You Need Only 2 Rasps (for the Rest of Your Life)

Plus: The Brush that Cleans Them.

Rasps come in a dizzying array of shapes, sizes and “grains,”¹ which is their level of coarseness/fineness. And it made me crazy at first to try to figure out what rasps I needed for general woodworking and chairmaking.

I tried a damn lot of rasps during the last 20+ years, and I’ve settled on two. These are the only two rasps I use in my work. Ever. Yes, some rasp pushers will try to get you to buy some fancy-ass shape. And if you do decide to try a wild shape, then I salute you for supporting the rasp industry. But I bet you’ll eventually set your Wacky Rasp aside. I did.

Without further ado, here are the rasps you need.

A 10" cabinet rasp with a 9 grain. I use an Auriou. Why? They are the best. I’ve tried other rasps, and I return to the Aurious every time. They are skillfully made. They are beautiful. They last and fricking last. I still have my first Aurious from 20 years ago. They refuse to wear out.

You can select whether the rasp is for right- or left-handers. And again, this makes a huge difference in the control and smoothness of the cut.

So don’t ask me how the other brands compare. To me, they are all shy of the Aurious.²