Tunnel Stitching

[Daggrim]

Oh, so your awl is round in section. I thought awls mostly were triangular in section, with 2 sharp edges. Not necessarily so, it seems. I only have a couple of round awls, which I haven't used for any stitching, yet.

Doug

[celticleather]

Doug

I think my picture may have given a false impression! The awl blade is definitely not round . . . if anything, I'd call it elliptical, but with very sharp edges - almost diamond-shaped.

Hopefully these pics (slightly out of focus!) will give a better idea of the shape. Taken from the side, from above, and obliquely.

Terry

Edited July 29, 2009 by celticleather

[Daggrim]

Okay, I see. Thanks Terry, for taking the time to explain.

Doug

[UKRay]

Doug, my awl starts out at the handle end as a piece of round section steel but as it approaches the bend (it looks a lot like the one Terry uses) the shape flattens out as if the circle has been thumped with a hammer (which is probably how it was made!) and although the extreme blade end is very sharp and almost pointed it swiftly becomes a very flattened out circle section. This means the hole it makes is wide and flat rather than small and three cornered. Hope this makes sense. The width of the flattened bit of the awl blade is no more than 3/32".

Ray

[RkyMtnMan]

Is such a stitch used in any other modern application, such as saddles, or tack, or clothing, or bags?

40+ years ago I had a transistor radio in a fitted leather case; the corners were sewn in a similar manner.

The front overlapped the edge of the side piece. The thread passed through the side piece as you describe: piercing the grain (exterior) side and exiting the edge. It then pierced the front piece in a more conventional way -- pulling the front down tight onto the edge of the side piece.

I know this because the stitching wore out and I re-sewed it using the existing holes.

[celticleather]

I think Ray's word-picture may have been better focused than my photos!

Here's another pic that demonstrates the various cross-sections that are available in curved awls. The ones we are referring to are the 'sewing' and 'closing' types.

All this talk of awls takes me back to Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, Act 1, Scene 1

'Truly, Sir, all that I live by is with the awl; I meddle with no tradesman's matters, nor women's matters, but with awl.'

That's awl for now, folks!

[Daggrim]

Wow...fabulous you guys. Now I feel like I know enough to buy a couple of awls and get to work practicing. Reading the museum book I bought about medieval shoes is like eating ice cream. Ummm. I can see where the shoemakers of the time didn't seem to mind a bit if they had to sew a shoe upper by combining four or five smaller pieces. So, it must've become quite easy to sew leather. I've been kinda hanging back, expecting it to be a difficult and painful chore. I suppose my trifocals might have something to do with that.

Doug

[UKRay]

Yup, those old Varifocal lenses certainly make some chores harder. Just try screwing something to the underside of a bench!

Stitching is simply another skill that can be learned and, providing you practice it, will improve with time.

One of the things I would add to Terry's words of wisdom is that you shouldn't necessarily expect an awl to work straight out of the box. Be prepared to polish the cutting edge and keep it sharp. Be prepared to add a little to the bend if it makes the job work better for you. Too many people think tool designers have all the answers but they don't!

I have arthritis and some days I can't move my hands properly but I simply alter my tools to make it easier for me to do whatever task I need to achieve. I have even been known to put a little leather thumb strap on an awl handle so when I drop it the wretched thing doesn't fall far... hardly rocket science but it makes my job easier.

Have fun, Doug - and anyone else who is trying this. It isn't as hard as it might look to do a really nice job.

Ray

[celticleather]

you shouldn't necessarily expect an awl to work straight out of the box. Be prepared to polish the cutting edge and keep it sharp. Be prepared to add a little to the bend if it makes the job work better for you.

Oh dear . . . I've trodden this road before in another thread (http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?s...mp;#entry116136), where I learned that some folk are happy to pay top dollar (relatively speaking) for awls that are already sharpened and polished.

I won't add much more to that topic, except to say (in a whisper) that we don't seem to have that availability in the UK, so most of us are used to sharpening and polishing our awls. It would seem to me like buying a ready-meal, which takes away the satisfaction of preparing the ingredients and adding individual flavours and preferences. Perhaps if pre-polished awls were available over here, some people would pay the extra money, rather than spend the extra time, and I have no problem with that.

It's reassuring to hear that Ray is a fellow-member of the 'old school' . . . quite prepared to sharpen an awl to his own specification.

'Nuff said.

[UKRay]

Ready sharpened? Ready polished? Nah, Terry... that is one of those old 'American Dream' stories! <grin!>

Anyway, how can anyone know precisely what you want from a tool? Right, they can't. Equally they can't possibly make an awl that will suit everyone. Sure it will do some things but... okay. I'll stop.

I have a couple of files, some emery paper and a small hand vice in my toolbox that are specifically for making awls work properly. Oops - did I start up again? Sorry!

Ray