© Frank Ford, 3/24/98; Photos by FF, 3/17/98
This is an old timer's technique for cleaning files. It works much faster and better than the classic file card (brush.)
If your file is clogged with metalk chips or soft material, such as bone, plastic, glue or hardwood, just take a scrap of hardwood and press down hard, to push the crap along the grooves and off the edge:
If the file is pinned and super clogged with metal filings, you can use the same process with a thin scrap of steel, but there's more chance of dulling the file in the process.
Whether your pusher is wood or steel, the file will cut its own grooves in the end of the scrap, and after the first couple of strokes you'll have these perfect little teeth pushing the stuff right through the file. Lately I've been using some pieces of bamboo - it has a very stiff fibrous structure that seems ready-made for this job.
For double -cut files, take two aspirin and see me in the morning. . .
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