Marking, mortise, and combination gauges come in myriad styles and prices. What differentiates them from one another is the number and type of cutters each employs. Marking gauges have a single cutter for scribing one line at a time. Mortise gauges have two cutters and are used mostly for marking parallel lines to establish the width of a mortise. Combination gauges typically have three cutters: a single cutter on one side of the beam for use as a marking gauge and an additional pair on the other side of the beam for laying out mortises.

The Colen Clenton knife-style marking gauge is beautiful tool made of rose she-oak with inlaid brass wear strips and a brass thumbscrew. It has a reversible crescent-shaped cutter with flat and beveled sides. A nearly 4-in.long fence offers plenty of bearing surface.

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