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shop-made

Marking Knife

Accurate layout is the key to a successful project. And using a quality marking knife is a much more accurate way to mark a line than with a pencil. This is especially so when laying out joints that require near-perfect precision, such as dovetails

EXPLODED VIEW

short ferrule CAe" long)

handle is barrel-shaped for better control

and tenons. The knife scores an extremely fine line, so unlike a thick pencil line, you know exactly where you need to cut.

I like the Japanese-style marking knife similar to the one you see pictured above. The blades have right or left beveled edges and steep angles, giving them a really sharp point — perfect for accuracy. However, one drawback is that they don't come with handles, so they're

faceted handle made in two halves for easy assembly

japanese-style beveled blade

10-24 x % set screw secures blade in handle

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awkward to hold onto. To solve this problem, I made handles to give me better control when I use them.

If you take a look at the drawing below, you can see how the handle goes together. The blade is sandwiched between two wood blanks. The copper rings, or ferrules, on the ends not only help hold it together, but give the project the look of a traditional Japanese woodworking tool.

Set Screw. One nice feature is the set screw that holds the blade in the handle. It grips the blade firmly, yet allows you to easily change blades or remove the blade for sharpening. In addition, you can flip the blade around and slide the beveled end of the blade into the handle when you're not using the knife.

chamfered shoulders

long ferrule made from standard copper bushing (%" long)

ShopNotes No. 83