Luthier Tools

[chrissyinbkk]

Any good Simon... https://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.u...9151425638491/

[Simon Barden]

Any good Simon... https://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.u...9151425638491/

I forgot to reply to this.

Whilst not stated as such, I'm sure they are a Hosco nut file set, which means they are Japanese and therefore good quality. The downside is that they'll give you V shaped nut-slots, rather than straight slots, and as you can see, the smallest file size is 0.016", which means that the smallest file would have to be used for all three plain string slots if setting up for .009"s, and the top 2 strings for .010"s, whilst a .017" G string slot would have to be cut with the .026" file. Whilst I'm sure the V profile means that the string will still sit in the bottom of the slot without moving about, it does mean that if you change string gauge, the string will sit in the slot at a slightly different height, which may cause 1st fret buzzing if going down in gauge, or a need to re-cut the slots by a fraction to get the same 1st fret height if going up a gauge (which can then cause 1st fret buzzing if you then go back to the original gauge).

I did have a cheap set of this type of file and they did allow me to set up a few guitars, but I wasn't keen on the V notches they left and that's why I eventually splashed out on the set of 10 Hosco files. https://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.u...9161425638491/

What is worth looking at are the nut files Crimson Guitars make. https://crimsonguitars.com/store/nut...g-file-blades/
Whilst they don't do a .010" file, they do a wide range of other sizes, so you could make up a custom set just for your own string selections, or buy the whole set so you are equipped for anything for just a bit more than the TT 3 nut files set.

I've never used those Crimson files, so don't know how good they are, but I did buy a set of cheapish and very similar looking hand-made files from the US some time ago. They worked, but the files had varying degrees of sharpness, which meant some slots cut really quickly, whilst others you were sawing at for ages whilst making little progress. At least on the slow cutting files you had plenty of time to check the slot height, whilst on the faster cutting ones (especially if you had just been using a slow file), it was a bit too easy to overdo it! You may find something similar with the Crimson files.

The more guitars you work on, the bigger the benefit of getting a good set of nut files that stay sharp and cut in a similar manner.