The best key files, compared.
Top pick: Draper 14185 6-piece warding file set Best value: BGS 50204 6-piece key file set – The other row with the full value part: under £10 with at least 4.0 stars, and the only listing that prints second cut. Updated 22.10.2026.
A key file set is a small mixed set of handled files, sold for deburring and for work in narrow spaces. UK catalogues often call a 100 mm second-cut set with wooden handles a warding file set. They call a thinner precision file, often about 140 mm with a slim integral handle, a needle file. You tell a suitable set apart by the stated length, whether a cut is printed, the handle, and the six profiles, not by the word key in the title. A useful set names a flat pair, half-round, round, square, and three-square or triangular. Six copies of one shape do not do the job. A stated length around 100 mm is the small size used on wards and key notches. A longer, thinner file is easier to bend. Take a cut grade only when the listing prints it. The handle should be fitted and not split. The Health and Safety Executive says a file should have a proper handle and should never be used as a lever. Those checks are set out in the [key file buying guide](/hub/hand-tools/key-files/sub/key-files-buying-guide).
A key file set is a small mixed set of handled files, sold for deburring and for work in narrow spaces. UK catalogues often call a 100 mm second-cut set with wooden handles a warding file set.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What length do you want?
The Draper 14185 is a 100 mm, six-piece warding file set with plastic handles at £13.23, the highest price of the three. The amazon.co.uk line is 4.5 from 30 ratings, and seven of the eight review texts in the saved listing are marked United Kingdom. Short UK reviews call it what was expected, very good, or a cracking bit of kit for the price, and one buyer was replacing an older Draper set they said had lasted years. The detailed UK complaint is specific: a flat skated on a 304 stainless penny washer and would not cut, and the next file from the pouch did the same, which the reviewer compared with a nail file before buying Pferd and Vallorbe files. Another buyer had meant to sharpen garden tools and then used the set on kitchen knives and hairdressing scissors, which is a different job from easing a small burr. A cut grade is not stated, the contents line does not include a case, and one UK review still mentions a pouch, so storage is not a settled listing fact. The star average is the highest here, and the score is not, because 30 ratings and a price above £13 pull it below the other two.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want plastic handles on a 100 mm six-piece warding set for ordinary small edges, and you will not ask it to cut stainless or a knife.
Less suitable: You need a stated second cut, the lowest price here, or a file for 304 stainless, hardened edges, or kitchen knives.
Specifications
Common questions
How many files are in the set?
The title and the contents bullet name six profiles. The number-of-items line says 1, in line with a unit count of 1 for the set.
What handles does the listing state?
Plastic handles. The title says 100 mm. A cut grade is not stated.
Is a case listed in the box contents?
Included components say a set of six key files. A pouch or case is not in that line.
The GEDORE red R93000006 puts six wooden-handled files, 177 mm long, in a case at £7.58 on amazon.co.uk. The listing line is 4.4 from 454 ratings, the largest sample of the three sets, though the 50 review texts in the saved listing are marked Germany or France rather than the United Kingdom. Those reviews often praise a sharp cut on steel, brass, wood, and 3D-printed parts, and one buyer used the set on a key blank. The same sample keeps returning to thin flats that bend under light pressure, teeth that stop short of the tip, and handles seated crooked, split, or loose enough for the blade to rock. Several texts describe a snap at the tang or where the blade meets the handle, and a few mention rust on arrival or a damaged case clasp. No cut grade is printed, and the item line says 118 g while a package bullet says 850 g, so both weights stay on the page without a settled figure. It is the top pick in this comparison on that score, with the thin flats and the non-UK review sample as the limits.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a longer cased set under £8 for light burrs, model work, or the metals the listing names, and you can keep pressure off the flats.
Less suitable: You need a stated second cut, a 100 mm locksmith length, or a flat you can lean on without it bending.
Specifications
Common questions
How long are the files?
The item-length line and the package bullet both say 177 mm.
Which materials does the listing name?
The bullets say suitable for steel, iron, wood, and aluminium. A cut grade is not stated.
Are handles and a case included?
Included components say six pieces with wooden handles in a case.
The BGS 50204 is a 100 mm, six-piece key file set with wooden handles in a pouch, priced at £8.63, and it is the only listing here that prints second cut. Amazon shows 4.2 from 31 ratings. The saved listing holds four review texts: one marked United Kingdom, two Germany, and one France. The UK review praises the selection of profiles and the wooden handles, and says the size suited a hobby. Other texts say a file was missing and the pouch was damaged, a ferrule ring came off after two strokes, and the handles sat crooked and loose. One reviewer called the files too thin and quick to go blunt, and wondered whether they suited only aluminium and plastic. The bullets do not name a workpiece metal, and the door and lock-type lines in the saved listing are listing noise rather than a description of this set. On the published score it is the best value row, because it is under £10 with at least 4.0 stars, while the higher-scoring GEDORE set takes the top pick.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a 100 mm handled set that actually states second cut, for small notches and hobby edges.
Less suitable: You want the largest review sample, a hard case, or a listing that names the metal it will cut.
Specifications
Common questions
What cut does the listing state?
The bullets say 2nd cut. Length in the title is 100 mm.
Which profiles are in the set?
The scope-of-delivery lines list one flat hand, one flat, one triangular, one square, one round, and one half-round, with wooden handles, in a pouch.
