Nicely executed marking knife. I had thought about doing that some years ago, even went looking for some used paring knifes, and then life got in the way and I completely forgot to do it. Something to add back onto my to do list. If you can source some leather, you might be able to screw it down from the top of the vise, so the leather hangs down. I believe Paul Sellers did something similar years ago. Another option would be to stretch the leather it across the inner chops and screw it to the sides of the chops. If you screw to the sides the wood should not come into contact with the screws.