It finally happened. The 2014 Oregon Gunmakers Fair has come and went. With that said I must report on the results of the French hand stitched rasp-off. Not to be outdone, we had not one but 7 hand stitched rasps in the lineup. They consisted of an Auriou #5 and #10, and Liogier rasps in #12, 8, 7, 4 and the covenanted 49 prototype.
Since the original objective was to test drive the #49 prototype, we lead off with that rasp. The first thing the group of volunteers noticed was how sharp the tool is. My God, that thing is scary sharp. While rasping on a stock blank of sugar maple the general conscientious was that if you tried to remove wood with the same amount of pressure that you would apply to the venerable Nicholson #49 rasp, the Liogier would stall out. Heaven forbid if your forward hand keep moving when the rasp dug in. In other words, there was a learning curve to using this rasp. Once one learned to use a lighter touch, the rasp performed as designed. You can remove the same amount of material with the Liogier as with the Nicholson but with a lot less effort. One note of reference, most of our users felt that the #49 Liogier prototype was one stitch too course when compared to the Nicholson.
We noted no difference in using either the Sapphire line, which we had 2 of, or the standard finish. The #10 Auriou was a very desirable stitch for finishing a surface. You could go directly to a scraper after using the #10.
The overall favorite was the #7 stitched Modellers rasp. Most felt that this rasp was a lot easier to use. Due to its narrower design, our operators felt less resistance and more control. Being narrower also made the rasp more versatile.
From top to bottom:
Liogier #12
Auriou #10
Liogier #8
Liogier #7 The hands down favorite
Auriou #5
Liogier #4
Liogier #49
David