Does the listing name a workpiece material?
No. The bullets do not name steel, wood, or plastic. Door and lock-type lines in the saved listing are not part of the file-set description.
Three key file listings on amazon.co.uk were scored from the shelf prices, star lines and review counts in the saved listings, snapshot 22 October 2026. There was no lab test. A millimetre or a cut grade is used only when the listing prints it. If two fields disagree, both stay visible and the score does not invent a winner. The published parts are stars 40, sample 25, fit 22 and value 10, which total 97. The weights below are those four parts scaled to 100 (41, 26, 23 and 10). The top pick is the highest total, once. Best value is the other row with the highest value part, once. Review texts marked Germany or France are a limit in the assessment. They are not a second score.
Stars
41%Amazon rating divided by 5, times 40, rounded to the nearest whole number. Published maximum 40. The figure is the amazon.co.uk star line, not a lab score.
Sample
26%1,000 or more ratings scores 25. 200 to 999 scores 20. 100 to 199 scores 14. 50 to 99 scores 10. 10 to 49 scores 6. Fewer than 10 scores 2. Published maximum 25.
Fit
23%Six named profiles, a handle, and a stated length. Published maximum 22. A cut grade counts only when the listing prints it. A conflicting weight stays visible and does not invent a winner.
Value
10%Under £10 and at least 4.0 stars scores 10. Under £13 and at least 4.2 stars scores 8. Under £18 scores 6. Otherwise 4. Published maximum 10. Best value is the other row with the highest value part, once.
Check the profiles, then the stated length, then a cut only if it is printed, then the handle and the material you will actually cut. The table is the three key file listings on amazon.co.uk. In the files those sets are £7.58, £8.63 and £13.23, snapshot 22 October 2026. A rule of thumb from the same UK pass: under £10 is a hobby set, the twenties a named workshop set, and above £80 Swiss needle stock. Prices move. Star lines are amazon.co.uk averages. There is no lab test.
A key file set is a small mixed set of handled files, usually six shapes, sold for deburring and for work in narrow spaces. UK catalogues often call a 100 mm second-cut set with wooden handles a warding file set. A single warding file is one slim rectangular profile, tapered, double cut on the faces and single cut on the edges, often 100 mm to 250 mm, used on wards and key notches. A warding or key file set is six profiles in that small size.
Key, warding and needle are not the same silhouette. A warding set is six small profiles. A needle file is thinner, often with an integral handle. An engineers' file is full size. Read the profiles and the length, not the word in the title.
Expecting an unstated fine cut to remove metal like a bastard file will disappoint. Use second cut, bastard or smooth only when the page says so. Swiss needle cuts 0, 2 and 4 are a different scale.
Do not strike a file or saw backwards under load. HSE leaflet INDG229 says never use a file as a lever. File a key only for a lock you may work on. Stop if the tang snaps. Do not use these sets to sharpen a kitchen knife or a hardened edge.
Profiles come first because the shape does the work. A useful set names a flat pair, half-round, round, square, and three-square or triangular. A hand or parallel flat and a tapering flat are not the same profile. Six copies of one shape leave you with one job. Length is the next printed figure. Catalogue warding files and small locksmith sets are often 100 mm. A listing that states 177 mm is a longer file, and longer and thinner is easier to bend, which shows up when flats are light.
Use a cut grade only when the listing prints it. In this comparison only the BGS 50204 prints second cut. Do not assign bastard, second or smooth to the GEDORE or Draper listings. Swiss needle files use cut 0, 2 and 4, which is another scale, so a 2 on a needle file is not the same claim as 2nd cut on a warding set. The handle has to be on the file and not split. HSE leaflet INDG229 says files should have a proper handle and should never be used as levers.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a longer cased set for light burrs, model work, or the metals the listing names, and you can keep pressure off the flats. The GEDORE red set is 177 mm with wooden handles in a case. The 50 review texts are marked Germany or France, and thin flats that bend are the limit.
You want a 100 mm handled set that prints second cut, for small notches and hobby edges on a lock you may alter. The BGS 50204 is the only listing here that prints second cut. The review sample is 31 ratings, with four texts behind that line.
You want plastic handles on a 100 mm six-piece warding set for ordinary small edges, and you will not ask it to cut stainless or a knife. The Draper 14185 is that set. A UK review says a flat skated on a 304 stainless washer.
The highest total is the GEDORE red R93000006, the top pick, at 87. It is six wooden-handled files, 177 mm, in a case, at £7.58, with 4.4 from 454 amazon.co.uk ratings. The 50 review texts in the saved listing are marked Germany or France, and that sample keeps returning to thin flats that bend. Best value is the BGS 50204, the other row with a full value part: 100 mm, second cut printed, wooden handles in a pouch, 4.2 from 31 ratings, at £8.63. The Draper 14185 has the higher star line, 4.5 from 30 ratings, and a lower total of 70, because 30 ratings and £13.23 pull the value part down. A UK review says a flat skated on a 304 stainless penny washer.
BGS 50204 6-piece key file set
The other row with the full value part: under £10 with at least 4.0 stars, and the only listing that prints second cut.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Sources from the research digest, last checked on 22 October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. The notes come from amazon.co.uk listings, review text and public UK sources, not from a lab test.
