Marking knives

[Philip Davies]

One of the first homemade tools was a marking or a scribing knife, 40 years ago. And last week, I lost it. It must have fallen unnoticed into the rubbish bin by my bench. The idea came from “Woodwork Aids and Devices” by Robert Wearing.

To replace it, I took two handles I had turned, cut them at an angle on the bandsaw, in a cradle.
The one on the left was made first. The blade is from a sliding bevel, which slid, but did not lock, so it was scrapped. Hopefully you cannot make out the brand, but it is stainless steel. While fitting it, I thought that it may not retain an edge. So I retrieved a very rusty rule from the scrap pile. Surprisingly, the marks were still clear when cleaned up, despite several years of weather.
You can’t make out, but the blades are housed flush, dep oxide and screwed.
The old one had a blade made from a machine hacksaw blade and kept a good edge.
Now it’s replaced, perhaps it will be found.