Steel Combination Square with Square Head - 6" Blade Length, Cast Iron Heads, Hardened Steel, Reversible Lock Bolt, Scriber, Spirit Level, 4R Graduation Type - 11H-6-4R

Starrett's 6" inch combination square is regarded by many as a the best on the market. I haven't evaluated any of the other high end squares, but to my mind it is nearly flawless. Why do I think this? It is square, not kinda' sorta' square if you hold it right. I mean square to the point where you can't detect any light between a machinist's reference block and the body or blade even with strong backlighting. Your eye can see light from a 0.001" opening so you know the square is at least this square. You can tighten the thumbwheel using only one hand to achieve the squareness described above. The numbers and lines are engraved so they don't wear off. The engravings are deep enough so that you can put the points of your dividers in them to accurately set the distance between the points. The satin finish on the blade makes it easy to read. The "4R" marking system (1/8, 1/16, 1/32 and 1/64) is more useful than you might realize. It cuts down errors due to misreading the scale and is faster. Reinserting the blade after removing it from the body is easy. On some squares, this is a major hassle. On the Starrett, the protrusion in the body which holds the blade generally stays in place when you remove the blade. If it gets misaligned with the slot, it is easy to rotate it back to parallel with the body so you can reinsert the blade. The spring holding the protrusion has the proper amount of stiffness. Another good thing is that it is rugged. I haven't hit it with a hammer or put a torch to it, but it has suffered a lot of drops onto a wooden floor without damage. Why don't I think it is perfect? It will rust (like almost all steel) if you don't take care of it. By taking care of it I mean storing it dry, free of salt from sweat, and dust. Not a big deal, but this is a precision square so treat it with the care it deserves. A wise man once said, "When you buy quality, you only cry once." Do yourself a favor and buy this square.

Nice high quality very accurate not super heavy but definitely not lightweight they slide nice and easy and it tightens down good to keep it in place easy to read very high quality Steel wouldn't buy anything else

This is one of those unique tools that lives in a special place in my cabinet. It reminds me of a different world where craftsmanship and engineering reign supreme. Why the superlatives? Because it is more than a very well made, very accurate, high-quality combination square: It is because when I take this tool in my hands, I FEEL (add emphasis) different, and I work differently because of it. Corny, you say? It's just a pricey combination square, you say? Perhaps. But for me, there are only a handful of tools in my collection that evoke an emotional response whereby their very use transports me back to my grandfather's shop, where I can feel the textures, hear the machinery, and smell the varnish, dust, motor oil and age. This is one of those tools. It makes me nostalgic for an age- real or imagined- before outsourcing and cheap tools, when quality was the norm. This combi square simply looks and feels different than many of my other layout tools, aside from being more accurate and precise than any of them. It looks... machined. Enough of waxing emotional. this is a high quality, precision tool that belongs in your tool box if you need that kind of precision (squaring-up your miter saw or table saw, for example) and can afford it. I notice that this is now going for thirty bucks more than when I bought it two years ago. Yikes. Is it thirty bucks better? I doubt it. But then, I'm devoting five stars to this tool in part because of how the quality makes me feel, not just whether it is worth the dough for something that is very, very square and well-made. Would I recommend this tool for someone just to use for framing houses or building chicken coops? No, I wouldn't, as there'd be less bang for the buck there versus other combi squares that are square enough and go for far, far less. I would wholeheartedly recommend this, however, for those who need a precise layout instrument that will last, that has smooth, well-engineered action, and is dead level, square, and straight... And that makes you feel good just by holding it.

In science, one is quickly taught that errors accumulate geometrically, not linearly. So perhaps that is why I felt no buyers remorse in paying the price for a proper Starret square. I now have the confidence that when I strike a line or square an edge, it is true every time. I dumped all my crummy Stanley squares (not before measuring them against the Starret and finding all of them out of square by some degree and with imprecise straight edges) and now, all of a sudden, my marks all line up when I strike lines for through-mortises. Starret IS precision. Everything about it is finely finished, perfectly engineered, and beautiful. It feels heavy and as solid as a block of granite in the hands. There is no slip, no jiggle. The grade marks are impressed and deeply embossed, easy to read, fine and accurate. The forged body and rule came polished and satin, respectively, and no touch of rust, pitting, or scratching has showed up after weeks of daily use, and a few hard falls onto an oak deck that had my heart pounding- until I realized just how bullet-proof an all-forged Starret really is. For the beginner woodworker, spending 100+ on a ruler seems.. prohibitive. Foolish. Surely a 25 dollar Stanley can do the job? Well, I don't think it can. You can make a straight cut with a 20 dollar saw, and plane smooth with a 15 dollar yard-sale Stanley 4- but not if your measures are off. A good Starret is the foundation for all clean, accurate work, the only way to confirm your planes are flat, your chisels are square, and your stock is jointed proper. Save money any way you can- but not on the one tool that everything else in your shop is measured against.

Classically trained engineer here who has rekindled woodworking as a hobby. I haven’t touched woodworking since high school but I have so many hobbies that require accuracy, I have learned a long time ago that quality tools matter. After some research into brands, Starrett came up all the time as being among “the best” for long term accuracy and craftsmanship. Starrett did not disappoint, when checking for square it was absolutely dead on accurate against every one of my expensive calibrated machinist levels and squares. The 45 degree was also dead on. I bought the forged steel 12” 4R model. It’s nice and heavy. I gave it a light coat of oil that I use to keep my firearms free from rust until a few days before I know I am going to use it, at which point I take off all the oil and apply a thin coat of shop wax to it so I don’t get oil on my project. Some people just use shop wax and call it good. Which I’m sure is fine. I’m weird about rust I want to avoid it at all costs. I live in one of the most humid states so all my tools and firearms get some TLC at least twice a year. Are there less expensive and just as accurate alternatives to this product? Of course! But the reputation (whether it’s a confirmation bias or not is up to you to judge) has been earned by others and myself. Buy once cry once. Or you get what you pay for. Pick your adage. 5 stars in my book!

Best square for a trim carpenter and do a mill worker, the fit is great, dead square out of the box, and holds it measurement where u put it. As it should. Yes it is expensive but so is using a cheep knock off and getting bad cuts

He’s anxious to use it on his projects and immediately felt the difference in weight and quality, from a lesser brand he has been using.

The heft and tightness of this square give you the feeling of quality. I bought this square to ensure that my power tools were properly aligned and to ensure that some of my other less expensive measuring tools were reasonably accurate. I am disappointed in the cosmetics of the ruler. I bought this particular model because if its satin-finish chrome blade. But when the square arrived, some of the finish was scraped off the blade, apparently by the head of the square. Amazon willingly sent me another, but it also had scratches on the blade. Given that I paid extra for the satin chrome blade, I am disappointed that two of the squares were flawed. I can only conclude that Starrett does not have good quality control since both squares came with an inspector's certificate saying that the squares met Starett's quality standards. Finally, I was disappointed that Starett did not respond to my Email regarding this matter. But, I am happy that I now have a very accurate square. I won't try to return it for a third one. It's too much hassle. I just hope that the one that I am keeping doesn't start to rust where the finish was scratched from the blade.