Crown Roughing Out Gouges are ideal for quickly roughing out the preliminary shape of big turning blanks. The blades on these gouges have been cryogenically treated. Cryogenic blades offer excellent benefits, including better wear resistance, increased edge retention, less chipping, and a longer service life. Cryogenic Treatment InfoFor centuries, workers have known that heating and rapidly cooling metal can change its properties. Cryogenic treatment takes this process further by exposing tools to extremely low temperatures to refine the metal’s internal structure. This helps remove tiny voids and imperfections left behind from standard heat treatment. The two main crystals in steel tooling are austenite (larger and softer) and martensite (smaller and more stable). Heat treatment transforms the austenite into martensite, which improves properties such as hardness and wear-resistance. When combined with a good quality heat treatment, the cryogenic process greatly enhances this transformation. During the cryogenic process, the tool is cooled with liquid nitrogen and held at temperatures as low as -300° F (-185° C). At these extreme temperatures, fine "ETA" carbides are formed within the carbon structure, acting as a filler between the other crystals in the metal and strengthening the overall grain. The result is a harder, more wear-resistant blade that holds its edge longer. Cryogenically treated blades will retain their improved hardness, even through repeated use. The result is a refined crystal structure in your hand tool that produces a superior performance "feel" over standard HSS tools, and gives you years of service.
