Hi,
You should look for High Speed Steel (HSS) M2, M4, etc. tools. These are
offered by many outlets in several brand names. The most popular is probably
Robert Sorby or Henry Taylor. Also, there are less well known brands: Crown,
Hamlet, P&N (a new import from Australia available from Lee Valley), and the
"house brands" (available from Packard and Craft Supplies). Harbor Freight
Tools has a set of HSS for under $40.00 that work well as a good starter
set. It has received good reviews from turners on this NG, and they are the
basis for my tool set. You should look at the website or ask for catalogs
for the following:

Packard Woodworks
Craft Supplies USA
Lee Valley Tools LTD
Harbor Freight Tools

These outlets will be able to supply you with information on the major
brands as well as some of the more exotic tools such as the powered metal
metallurgies and specialized tools for hollowing, deep vessels, bowl coring
systems, etc.
Good luck.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX
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"Darren" wrote in message
...
I am looking at buying some extra lathe tools (bowl gouges etc) and I was
wondering what brands people go with? I see some have had problems with
Marples (some say they are good), but other than that, I haven't seen many
posts on the brands of tools. I figure the two things of interest would
be
how long they hold an edge and overall "quality" of the handle (how it
feels, balance, sturdiness etc).

Currently, I just have a "starter" type set so I don't really have much to
compare it to so I would appreciate any opinions or suggestions.

Thanks
Darren