Handle for New Bowl Gouge

I was looking for an M42 High Speed Steel bowl gouge and settled on one from D-way Tools. I shoes it because it is made from M42 HSS bar stock and not powdered metal and it is made in the USA. So now I needed a handle for it. I went to the wood room and this thick slab of red female box elder said " pick me, pick me"....so I did. The new handle is about 1 3/4"  diameter and 13 1/2" long with an aluminum ferrule with red, white and blue grooves around it. It is finished with clear satin enamel.

 I went looking for an M42 gouge a few years ago and wound up with 3 Thompson gouges because they came highly recommended by many of the guys on the AAW website. I don't know if it because I put an Ellsworth grind on all my gouges or the powdered metal itself but they only stayed sharp a little bit longer than the much cheaper M2 Benjamin's Best gouges from Penn State. I bought a Pinnacle gouge at a tool sale and put an Ellsworth grind on it and I have never had to sharpen it since. I don't use it as often as the others because it is real aggressive and great for removing material in a hurry. All of my gouges, including this D-Way gouge have a parabolic groove so I can't wait to try this one out. It comes with a 53 degree angle on the front like the Thompson's. The Ellsworth grind is about 65 degrees but has much longer wings for better scrape and sheer scrape cuts.
Cheers, Jim