USA members (mainly): Corona saw files @ O.S.H.

I was at my local Orchard Supply Hardware and I noticed they got rid of their Nicholson-Mexico files and replaced them with a brand I had never seen before. They’re called Corona. The first thing I checked was to see where they were made! Their saw files were made in India. So at least there was hope!

Out of curiosity I bought one, a 5-inch extra slim. I used it to repair / sharpen a 15-inch 10-ppi panel saw. Long story short, I was not disappointed with the file.

So far I have used Nicholson-Mexico, Nicholson-USA, Grobet-Swiss, Bahco, and now Corona saw files. I feel fairly comfortable evaluating saw files. The worst are Nicholson-Mexico files. They are 100% absolute garbage. Whatever plant in Mexico that makes them needs to be torn down or imploded or something. Grobet-Swiss are the most durable I’ve used but boy, whoever is manning the file machine at Grobet needs new glasses or something. I’ve had to send back like half of what I’ve purchased because they were bent like a banana, or partially and sometimes completely missing the rows of edge teeth. But the good ones that I kept are lasting a real long time.

I digress. Back to these Corona’s. I was pleasantly surprised that the one I got worked very well, better than expected. The saw I used it on was in real bad shape. Ultimately I think I put like 10 swipes per tooth while repairing it. And I was a little hard on the file too because I wanted to see how it held up. I used just one file edge to do all the repair work and it was still cutting and did not look or feel all that bad. I switched to a new edge for the final sharpening passes and perhaps there was a slight improvement in the cutting. Hard to say. But I think I’m happy with the durability.

Overall the way the file felt and cut reminded me of the Grobet’s.

I need to test more of them (and I will) but I’m just glad I can buy something locally that works at an acceptable level. O.S.H. recently got bought out by Lowes, so that likely explains the brand shift. This also means that Lowes might have them too, but I haven’t checked.

I did some research and found that the brand belongs to an umbrella company called Bellota. I think this is the name the files wear in Europe.

Anyways, that’s all. I just wanted to share this information with you all. If anyone else wants to add anything please do.