Firmer gouge
#8
I find myself in need of a firmer gouge for some rough carving on my current project - a piece of southwest style furniture. Although I only need a 3/4" one right now, I figure I might as well get a set, if the price is right. I don't need top of the line, but I don't want junk either. I'm considering the following: This set from Lee Valley, or this one from Amazon.com. The Lee Valley set is made in El Salvador...I don't think of Central America as a source for fine woodworking tools, but then Lee Valley doesn't generally sell junk. As for the Amazon set, I'm familiar with Narex, as I have a set of their mortise chisels, and they are decent.

Opinions?
Bob
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#9
I am not a carver but have a couple of the LV gouges you linked, and I like them.
Ag
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#10
Just curious. How do you know the LV set was made in El Salvador? There's no indication I can see on the website to indicate their country of origin. You can get a US made firmer gouge from Jamestown Distributors for about the same price. Narex makes pretty decent chisels, so it would stand to reason their firmer gouges would be decent as well.
Still Learning,

Allan Hill
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#11
AHill said:


Just curious. How do you know the LV set was made in El Salvador? There's no indication I can see on the website to indicate their country of origin.




I emailed them to ask CoE.
Bob
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#12
It's a good gouge for the price. I found that on the harder hardwoods, the factory bevel was a bit shallow and that the edge would roll. A steeper bevel took care of that problem.

I've since upgraded to a Swiss-made gouge, and the edge-retention is much better. You get what you pay for. But I think that for your purposes, the LV set is exactly what you want.
Steve S.
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#13
Thanks for the information. I ended up ordering the Narex set yesterday...deciding factor was that I will get them by Tues with Amazon Prime, and I'm anxious to get started. LV would have taken a week or more.
Bob
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#14
Another vote for the LV gouges.

Oops, too late.
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