Half Round File

This half-round file is used for smoothing and sharpening. The cutting teeth are still visible on both sides of this file from a layer in the Barracks cellar, one of James Fort’s earliest structures. The Jamestown colonists would have relied heavily on files such as this one to maintain sharp tools. For example, axe blades would have needed sharpening regularly due to heavy use from building and maintaining the fort, the fort’s structures, and for felling timber to be used in industry. Tools used for filing have been around for thousands of years with some early examples found by archaeologists on ancient Egyptian sites.