Auriou rasp alternatives?

Nicholson makes a good one.

Lee Valley has a line that is made in eastern Europe, don't recall where

Popular Woodworking magazine has a tool review of some other hand cut rasps they compared to the Auriou and said they were just as good. Mentioned the prices were lower. Not sure if significantly lower or not. Current issue I saw on the stand last weekend. Forget the brand since I have the Nicholson 49 and 50.

I'll second that. I have a #49 & #50. Those are excellent values and I'm very happy with mine.

However, I was able to try a genuine, hand cut Auriou once, and they really are sweet tools if you can spring for one. They're nearly effortless to use and control.

Thanks - I'll check it out. JP

How do the microplanes compare to the 49 and 50?

Another line of quality rasps is Gramercy, sold by Tools for Working Wood. Here's a link:

Rick

I think the microplanes are great for grating cheese. On wood, forget it.

$21.50 for a hand-cut (8") at Lee Valley

Joe

Not only are they fine cheese-graters, but they're also good for cleaning up the edges of cut drywall if you have an errant chunk or two poking out of the side after snapping it. But I agree, on wood they're almost criminally useless.

Maybe. What are you doing?

For rounding tenons, probably not.

For carving and shaping for long periods? If I were doing that, I'd think they were $60 better since I've used one.

link:

Gramercy is the other rasps Popular Woodworking has the review on.

I attended a seminar given by Marc Adams and he used the Shinto rasps sold by Japan Woodworking, and others, for shaping something. Said the regular model was much better than the one with the extra handle on it. He spoke highly of them. And if you've seen marc Adams' slide show of the furniture he has created, you would know he has some skill in woodworking.

I was somewhat saddened to see that the japanese rasp was gone, but I know the man that picked it out, and he was a true and good friend of my father who appreciated it. I couldn't find another one until I stumbled across a Japan Woodworker Catalog about 10 years ago.

At the time they didn't have the straight handled one available, so I settled for the planer rasp instead.

With the exception of the handle position it is virtually the same tool that I remember using in my fathers workshop those many years ago. I agree that the positioning of the extra handle is somewhat clumsy, at least to my hand.

I would suggest the regular one if you are looking for a general purpose rasp, and the planer rasp only if you have need of the offset handle feature.

Lloyd