Gouges: Hirsch vs. Henry Taylor

[Tyler Bancroft]

I'm in the market for a #3 gouge for shaping chair seats. Does anyone have recommendations or strong feelings on Hirsch versus Henry Taylor?

[Jim Koepke]

I'm in the market for a #3 gouge for shaping chair seats. Does anyone have recommendations or strong feelings on Hirsch versus Henry Taylor?

All but a very few of my gouges have been purchased second hand.

Some folks prefer the octagonal handles like on the Hirsch gouges. My taste runs more toward the round - ribbed handles like on the Henry Taylor gouges.

Other than that the difference in appearance is mostly cosmetic.

jtk

[Michael Bulatowicz]

I'm in the market for a #3 gouge for shaping chair seats. Does anyone have recommendations or strong feelings on Hirsch versus Henry Taylor?

I have Hirsch and Henry Taylor gouges (also Pfeil and Ashley Iles). Hirsch and Henry Taylor are both good tools with good steel. Either one is fine with mallet work or hand pressure.

Aside from the handle differences Jim mentioned, the Hirsch handles have a finish applied, while the Henry Taylor appear to be unfinished; you may prefer the feel of one versus the other, and you could always add your preferred finish to the Henry Taylor. The Hirsch handles are fatter and taper toward the bolster, while the Henry Taylor handles are fattest in the middle and taper both both ways (with the fattest part of my 1/4 inch #9 Henry Taylor handle still thinner than the handle on my 6mm #11 Hirsch). If you like to apply hand pressure to the end of the handle or nestle the end of the handle in your palm, the Henry Taylor may not be as comfortable due to the narrower handle end.

If you like to make your own handles or alter the factory ones to your taste, this may not be a factor.

The cross sections on my Hirsch gouges are a bit thicker than the Henry Taylor, which means more wedging action in deep cuts and a longer time spent sharpening (there’s more steel to remove when you do need to sharpen), but also means a stiffer gouge (which may be good or bad depending on your preference). The steel feels a little different in the wood and on the stones; I don’t like the feel of the Hirsch steel as much as the Henry Taylor—the Henry Taylor steel “glides” slightly better.

Worth noting is that different manufacturers have different shapes of gouges for “the same type.” If you’re looking for a “long bent” #3, for example, (not necessary for anything as shallow as a chair seat) the degree of curvature along the gouge varies from one manufacturer to the next. The sweeps are also a bit different. Henry Taylor uses the Sheffield list of gouge sweeps, while Hirsch uses the continental European sweeps. A #3 Henry Taylor will be flatter than a #3 Hirsch. Hirsch sweeps are close to Pfeil of the same number; a #2 Pfeil sweep is similar to a #3 Henry Taylor.

Henry Taylor come from the factory more roughly finished (the bevels roughly ground, sometimes blunt). However, factory-sharp isn’t as sharp as I prefer, and I like to alter the bevels anyway so it makes no real difference to me.

Overall, they’re both good tools and you won’t go wrong either way. That said, I prefer the Henry Taylor over Hirsch; hence, after my initial purchase of a couple of each to try, I have purchased more Henry Taylor but not more Hirsch.