Awls

[Sanch]

ok so I said I would post a pic of my latest awl it is HSS made out of a 6mm tap and an antler shed. It fits my hand perfectly the haft has a perfect curve to it as well as having a wide base to allow for a firm push. The awl blade has a width of 3.4mm and a thickness of 1.2mm-1.4mm as you can see in the photos the 1st two on the left are commercially purchased blades and the hafts were repurposed bed knobs from an antique bed. the one with a ferrule is 1/2'' copper tubing. I decided not to use the same on my antler haft in stead I used a wood bead to complete the haft along with a SS washer it works and looks ok to me. the 1st photo shows a comparative of the holes the 1st 2 are the commercially purchased blades the 3rd is my hand made one. comments are welcomed!

[billybopp]

Those are awlesome. The deer antler handle really does look like it's comfy to use. Well done.

Bill

[Sanch]

thanks Bill!

[randynavarro]

Very nice.

New poster here. . .

I would also like to make my own awls and other tools.

May I ask how you secured the metal inside the awl handle?

And. . . what is really the purpose of a ferrule?

[Sanch]

guessing you're talking about the ferrule on the far left awl it strengthens the place where the haft and the blade join. the antler awl is made out of a tap used for making threads in metal, the portion that cuts the threads is like a screw I used that end to "fasten" it into the hole I drilled into the antler, after this I just called it done it hasn't come out during use yet. for the other two I drilled a undersized hole (smaller than the blade) added a few drops of super glue and set the blade ala AL STOHLMAN method.

Edited October 29, 2014 by stealfdawg

[zuludog]

I have the awl with interchangeable blades that came with Tandy's starter kit, but I don't like it. The handle's too small for me, and I can't seem to get the collett tight enough, so the blades twist and slip

I have been thinking for a while of making my own awls with fixed blades so thanks for the ideas and inspiration

I'll stay with commercially manufactured blades, but make an effort to shape & sharpen them properly. That means I'll be re - using the blades that came with the awl

It's more convenient to have one awl for each blade anyway

Recently I went to the Walsall Leather Museum. They have a giant awl made years ago by a leather tools manufacturer as a sales promotion item. It's about 18'' long and the blade must be nearly a half inch in diameter!