A Pencil is a mandatory part of your kit, but definitely not the only tool you should be using to layout and mark your projects!
Knives leave very fine layout cuts that let you precisely allow measuring the exact length of components, and the exact transfer of those measurements from component to component, and then allow the exact placement of a chisel ready to pare or the saw ready to cut.
Awls allow an exactly placed indent point to fix a knife point ready to bring a square to the knife and mark a line across a component or place a drill bit. They can drill small holes through thin material something that can be awkward and time consuming with a drill, or enable small screws to be started easily.
