My incannel gouge is getting dull and I’m not sure how exactly to sharpen it to get a really sharp edge. Any help appreciated! Thanks!!
I use a stone from a hardware which is like a flattenned triangle if you were to look at it side-on and the bottom edge is curved which is the edge you use to sharpen the blade on the inside of the gouge.
Cheers,
DavidG
Well, I don’t currently make reeds but have ordered all the equipment. When I ordered the gouge I looked up how to sharpen an incannal/inside bevel gouge. The technique was to get a form such as a dowel or block shaped to the curve or sweep of the gouge(same width so the canna fit neatly over it;you could use the gouge itself for final shaping), affix your strop leather to the form and sharpen as you normallly would. Leonard Lee’s book on sharpening shows this technique without the strop (sharpening compound applied directly to formed wood block). I spoke with Karyn DePunte at Cape Forge tool makers and was told that this would work just fine.
I hope that this helps. I am offering it as an untested/verified but explored option for my part.
I’ve seen one of these stones only recently… Scott McAllister, good man that he is, can tell you the ‘official’ name of this sharpening stone… Scott, where are you?
They can be purchased, I’m told, at most reputable shops that sell gouges.
Brian,
I bought my stone about 12 years ago from the local hardware. Nothing terribly expensive. I forget the name of it though.
Wally,
It’s not necessary to have the curve fit the shape of the gouge, just as long as it is curverd and not flat; nor do I bother with strops and rouge or whatever. Just a bit of a hone with this stone and a bit of water is all it takes to get it sharp again.
Cheers,
DavidG
Shaped stone?
Scott McAllister, where are you???
http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=11658&Referrer=AffWindow
Purely an example of the type of stone. I’d consult a tool manufacturer for advice on tool sharpening, or a local woodcarver. It’s easy to screw up a gouge, as it’s not just the edge you need to sharpen, but you also need to keep the symmetry of the blades face or it can lead to some hard to spot problems when gouging slips.
Alan
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The type of stone ausdag refers to is called an Arkansas stone - looks like a long narrow axe head, but one long triangular edge is flat and the other is rounded.
If you do a Google search on sharpening stone you will find many different products. I have seen ceramic stones that don’t require oil or water. I have seen stones formed like a cone that are intended for rounded blades. NPU’s reedmaking video with Alan Moller shows how to sharpen incannell gouge blades.
My pipemaker tells me that too sharp a blade on the gouge is not necessarily good, as it can take off too much. He uses a wooden dowel wrapped with a piece of emery cloth to sharpen his gouge.
As you can see, there’s lots of ways to skin an arundo. 
djm
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. On my first attempt, I think I dulled it as it hardly cuts at all and certainly isn’t razor sharp. Will try again…
BTW, even here in Germany they call the thing “Arkansasstein”
When I bought a Marples in-cannel gouge from Woodcraft Supply (about 20 years ago, now, not sure if they’re still available), Woodcraft was also selling an assortment of rounded slipstones that were expressly designed for sharpening in-cannel gouges. Looks like these are still available through their web site:
http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?DeptID=2058&FamilyID=229
These slipstones should do the trick.
-Brad
Yes, these are the stones to use, they are called ‘India Slips’.
Hey Wally,
Forget about stones. I’ve used wet/dry sand paper for all my sharpening
for several years now. For the incannel all you need is a hard wood
dowel of the proper diameter to conform to the sweep of the gouge.
Wrap the appropriate grit of sand paper around the dowel and proceed
with sharpening. Use different grades from coarse to fine to acquire
a razor edge. I use light machine oil on the paper to keep the paper
from clogging. The great advantage of this method is the
availablility of a wide variety of grits and the ability to get
the exact diameter you need for your particular gouge. By the by,
this method is also very effective for straight edge tools as well.
I place my paper on a piece of thick plate glass and work my way up
through increasingly fine grits of paper to achieve a razor edge.
Easy peasy. Acquiring curved and flat stones over a range of grits
for all my range of edge tools would be prohibitively expensive.
Doing it this way I only have the modest expense of sand paper.
Kevin
Kevin, you’ve sold me on the idea. Thanks. 
Just thought I would add my two penneth worth.
There has been a lot of discussion about the inner curve but, a sharp edge can be defined as the meeting of two polished surfaces. The outside of the gouge (the convex face) is just as important as the internal curve.
Resharpening will normally happen on the internal curve as discussed earlier but the external curve must also be dealt with, although this usually only need to be done once in the lifetime of a chisel/gouge. It is often referred to as lapping.
The outer suface works best if it is perfectly straight along it’s length (I don’t mean remove the curve across the gouge) and free from all scratches. This helps it slide smoothly through the wood and also create the best possible cutting edge.
Lapping is usually done by working the back of the chisel/gouge through grades of sharpening stone up to about 6000 then polishing using an abrasive cream on a flat leather. Care must be taken with a gouge to roll it carefully during the process to preserve the curve.
The best edge is obtained by polishing the inner surface as well. Leather with abrasive cream, wrapped around your dowel will do this. When using a slip stone/dowel you can spot where you need more work by looking for light reflecting off the cutting edge. If you see a flicker of light it means there is a flat surface at the edge and more work is needed. As mentioned earlier varying grade of slip stone or silicon carbide paper will aid you on your way. Remove any burrs by stropping the edge against some leather etc.
Hopefully without insulting any reed makers too much, a chisel/gouge cannot be too sharp unless you are using it for splitting rather than cutting. If you are taking off too much you need to improve your hand skills.
Again, as mentioned earlier, this sort of stuff is a lot easier to demonstrate than describe. If you can find a friendly fine woodworker they will probably revel in showing you their esoteric collection of Japanese waterstones.
David
People…people…you make it all so complicated and expensive. It’s only a gouge for gouging cane what’s going to be sanded again anyway. We’re not carving headpieces for Stradivarius fingerboards here. Go down to your local hardware, pick up a stone like mine - it’s about 5mm thick at the widest edge (the curved edge) and about 2mm at the narrow edge for no more than 5 dollars. No need to match the inner diameter of the curve. Add a bit of water and your home and hosed. It doesn’t need to be super sharp. I’ve been doing it this way for ten years on cane which would be classed as hard. No probs. If you get a slight burr on the bottom edge, carefully run it along a flat smooth stone once or twice.
Cheers,
DavidG
A quick response David.
It’s possibly a matter of philosophy rather than practicality but just because something is adequate doesn’t mean it should not be improved upon.
If you were to try a properly sharpened gouge I believe you would be converted. It really only takes a short time to do a proper job if you take the time to acquire the skills.
And as a side issue, for woodworkers a properly sharpened chisel is a joy.
Just packing my bags (including a very sharp gouge) for the NPU Tionol.
See you all after the weekend.
David
Just thought I would add fuel to the fire 
I use a sanding cylinder that approximately maches the inner curve of my gouges mounted in my drill press. Turn it on and away you go. This quickly gives a very uniform bevel, and allows you to remove metal quickly if you want to change the bevel or the relief angle - slip stones are extremely tedius and hard to control for this job.
I also hone on a piece of leather glued to a wooden dowel. As David Lim pointed out this is really helpful for finding high and low spots.
It may all seem over-kill but the end result is that the gouge removes cane material in a very reproducible and uniform fashion. I can get my slips almost to the final demension with very little sanding (praise Allah).
Cheers!
~John