This is a nice video, Thanks Ken!
I’ve recently become interested in carving. Although I’ve been following Peter Follansbee for a couple of years now, I’ve not been interested until recently.
David Gill, I bought both of his DVDs on the subject and he addresses the wood. He says the Riven is best, followed by quarter sawn then flat sawn. But they’ll work. As far as species, he favors Oak (of course).
I would think even your “cheap gouges” should work fine. Just sharpen them before starting … and then probably pretty frequently during the process. ๐