Corradi® Filing Tools
by Don Powell

Corradi offers an impressive range of Italian machine-made tools to fit the requirements of discerning craftsmen.

A good example is the five piece bastard cut ‘Iridium’ engineer’s file set (CRD-2150006). All files in the set have 200mm shafts and sturdy comfortable plastic handles. Designed to cut steel they also handle brass, wood  and plastics with ease. I found that the teeth held their edge and were easy to clean. The range of blade shapes has been well selected to handle a wide range of requirements and they’ll be very useful in any craftsman’s workshop.

Files that come in the set include:

• Flat double edge 20mm wide with one cutting edge
• Half round 20mm wide with sharp edge
• Round 9mm tapered to 4mm
• Square 8mm
• Triangular 13mm

Another set I looked at was the 8 piece set of riffler rasps (CRD-720001). These files are about 190mm long. Riffler rasps work very well in the roughout stage of woodcarving. Anyone doing sculptural work will find shaped rasps extremely useful, and this is certainly not restricted to wood. Plastics, plaster and leather respond well and can be readily shaped.

This set offers a good variety of shapes for dealing with a range of contours and negative spaces. The teeth had a medium cut, were sharp and held their edges well and were easy to keep clean.

Another useful Corradi set is their set of six fine riffler files (CRD-PROF6PCE). Each file is 150mm in length. This set has been carefully selected to fulfill the requirements of the discerning carvers. These are fine finishing tools, not designed to remove a lot of material, but rather to tweak the carving into a state of refinement. The cut is very fine and designed for obtaining fine detail.

One of the notable profiles is the Shepherd’s Crook. I have been using one identical to this for years. It is like a little multi-tool. It is very effective when used with the crook flat on its side with the circumference of the circle working over convex contours and forming that perfect shape that the carver desires. Then there is the rounded shaft and the tapered edges which are all available without putting the file down.

The ‘Scimitar’ (my own name for want of a better one) is excellent for reaching inaccessible areas with a flat edge.

The round long bent profile with very fine taper will finish off those very small corners and deal with deep and tight curves and recesses. The fine short bent profile offers a slightly sturdier tip and flatter curves. The larger version of this is the general workhorse of the set.

If you have not had the good fortune to use a set like this, remember, they are not for the heavy-handed. Don’t force them and keep them clean. These are tools that will be useful not only to wood, bone and ivory carvers, but also to jewelers.

Click on the links below for information and pricing on:
- Iridium 5 Piece 8" Bastard File Set
- Corradi 190mm 8 Piece Riffler Set
- Corradi 150mm 6 Piece Set

Don Powell is a professional woodcarver who lives and teaches woodcarving classes in Maleny near the Queensland Sunshine Coast.