Members Chavez Posted January 11, 2012 Members Report Posted January 11, 2012 Hi! Just a quick question: I'm getting a good quality awl (Joseph Dixon)and I'm wondering what size of the blade to go for. Valerie Michael suggests 2 1/4" in her book but as I understand, the blade's width depends on its length (am I right btw?). I've only been using tandy 4-in-one blade sanded to nearly half of its width so far and one of the problems was that the blade would cut the leather outside the groove. I'm trying to improve my stitching quality, so I would really prefer the blade cut to stay within the groove. I've got a standard craftool groover. PS For those of you who own a Dixon pricking iron, can you please tell me if its marks fit within the craftool groove? I'm getting a No 7. Thank you! Quote
Members katsass Posted January 12, 2012 Members Report Posted January 12, 2012 Hi! Just a quick question: I'm getting a good quality awl (Joseph Dixon)and I'm wondering what size of the blade to go for. Valerie Michael suggests 2 1/4" in her book but as I understand, the blade's width depends on its length (am I right btw?). I've only been using tandy 4-in-one blade sanded to nearly half of its width so far and one of the problems was that the blade would cut the leather outside the groove. I'm trying to improve my stitching quality, so I would really prefer the blade cut to stay within the groove. I've got a standard craftool groover. PS For those of you who own a Dixon pricking iron, can you please tell me if its marks fit within the craftool groove? I'm getting a No 7. Thank you! From the old grump; I use an old Osborne awl with a blade of 1 1/2 long and about 1/8" wide.It fits well within the groove and works well for the #1 and #0 needles that I use. Mike Quote NOTE TO SELF: Never try to hold a cat and an operating Dust buster at the same time!! At my age I find that I can live without sex..........but not without my glasses. Being old has an advantage.......nobody expects me to do anything in a hurry.
Contributing Member TwinOaks Posted January 12, 2012 Contributing Member Report Posted January 12, 2012 I use the same Osborne as Katsass, but I also modified another one. I accidentally broke the blade, so instead of tossing it out, I just epoxied the rest of the blade back into the handle and filed/sanded it down to the proper dimensions for it's size. Now, it's my "bridle awl", with a blade length of 9/16ths inch and a width of about 3/32nds. Quote Mike DeLoach Esse Quam Videri (Be rather than Seem) "Don't learn the tricks of the trade.....Learn the trade." "Teach what you know......Learn what you don't." LEATHER ARTISAN'S DIGITAL GUILD on Facebook.
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