The grip could be a little tighter, but it works for marking perpendicular to the axis of the holder. Its probably not tight enough to drag across a rusty piece of flat steel, so maybe that explains the price. A piece of paper wrapped around the soapstone stick might be a fix, but I'm too lazy to try that until it slips enough to affect my language.
I made several marks on a piece of 10mm clear and then punished the center mark in the crossfire until the tube deformed. Once cooled all the marks wiped clean with a paper towel. The hottest mark stayed white in the flame and took a little bit more rubbing with the paper towel. No sanding needed.