I guess a good rasp is in my future, what do you all use, any suggestions? Size? shape?
For performance vs price the Iwasaki Carving Files are pretty much unbeatable. They arrive a little "to sharp" in that they're kind of grabby which also imho makes them cut not quite as clean, but after a short bit of use they settle in, last really well, and leave a really nice surface finish (better than most of the rasps). The teeth are cut more like floats, so they leave a super smooth surface, they are perhaps a smidge more prone to clogging but are also very easy to clear clogs from so pretty 50/50 on that. I mostly use the "fine" as the extra-fine doesn't seem (imho) to have a substantially better cut quality and the fine still cuts relatively fast so unless you're removing a LOT of material the coarse doesn't add a lot of value. There is a limited number of sized and shapes though so if you're needed a collection you'll have to go a bit beyond them. I would definitely recommend starting here though and moving out (edit: I see they have a bunch more shapes than last time I looked.. hmmm... I can seen another tapered half round in my near future).
I've also had really good luck with Grobet, in particular I use this little 4 in hand tapered rasp a LOT
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000H1VZ5G but have also gotten a couple of round, half round rasps and various needle files and rifflers from them.
I have a largish collection of rifflers and riffler rasps from
https://www.corradishop.com/ I haven't gotten any of their larger stuff yet but the quality so far has been top notch. They often have NOS sales under the " Outlet" section that are worth watching.
I have two auriou rasps, a half round and a saw makers that I got out of a discount bin sale (it's otherwise a kind of a weird curved shape I wouldn't have bought otherwise), also excellent tools. I believe that the cut quality is about as good as it gets for that type of rasp.... although for the shapes that they have the Iwasaki is imho at least as good perhaps better (but they have teeth more like floats than traditional rasps).
I have ?four? (I think four.. who's counting
) different Gramercy rasps from
https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/dept/TRR plus their set of hand cut rifflers. They're pretty nice.. I thought the rifflers were perhaps a bit coarsely cut compared to the Corradi, I mostly use rifflers for fine inside work so quick material removal isn't as important for me there as cut quality, but they're still nice to have in the tool box. The Modlers rat tail (I think it's the 6"x3/8' 25tpi) is my go to for a quality round rasp and I use ?one of? (not sure.. its the one on the second shelf
) cabinet makers rasp also gets a lot of use. I don't think they cut quality is quite as good as the auriou but they're also half the price and darn close so I think they're worthy of consideration.
I also have a handful of Old Stock Nicholsen, etc.. If you can find them for a decent price in good shape.. or good enough shape to send off to
https://boggstool.com/ for a sharpening they're usually worth grabbing from yard and estate sales. Boggs is surprisingly cheap and worthwhile (I really need to sort the loot and get another set ready to send out..). The new Nicholsen & friends I haven't really tried, mostly because or reports like Teds where they're somewhat inconsistent so for the price.. it didn't seem worth the risk.
The other comment I'd have is start finer and then work up to coarser rasps in small quantities as you're buying. I think most people will find that finer (or at most medium) rasps will work best for most of what they want to do unless they're removing a whole lot of wood. The coarser rasps tend to pull down into the wood more requiring more wood to be removed to clean that up, so you have to be super careful to not get to aggressive with them. So buy a relatively fine rasp of a type you're looking at first, try it out.. then consider what you'd want in other coarseness and/or shapes. It's kind of hard to describe cut quality - but I made an attempt here that you might find helpful:
https://familywoodworking.org/forums/showthread.php?36869-Quicky-rasp-comparison&highlight=