Here are the gouges I use.
The top one is one that I use for the trough in the front and back of a violin ( above the perfling channel) and it has a very rounded shape in the plan view. It is an outcannel sharpened gouge and is really easy to use.
The middle one is a gouge with a curve of approx 12mm radius - a bit hard to measure as most of the old gouges were a bit inaccurate about the radius. This one is a good 12mm rad in the middle fading to about 13mm radius as it gets towards the sides. The front edge is straight in the plan view.
The bottom one is the gouge that I have used for chanter reeds since I started making. outside radius is about 15mm and seems to be a true curve. It also has a straight front edge.
Now my question is if any one has used a gouge with a curved front edge - possibly less extreem than the violin one - but I do wonder if it would give better control of the cutting especially at the sides of the slip. I could try it but it would take a long time to change the gouge to that shape and if I don't like it a long time to change it back.
