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Included in every modern mason's and carpenter's 'essentials'
kit is a device that incorporates a cord that can be charged
with a marking agent and used to create straight lines.
The Egyptians of about 5,000 years ago, and later the
Greeks, employed this type of tool, using a paste of ochre
to saturate the line prior to marking. By the 16th century
in Europe, woodcuts and manuscripts show evidence of the
use of a line drawn through a chalk box or rubbed with
a cake of colored chalk, made taut and then snapped to
create a straight line for sawing, layout or for creating
a further measurement reference. These lines served double
duty when used with a plumb bob to establish and maintain
a true vertical. This system is still employed in the
Western world.
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It is unreasonable to assume that prior to Western contact,
tradesmen from the Orient created the structures and ships
they did without the use of a similar device. Known as
a Sumitsubo, it was documented in Japan as early as the
seventh century. Similar versions made in other Oriental
countries can be found, each displaying unique characteristics,
from straight utilitarian construction, to ornate and
finely carved stylized examples. However, all types exhibit
the use of colored inks (black or red) as the marking
medium, an ink reservoir, a fine line sometimes made of
silk and an open reel device for storing the line. Today,
commercially, one can easily find both new and genuine
antique examples made in Bali, Korea, China and Japan. |
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