Once a piece has been roughly shaped, refining can be done with a woodworking file; however, they can also serve as stand-alone shaping tools. Woodworking files are generally flat (single- or double -sided), single- or double-cut, and range in coarseness from extra-fine to coarse. In most cases, the longer the file is, the coarser it is.

The teeth of a file are generally oriented at an angle to the edges. This allows you to hold the file at a comfortable skew when working on a surface. For more comfort and control while filing, self-threading file handles are designed for most file sizes.

Japanese milled-tooth files differ from standard Western files in that the teeth have been milled and then chemically etched to a sharp edge. This results in aggressive files that cut at surprising speed but leave a smooth surface. For an added element of control, especially in confined spaces, Japanese finger files are a good option. They cut evenly in any direction and are safe-edged to avoid damaging adjacent surfaces.