Nathan B. Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I've been looking all over the place and am unable to find any rifflers made in the United States. My criteria are they be relatively good quality & hand-made, and somewhat affordable (right). I've already scoured the 'net for what is supposedly the best of the best, and they're made in France, but they're over seventy dollars each. I'm willing to pay for quality, but not ready to go all-out, and it would be nice to find something domestic if possible. I'm willing to get a foreign brand, but it seems like something that shouldn't be this hard to find. In lieu of the above, would you say any riffler that's about $25-30 a piece are of the same quality? Because that seems to be the average price for hand-made ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Twilbeck Posted March 15, 2013 Report Share Posted March 15, 2013 I got some several years back ,,, and I think I got them at Woodcraft. I know that the cost was not very high,, but do not remember how much. That was one of them buying a bunch of items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E George Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Hi Nathan, Welcome to the carving path. Like Ed, I got a set of riflers at Woodcraft (www.woodcraft.com) ; however, I bought, some years ago, the Italian set from Wood craft. They are expensive but well worth the price. Maybe consider buying one or two real good riflers instead of the complete set. I also have an inexpensive set that were made in China and they are not as responsive as the Italian riflers. I my knowledge there are no Riflers made in the USA. I thought there was a thread onThe Carving Path about riflers; however, using "rifler files" or just "files" in the TCP search didn't yield anything. Remember the tool buying rule: Buy the best that you can afford. Have fun carving, E George P.S. I found the thread : see "Rifflers and Detail Rasps" in Tools & Technical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan B. Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 Cool, I like the sites that have the search function of looking only for things "made in the U.S.A.". It makes the process a lot easier. Unfortunately, the only thing on that list are some tiny back scratchers. I do agree that it is becoming extraordinarily unlikely I will find any under the criteria that I've put forth. However, I am going to stake it out a little longer and see what other answers pop up. Thanks for the help so far. P. S. I am only looking for one or two and not a complete set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanM Posted March 16, 2013 Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 $25-$30 is the standard for good files http://www.grobetusa.com/files/index.html or Rio Grande Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nathan B. Posted March 16, 2013 Author Report Share Posted March 16, 2013 I like the look of Grobet. At least they've got some manufacturing in the U.S., and that's better than any other companies I've looked into. One quip is that they haven't got two different ends on most of them (except the cabinetmakers rifflers), and the ones I like best are nearly as expensive as the French ones, but I basically got what I was looking for so I should be happy. One more question, though: are the different types (silversmith, die-maker, cabinetmaker, et cetera) actually different in composition or hardness, or is it just the size and shapes which differ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Murray Posted April 16, 2013 Report Share Posted April 16, 2013 I get all my rifflers from Italy, they are incredibly well made and worth every dollar. I get them from the Sculpture House website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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