Steel

Thought some of you Steel Bangers might want to see this

What is it ???
Originally it looks to be an old worn down Ferrier's File, it looks like it was then forged flat at the end and re-purposed to fit one certain Bolt/Nut. My guess would be a Water or fuel valve or perhaps a Tractor bolt

Pretty cool if you ask me, and most likely could be re-purposed into a nice BushKnife

Farrier's file or coarse wood rasp. Good steel was never wasted. This looks old.

Simple spark testing will give you enough information to proceed. Lots of short feathery white sparks equals high carbon. Probably 1095 or W-1. Heat it up to non magnetic, quench it in water and see if it breaks clean. That's all I'd need to know to make this useful. Anneal it. Forge vs grind. Me, I would thermal-cycle it because even the best of us can't tell its heat history just by looking at it. Then heat treat it. And temper at 350F for two hours and test on a new-ish file to see if it skates off. If it feels too hard then 375F for a couple hours and retest hardness.

I agree it is pretty cool.

The nut or nuts it was meant to turn must have been in the center of a relatively wide flat area. The bend in the handle would give your knuckles clearance while turning. I would flip it upside down compared to your photo to check.

Indeed. Most likely use to turn a bolt that was almost flush with a flat surface.

It's typically good stuff, rasps like that. The only thing I'd advise is to anneal it first and grind away the teeth.
Many people make stuff and leave the teeth because they think it's cool. But those holes will collect dirt and lead to rust and such.
I've even seen 'kitchen knives' with those teeth still there, and that is just begging for food poisoning.

i'm thinking that my first project will most likely be making something out of a old file(hunting flea markets trying to find some). Is it the best procedure to anneal it first before proceeding? I will possibly do a combination of stock removal and forging for my first try. (at least that's how i envision it.) I purchase some cut off wheels for my angle grinder to cut/shape whatever i find.

I've converted a couple of old files into negative rake scrapers for my wood turning. I don't have any means to anneal metal, heat treat, etc. so would shape the file on the grinder keeping a finger close to where I was grinding and as soon as I felt heat I dunked it in water (not my finger, the file!) and repeat the process until I got the shape I wanted. I then used a belt sander to smooth the teeth on one side using the same 'finger' thermometer and cooling process. The scrapers have worked fine so far.

You need to anneal if you want to do stock removal because otherwise, files will be all but impossible to drill and shape.
If you don't have the means to anneal or HT, then it is as doughboy says.

that said, a tub of charcoal and a hair dryer can make a good HT fire.