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Shinwa Carpenter's Squares - Hard Chrome Finish - 8 Scales -150mm Reviews

5 Rating 1 Reviews
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Shinwa small Japanese carpenters square with deeply etched metric full mm graduations inside and outside on both faces.
Made using hard chrome plated stainless steel hardened to Hv320+ for the perfect balance of stability and springiness and no worries about rusty fingermarks.
Japanese carpenters squares are flat, they are used in the same way as a framing square, with one leg hung over an edge with its face acting as a stock.
Adding a 90/45 degree stopper improves on the versatility of Shinwa's Japanese carpenters square: you can use it for marking parallel to an edge or at 45 degrees, as a caliper, or turn the stopper the other way around and use it as a height gauge.
Product Dimensions: Long Branch: 170 x 20 x 2.0mm, Short Branch: 85 x 20 x 2.0mm 
Square to better than 0.1mm/100mm
Conforms to JIS B7534
Made in Japan.
Shinwa video which shows other ways to use a square.

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Looks and feels just as nice to use as I expected from Shinwa (I already loved my Shinwa rules — the ones with the little lip that means I can pick them up without spending five minutes trying to tease my fingernails under them while internally screaming in rage). Since the metal stopper was sold out at the time, I got it with the plastic one, which works perfectly well (I’d still be tempted to try the metal one once it comes back in stock, if only for the “desirability” and neat wee vernier scale, but if I’m honest with myself, the plastic one really does everything I needed it for). I always loved my little Starrett combo square, and while I still appreciate its build quality, I honestly can’t think of anything I used it for that a Japanese-style square + stopper doesn’t do with less faff (eg. sliding the stopper on and off is way less fiddly) and more effectively (while great for marking, I frequently found *measuring* with the Starrett to be a pain, either because the stop was in the way or because the zero-end of the scale is at the opposite end to the stop). Plus, this is light and flat enough to be able to sit comfortably in a shirt/overall pocket. Love it.
Helpful Report
Posted 1 year ago