File Filosophy
Being some Hints regarding the proper Methods of using Files and the various Applications of the most common Files

FILE FILOSOPHY arms from the shoulder; the separate movement of the wrist and elbow should be done away with as much as possible. If the work to be filed is small and delicate, requiring simply a movement of the arms, or of one hand and arm alone, the vise should be higher, not only in order that the workman may more closely scrutinize the work but that he may be able to stand more erect. If the work to be filed is heavy and massive, requiring great muscular effort, its surface should be below the elbow joint, as the operator stands further from his work with his feet separated from 10 to 30 inches, one in advance of the other, and his knees somewhat bent, thus lowering his stature; besides, in this class of work, it is desirable to throw the weight of the body upon the file to make it penetrate, and thus, with a comparative fixedness of the arms, to depend largely upon the momentum of the body to shove the file. Grasping the File In using the larger files, intended to be operated by both hands, the handle should be grasped in such a manner that its end will fit into and bring up against the fleshy part of the palm below the joint of the little finger, with the thumb lying along the top of the handle in the direction of its length; the ends of the fingers pointing upwards or nearly in the direction of the operator’s face. The point of the file should be grasped by the thumb and first two fingers, the hand being so held NICHOLSON FILE CO. 18