A steel ruler is a steel ruler right? Not when it is a Starrett. It's a beautifully designed and precision made tool that will last forever. The gradations are cut into the metal so that you can not only see them easily in all lighting conditions (unlike photo-etched ones) but you can very accurately make a mark exactly at the measurement you choose. These tools are made for tool and die makers and machinists who routinely work to accuracies of thousandths of an inch. To these guys and gals 1/64th is rough work. So get the best ruler you can buy and love it every time you use it. They come in all sizes and you can get flexible ones too that are perfect for use on round things.