Reply by Loren

I wouldn’t worry about it if the price is alright.

Most sets don’t include a bowl gouge anyway and you’ll
fine a good HSS Sorby or one like that is a good investment
since these gouges do a lot of work.

It’s nice to have some of the tools ground from round
bar stock though because the can be angled on the
tool rest with a lot more control.

Longer handles are better in general.

Mastering the skew is hard, but you can learn to do some remarkable
stuff with it. One problem is the skew is hard to handle when it
is ground from flat stock. You can get ones with a rounded
shank or an attachment with a rounded profile that fits the tool
shank giving. With a flat shank the skew is really hard to use
and unforgiving.