If it works it works. I wouldn't rely on an Exacto blade to cut a straight perpendicular line against a softwood fence though. I suppose that it works in a pinch, but shouldn't be demonstrated as a standard or recommendation. At the very least, a stiffer blade with a flat face to cut a deeper perpendicular line makes a lot of difference. Love the short depth of field closeup shots though. They're a real "over the shoulder" look at the business end.
@@createthisdotcom I've never bought one. I took a nice piece of tool steel with a flat face and ground a V-shape blade onto the end using a Tormek. That way it's reversible. The objective was an analogue of a Japanese V-point marking knife. It works very well, but perhaps I could do with a proper marking knife come to think of it. 🙂 The issue really is the flexibility of an Exacto blade as grain will happily drag that off course by bending it into the grain. The other option is a marking gauge (Veritas?) however that requires a parallel bearing face. I digress.
My xacto kit came with three knives. I used the medium weight but maybe the heavy weight is a better choice. I did experience some divergence during this task. Perhaps it was grain related. Thanks!
@@createthisdotcom To be fair, an Exacto is great cutting across the grain however most knives will try wandering when marking along it. The corner of a wide chisel can be used in a pinch to score the surface, as the flat of the chisel should be enough to reference against the fence with a bit of force to stop it wandering. Purists will fiddle fart with expensive tools endlessly to no real end. Like I say; what works, works. Looks good regardless!
If it works it works. I wouldn't rely on an Exacto blade to cut a straight perpendicular line against a softwood fence though. I suppose that it works in a pinch, but shouldn't be demonstrated as a standard or recommendation. At the very least, a stiffer blade with a flat face to cut a deeper perpendicular line makes a lot of difference. Love the short depth of field closeup shots though. They're a real "over the shoulder" look at the business end.
Which marking knife would you recommend? I’ve been using an xacto for years, but I’m open to suggestions.
@@createthisdotcom I've never bought one. I took a nice piece of tool steel with a flat face and ground a V-shape blade onto the end using a Tormek. That way it's reversible. The objective was an analogue of a Japanese V-point marking knife. It works very well, but perhaps I could do with a proper marking knife come to think of it. 🙂
The issue really is the flexibility of an Exacto blade as grain will happily drag that off course by bending it into the grain. The other option is a marking gauge (Veritas?) however that requires a parallel bearing face. I digress.
My xacto kit came with three knives. I used the medium weight but maybe the heavy weight is a better choice. I did experience some divergence during this task. Perhaps it was grain related. Thanks!
@@createthisdotcom To be fair, an Exacto is great cutting across the grain however most knives will try wandering when marking along it. The corner of a wide chisel can be used in a pinch to score the surface, as the flat of the chisel should be enough to reference against the fence with a bit of force to stop it wandering. Purists will fiddle fart with expensive tools endlessly to no real end. Like I say; what works, works. Looks good regardless!