may taper in width, in thickness, or both. A "tang" is a protrusion at the heel, tapered, parallel sided, or conical, for gripping, inserting in a handle, or mounting in a chuck.

The cut of the file refers to how fine its teeth are. They are defined as (from roughest to smoothest): rough, middle, bastard, second cut, smooth, and dead smooth. A single-cut file has one set of parallel teeth while a cross-cut or double-cut file has a second set of cuts forming diamond shaped cutting surfaces. In