MusicNomad MN850 Diamond Coated, Safe Zone Guitar Fret Crowning File (S-File)

I've had quite a few different crowning files but this is certainly the best so far, a bit pricey, i did hesitate for quite a while but i'm glad i went ahead and took the plunge. Hope it lasts a long time ! Would recommend though, if you do a few fret jobs or guitars builds. Good quality and feels comfortable in your hand when using. It has 2 different sizes of which i mostly use the wide one.

I was sceptical about the price for a file but after using it I think it is brilliant. Really works fast and I have discovered it works great at rounding off the fret ends. Nice product.

Very good fret file. Easy and comfortable silicone cushioned handle, good angle to use without removing the guitar neck and good size fit for both wide and narrow frets. Sendible design failsafe to avoid removing too much from the upper crown. Like it!

This was my first time recrowning/ profiling frets. Probably rather rashly I did this on a new Fender US built guitar rather than on a cheap old one, but fortunately the file is pretty much foolproof so long as you take some care.The frets on my brand new guitar were rather flat on top (see photos) but otherwise nicely polished, and I decided that I would have a go at crowning the frets to make them properly curved to minimise the area of string contact.The file was easy to use, and comfortable in the hand. It did take quite a bit of filing to get down to just the narrow "safe zone" of contact, but this is a job for just taking your time.The file has quite a coarse grit - 240 - so it does leave a lot of scratches on the filed area (but not on the safe zone/top of the crown, which is grit free). I saw a reviewer online saying he thought this was too coarse, and I think I'd agree, as it then takes extra effort to polish out the scratches. And you definitely will need to polish afterwards - but I think that's common to all fret crowning files.Couple of tips:- Protect your fretboard - although the gritted area of the file doesn't ever touch it, the filings themselves may rub on the fretboard finish- Cover over your pickups as the metal filings will stick to your magnetic pickups.- I used a small brush after every dozen strokes to remove filings from the fret/board to prevent those filings from creating scratches and also to remove them from the file to prevent clogging.Pros:• Comfortable• Safe zone to prevent you from filing down the height of the fret• Suitable for a beginnerCons:Grit may be too coarse, leading to more polishing effortPrice is high - but it's a quality tool and cheaper than using a poor tool and needing a re-fret.Edit: after several hours over 3 days I've now finished polishing the frets (using primarily emery board type files from 200-12000 grit, followed by some metal polish for the final shine). I'm not sure I'll do recrowning again in a hurry, but they do look and feel very good now they're done!