Revisiting Marking Knives and Pencils, this time for failing eyes

[bill epstein]

Was a long thread awhile back on this subject and everyone had a favorite, from X-actos for a few Bucks to $150 hand-forged Japanese treasures.

I'll add these new favorite BIC mechanical pencils. I no longer can see knife marks without stopping what I'm doing to find just the right raked lighting, nose to joint.

BIC Xtra Precision .5mm #2. $4 a dozen. Precise, simple, perfect.429847

[David Eisenhauer]

"If I win the lottery....................", I'd buy some hospital surgery lights for my shop and one of those pull down lights that dentists use when I need to zoom in on something.

[Kevin Jenness]

Have you tried rubbing your knife lines with chalk to accentuate them?

Mechanical pencils are great, though I find the .5mm size rather fragile. Sometimes, though, a knife line is preferable for locating a chisel or suppressing tearout.

[ken hatch]

You might think about going back to using a scribe. A scribe will not cut the side of the tail you are marking, with a light touch does not follow grain and leaves a wider mark that is easier to see and is also easy to use a 2mm pencil to darken if you wish. Here is a mark out made to demo using a scribe.

429871

Click it to big it,

ken

P.S. a scribe line is much easier to see than a knife line without using a pencil to highlight it, most of the time I don't bother to highlight.

[Curt Putnam]

Since I have Macular Degeneration, I need to take precautions when marking. When using a tape rather than gauging, I find it useful to lay the square across the lay-flat tape and then use Issac's Scrawl (carbide scribe/awl) to mark. Then, without moving the square, I fillow up with a pencil. Depending on what I am doing, I may follow up with a knife. I find that enough of the pencil graphite remains in the knife line to make the line visible. I'm finding the sense of touch to be invaluable. I may not be able to see 1/64" but I can feel it.

[Rob Luter]

A timely thread. I’m having a hell of a time seeing knife marks on oak. The stuff is hard as stone and my marking knives can’t penetrate very well. A Tite-Mark marking gauge has a tough time too. Getting anything strong enough to enhance with a pencil is a challenge. Time to try a scribe. I have a carbide version intended for tool steel. I’ll give it a go.

[James Pallas]

Same problems as others, can’t see the marks as well. I think it was Phil Lowe I saw using a mill knife. I bought two of them. Re-ground the blades to a right and left chisel edges. Used about a 12* bevel. They are heavy by themselves and you can exert considerable pressure on the large handle. Easy to run down the side of a square with the long blade. Makes deep square edge cuts.

[Rob Luter]

I have a mill knife, less blade. Time to get to work.

[Ray Newman]

James Pallas: thanks for the tip about a 12 degree angle. At age 74, I can not see details, fine lines, etc., very well any more, good lighting is a must.

In my tool cabinet there is a mill knife with several extra blades that I have not utilized in a few years! Time to give it another look and possibly retire the Japanese marking knife that I bought from Japan the Woodworker store in Alameda CA when I lived close by to it. Come to think of it, I have not heard or seen anyone use a mill knife or seen one advertised in quite a while. Believe mine came from Garrett Wade.

[James Pallas]

James Pallas: thanks for the tip about a 12 degree angle. At age 74, I can not see details, fine lines, etc., very well any more, good lighting is a must.

In my tool cabinet there is a mill knife with several extra blades that I have not utilized in a few years! Time to give it another look and possibly retire the Japanese marking knife that I bought from Japan the Woodworker store in Alameda CA when I lived close by to it. Come to think of it, I have not heard or seen anyone use a mill knife or seen one advertised in quite a while. Believe mine came from Garrett Wade.
It’s been several years since I purchased those knives. As I remember they don’t sell blades in that type. I cut off and re-ground that long edge from another blade type. As I remember the knives were not easy to find. I think they came from a place called Carolina Knife. You can find mill knives with a straight blade and a fixed handle but not the adjustable and replaceable blade type.

[David Bassett]

FYI, I thought I remembered a similar knife at R. Murphy Knives and found it:

https://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/mill-knife-blade-handle-pn-hand-3-4-details.html

Hope this helps!

