Yes, I am that person who is going to whinge. There seems to be a prevailing attitude here of "what's all the fuss about?" This is a public forum, and quickly glancing through this thread gives any new turner on a budget the clear impression that to take a file and grind it to a scraper is perfectly OK, which as responsible and experienced turners is, I'm afraid, irresponsible advice.
The tempering applied to the metal from which a file is made is quite different to how a turning tool is tempered. Whether it has happened to anyone here or not, it is an unequivocal fact that there is a likelihood that a file will shatter in use if it is modified to a scraper unless it has been re-tempered to suit its new purpose.
Barry did briefly mention that he tempered his and I have no doubt that his modified file is perfectly safe as a result, but the fact is easy to miss, buried as it is amongst so many statements of success and satisfaction. Files ARE hard and brittle, they DO shatter, and they ARE dangerous to use as scrapers, unless they have been re-tempered accordingly.
Rant ends.