A rasp is a coarse form of file used for coarsely shaping wood or other material. Typically a

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, an ...

, it consists of a generally tapered rectangular, round, or half-round sectioned bar of

case hardened Case-hardening or surface hardening is the process of hardening the surface of a metal object while allowing the metal deeper underneath to remain soft, thus forming a thin layer of harder metal at the surface. For iron or steel with low carbon ...

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistan ...

with distinct, individually cut teeth. A narrow, pointed

tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...

is common at one end, to which a handle may be fitted.

Use

Rasps come in a variety of shapes—rectangular, round, and half-round—and vary in coarseness from finest, "cabinet", to most aggressive, "wood". Farriers, for example, commonly use rasps to remove excess wall from a horse's hoof. They are also used in

woodworking Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first mate ...

for rapidly removing material and are easier to control than a drawknife. The rough surfaces they leave may be smoothed with finer tools, such as single- or double-cut files. Rasps are used in shaping alabaster. Saws and

chisel A chisel is a tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge (such that wood chisels have lent part of their name to a particular grind) of blade on its end, for carving or cutting a hard material such as wood, stone, or metal by hand, s ...

s are used to rough out alabaster work.

References

Woodworking hand tools Files (tool) Alabaster {{tool-stub

Use

See also

References