A rasp is a coarse form of file used for shaping wood, metal or other material. Typically a hand tool, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round or half-round bar of case-hardened steel with distinct, individually cut teeth, coarser and more separated than an ordinary file's, so it removes material faster at the cost of a rougher surface. A narrow, pointed tang is common at one end, onto which a handle can be fitted.
Facts
OriginA rasp is distinguished from an ordinary file by its individually cut teeth rather than rows of parallel grooves; a hand-cut rasp remains a premium carving tool because the natural variation in its tooth spacing avoids the uniform tramline marks that machine-stamped teeth leave in a row. 1 Power Source Open Questions
Introduced When (Circa)Not established by the cited source.
Rasp (Wikipedia) describes tooth types, uses and the hand-cut versus machine-made distinction but gives no date or era for when the rasp was introduced; checked fresh 2026-09-17 against the raw article extract. Connections
Used In
Source Rasp (Wikipedia)
Works Material
Source Rasp (Wikipedia)
Source Rasp (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Rasp (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationUses section
A hand-cut rasp is still a premium tool for carving work, as the slight variation in tooth spacing avoids this 'tramline' effect and so they are still available, at a price.
Lead section
A rasp is a coarse form of file used for shaping wood, metal, or other material.
Lead section, power source
Typically a hand tool, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of case hardened steel with distinct, individually cut teeth.
Lead
used for shaping wood, metal, or other material
Lead, power source
Typically a hand tool
Used In: Woodworking, Article text
They are also used in woodworking for rapidly removing material and are easier to control than a drawknife.
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