Hans Karlsson Gouges, the best money can buy, from the Country Workshops Store

STARTER BOWL CARVERS GOUGE AND ADZE SELECTION

Starter tool set for bowl carvers.

The most common question that we get from new bowl carvers is "what do you recommend as a starter tool set for someone on a budget?" Our Swedish supplier, Hans Karlsson, currently produces over 500 different woodworking tools. The Country Workshops Store selection of gouges, drawknives, inshaves, knives and adzes have been chosen as the most appropriate for the courses we offer. This is our suggestion for getting started with bowl carving.

The gouges, which are forged from ball bearing steel, are beautifully made and come sharpened and ready to use. The Karlsson sweep system is based on the curve of a circle designated by the radius measured in millimeters. The gouges pictured are from Drew Langsner's personal set; some have been used for over 20 years. Because the photo shows the blade curvatures, the profile view is not apparent.

The Karlsson adze heads are forged from Swedish Uddeholm steel, Arne SS1672. This adze has a slightly flattened curve at the cutting edge and a distinct exterior bevel, at just the right angle for hollowing a medium to large size bowl. In Sweden, the short handle version is very popular. We generally prefer the 20-inch bent handle, which makes the tool easier to control while minimizing stress on the hands and wrist.

H-133

40 mm width, #55 Karlsson sweep. Double hooped and bent. This is a large roughing gouge that can be struck with a steel head hammer.

$116.50

H-112

40 mm width, #90 Karlsson sweep. A bent paring gouge used for refining the shape of the bowl interior. It will also clean up the rougher tracks from the double hoped gouge. The squarish handle is comfortable, and it won't roll around on your workbench.

$94.00

H-123

45 mm width, #150 Karlsson sweep. This dog-leg gouge is used to pare the bottom of a bowl interior, which is hard to reach, and where the grain converges from all directions. It can also be used to bring down the tool tracks of the more aggressive gouges.

$94.00

HANS KARLSSON GOUGES. This selection of high quality Swedish gouges is produced by Hans and Carina Karlsson. These beautiful tools are excellent for hollowing spoons, bowls and other sculptural carving projects. Hans Karlsson gouges are forged from Swedish ball bearing steel, which is formulated for toughness. They really hold a keen edge. The H-120 series dog-leg gouges are designed for hollowing hard to reach areas, such as the converging long grain on the bottom of carved bowls. The smaller H-121 dog-leg gouge is also a very efficient tool for hollowing the bowls of spoons and ladles. The H-130 series double hooped gouges are designed for carving large bowls. These heavy duty gouges -- which are suitable for striking with a mallet or hammer -- are also used by wood sculptors and for saddling Windsor chair seats by chairmakers who don't use an adze and inshave. The H-141 mini-goatfoot V-gouge is used for engraving and carving surface designs. The other gouges have a rectangular hardwood handle, and are designed for paring (pushing, not striking). All Karlsson gouges are expertly sharpened by Carina Karlsson to cut with a fine finish.

We have also added another straight paring gouge to our Hans Karlsson selection. The new H-100 is narrower and has a somewhat shallower sweep than our H-101 gouge. This is a carverís detail tool. It's very useful when you need to take light cuts with a paring action. (These are often places where a small detail knife doesn't work well.) Drew ordered one for his own bowl carving projects and found it to be so useful that it earned a place in our carefully developed selection of gouges.

Note: The Karlsson' sweep system is based on the curve of a circle designated by the radius measured in millimeters. Because these tools are handmade, there is often a variation of a few millimeters in tool width compared to nominal size.

100 Series - Straight Paring Gouges

Stock #	Description	Price
H-100	15 mm 35 sweep - NEW	$78.50
H-101	22 mm 25 sweep	$80.00
H-102	30 mm 35 sweep	$86.00
H-103	35 mm 90 sweep - NEW	$86.00
H-104	45 mm 150 sweep	$94.00

110 Series - Bent Paring Gouges

Stock #	Description	Price
H-111	30 mm 55 sweep	$86.00
H-112	40 mm 90 sweep - NEW	$94.00
H-113	45 mm 150 sweep	$94.00

120 Series - Dogleg Paring Gouges

Stock #	Description	Price
H-121	30 mm 35 sweep	$86.00
H-122	40 mm 55 sweep	$94.00
H-123	45 mm 150 sweep	$94.00

130 Series - Double Hoop Striking Gouges

Stock #	Description	Price
H-131	30 mm 35 sweep - bent	$106.50
H-132	40 mm 55 sweep – straight	$116.50
H-133	40 mm 55 sweep – bent	$116.50
H-134	40 mm 150 sweep – bent - NEW	$116.50
H-135	50 mm 70 sweep – Big Bully straight	$126.50
H-136	50 mm 70 sweep – Big Bully bent	$126.50

140 Series – Specialty Gouges and Chisels

Stock #	Description	Price
H-141	Mini goat foot V gouge	$71.50
H-142	5 mm dogleg mortise cleaning chisel	$73.00
H-143	15 mm mini spoon gouge	$52.00
H-144	25 mm mini spoon gouge	$58.00

How To Order
Tools can be purchased three ways: Order by phone (Office hours: 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Eastern Time) using your Visa/MasterCard for payment; order by mail, by clicking on Order Form (you can print the Order Form on your computer's printer, but we do not yet offer on-line ordering); direct purchase at our store and showroom.