The Skirret at the time of Reconciliation in 1813 would appear not to have been as we know it today for in fact the third degree working tool at that time was the line.
The line in the context of the builder’s or carpenter’s chalk line used to plot the position between two points, such as the wall of house or the foundation of a building.
The Skirret was the implement for winding out and taking up the builder’s line. This contention is confirmed by a section found in a letter dated September 24, 1816, that stated, “...the Skivit Line represents the strict and undeviating line of duty marked out for our pursuit in the Volume of the Sacred Law...” (From “A commentary on the Freemasonic Ritual” – E.H. Cartwright p. 197)
