Introduction And A Question About A Little Tool Problem

[billybopp]

Most tools that you buy, including awls, need at least some sharpening before they are truly usable. Some need more than others. Check out this video by Nigel Armitage for some pointers ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvY9beqObiQ

Remember as you sharpen that you will also be shaping the awl's profile to shape it the way you like. I prefer a broader tip than what Nigel shows in the above video. I find the broader tip is helpful in getting the angle just exactly right.

Bill

[BuckeyeGuy]

Hi Billy thanks for your reply.

I purchased the exact carbide stone as Nigel's. Of course I do not have the ceramic/diamond stone so I used some green paste and some jeweler so rouge to sharpen my awl. It is still a problem getting through the 3 layers of shoulder although it is a dream getting through one or two layers now.

May I ask you to explain a little about you like a 'broader tip than Nigel'?

[camano ridge]

Buckeyeguy. You don't have to put the awl through all three layers at one time. for instance if you are doing a sheath. lay out your stitch line or groove, mark your holes and punchy your holes in the front of the sheath. now glue the welt and back of sheath in place insert the awl in the holes on the front of the sheath and poke through the other two layers. If you int end to use a drill press. I have a bench top drill press I bought at a garage sale for cheap, it is unpluged, I have a awl blade chucked in it and a piece of leather glued on the drill press table to that my project does not lay on the metal when poking holes. I put another loose piece of leather between the the table and the project when I punch my hole the tip of the awl goes into the loose piece of leather. I end up with a clean hole and no pucker around the exit hole.

[BuckeyeGuy]

Camano,

That drill press tip is SUPER! Thank you! Man, the sharpened awl blade in my drill press made short work with those holes. There is a portion of the switch in the drill press you pull out and the power is disabled. Which I did (to stay politically correct).

[billybopp]

Here is a photo showing some of the things I was talking about.

The left awl is one of the Tandy all-in-one that I bought before I knew any better. Dull as a butter-knife from the packaging, and much too much taper for me. With that much taper in the blade, you have to control the depth carefully, and with thick leather, one side will have a hole considerably larger than the other. It is also fairly long so that it's a little harder to position the tip when your wrist moves around. It does, however have a relatively broad tip that makes it easier to find the correct angle when using pricking irons.

To the far right is, If I remember correctly, an Osborne awl. The blade is relatively long and very narrow at the tip. The length can make for larger movement at the tip with every movement of your wrist. The narrow tip till give no real help in finding the center of the slit, nor help with the angle of the awl when using a pricking iron. And yet, over all width of the blade is comparable to the small Seiwa to the left.

The middle three are Seiwa awls. They are relatively short blades to help with tip control. The blades are straight sided once past the tip, so the hole is consistent on both sides. The broad tip also helps to align with the marks made by a pricking iron.

One would think that the Osborne tip, being so pointy would penetrate more easily, but there turns out to be very little if any difference.

Bill

[terrypen]

I use a C.S. Osborne diamond awl and for me that pointy tip (after sharpening and polishing) makes it super easy to see the tip before it actually penetrates the leather on the opposite side. I can re-adjust the awl to make sure that I am in my stitch groove allowing my stitches to be even on the back of the piece.

Just my $0.02!

Terry

[TinkerTailor]

When you get to a hard spot, the tendancy is to wiggle the awl a bit and push again. I obviously cant see down in the hole, but it seems to me that when the awl is pointy, it stays in the divet when you wiggle it. The rounded end will move around a little, helping cut the fibers at the hard spot and let the awl pass. I also find i can re-aim better with a rounded tip, due to the same reason. If i re aim with a pointed tip, the needle always wants to go into the dead end hole, not the one aimed correctly out the other side.