Sharpening Wood Carving Gouges: How I Reformed and Sharpened the Pfeil Chinese Copycats

No one can match Pfeil’s sharpening quality—Pfeil gouges arrive perfectly honed with ideal edge geometry. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the case with the Chinese knockoffs I tested. Both straight gouges had longer corners than the middle flute, causing them to catch during carving. Here’s how I corrected the issue and gave them a proper edge.

Out of the box, the Chinese gouges had a crude edge that needed attention.

I used a 600 grit diamond stone sprinkled with water to grind down the “horns” at the corners. After evening out the profile, I sharpened the entire bevel with sweeping strokes from right to left and left to right, aiming for a slight camber—a gentle arch where the peak aligns with the flute’s center. Once I achieved a consistent barrel shape, I wrapped fine sandpaper (600–800 grit) around a close-radius rubber form and used it to break the inner burr. Afterward, I polished the flute’s interior with a leather strop wrapped around the same form and stropped the outer bevel on a flat leather surface.

If you don’t have rubber forms, dowels work well, too—wrap fine sandpaper around a dowel close in diameter to the flute’s curve. This allows for precise burr removal and honing.

If you don’t have a diamond stone, you can substitute with wet/dry sandpaper over a hard surface or cushioned leather. This combination works surprisingly well to maintain the edge. Strop the bevel and the flute occasionally, and hone with fine 600–800 grit sandpaper when the blade feels dull. This routine will keep your gouge sharp and ready to carve through any wooded media.

After sharpening, honing, and stropping, I checked the new and improved edge on pieces of Sapele and Butternut; the results were exactly what I wanted.