Crown

Crown 127 12-Inch Try Square with Rosewood Handle

3.8 (13 reviews)

Sheffield-made hardened steel and rosewood give this 12-inch try square the precision and rigidity to keep your joinery and framing square through years of heavy use.

$36.94*
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*Price sourced from Amazon.com. Last updated:Jul 14, 2026.Price and availability are subject to change.

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Overview

The Crown 127 12-inch Try Square is a traditional precision layout and checking tool manufactured by Crown Hand Tools Ltd in Sheffield, England — a provenance that carries genuine meaning in the hand tool world. Sheffield's tool-making heritage is built on precision metalwork, and the Crown 127 reflects that standard: the blade is hardened, tempered, and blued steel, ground to a consistent 90-degree reference, with a rosewood handle fitted with brass hardware. The 12-inch blade length covers the full width of standard dimensional lumber in a single placement — practical for checking framing members, cabinet panels, and stair components without repositioning. The blued finish provides modest corrosion resistance in shop environments, though it benefits from periodic oiling in humid conditions.

This is a tool for woodworkers, finish carpenters, and cabinetmakers who do serious layout work with marking knives and hand planes rather than relying entirely on power tools and fences. The rosewood handle maintains grip consistency through long scribing sessions and is dimensionally stable enough to maintain the handle-blade joint squareness that cheaper materials lose over time. The try square's function is direct: check that a surface or joint is exactly 90 degrees, or scribe a perfectly perpendicular line for hand-tool cutting. The Crown 127 performs both tasks with the reliability that precision-ground Sheffield steel provides — a tool that will remain accurate and functional with basic maintenance for decades of shop use.

Key Features

Exceptional quality tool from Crown Hand Tools Ltd, Sheffield, England

Great for measuring right angles

Rosewood Handle

Hardened, tempered and blued steel blade

Size: 12"

Specifications

Brand
Crown
Tool Type
Try Square
Handle Material
Rosewood
Blade Material
Hardened, tempered, and blued steel
Size
12 inches

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • The hardened and tempered steel blade resists flex and deformation under repeated checking pressure — a direct contribution to consistent measurement accuracy over years of shop use.
  • The 12-inch blade length covers the full width of standard dimensional lumber and cabinet panels in a single placement, eliminating the multiple-position checking required with shorter squares.
  • The rosewood handle provides a stable, non-slip grip in both dry and lightly oiled hand conditions — an ergonomic advantage during long marking sessions or when working with treated lumber.
  • Sheffield origin means this tool is produced to the precision toolmaking traditions of one of the world's historically recognized tool manufacturing centers — quality control that commodity alternatives rarely match.
  • The brass fittings on the handle stock resist corrosion and add rigidity to the handle-blade joint — practically important for maintaining the right-angle reference that the entire tool depends on.

👎 Cons

  • A traditional try square provides only 90-degree reference — it cannot check 45-degree miters or other angles without a separate bevel gauge or combination square, limiting its function compared to multi-angle alternatives.
  • The blued steel blade requires periodic oiling to maintain corrosion resistance in humid shop environments — neglect this maintenance and surface rust can form on the blade, requiring cleaning that may compromise the ground reference surface.
  • At 12 inches, this try square is larger than necessary for fine detail work — checking small box joints, thin stock, or model-scale work is easier with a smaller engineer's square or machinist's square.
  • The rosewood handle, while durable, requires care around prolonged moisture exposure — extended contact with very wet lumber or improper storage in damp conditions can cause the wood to swell and potentially affect the blade alignment over time.
  • No case or protective sleeve is included — the hardened blade edge can be chipped by impacts during storage alongside other metal tools, and the rosewood handle can be scratched; a dedicated slot in a tool chest is recommended.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The 12-inch blade gives you enough reach to check squareness across the face of a 2x10, a stair tread, or a wide cabinet panel in a single placement. For standard dimensional lumber (2x4 through 2x12), 12 inches is the practical sweet spot — large enough for broad checking without being unwieldy for bench work.
Hardening increases the steel's resistance to bending and deformation — the blade holds its set under the repeated impacts and pressure of shop use. Tempering reduces brittleness from the hardening process so the blade resists chipping at the edges. Bluing is a surface treatment that provides modest corrosion resistance, extending the blade's working life in shop environments. Together these treatments mean the blade is less likely to flex, chip, or rust in normal use compared to bare mild steel alternatives.
Rosewood is a dense, close-grained hardwood that resists moisture absorption and doesn't become slippery with use — it maintains a consistent grip whether your hands are dry or lightly oiled from working wood. It's also dimensionally stable, meaning the handle-to-blade joint maintains its squareness over time rather than shifting as a plastic handle might under temperature cycling in an unheated shop.
Crown Hand Tools Ltd manufactures to traditional Sheffield toolmaking standards — this is a precision-ground tool, not a mass-market commodity. For hand-cut dovetails, mortise and tenon layout, and furniture carriage work, the blade is ground to a reliable 90-degree reference. As with any precision square, it's worth checking it against a known reference when new and periodically thereafter.
A try square is a layout tool as well as a checking tool. You can run a marking knife or pencil along the blade to scribe a perpendicular line across a board — accurate enough for hand-tool joinery layout. The 12-inch blade length gives you a useful scribing reference for wide boards where a small engineer's square would require multiple passes.