I do a lot of hand shaping on the pieces I build—rounding corners, fairing transitions, and so on. To aid in this work, I recently picked up two half-round rasps from Kutzall—an 8" coarse and a 6" fine—to add to my collection of abrasive cutters. These tungsten-carbide-coated tools that cut on both the push and pull stroke soon became my go-to shapers. The coarse version cuts quickly with its aggressive grit and the fine version quickly leaves a refined surface, ready for sandpaper. Neither loads up rapidly, but when they do, you can burn away wood residue with a small torch or scrub it out with a wire brush. These rasps are not recommended for metal, but can cut nearly anything else—soft stone, fiberglass, plaster, and more. As with metal files and rasps, these tools aren’t easily sharpened, but the tough carbide coating should last a long time. The comfortable plastic-covered handles make them easy to control and a joy to use. Flat and warding (tapered along its width) profiles are also available, but I prefer the half-round because one tool works on both convex and concave surfaces, and the narrow edge allows access into tight spaces. If the work coming out of your shop requires much shaping by hand, you’ll appreciate what these well-made rasps can do.
—Ken Burton
