A marking knife helps accurately scribe woodwork to produce an overall precise and neat finish.
A pencil can be replaced by a marking knife. Although a pencil line will mark the wood, its line is much wider than a knife cut, so a knife greatly improves accuracy. Unlike a pencil, a marking knife cuts into the surface of the wood, providing a fine line where you can cut. With a pencil line, you have to guess the centre and you could favour one side or the other.
Marking knives are commonly used to mark along a straightedge. This straightedge can be a ruler, a square tool such as a try or engineer’s square, or sometimes the edge of the actual object you are fitting, such as a hinge. The scribed line provides a guide for users to follow with a saw or chisel to remove material from a workpiece.
Marking knives are also used to scribe out the angles needed to construct joints in wood. They are available with different designs that best suit certain applications. These designs include different blade shape, width and thickness. For instance, you need a very thin knife when you are marking out the construction of dovetails joints, because there is limited space for the knife to reach into, and the thinner the knife, the more precise the marking will be.
They are useful for marking out the edge of lettering or a pattern on a piece of furniture before chiselling.
A marking knife can be used to create a small hole for screws or for a guide hole before drilling.
