I stumbled upon this interesting scribe tool while on Amazon recently. I'm in the process of renovating my house that was built in 1850 where every built-in that I make and install, and every piece of molding needs to be scribed to fit. My go-to tool for this is a simple compass that cost me around $4 at the super market. Getting good at using it took some time. But it's how I learned to scribe many years ago, so it's become as familiar in my hand as my favorite utility knife. I've gotten proficient enough with it to scribe 6-ft. long stiles against an old brick wall. The old compass isn't the ideal tool in all cases, however. And when I saw this tool advertised I was intrigued so I got a couple of them because I can see some situations on the horizon when it will be a better option for me than the compass I've been using for the past 20 years.
It's available in a few variations on the same theme: a narrow block holds either a knife or pen that can be placed at various depths from the tool's bottom. What's nice about the knife, at least in theory (I can't say because I haven't tried it out yet), is that it cuts the face of whatever you're scribing leaving a crisp, clean line that also breaks the paint or primer of the board you're cutting. For back-cutting that's a nice feature.
The inked version of the Razorscribe is equipped with pressurized ink (like the so-called "Space Pen") so it will work even in the upside down vertical position.
One additional feature that is nice is it doubles as a stud-finder thanks to an internal magnet. I've tried this function out several times and it works very well: simply run the tool over the wall and eventually it will grab onto a screw or nail head. I'll follow up with a full review once I've had a chance to use the Razorscribe.
The Razorscribe is available starting at about $25 online. COO: USA
