About Awl Size

[mrcina]

Hello,

I'm getting started with hand stitching and I have some questions about it. I've been reading LW forum for a few weeks and I will keep on doing so because it's such a great resource and I thank you all for that.

I would like to make some wallets and phone pouches/sleeves first. I like simplistic, clean design and pretty much natural look of leather in all shades of brown and black. Something like that in the attachments, made by Nordic District.

I'm going in with a very low budget and I don't know what size awl to pick. I think I should go with 8 spi as suggested in Stohlmans book and the 0.8 mm thread. I've been lookin at the 2.3mm (0.09") and 3mm (0.12") awl blades, can you please suggest what is better for that job?

The other thing is what leather weight (calf, cow) is strong enough for a wallet and phone pouch, considering it will be going in and out of pocket dozen times a day. I've seen 2.5-3 oz, 3-4oz, 4-5oz and even heavier leather suggested. Also, can such thin leather be grooved?

Would the holes made with pricking irons or diamond chisels be too big for these projects to look fine like the attachments?

All suggestions are welcome,

Thanks

Edited May 15, 2014 by mrcina

[St8LineGunsmith]

Diamond chisels work good on thin leather the thing about diamond shaped stitch holes is they are designed to close up around the thread

I would suggest using a .30 poly thread from maine thread with a small john james diamond awl blade for thin leather making 8 to 9 SPI

http://www.fineleatherworking.com/saddlemaker-tools/leather-sewing-awl-blades

[oltoot]

If you can't get multiple awls for various tasks which is what I would reccommend then I would reccommend larger rather than smaller and start right off learning depth control, using only the slender point for lighter work but having the tool in reserve for the heavier that will surely come. This becomes a very personal question. I, myself, have seven different awls on the bench and never have to change blades.

[St8LineGunsmith]

I agree I have several awl sizes, I use drum sticks to make my awl haft's

[DavidL]

I use the same size awl for 5,6,7 or 9 SPI (slightly less than 3mm) and it works well for me.

[St8LineGunsmith]

the awl size i use depends on the thread size.

[ALO]

What's the difference using diamond shaped as to a scratch awl?

[St8LineGunsmith]

a diamond awl makes diamond shaped holes and is designed like a thin dagger blade to easily penetrate leather for making uniform stitch holes in leather

the scratch awl was not designed to make holes in leather they are designed for scratching a line.

[DavidL]

dixon or vergez pricking irons have similar size holes within their own brand. As long as the blade is almost as large as the hole it will open it up to the size of the slit. Slightly larger Is okay too. Too large or too small will affect stitching.

[Tannin]

Sadly, I find the slots cut by my (painfully expensive) 1.5" Dixon 7 spi pricking iron overly long (and, on advice, I took care to specify "slim" when I ordered) - I would think too long to be ideal for your small wallets/pouches. I have some far cheaper Chinese-made 8 spi pricking irons* which would likely work better for your pouches. I would go with 8 spi (but 7/8/9/10 are probably all in the ball-park) -- it will require a few more stitches but will likely look a little more professional/polished/refined (if that's what you are after).

*Their description on Amazon does not call them "pricking irons" or mention "8 spi" & there are several similar looking "chisels" products which are not pricking irons, so to avoid any confusion, here is an image and a link to the exact product I am referring to:

You can buy them individually (or perhaps just the biggest, if you know how to tilt it for short runs/curves) but the set is excellent value and I find it useful to have all 3. I am very pleased with them. Smaller than the Dixon but well made, with sharp blades & polished handles.

Yes, 0.8mm thread works well with the above.

Didn't realise that awl blades came in different widths but I have several different length awl blades - C. S. Osbourne leaf/spear/diamond-shaped (whatever they are called) blades, the 3 shortest lengths I think. But I have just bought a couple of longer awl blades from LePrevo which are diamond-profile, as I am currently using 2 & 3 layers of 4-5mm leather and the short awls are barely long enough, especially once they have worked themselves backwards into the handle a few extra mm (I have had to epoxy all 3 blades into their respective handles now ).

Edited August 11, 2014 by Tannin