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{{Short description|Filing tool}}
{{About|the filing tool||RASP (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=June 2016}}
[[File:Raspel Baiter.jpg|thumb|Fine wood rasp]]
[[File:HoofRasp.jpg|thumb|[[Farrier]] using a two-sided file, double-cut on the visible side and rasp cut against a horse's hoof]]

A '''rasp''' is a coarse form of [[file (tool)|file]] used for shaping [[wood]], [[metal]], or other material. 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 [[Tine (structural)|teeth]]. A narrow, pointed [[Tang (tools)|tang]] is common at one end, to which a [[handle]] may be fitted.<ref name="lye 12" >{{Citation | last = Lye | first = P. F. | title = Metalwork theory, Book 1 | publisher = Nelson Thornes | year = 1993 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bM01FIZce7IC | isbn = 978-0-17-444313-1 | postscript =.|pages=12–13}}</ref>

== Uses ==
Rasps come in a variety of shapes—rectangular, round, and half-round—and vary in coarseness, from finest, "cabinet", to most coarse, "wood".<ref>{{cite book |author=Hasluck |first=Paul N. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AjZ-EvlC38MC&pg=PA119 |title=The Handyman's Guide: Essential Woodworking Tools and Techniques |date=February 2011 |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-60239-173-4 |page=119}}</ref> [[Farrier]]s, for example, commonly use rasps to remove excess wall from a [[Horse hoof|horse's hoof]]. They are also used in [[woodworking]] 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]]. [[Saw]]s and [[chisel]]s are used to rough out alabaster work.

Machine-made rasps have uniformly stamped teeth. They often leave deeper marks as rows of teeth follow each other exactly, and will require a subsequent smoothing step.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wood |first=Tools For Working |title=All About Rasps and Rifflers in Woodworking |url=https://toolsforworkingwood.com/store/more/AU-Info.html |access-date=2025-07-16 |website=toolsforworkingwood.com |language=en-US}}</ref> 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.

== See also ==
* [[Metalworking hand tool]]
* [[Surform]]
* [[Woodworking#Tools|Woodworking tools]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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{{Cutting and abrasive tools}}
{{Woodworking}}

[[Category:Alabaster]]
[[Category:Files (tool)]]
[[Category:Metalworking hand tools]]
[[Category:Woodworking hand tools]]


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