Shop Marking Knife
Get a better grip on your layouts with this shop-made handle for your marking knife.
Japanese-style marking knives 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 awkward to hold onto. To solve this problem, I made handles to give me better control when I use them. 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. A set screw 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.
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What You Get:
- Unlimited access to this Video Plan — a full episode of the Woodsmith Shop TV Show!
- 5 printable (digital) pages of step-by-step instructions
- More than 20 full-color photos and illustrations
- Retail sources for hardware and supplies
- Shop-tested guarantee from the editors of Woodsmith and ShopNotes magazines
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Similar Woodsmith Plans
Imperial Plans
The United States Customary System of Units (USCS or USC), more commonly referred to as the English or Imperial system, is the standard set of units for our plans. It uses inches and feet for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are in the United States, and it is the one we have traditionally offered on this website.
Metric Plans
The International System of Units (SI), more commonly referred to as the metric system, is the alternative set of units that we have available for some of our plans. It uses millimeters, centimeters, and meters for measurement. This is the one you probably want if you are outside the United States. These plans are provided by our business partner, Australian Woodsmith, and are based on the original Woodsmith plan. However, dimensions and other elements of the plan may vary between the metric and standard versions. Be sure to double-check the plan before building.
Premium Plans
All of the information that you need to build our plans can be found in the standard plan. However, if you want even more granular detail to make your job easier, you should consider our premium plans. These come with additional shop diagrams that we drew when creating the prototypes. Shop drawings are not available for every plan.