Revcov Report post Posted March 3, 2016 Ok. This may be somewhere already but my search fu is weak today. I am very new to leatherwork and purchased a Douglas awl blade. I used it a bit practicing and am about to start down projects. I don't want to mess the blade up so I need some pointers on how often to strip it or whatever else I need to know to care for it. Thanks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Black Dogg Report post Posted March 5, 2016 Look up Nigel Armitage on youtube, Revcov. He has an excellent video on sharpening your diamond awl. If I'm stitching anything long, I usually try to strop my blade every half hour or so. If it's just small stuff, a quick stropping before I start is good enough. Black Dogg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Boriqua Report post Posted March 8, 2016 I strop my awl before each use and if I am doing a holster when I get up to thread my needles for the second side I will strop it then too. I have a 10 x 3.5" pine board I mounted a piece of 4/5 oz to and loaded with rouge. I strop my razors often also. Sure as hell beats sharpening if I can keep my edges nice along the way. Few things are more pleasurable to use than a nice sharp highly polished awl that glides through leather! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
