How to select quality Woodcarving Gouges
When I started carving in 1997, my Bavarian woodcarving teacher Ludwig Kienger taught me to buy quality European tools like Pfiel (Swiss made), Stubai, Two cherries, Dastra-Mittermeier, Ashely Isles to name a few) He said If you purchase sub-grade tools your work will suffer because you’ll be sharpening more and still not getting a good edge you are after. In the end, he said you’ll end up buying better European tools anyway. We started with a basic set of 10 tools and that I what I recommend as well: Pfiel (Swiss made) or Stubai No3-2 mm, No3-8mm, No3-14mm, No7-8mm, No7-12mm, No9-12mm, No11-2mm V-chisel 60degree 6mm, No11-4 mm skew. (They were around $350 in 1997, The 10 tools will likely run $500 now). I carved with my basic set for the first 5 years, then I started adding more. As a professional now, I own around 125 gouges from 6-8 makers now. (Primarily Swiss, Stubai, Ashley Isles, Dastra-Mittemier)
A wood carving gouge is a curved wood chisel, used for wood carving, bowl & spoon carving, etc. Wood carving gouges can be used on both green wood and dry wood. A wood carving gouge is the most basic of wood carving tools. Like with any chisel, the quality of the steel is the most important consideration when buying wood carving tools like carving gouges. You want a carving gouge that will not only get very sharp, but hold the edge as long as possible. Another consideration is the shape and comfort of the handle. Most European wood carving gouges have flat faces on the handle, which aid in gripping, and help prevent the gouge rolling off your workbench.
Carving gouges come in a huge variety of sizes, differentiated by different variables: Sweep, Width, Out-canel vs. Incanel, Single bevel vs. Double Bevel, Full size vs. Intermediate size vs. Palm Handled, Straight vs. Skew vs. Bent, etc… It’s enough to make your head spin! Size number (width in millimeters) and Sweep (curvature).
Wood carving tools sizing classifications differ depending on if the manufacture is (or was) in Europe or in Britain. The British included a skewed size in the lower sizes, and the Europeans didn’t, so that can make it difficult to compare apples to apples. But fortunately, the most popular modern manufacturer, Pfeil (A Swiss company, pronounced “File”), and Stubai (A Austrian company) have become the standard for carving gouges, due to their quality and affordability, so their sizing system is most commonly used. The carving gouge sweep sizes lie on a spectrum from #1 (a flat carving chisel, with no curve), up to a U-shaped #11 sweep (the largest curve). And the largest sweeps are #12 through #16, but they aren’t curved, but v-shaped (e.g. “V-parting tool” or “V-gouge”). V-gouges are used to outline the elements of a carving, preparatory to giving the carving depth with the less-curved gouges. At the time of posting this blog Pfeil and Stubai gouges price wise run $35-120 US depending on the size and shape of the tool.
In the case of Pheil wood carving gouges, the first number printed on the handle is the sweep, or curvature, and the second number is the width of the blade in millimeters. Some people opt to buy a whole set of wood carving tools, including a whole set of wood carving gouges / wood carving chisels, but others recommend that you don’t go out and buy a whole set of carving chisels. It may seem like you’re getting a better value if you buy a whole set (which you are, if the sizes are exactly what you want), but you may not find all the sizes useful for what you plan to carve. It may be best to buy one or two carving gouges at a time, based off of what you plan to carve.