Floats are flat single-cut files that are essential tools for plane making but also offer other uses such as sizing tenons. They remove wood in a similar way to a file; however, they have coarse, straight teeth that can be resharpened with the right size of saw file.

We offer three styles of float: bed, side and mortise. Bed floats are used by plane makers for flattening and smoothing the bed and breast of wooden bench planes. Side floats are used for flattening and smoothing the sidewalls of the throats on wooden side-escapement and bench planes. Both can also be used for similarly precise tasks such as trimming joinery tenons to an exact fit. Mortise floats are used by plane makers for flattening and smoothing the wedge mortise of wooden rabbet and molding planes and other side-escapement planes. The compact design also makes them useful for precise work in other confined spaces, such as for adjusting narrow joinery mortises.

Japanese floats differ from their Western counterparts in that the teeth have been milled, then chemically etched to a sharp edge. As they cut, they shear rather than abrade the material, the diagonal groove pattern acting as a series of chip breakers to reduce clogging. They cut quickly and aggressively yet leave a smooth surface.