Knifemakers Scribe

BustaCrook

BustaCrook

Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
92
Does anyone have any suggestions of where I may find a "good" scribe? I opted for the cheap one one from Tex K Supply, used it twice, and it just doesn't seem to put a good line on. If I strike the edge with a sharpie first, then I can see the line but its pretty weak.

Thanks for any suggestions and info.
 
A "General" will work well for you, but even sharpening a small round file on a grinder will do a reasonable job. Frank
 
Get a cheap digital vernier caliper from Harbor Freight, the jaws are hardened and you can measure exactly where you want your lines. No matter what scribe I use, I always use blue Dykem or sharpie to color the steel first.
 
Hey BustaCrook :) , One problem with Blade Edge Scribes or calipers that run along said edge is the fact they don't necessarily scribe a straight line. If your blade or edge is warped, the scribe or caliper will simply follow that warp.
You'll most certainly have 2 parallel lines on the edge but they won't always be straight.
Remember, there's a big difference between straight & parallel or flat & parallel .

The best tool for the job, IMHO, is a surface plate and a height gauge.

A little more expensive initially, but it's the right tool for the job ........ ;)


:cool:
 
Thanks Justin and David. I didn't consider using calipers but see where that it a remedy. I know what you mean as well David about the "straight & parallel". I learned that from my first forged-crooked blade. The surface plate and height gauge is a good suggestion and I'll check into it.

Thanks a lot for the help. Very much appreciated!
 
Ditto David Wesner! Hear, hear!! "The best tool for the job, IMHO, is a surface plate and a height gauge." Enco often has deals (free!!) on shipping surface plates and their little ones-- plenty large enough for blades-- are dirt cheap to begin with. Chinese, alas, but a lot better than a hunk of marble tile. Hardly anybody except machinists know what a height gauge is, so you can often find one going cheap at garage sales when they sell off Dad's tools. RIP Dad!
 
ps. Just be sure, especially with Ebay vendors, that the height gauge has its scriber. They often have gotten lost. And Starrett ain't makin' no mo' for my older model.
 
Another vote for a surface plate and height guage. I do have one of JT's scribes he made before he disappeared, and I use it occasionally. It works well with a surface plate also.

--nathan
 
before i got a surfaceplate (9x12x1 enough for what i need) i bought what seemed to be a flat granite tile from lowes, tried scribing some edges and they were all different thicknesses, so i took my scale and put it on edge and it was not very flat at all. so floor tiles a no go , but the plate like i got was about 20-30 bucks, not bad for the accuracy
 
I know this is about scribes and understand the problens you face when you try to use them.
I opted out and went back to my hand gun competition learning. Your ricasso is the rear sight, look at the joining of the cutting edge with the ricasso from the edge side. The tip the front sight. Look at the tip from the top, this is your front sight, line them up and you got it!
 
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