I recently found these tiny woodcut/linocut gouges by a Korean company called Hwahong. I got them from Gordon Harris in Christchurch. They're not the cheapest gouges available, but they are far from being the most expensive: they cost about $14 each.
The steel is good, and the blades are long enough that the handles don't interfere with the cutting, but not so long as to be uncontrollable.
I have to wear high-magnification spectacles when sharpening them, because the blades are so small that they're difficult to see for those such as I with decrepit ocular organs. On a related note, I've had to paint coloured blobs on the ends of the handles so that I can easily distinguish them from each other.
The red blob is a very small V-gouge, the blue is a slightly larger V, and the green is a tiny U.
I realised after taking this photo that I should have turned them the other way up. First, because the maker's mark is on the other side, but also to show where I've carved away a pad for my forefinger to rest on while I'm cutting. It's not absolutely necessary, but it does give me immediate tactile feedback on the orientation of the blade.
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