The Gouger Chart v1.0

The Gouger Chart

Track your gouger. Understand your blade. Take the guesswork out of when something is changing.

A gouger blade can change gradually over time, and those small changes aren’t always obvious from one piece of cane to the next.

The Gouger Chart was created to give oboists a simple way to track what is happening across the life of a gouger blade — not just how many pieces of cane have been gouged, but how the gouger is actually performing along the way.

Instead of relying on memory, you can build a record of up to 100 pieces of cane and look back for patterns in cutting action, finish, measurements, and cane quality.

What you can track

For every piece of cane, record:

• Gouger count — keep track of exactly how much cane has gone through the blade
• Cane / batch
• Hardness / quality
• Diameter
• Cutting action — rated from 1–5
• Finish — rated from 1–5
• Middle measurement (mm)
• General assessment

There is also dedicated space to record your gouger brand/model, blade replacement date, blade replacement or repair notes, and general observations.

Why I made it

When a gouger starts behaving differently, there can be a lot of variables involved.

Is the cane different?

Is the diameter different?

Is the blade beginning to dull?

Has the finish gradually become rougher?

Are your measurements starting to change?

Looking at one piece of cane may not tell you very much. Looking at 20, 50, or 100 pieces of recorded information can.

The Gouger Chart gives you a place to document those changes so you can make more informed decisions about your gouger setup, blade maintenance, and cane preparation.

What’s included

A clean, printable 5-page PDF covering gouger counts 1–100, with 20 entries per page and a dedicated General Comments section on every page.

Print a fresh copy whenever you replace a blade or want to begin tracking a new gouger setup.

Designed by an oboist. Made for oboists.

Digital download only. No physical product will be shipped.