Seems like I read somewhere that there was some brass furniture on a few well preserved rifles that showed evidence of scrapers having been used. I sort of figured that since files were hand made and therefore not really plentiful that the scraper was about as good as it gets at the time (plus we all know how a file that has been used on iron does not do well on brass afterward).
This afternoon I pulled out my cabinet scapers, burnished the edges and tried it on a trigger guard. Now I know that scrapers were used not because they were the best tool available at the time, but because they are the best tool for the job regardless of the time.
What a difference! The flats stayed flat, the inside of the guard was cleaned up in no time and the whole job of took way less time than than it takes with a file. There are some places that you still need a file (which is really just a lot of scapers all lined up), but overall the result was much better than filing down the rough surface. Seems like those "old fashioned" guys really did know a thing or two.
Try it; you'll like it.
