New bowl gouge

[Brian Brown]

So SWMBO got me a belated Christmas gift yesterday. We went to Woodcraft, and she got a 1/2" Crown bowl gouge. Couldn't believe how long the handle is on that thing. This is not a "Crown PM". Is this a high quality gouge? The price was right. We also found some pink ivory. Boy that stuff is expensive. Does pink Ivory fade with time?

[Dean Thomas]

This is a good quality tool. Crown makes good stuff, and better stuff, and even better still stuff. It is "only" HSS, however, but very good quality HSS. No matter how good the quality is, it will not hold the sharpening as long as the two levels of powdered metal (PM) technology. And those will not hold their edges as long as steel with vanadium in it. The Thompson tools are vanadium steel (V-10) and are still able to be sharpened with the same technology as HSS and PM tools. It's my understanding that some folks sold V-20 tools that required a different quality (reads: "more expensive") grinding wheel, but they hold their edge even longer still.

I have no long term experience with Pink Ivory; I can only offer reports from others. The reports range from "pink forever" to "at least long lasting color". Rockler reports that it will morph to something between orange and orange-brown over time. I cannot find anything that talks about WHY it changes color. Most woods change either because of UV exposure, or exposure to oxygen. Some change quickly, some take years, some never stop changing. No idea what "over time" means other than there are still pink ivory pieces in museums and collections that are 50-100 years old and still pink.

My guess is that UV protection would be a good start.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Brian - no idea about the wood as I have never turned any. Your new gouge on the other hand is a good one and should be a pleasure to use! Have fun with it!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great gouge Brian. You will love the longer handle. I have heard it stays pink to it will turn brown over time. No first hand experience with it though.

[Don Carter]

Brian:
Congrats on the Crown gouge. I got a 3/8" detail gouge from Doug Thompson from Santa. I have made pens from Pink Ivory for several years. It does change over time, but it stays kinda pink. Some pen makers have had trouble with it cracking and I have had one pen crack. It is a beautiful wood and is expensive. I use a pink ivory cap pen everyday. With the CA finish it still looks good.
All the best.

Don