[Philipp Jaindl]

I've been using a Pica-Dry Mechanical Pencil (2,8 mm Graphite lead) for years now, the leads are a bit softer and need resharpening more often but they last for ages, havent managed to break one either. For general marking and on rougher surfaces its ideal.


0,5mm Mechanical Pencil was the tool of choice for fine layout, since my old one broke I've recently aquired a Pentel Graphgear 1000. Fancy Name and Not cheap, however: high quality, all Aluminium outer construction, springloaded tip that retracts into the Handle, more comfortable to me and Pentel Leads are also better and dont break nearly as often as the others i've tried. Using it everyday at work i like it quite a lot. Comes in a Variety of Sizes from 0.3 to 0.9mm too.

430116

For Knives, single bevel marking knife, (folding) utility knife, (chip)Carving Knife basically whatever is within reach and has a fine enough blade.

Granted my eyesight isnt that terrible as long as i got my glasses.

[michael dilday]

I had been using 2mm staedtler pencils. Lately switched to .9mm and .5mm Pentel lead pencils. I think I prefer the .5mm. Lead seems to hold up and I can get closer to the rule and more accurate marks.

[Phil Mueller]

I kept using the same marking knives, just enhanced my vision. I get a lot of use out of my Optivisor these days.

[bill epstein]

Same problems as others, can’t see the marks as well. I think it was Phil Lowe I saw using a mill knife. I bought two of them. Re-ground the blades to a right and left chisel edges. Used about a 12* bevel. They are heavy by themselves and you can exert considerable pressure on the large handle. Easy to run down the side of a square with the long blade. Makes deep square edge cuts.

Only Mill Knife I can find is this, https://hydestore.com/hyde-tools-61770-heavy-duty-mill-knife-404.html Looks more like a good tool for removing fat from Brisket:D

Found the handle linked below but I don't have a blade. I wonder if a good old fashioned Linoleum Knife might be a good bet?

[steven c newman]

Wish now I had kept mine.....spent many a year working in a factory that made rubber hose. Working below the Intermix...when the next batch dropped onto the "mill".....Take-off belt carried away two strips of the rubber compound...into a dip tank to keep them from sticking together in the baskets at the end of the cooling rack. had to cut, and make rolls to keep the strip going. Have worn out quite a few of those Mill Knives.

Have also seen what happens, when one of those knives slips and goes into the mill.....it comes out the same thickness as the compound you were running on the mill....a fellow once lost a snap-on ratchet and socket...that then dropped down onto the mill....there was a "Crunch" but the mill never even slowed down.....for the longest time, there was the impressions of that tool in the surface of those two steel rollers. Just Imagine that being an arm......

there was a grinder set up between the two lines....it took a long time to convince the boss that an oilstone was also needed. In a factory where the main tool EVERYONE used, was a knife of some sort.

[Jim Koepke]

Only Mill Knife I can find is this, https://hydestore.com/hyde-tools-61770-heavy-duty-mill-knife-404.html Looks more like a good tool for removing fat from Brisket:D

Found the handle linked below but I don't have a blade. I wonder if a good old fashioned Linoleum Knife might be a good bet?

Bill, the blades were listed at the bottom of the page:

https://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/mill-knife-handle-blade-bevel-blade-pn-milb-details.html
https://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/mill-knife-handle-blade-curved-hacksaw-steel-pn-mlcc-details.html
https://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/mill-knife-handle-blade-sharp-point-pn-mils-details.html

Incase your browser doesn't show them.

jtk

[James Pallas]

Here is a single pass mark on hard maple. It’s about as wide as the marks on my 6” scale. It cuts far deeper on softer material.

[James Pallas]

Only Mill Knife I can find is this, https://hydestore.com/hyde-tools-61770-heavy-duty-mill-knife-404.html Looks more like a good tool for removing fat from Brisket:D

Found the handle linked below but I don't have a blade. I wonder if a good old fashioned Linoleum Knife might be a good bet?
Never tried a linoleum knife. I would think you would have to grind it to a chisel bevel so it would ride an edge tightly.

[Rob Luter]

I have one of these

https://www.rmurphyknives.com/store/media/Industrial/MillRubber/AluminumMillHandle.jpg