| Review by sIKE | posted 279 days ago | 270 views | 0 times favorited | 6 comments |  |
- Auriou Straight Ironing Rasp Width 20mm Grain 6
- Brand: Auriou | Category: Chisels and Carving Tools
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Having followed late last year it was noted with great sadness that this company had closed it doors. It supposedly made the greatest rasps for woodworkers in the world. Each one is handcrafted by an artisan in France who had to train for 3 years to until they are allowed to forge, heat treat and hand stitch a rasp whose teeth are cut very regular, but always spaced a bit little off with each tooth cutting a slightly different path than its predecessor. This results in a tool that is both powerful but precise, with an incomparably smooth finish. A company early this year bought the remaining inventory and is now selling the remaining stock. I had to have one so when they came available I did a small amount of research (wish I had paid a bit more attention) and picked one of the most inexpensive one I could get my hands on, SWMBO didn’t know and did not give budgetary approval ;), so I ordered it and it came in yesterday.
Auriou uses a scale of 1 to 15 to describe the grain (the degree of fineness or coarseness) of their rasps, with 1 the coarsest and 15 the finest. This rasp is a grain 6 it is considered coarse as you can see in the third picture. I haven’t done a lot of work with rasps (mainly metal) and it took me a bit to get the hang of it with some deep gouges being the result of my learning curve. This handle was quickly shaped to my liking using this rasp a lot quicker than using sandpaper like I had done with the last two handles I made. Overall I am very happy with this expensive but very nice hand made rasp.
The handle that is on the rasp is an ad hock and temporary solution, I plan to make me a nice one with a brass ferrule and all.
-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"
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6 comments so far
teenagewoodworker
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2143 posts in 308 days
posted 279 days ago
thats nice. I’ve always heard about Auriou rasps but they closed their doors right after i found out where i could buy them. i never got a chance to get one. well there is hope that someday Auriou will open it’s doors again so i guess that i can hope.
gizmodyne
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1486 posts in 630 days
posted 279 days ago
Sounds like a nice tool.
According to Christopher Shawarts’ blog – they are going to reopen.
-- -John "Do I have to keep typing a smiley? Just assume it's a joke." www.flickr.com/photos/gizmodyne
sIKE
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605 posts in 294 days
posted 279 days ago
Yeppers, Classic Hand Tools Ltd out of England bought up the remaining stock and is selling it off to help raise the required funds to get the company started again. Lets hope they are successful.
-- //FC - Round Rock, TX - "Experience is what you get just after you need it"
Karson
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14323 posts in 940 days
posted 279 days ago
I bought the two Nickelson #49 and #50 which is like yours. Not really used them yet.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
scottb
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3064 posts in 867 days
posted 279 days ago
These were on my “please, please, please” list to Santa (before they closed their doors) either I wasn’t good enough, or my wife thought the microplanes would suffice. I really hope these become available again.
-- I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it. - Pablo Picasso -- http://snbcreative.wordpress.com/
Loren
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263 posts in 188 days
posted 183 days ago
I own one of the Nicholson rasps. I don’t remember if
it’s a 49 or 50. I think they are pretty similar – one or the
other does the same work in general.
For sculpting guitar necks it’s a real time saver because
the cut is so smooth and consistent. You don’t feel like
you are hacking away with a rusty crosscut saw with these
hand-cut rasps. Just a little work with a cabinet scraper,
then razor blades and a little sanding and you have a
surface that takes a finish nicely.
-- http://amherstcabinets.com - also a marketing consultant with expertise in direct response marketing for woodworking and online businesses - http://COPYMATCH.COM