Abstract: The invention relates to a general measuring implement (1) usable in the field or in otherwise difficult circumstances and in particular applicable to the measuring of raw timber and the recording of the measurement data, and to a method, usable with this implement. Each position of substantial length along the implement distinguishable from the others, or value (3,4) of the sensor has been coded to correspond to a certain element of an alphanumeric scale (5). Each measurement value and alphanumeric-scale data item or element is read into the memory unit (6) for recording with one contact function of one switching means (11).