File cut
What the "Cut" number on a file means and how the teeth per centimetre are counted.
The cut of a file tells you how closely spaced its teeth are. On Swiss pattern files it is given as a number: from 000 for the widest, coarsest teeth up to 6 or more for the finest. In the variant tables of our products this number is in the "Cut" column, and the "Teeth/cm" column next to it shows the actual tooth count.
How the teeth are counted (Z/cm)
Teeth are counted over 1 cm, at right angles to the cut lines, not along the length of the file. The result is written as Z/cm (teeth per centimetre). For example, a 150 mm precision file in cut 2 has 31 teeth per cm.
Low or high number?
The cut number is not an absolute size; it depends on the length and type of the file. Cut 2 means 31 teeth/cm on a 150 mm precision file, 25 on a 250 mm precision file and 38 on a needle file. That is why the "Teeth/cm" column gives the number for each variant separately.
Teeth per cm for each cut
The Vallorbe table for the files we stock: precision files, needle files, rifflers and machinist files. Values in brackets are indicative.
| Cut | 000 | 00 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Precision files 25 to 90 mm | · | 20 | 25 | 31 | 38 | 46 | 55 | 68 | 84 |
| Precision files 100 to 200 mm | 12 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 31 | 38 | 46 | 56 | 68 |
| Precision files 250 to 300 mm | 9 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 31 | 38 | (46) | (56) |
| Needle files | · | 20 | 25 | 31 | 38 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 84 |
| Rifflers 150 mm | · | · | 25 | · | 38 | · | · | · | · |
| Rifflers 180 and 300 mm | · | · | 16 | · | 25 | · | · | · | · |
| Machinist files 150 to 200 mm | · | · | · | 12 | 16 | 20 | · | · | · |
| Machinist files 250 mm | · | · | · | 9 | 12 | 16 | · | · | · |
| Checkering files (rows/cm) | · | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | · | 30 | · | · |
On machinist files, cuts 1, 2 and 3 correspond to Bastard, 2nd cut and Smooth.
Checkering files
On checkering files such as the LP1166, the face has parallel rows running along the file. Here the number counts the rows per cm across the width: cut 00 = 8, cut 0 = 12, cut 1 = 16, cut 2 = 20. The LP1166-6-00 is 19 mm wide, so it has about 15 rows across its face.