# Why are antique gouges shaped like duck bills?



## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

I recently picked up some antique gouges and they are all shaped like duck bills. Whereas my brand new pfeil and Hirsch etc are all straight across. was there a reason people sharpened them this way in days of old? These are all just plain straight full handle gouges.


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## Unknowncraftsman (Jun 23, 2013)

Maybe they are for carving duck bills.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> Maybe they are for carving duck bills.
> 
> - Aj2


What do you have against the platypus?


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## JAAune (Jan 22, 2012)

A lot of carvers shape the ends however they like. If the manufacturer shipped gouges with a duck bill profile, it would be a lot of work to grind back to flat for those that want the flat grind.

I like the flat grind for setting in the background. But the sharp corners often get in my way while I'm doing some types of detail work on high relief carvings. That being said, I don't have a large collection of gouges and don't do a lot of carving so I left everything with the factory shape.


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## Dark_Lightning (Nov 20, 2009)

We need to see what your gouges look like. If they look like duck bills to you, they may actually be bent chisels. Pics would go a long way with help for some descriptions.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> We need to see what your gouges look like. If they look like duck bills to you, they may actually be bent chisels. Pics would go a long way with help for some descriptions.
> 
> - Dark_Lightning


No they are all straight gouges. I spent about 30 minutes on the large one on my diamond plate, and a little less on the smaller one. I also got a 1/4" that I was able to straighten out pretty quick. You can see the line from before i started. It was hard to trace because it was 3 dimensionally curved, like a ducks bill. They almost looked more like a lath roughing gouge:


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

What did you do to those highly collectible lathe roughing gouges?


> ?


?

Jeesh they were probably worth a few grand apiece before ya ruined them… Bummer.


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## Underdog (Oct 29, 2012)

> We need to see what your gouges look like. If they look like duck bills to you, they may actually be bent chisels. Pics would go a long way with help for some descriptions.
> 
> - Dark_Lightning
> 
> ...


Yep. They look(ed) like the old style carbon steel continental lathe gouges - spindle gouges really. The new spindle roughing gouges (not to be used on Bowls!) are ground straight across.


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## Lazyman (Aug 8, 2014)

The seem a little short so my guess is that a previous owner ground them that way. Perhaps they were recommissioned to be spindle gouges at one point. By grinding the corners back, you are less likely to get catches on a lathe when doing detail work.


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## ClaudeF (Sep 22, 2013)

Wood carvers who do 3D sculptures, I believe, tend to use gouges that are straight across the ends. Relief carvers will often use a thumbnail grind on their gouges. This grind has the wings ground back a bit at the top. When doing relief carving, the wings will contact a higher level and cut it before the center of the gouge cuts far enough. With the wings ground back, they will not contact the higher level and allow cleaner cuts.


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