Anyone Using A Barry King Awl Handle With Bob Douglas Blade?

[mrtreat32]

I ordered the Barry King awl handle and a bob douglas awl blade. The Barry King awl handle comes with 2 awl nuts with 4 size holes total (2 on each side).

The one that my blade fits into properly the blade only goes in about 1/2 inch or less leaving a lot of blade exposed. I believe the bob douglas blades are 2.5". Im thinking it would be easier to control the angle of the holes Im stabbing if the blade was shorter. Any suggestions? Is my best bet to just cut a small amount of the blade off so its shorter? I noticed the blade isnt pointed on the handle end but still tapers and has 4 sides..if I was to cut it I can just cut it straight across correct?

brand new to leatherworking so still learning thanks

[King's X]

I have a fellow leather worker friend who has this exact set up.

[DavidL]

The awl blade only tapers at the tip, the rest of the blade is the same diameter. So you only need to stab the first 3/4th to one inch to get the proper sized hole. As you sharpen the awl over time the blade will be an inch long.

[BearMan]

Hi David, The Douglas blades fit my "Stinger" awl handles perfectly. Also my handles fit very nicely in the palm of your hand. If you happen to be going to the Sheridan show stop by & try them out.

[DavidL]

I would love to try one of your blades out but i won't be attending the show unfortunately. Id like to see if it is on par with bob douglas blades. That would be better for me since sheridanleather is charging 30 dollars to ship to Canada even though it cost only 3 dollars to ship anything under 3 oz.

[mrtreat32]

The awl blade only tapers at the tip, the rest of the blade is the same diameter. So you only need to stab the first 3/4th to one inch to get the proper sized hole. As you sharpen the awl over time the blade will be an inch long.

Yeah I am only stabbing it about a inch through but with the blade sticking out so far Im afraid I could snap it. The longer it is the more bend it allows.

If it was set further into the awl handle I feel that it will be a bit more sturdy when I have to apply a decent amount of pressure. Is it common to cut blades off to make it a bit shorter?

You mentioned that it will eventually be a inch long but in the meantime doesn't feel super sturdy.

thanks

[DavidL]

Its hard to snap a solid piece of metal or bend it. I may have slightly bent a blade while rigorously sharpening it on a stone, so i know what you're concerned about. If your careful it shouldn't be a problem. If you can make it fit to the handle after you cut it then I don't see why not.

How many mm wide is your blade? and which type is it(slim or regular)? Im experimenting with different size blades and I have an awl thats 56mm and its too large for 7spi. Also can anyone shed light on why bob douglas awl blades cost 30 dollars to ship to canada for such a small item.

Yeah I am only stabbing it about a inch through but with the blade sticking out so far Im afraid I could snap it. The longer it is the more bend it allows.

If it was set further into the awl handle I feel that it will be a bit more sturdy when I have to apply a decent amount of pressure. Is it common to cut blades off to make it a bit shorter?

You mentioned that it will eventually be a inch long but in the meantime doesn't feel super sturdy.

thanks

[mrtreat32]

Its hard to snap a solid piece of metal or bend it. I may have slightly bent a blade while rigorously sharpening it on a stone, so i know what you're concerned about. If your careful it shouldn't be a problem. If you can make it fit to the handle after you cut it then I don't see why not.

How many mm wide is your blade? and which type is it(slim or regular)? Im experimenting with different size blades and I have an awl thats 56mm and its too large for 7spi. Also can anyone shed light on why bob douglas awl blades cost 30 dollars to ship to canada for such a small item.

Sewing last night through 2 pieces of 4oz leather and I had to apply a decent amount of pressure and it felt like a few times I might bend it.

Im not sure how many mm wide it is. I just looked at the website but don't see the info. I have the slim which they recommend for doing more than 6spi.

Its my only awl blade but I guess its longer than most others from what Ive read. Listed as 2.5" long. So with it only going about 3/4 inch into my handle I have about 2and 1/4 sticking out which makes it feel more delicate.

[LTC]

every time i see ridiculously high shipping charges like that, i automatically chalk it up to "well i guess they just want to pocket an extra $28 on the sale" because i happen to know it only costs a couple of bucks to send something that small/light to Canada.

.......but that's just me.

[mrtreat32]

You don't have any contacts in the US that can order one for you and send it your way?

[DavidL]

You don't have any contacts in the US that can order one for you and send it your way?

I have contacts but I still find it ridiculous that I have to do that because they wanna rip me off. They say its because they can't send sharp items using USPS but i just received a knip knife from USPS.

[dirtclod]

Sewing last night through 2 pieces of 4oz leather and I had to apply a decent amount of pressure and it felt like a few times I might bend it.

Puy the tip of finger along side the blade to support it when your punching your holes.

[oltoot]

The awl blade will have a widest point. It will be much closer to the back than to the tip. As long as this widest point is in the chuck, things are good. The length is necessary for tasks like sewing cantle bindings. The advice about holding your finger close to the point was good. Osborne makes some really short blades and even though they need a lot of polishing to be anything like the Douglas, maybe they would suit you better. Myself, over the years I decided that I needed several awls and so I have 6 in sizes (exposed not total length) ranging from about 3/4" to a big old collar awl that is close to 4" and pretty wide and thick. Most of them I use once or twice a year but then I'm real glad to have them.

[courtney]

I got a b.k. Handle and b.d. Slim awl a couple years ago and it fit perfect with only abut 3/4" sticking out.

I just got a new Handel and it won't go down and sticks out too far with the one collet and the other one it goes down far enough but pulls out because the hole is not small enough and the collet is too long so I can't screw it down all the way to the handle.

So... I stuck the awl in the other side of the collet that has an x instead of round hole And I ground the other side of the collet down on a bench grinder so it would allow the chuck to screwball the way down, now it's just fine!

But, the old collets were better they would adjust down to zero the we ones only get so small.

I actually called Barry King and he told me to to put it in the x side and grind the collet, he said if I messed it up he could send me a New collet, he was pretty nice , I'm sure he will try and help if what I said dos'nt work.

[Clintonville Leather]

On 4/25/2014 at 5:25 PM, DavidL said:

Its hard to snap a solid piece of metal or bend it. I may have slightly bent a blade while rigorously sharpening it on a stone, so i know what you're concerned about. If your careful it shouldn't be a problem. If you can make it fit to the handle after you cut it then I don't see why not.

How many mm wide is your blade? and which type is it(slim or regular)? Im experimenting with different size blades and I have an awl thats 56mm and its too large for 7spi. Also can anyone shed light on why bob douglas awl blades cost 30 dollars to ship to canada for such a small item.

Realize this is an old post but I sell things to Canada.  It is usually $14-20 to ship depending on location and weight.  To add tracking is $12.95.  It is just as expensive as shipping to the UK for some reason.