FAQ

A marking gauge with a blade is recommended because it allows you to cut the wood grain in advance. This will prevent the surface of the material from getting chipped when it is chiseled. The type with a blade can also move and scribe more smoothly.

The answer is: a lot. You will soon find that no matter how much marking gauge you possess, it will not be enough.

Tap the top of the beam, just inside the blade, several times with a hammer. The blade will slowly rise, and come off.

No problem. Actually, blades of a marking gauge have to be set slightly at an angle so that the blade is always pulled towards the stock, making it difficult to derail.

Basically, almost all pre-made Japanese marking gauges are for right-handed use. In most cases, you have to make a custom order if you want a left-handed gauge. I'm sorry if you are left-handed. 

You might be thinking “If I turn the beam around, it can be for left-handed use”. But unfortunately, because of the shape of the blade and the reasons mentioned above, it cannot be so easily modified for left-handed use.   

There are two types of blades for marking gauges. A regular marking gauge has a blade for scribing the surface of the material. In addition to this, there is another type of blade for splitting boards. Unlike the blade for scribing, this type of blade is larger in size and has a double beveled edge. 

A Japanese mortise gauge (kama-kehiki) has no beam. Instead, it has a long metal rod with an L-shaped bent tip that slides. The tip of the L-shaped bent part is the blade, which allows you to mark internal corners that cannot be marked with a normal marking gauge. 

A Japanese mortise gauge has two blades so that you can mark the thickness of mortises, etc. in one go. However, these two blades are rarely used to mark at the same time. This is because there is no mechanism to lock them one by one separately, making it difficult to set them to your desired position.