What is scribing?
Most of the time when you get a ball drilled, they mark where the grip is using a yellow grease/wax pencil.
Scribing is where instead of using a pencil, they use a metal "scribe" and etch the grip layout lines into the balls surface.
It's felt that this gives a more accurate layout for drilling.
Example:
Here's from a article about the PBA’s Mobile Service Trucks
"Most pro shops use a grease pencil to mark the balls for drilling," Snellbaker says. "Scribing is much better, since it leaves a permanent record of the work and allows greater accuracy."
also when they drill balls, it's like a assembly line. The balls pass from hand to hand and pencil marks can get rubbed off.
Scribing is just a surface scratch (unless the guy had a heavy hand doing it) and if you sand your balls (say changing surfaces) regularly it will disappear.
