Members BunglerDownUnder Posted November 7, 2022 Author Members Report Posted November 7, 2022 (edited) 15 hours ago, doubleh said: Since I can only see in it a picture and not in real life there seems to a curve in picture #4, hence the advise to straighten it. Personally I wouldn't want a curved awl blade. I have enough trouble keeping a straight stitch line on the back with a straight awl to want to deal with a curved one. Ahh, that’s a bit of an optical illusion from my dodgy polishing. I was grinding the faces on my diamond stone and sort of gave up before they were all perfectly flat. There’s a veeeery shallow mitre from the perfectly flat middle to the side edge. I’m going to have another go at it before epoxy glueing, it’s just a very fiddly piece. Re the end being from a lathe, seems obvious in retrospect. I’m just used to handles where it’s been smoothed off. Interestingly though, the handle is definitely not perfectly circular. Don’t know if the subtle oval-ness is wear, deliberate shaping, or mysterious wood morphing over time. Edited November 7, 2022 by BunglerDownUnder Quote
Members BunglerDownUnder Posted November 13, 2022 Author Members Report Posted November 13, 2022 Here is the repaired awl! It may not be 100% perfect but it’s far better than it was. I ground the blade on my diamond stone to get all the faces perfectly flat and hopefully even. It’s certainly very sharp. Relating to that, should it be? I saw another thread about diamond awls that said only the French kind were sharp. I also noticed that many other awls were only diamond-shaped near the point, then become much more rounded. At the moment I would only be using this awl to make holes in relatively thin chrome tan leather. Dunno the ounce definition but most I’d say is between garment and upholstery thickness. Quote
Members TomE Posted November 13, 2022 Members Report Posted November 13, 2022 Great job of repairing the awl. I typically sharpen the point of the awl and only strop the remainder. I think the idea is to pierce the leather with the cutting edges then stretch the hole a bit as the awl is advanced. The hole then relaxes around the thread to make a tidy looking stitch. I like the gradual taper you put on the point. Osborne awl blades have a stubby point that I modify. Quote
CFM chuck123wapati Posted November 13, 2022 CFM Report Posted November 13, 2022 looks brand new. and agree with with TomE on sharpness. Quote Worked in a prison for 30 years if I aint shiny every time I comment its no big deal, I just don't wave pompoms. “I won’t be wronged, I won’t be insulted, and I won’t be laid a hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” THE DUKE!
Members Gezzer Posted November 13, 2022 Members Report Posted November 13, 2022 Looks like a keeper Quote
Members doubleh Posted November 13, 2022 Members Report Posted November 13, 2022 That is a great repair. Looks almost new. Quote
Members BunglerDownUnder Posted November 17, 2022 Author Members Report Posted November 17, 2022 Thanks everyone! On 11/13/2022 at 10:55 PM, chuck123wapati said: looks brand new. and agree with with TomE on sharpness. It is almost scarily pointy—if I ever drop it I hope my foot isn't in the way, because if it's blade down I'll be a shish-kabob. On 11/13/2022 at 10:26 PM, TomE said: I think the idea is to pierce the leather with the cutting edges then stretch the hole a bit as the awl is advanced. The hole then relaxes around the thread to make a tidy looking stitch. The side edges are sharp enough they might cut into rather than stretch the leather, which is why I asked about rounding. Still haven't used it yet though, and it probably won't make much of a difference on the thinner stuff I'm using at the moment anyway. Pretty sure it's chrome tan, and the rebound on any piercing that's not enormous is very high. Quote
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