That way I can sneak up to the cut line with the router quite easily. Chris is the former editor of Popular Woodworking Magazine. Condtruction folding pocket knife. History Glossary Wood lumber. Blimey Charley, the knife was perfect.

Then one day I found my old X-Acto knife in my desk drawer. That day my woodworking skills took a much-needed lurch forward. Hand work, in particular, is much easier to manage with a knife line that never smudges, changes in thickness or is offset from the point you intended. After a few years of woodworking with my X-Acto, I discovered spear-point, single bevel marking knives, such as the Blue Spruce knife shown in the photo above.

Though some woodworkers would disagree, this form is ideal for marking joints for hand-cutting. The flat side rides the shape of the piece you want to mimic. The knife marks its location with zero offset. But no one ever showed me how to use a marking knife.

And sometimes it would follow the grain instead of the path I had set for it. Then one day, I realized what I was doing wrong. I was moving the knife too fast and with far too much pressure. Once I slowed down and took three light passes in place of one heavy pass , my accuracy took another leap forward.

If you need to add some makeup to a knife line, run that mechanical pencil down the knife line, then run an eraser over the pencil line. Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality. THEN I was expected to split the line when working. It was customary to work to one sixtyfourth inch tolerances or better.

That one technique has stood me in very good stead all these years. If you check the technique paragraph on page 14 of my first book, you will find another couple of subtle points which may help. The position of the flat side of the knife is very important to avoid heading off in the wrong direction or shaving chunks off the sides of your tails or steel layout tools….. This last disaster can be avoided if the heel of the cutting bevel is not lifted too far from the surface of the timber.

OK, you pushed me over the edge. Andy PS — My wife would like a application to join wivesagainstschwarz…. You missed one other step in the layout education of a woodworker, and that is the ballpoint pen. Thanks for posting the tip, Chris. That way I can sneak up to the cut line with the router quite easily. I use that same white charcoal pencil to highlight my marked line in darker woods as you suggested with the lead pencil above.

I like minimal tools. When you knowingly end up spending more just to get it. It turned a boring order of glue and screws into bloody Christmas. Blimey Charley, the knife was perfect. The design is very similar to the one that shived me. The only real limitation is if you like to do those very fine pinned dovetails. But I suppose you would nearly always need something fairly dedicated for those anyway. If I could change anything I would lengthen the cutting point.

Basically make the spear-shaped angle more shallow. This is simply my thoughts and experience with this knife. Want to know my two pence on other tools? As a professional hand tool woodworker, Richard found hand tools to be the far more efficient solution for a one man workshop. Richard runs 'The English Woodworker' as an online resource and video education for those looking for a fuss free approach to building fine furniture by hand.

Just be careful when using it as a skew chisel. The hard steel is kinda brittle and might chip when you pry with it. I would look into Fuller brand Brad Point Bits, made in the northeast. The are probably some of the best wood bits I have used available in inch and metric , available through Tools for Woring Wood.

Made a marking knife just like it from an auto leaf spring. Knifemakers use leaf springs quite often. High carbon steel with chromium. Never thought of using it as a skew chisel, thanks! I bought an old 7 too quickly at the yard sale on my lunch break. When I got it home I found the iron to be snapped in half long ways. I been rolling around the idea of making a marking knife from the two halves. I think you just pushed me over the edge. If you try carving a circle with a gouge and then with a chisel you can feel how much smoother it is with a curved edge.

I use Colt brad point bits, mostly. Nothing, in my view is more accurate and smooth cutting as these bits. I got the single-edge version of this a while back but the gentle curve from one side down the bevel contrasting with the flat straight-edge on the back of the knife gave this optical illusion of the knife tip being bent over whenever I used it and it drove me nuts so I swapped it out for that stanley knife Paul Sellers uses and which my dad used to use a lifetime ago so that was a nice symmetry.

Same steel as their excellent plane irons. I use them very often with a small drill brace with a hex shaft and they make holes in fir without tearout. I made a mistake in the previous post. I thought I would have deleted the word. I just bought an old screwdriver at a garage sale for 50 cents and shaped the point on a grinder, works fine, I use it for just about everything, an old busted up chisel would work too — just shape the tip how you want it. Fine-tools in Germany carry an extended range of both.

I use my in lieu of a router plane on tenon cheeks Narex Marking Knife Uk Zero and dovetailed dados as well. The single- and doublebevelled version cutting knives of the same type are all I use now for cutting and whitling duties. Fairly inexpensive. Then I worry that my saw will dive into the knife line and screw things up. Easy to see, easy to fix and with a thick enough sharp lead, you can extend it deep within a narrow pin.

Always up for suggestions or help! Only suggestion I can think of is going with a very light pressure. As light as you can. Then with the next pass go slightly heavier. The initial shallow cut helps guide the blade. Also I have found softwoods more challenging than hardwoods because of the hard and soft aspects of the growth rings. Thanks Michael, I think that should help.

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