Hurricane Gouges

[Tony Giroux]

Anyone using these? Good - Bad - Fair - Partly cloudy ??? Notably cyroCut - which seems to be their brand name for M2 steel tools.

 

[Brian Gustin]

I got a Hurricane Cryo 1/2" spindle gouge (black handle) , holds its edge quite well (Although the way they polished the flute left the cutting edge at a negative rake for a while until it was finally sharpened away) If you need to buy several tools at once on a tight budget, Hurricane (And Benjamin's Best) are fairly decent brands for budget conscious, but if you are targeting a single specific tool (or replacement) then I'd recommend splurging - Carter & Sons, Thompson, D-Way, Robust are probably all excellent better quality brands - My experience with them has all been excellent , far better quality than the off brand names like Hurricane , Benjamin's Best, PSI, etc.

That said, I'd not say to not buy a Hurricane tool, (they're solid) but I'd strongly suggest if you were going for quality, then there is better out there.

 

[William Rogers]

I only have one Hurricane non-cryo roughing gouge. It’s ok, but not as good as the Crown. Sorby, etc higher end tools. I also have one cryo tool. 1/4” parting tool. Can’t say there it that much advantage to the cryo tools. I don’t have much experience with either.

 

[Dean Center]

I have had concerns about Hurricane Tools and the skimpy amount of wood where the tool inserts into the handle. Without seeing what this one looks like, it's impossible to say if that concern is valid for this tool. Benjamins Best have a little more meat in that area, or did in the past.

 

[Tony Giroux]

You all are parroting what I was thinking. I usually use Sorby, Thompson, Carter, etc. But I'm looking for a new 1/2" spindle gouge and Phil's out of stock. I saw the Hurricanes on Amazon, but didn't know what they were worth. I'll look elsewhere. thanks for the tips.

 

[Joel Daniels]

I have 2 HSS Hurricane bowl gouges: 5/8” and 1/2” (the two in front). Not M2. Both work great for me. Hold their edges well, sharpens easily (straight 45 degree angle). Full round rod goes into the handle - don’t know what happens inside the handle.

 

[Chris Lawrence]

I bought there set of 3 hss bowl gouges 8 years ago using mostly the 5/8 gouge. About 2 years ago I had to replace it as my primary gouge and regrind it to a bottom feeder because it was running out of flute for a fingernail grind. It served me well turning many bowls and hollow forms. It held its edge long enough that I could turn decent size bowls without having to resharpen. For the price they are a great value for someone that is not cranking out multiple bowls a day and is on a budget.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

My daily-use 5/8" and 1/2" bowl gouges are Hurricane (non-M42). I bought them before I really knew much. They have been good gouges, but predictably, don't hold an edge as well as an M42, cryo, etc. They are good enough that I don't feel the need to replace them immediately.

 

[Dave Hulett]

I have a number of Hurricane gouges and have found them to be an excellent value. ie: I bought a Crown Ellsworth tool from a club member that didn't use and discovered that the Hurricane 5/8" bowl gouge I already owned was just as good for 1/3rd the price. same HSS steel. I have a Hurricane parting tool that's going on 12 years of use. I also have 4 scrapers and bought 5 sets of tools (5/8" BG, 1/4"BG, 1/2" scraper, parting tool and SRG) for student use in our intro to workworking classes. I highly recommend them.