Robin Corell in Atascadero, CA
>I have a rather large crank necked gouge that is the better part of 2" and something close to a #5 sweep that I like to use for hogging off waste. In the pic you can see how one side still has the tooling markes left by the gouge. My favorite spokeshave tends to be which ever one is sharp and set to take the appropriate cut for the wood I am working at the time. I usually end up fine tuning the finish with one of my small shaves like the one in the pic. I have several of these and they are all identical and mde out of a white metal. I like these much beter than the various brass ones.

The point I wanted to make is that on the same piece of round stock a large shave and a small one with their blades set the same will take the same size shaving. The small shave with the handles lower to the work and closer together is easier to control for precise final cuts. This is something that seems counter intuitive but if you take the time to tune up one of these little gems I thing you will find it extremely valuable.

Jetoba works really well with a nicolson #50 if all else fails.

Robin Corell

Ps. the wood in the pic is Elm and it is the bottom edge of a coffee table.