Fellow amateurs,  
  I have been struggling with a stitching awl that I thought was ready to go when I bought it. Not knowing any better sucks. 
I have bent the tip a few times and straightened it back out. It was tough to go through even one layer of leather. 
I was thinking "Wow, these guys must really be strong to get theirs through several layers of thicker leather than I have." 
Well I have sanded the tip down to be a bit more blunt instead of the easily bent "syringe" like tip that it had. I have also polished it a bit to take some of the machine marks out of it. I didnt do too much as I think I could go a little too far and ruin a good thing. 
The results are awesome. I can go through two layers somewhat easily and three is do-able. The holes are now more diamond shaped and cleaner than before. 
So if you have the same problems I have had, sand it down a bit and polish it up and it will work better. 
Brian