roughing gouge

Hello, I'm looking to buy a roughing gouge and a skew. I turn solely pens. What size do you think will suite pen turning best? The 1/2" (12.7mm) or the larger 3/4" (19mm)? Thanks.

I have made a bunch of pens and wondered that after turning to round, if anyone used a 1/4 inch parting tool to take off the majority of material and then turn to dimension? May not be any faster than using a roughing gouge. Curious.

Ever heard of- You can't see the forest for the trees? Started to turn two pens for archery tournament door prizes. I used the right wheel on my Rikon grinder and was pleased with the results. However, it got good results and had no more thoughts on it. But I looked at the other wheel and...