you put offers in for a selection of files, very low offers are more likely to be received as the seller gains on the postage costs.

Like I said a little off tangent but may be useful to some of you.


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## Hornbeam (17 Jul 2017)

DennisCA":kbqssq3d said:


> Gerard Scanlan":kbqssq3d said:
> 
> 
> > I said I would report back on performance after a while. The rasps are still performing very well. I am starting to wonder why I bought so many now. Well I know why. Every rasp I had every picked up before in a workshop had been a dud. So I assumed they wore out more quickly than standard files. Not the case here. They are as razor sharp as when I first got them.
> ...


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## Hornbeam (18 Jul 2017)

Dont know what happened with last post
Have tried the Tome Feteira website but contact e mail not working.
Can you let me know how you contacted them. What were the costs for the cabinet rasps and how much was postage
Thanks
Ian


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## DennisCA (19 Jul 2017)

I used this email address: [email protected] and shipping was around 22 euros. Maybe their answer got lost in your spam filter?

I am happy with the rasps and files, I am only using a few of them, they are gonna last me a long time. I wish though they would have had some single cut machinist files.


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## Hornbeam (20 Jul 2017)

Thanks
Ian


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