File Guide - to buy or not to buy

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Seffers93

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Hey everyone,

Almost every instructional video I’ve seen with plunge lines or wa handles, the knife maker uses a file guide to get those lines perfect or to get that step to the machi perfect (I think that’s what it’s called).

I don’t think I’ll be grinding plunge lines.. but I’ll definitely be learning to make wa handles. As I’m getting closer to setting up shop, I’ve gathered almost everything on my supplies list. A file guide is one thing I’ve been debating.

They seem pretty expensive to order if you go with a carbide surface. And also a little pricey to order materials to make one.

So I guess my question is.. do you all use file guides? Or is there another way to achieve the same result? Like using hardened scrap steel maybe?
 
When I first started I free handed and that worked OK but when I wanted to get it done faster I then made a guide using aluminum and when that ground away (pretty quickly) I bought my first file guide with carbide inserts. I have two, one small one that I use as a stop when grinding blades and a much larger version that is used to create a square fit up notch for the handle. I couldn't be without these two tools now that I've used them for so long. Is this a necessary tool though if only doing a knife once in awhile? No

One thing though, and this might not be universal to all makes/models, but the carbide faces on both of my guides are only glued on and they come off regularly. This is a pain in the ass because it's always at the most inconvenient time and after it's glued back up the two sides never match perfectly so a grind down is required and I'll let you figure out how much fun that is to do. The next guide I get will have screwed in inserts and I only know of one maker who offers that and he's in Australia and they ain't cheap. See Carbide Faced File Guide, BigMert

Something else worth noting is that most file guides won;t fit on the width kitchen knives we grind, they're too small, made for the "normal" knife making world. This is why I have two.
 
Last edited:
Dave Martell said:
When I first started I free handed and that worked OK but when I wanted to get it done faster I then made a guide using aluminum and when that ground away (pretty quickly) I bought my first file guide with carbide inserts. I have two, one small one that I use as a stop when grinding blades and a much larger version that is used to create a square fit up notch for the handle. I couldn't be without these two tools now that I've used them for so long. Is this a necessary tool though if only doing a knife once in awhile? No

One thing though, and this might not be universal to all makes/models, but the carbide faces on both of my guides are only glued on and they come off regularly. This is a pain in the ass because it's always at the most inconvenient time and after it's glued back up the two sides never match perfectly so a grind down is required and I'll let you figure out how much fun that is to do. The next guide I get will have screwed in inserts and I only know of one maker who offers that and he's in Australia and they ain't cheap. See Carbide Faced File Guide, BigMert

Something else worth noting is that most file guides won;t fit on the width kitchen knives we grind, they're too small, make for the "normal" knife making world. This is why I have two.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all of the info! I didn’t think about them possibly not fitting.. I’ll be sure to check dimensions carefully. I’ll probably go a cheaper route for now. I found one on knifekits.com that might be worth a try. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks again!
 
Dave Martell said:
When I first started I free handed and that worked OK but when I wanted to get it done faster I then made a guide using aluminum and when that ground away (pretty quickly) I bought my first file guide with carbide inserts. I have two, one small one that I use as a stop when grinding blades and a much larger version that is used to create a square fit up notch for the handle. I couldn't be without these two tools now that I've used them for so long. Is this a necessary tool though if only doing a knife once in awhile? No

One thing though, and this might not be universal to all makes/models, but the carbide faces on both of my guides are only glued on and they come off regularly. This is a pain in the ass because it's always at the most inconvenient time and after it's glued back up the two sides never match perfectly so a grind down is required and I'll let you figure out how much fun that is to do. The next guide I get will have screwed in inserts and I only know of one maker who offers that and he's in Australia and they ain't cheap. See Carbide Faced File Guide, BigMert

Something else worth noting is that most file guides won;t fit on the width kitchen knives we grind, they're too small, made for the "normal" knife making world. This is why I have two.
Click to expand...

Dave ,
I have owned couple file guides from well respected makers and the carbide popping out along with some design drawbacks made me ask creativeman to make me a custom for cutting shoulders and integral knives . He went on making a series with my name on it since the design was mine . The carbides are lot wider compared to standard file guides and are screwed in making it quite easy for cutting shoulders with disc grinders .
Also the long pins allow to insert wood blocks to square them or bolsters for integral knives . I have also asked it to be almost 3” wide to allow grinding tall blades like nakiris or cleavers
If the idea is to have even plunge lines his standard model works great , for anything else bigger one is quite versatile
Disclaimer:
I don’t have any financial gain from this file guide
 
a good source for drilled hardmetal is machine shops. you want the bigger triangular inserts for cnc lathes.
they only last 15 minutes per corner so there is always a good supply of worn out inserts.
with a few of those one could make a file guide. and it would be for free almost.

Sandvik_5754522.jpg
 
Tim Rowland said:
I believe they are an essential tool for a knife maker to have if you are looking to get higher quality fit and finish.

This is the carbide faced file guide that I use.
Extra length on the pins for wide/thick stock, also has the carbide inserts screwed in place.

https://www.knifekits.com/vcom/file-guide-stainless-steel-275-160-carbide-faced-p-15774.html
Click to expand...

Thanks Tim. I had my eye on that one. I think I’m going to go ahead and order it. Seems like I’ll need one!
 
chefcomesback said:
Dave ,
I have owned couple file guides from well respected makers and the carbide popping out along with some design drawbacks made me ask creativeman to make me a custom for cutting shoulders and integral knives . He went on making a series with my name on it since the design was mine . The carbides are lot wider compared to standard file guides and are screwed in making it quite easy for cutting shoulders with disc grinders .
Also the long pins allow to insert wood blocks to square them or bolsters for integral knives . I have also asked it to be almost 3” wide to allow grinding tall blades like nakiris or cleavers
If the idea is to have even plunge lines his standard model works great , for anything else bigger one is quite versatile
Disclaimer:
I don’t have any financial gain from this file guide
Click to expand...

Thanks for weighing in on this Mert.

Seems like a great design on this file guide, something I would like to eventually get for myself.
 
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