While working on craft projects, I find myself with surprising frequency wishing that I had a ruler demarcated in some measure bigger than 1/16 inch but smaller than 2 mm (about 1/12 inch). Basically I wish that I had access to a slightly over-sized inch. Is there some rare, obscure measure that still has a niche use somewhere that one can obtain a ruler for? Or does anyone make straight edges marked with an arbitrary scale?
1/10th, 1/8th
Just get a decent measure.
Don’t rulers for print of different size have increments around your zone of interest?
BINGO! Typography is typically measured in “points” = 1/72 inch or “picas” = 6 points or 1/12 inch. But apparently there’s something called an “agate” or in the UK a “ruby” that’s 5.5 points, or just slightly over 1/13 inch. AND you can actually get rulers marked in “agates”! https://www.amazon.com/18-Stainless-Point-Agate-Ruler/dp/B073V4X923
THANK YOU!
Chinese inch = 1.312 inches, with Japanese and Hong Kong variants. Basically obsolete, though I once almost accidentally bought a tape measure that was marked in it.Like these claim.
Alternatives to metric and Imperial?
US Customary.
Japanese.
Chinese.
Indian.
I once found myself using what I assumed was a metric ruler marked in centimeters, but which turned out to actually be marked in 32nds of a foot. I gather that it was meant to be used for scale drawing.
5.5 points is 1.94 mm. You really have an application where 1.94 mm ruling is acceptable but 2.0 mm is too large?
I use an architect scale {image} … alternately there’s 12.6 microchains to an inch …
Very long story short: I’m doing craft projects with whole pieces of standard non-metric paper sizes; and measuring in millimeters always leaves everything just a little off. Whereas even as funky a measurement as 5.5 points works more often than not.
Yeah, an architect’s rule is perfect. I use them a lot for scaling blueprints. Office Max, $4. When using a particular scale, mark it with a piece of tape so you don’t have to spin it around 6 times to find the one you need.
Dennis
Or for people who just feel like three-eighths-of-an-inch increments are the best.