We’re filing jointly, my sweetie and me. I don’t mean American tax money though, I’m talkin’ Swiss….Swiss files, that is. The 00 Habilis half rounds, in particular. I love the one I’ve had for several years now–it is a beautifully made tool that gets the job done and gives my metal a lovely edge, takes down corners, gets rid of the pointy parts on wires–whatever task, this file does a great job of it with a good fit in my hand and requiring less effort than the small files I also have but now rarely use.

I like it so much, and my To-Do pile of filing has grown so large that I got another one for my husband, and we’re going to spend afternoons in the backyard filing together for a while ’till I get caught up with the earrings, pendants and bracelet pieces.

We got two of them for Tinkermill (we can take ours in and have a filing party!) and one for a friend of mine. I’ve been doing a lot of etching metal and working with patinas and inks, so there is a lot of colorful and textural fun going on to help me enjoy the filing and sanding parts–a good finish is part of making a good product. So we will be getting into the groove together.

With care these will last a lifetime, so we’ll be taking the edge off for a long time with these!

habilis files available through Otto Frei