Beautiful “Rasp File Knife”

2018 - Volume #42, Issue #1, Page #19

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What do you do with an old flat file or rasp bar that’s worn out? Convert it into a beautiful knife, says Gregory Korner Sr.
  He recently sent FARM SHOW photos of an 11 1/2-in. long knife made from an old 12-in. flat rasp bar from a farrier shop. The teeth on the rasp bar show through on the sides of the knife.
  The file was originally 1/4 in. thick. Ben Summey, the man who made the knife for Korner, had ground it down 12 1/2 thousandths of an inch on each side in order to smoothen out the rasp “teeth”.
  “It takes a lot of grinding work with some serious grinding wheels to do the job, but when you’re done you have a knife that will stay sharp and is super tough,” says Korner.
  Summey detempers the entire file by heating it up and letting it air cool. He drills holes into the file handle and fastens a wood or stag antler handle onto it. Then he uses a belt sander to shape the blade. He also puts a mirror polish on the knife, using a bench grinder that he converted into a buffer.
  Summey says he has made and sold 15 ‘rasp file knives’ so far, with one of them now being used by a U.S. soldier in Iraq. “It’s a big bowie knife with tiny rivets in an oak handle. The blade is 3/8 in. thick.”
  He makes the knives in back of a local plumbing shop that his grandpa used to own. “I have a workbench there that I use just for making knives. I use a handheld belt sander to do most of the grinding,” says Summey.
  Summey says he finds old files or rasp bars at flea markets and yard sales that sell for as low as $3. He charges anywhere from $125 to $225 per knife, depending on the knife size and complexity of design. Korner makes leather sheaths for any knife that Summey sells for an additional $35.
  Summey and Korner say they’d both like to hear from anyone willing to sell their old files at a reasonable price.
  You can check out Summey’s work by going to facebook.com/search/top/?q=BEN%27S%20ACES.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ben Summey (cell ph 765 309-6736; tophatand45@yahoo.com) or Gregory C. Korner, Sr., 6020 Lookout Rd., Brookville, Ind. 47012 (ph 765 647-6314; lookoutmntrr@wildblue.net).

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Beautiful “Rasp File Knife” AG WORLD What do you do with an old flat file or rasp bar that’s worn out? Convert it into a beautiful knife says Gregory Korner Sr He recently sent FARM SHOW photos of an 11 1/2-in long knife made from an old 12-in flat rasp bar from a farrier shop The teeth on the rasp bar show through on the sides of the knife The file was originally 1/4 in thick Ben Summey the man who made the knife for Korner had ground it down 12 1/2 thousandths of an inch on each side in order to smoothen out the rasp “teeth” “It takes a lot of grinding work with some serious grinding wheels to do the job but when you’re done you have a knife that will stay sharp and is super tough ” says Korner Summey detempers the entire file by heating it up and letting it air cool He drills holes into the file handle and fastens a wood or stag antler handle onto it Then he uses a belt sander to shape the blade He also puts a mirror polish on the knife using a bench grinder that he converted into a buffer Summey says he has made and sold 15 ‘rasp file knives’ so far with one of them now being used by a U S soldier in Iraq “It’s a big bowie knife with tiny rivets in an oak handle The blade is 3/8 in thick ” He makes the knives in back of a local plumbing shop that his grandpa used to own “I have a workbench there that I use just for making knives I use a handheld belt sander to do most of the grinding ” says Summey Summey says he finds old files or rasp bars at flea markets and yard sales that sell for as low as $3 He charges anywhere from $125 to $225 per knife depending on the knife size and complexity of design Korner makes leather sheaths for any knife that Summey sells for an additional $35 Summey and Korner say they’d both like to hear from anyone willing to sell their old files at a reasonable price You can check out Summey’s work by going to facebook com/search/top/?q=BEN%27S%20ACES Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ben Summey cell ph 765 309-6736; tophatand45@yahoo com or Gregory C Korner Sr 6020 Lookout Rd Brookville Ind 47012 ph 765 647-6314; lookoutmntrr@wildblue net

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