Either you’re creating – carving a wooden bowl , or you’re carving and shaping something else in this woodworking area , to have a couple of good carving gouges , is surely essential .

There are “thousand” brands of carving gouges and whoever says that he has tested all , he isn’t telling the truth , for sure and this applies for me also .

You can have carving experiences with many gouge brands and several types from friend carpenters , et.c , but to claim that you’ve tested 100% and have a solid opinion for all the gouges you suggest , it isn’t so good in my opinion .

I’ll give you some carving suggestions , many of them(not all ) have passed from my hands and with many types of them , i have some experience with .

See the complete post for the carving gouges , their sizes , their sizes , their types and some “secrets” you should know , HERE .

For your start you shouldn’t take many gouges , spend much money .

A turning gouge and a couple of generic , a spindle and a bowl gouge will be fine , in order to get i touch with the gouge carving feeling .

This Faceicy turning generic gouge is just fine to start your lathe turnings . It’s more than a “decent” purchase having the appropriate steel , the HSS and it’s thick enough as i like for giving the right feeling in my palm .

I’ve used many times with this type of gouge and i like most the flute shape tang goes , all the way till the handle . I also like that for a not expensive gouge ( 20$ bucks ) , it’s sturdy way more than you think .

It has the classic edge arc as a turning gouge and the heavy – duty feeling and this is good for me .

The handle suits very nice in hands , the grip is ok and i don’t think you’ll find a theme in here .

Make your checks and get it from Amazon in here .

You already know that i like much the Japanese blades – tools and this Michihamono 9mm U – shaped gouge is a nice example of the Japanese quality and efficiency .

The steel quality is very good of course(HSS) and the handle is straight shaped for detailed carving with accuracy .

It’s for more small jobs and carvings , having a wider U – arc shallow edge .

See more on Amazon .

Having the same approach , but having a longer handle( but straight shaped ) , this gouge from the Michihamono again is another nice gouge . The rest are the same : it’s 9mm , U – shaped and the metal is the HSS ( high – speed steel ) .

See more and pick it on Amazon.

Give another 20$ bucks more or less and have this 4 gouge set and you’ll be just fine for your first and medium steps .

This WellieSTR 4 set of the 8mm-12mm-18mm-20mm gouges are perfect for carving , shaping wit a few money coming ouit of your pockets .

This basic set is a first class starting and not only of course . There are “decent” enough for creating more advanced wood projects . The steel alloy is just fine and having this long name : Ferromanganese steel alloy .

For a basic set gouges , there are very cool . Take them from Amazon .

I’ll update with more advanced gouge suggestions . I think the above ones are just fine to start getting the general carving gouges idea .

Who hasn’t used “tons” of not very expensive tools , but very capable ones ?

Keep woodworking and the happiness is certain .