Finally tried a marking knife on a recent cabinet build

Willow Adams · 2026-02-28T14:55:59.372998+00:00

I used to rely on a pencil for all my layout marks, but the lines were often too thick. For a recent project, I switched to a marking knife, and the cuts came out much cleaner. Now my joints fit together perfectly without any extra sanding. Has anyone else seen improvement from changing their layout tools?

aaronprice7mo ago

Totally feel that, makes such a difference.

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price.tara7mo ago

My buddy was always fussing with his dovetails not lining up right. He used a pencil for years and his cuts were just off enough to need lots of filler. Last month he borrowed my marking knife on a whim for a small box project. The difference was crazy, his joints clicked together like Lego bricks. He said the thin knife line gave his saw a perfect target to follow. Now he won't touch a pencil for fine work, it completely changed his process.

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avery_murray7mo ago

That perfect target means the cut starts right where it needs to.

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