Unpopular opinion: finding out hand files cut faster than my belt grinder on hard steel
Was watching an old smith out of Akron on a video last week and he pulled out a number that stuck with me. He claimed a sharp hand file takes off more metal per minute than a 2x72 belt on hardened stock past 55 Rockwell, cause the belt just glazes and slides. I tried it on a chunk of 5160 I had laying around and clocked myself, and honestly the file won by a good margin. I think I was just leaning on the grinder out of habit and not watching the sparks. Might grab a few good mill files next time I'm near Cleveland and see how long they hold up. Anyone else find a hand tool beating their power tool on the harder stuff?