Lee Valley firmer gouges

Mar 05, 2005 2 Replies

Anybody used these? Are they any good? Your input would be appreciated.


They are chrome vanadium so I would reject them. That is a cheaper "gummy" steel that cannot take a seriously sharp edge when sharpening, CV takes a long time to sharpen as it wears down, that's why they are so cheap. Gouges are also harder to sharpen than flat chisels unless you have a $400 electric wheel machine such as a Tormek and another bunch of money invested in the accessories that sharpen gouges, so it's an important point.

A great quality steel are Stubai made in Austria, I have their bench chisels. They easily take and keep a seriously sharp edge. "Firmer" means exactly that with chisels, thicker blades.

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sells them and has an honest review that I agree with. Stubai are also a lot cheaper than Two Cherries.

Thanks for the comments. The chrome vanadium kind of bothered me as I have had knives made of this and was not overly impressed. Sharpening is not a problem, I can sharpen anything but if they won't take on a good edge I don't want to bother. Thanks for the link. Looks like they have what I'm looking for.

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