Diamond Awl problems

[goody2shoes]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm having some awl problems, my trusty perfectly honed awl that was passed down to me snapped whilst making a cartridge bag, since then I have tried a few new blades but they all seem soooo sharp and no matter how much polishing each edge it doesn't feel right,and I can feel it just slicing through the leather.  I'm using a Blanchard at the mo, any suggestions? 

Thanks

[alpha2]

If the blade is polished enough, it will feel like it's "melting" or "flowing" through the leather. They can be sharp, but not polished enough. At least that's what I recently learned when I bought this one on the forum. I use this one as a baseline of sharp and smooth for the rest of my awls.

[goody2shoes]

That looks like a really lovely smooth one, the blades I have got recently are almost razor sharp and brittle. Please could you send me a link for this awl? I hope they ship to the uk  

[alpha2]

I got it from "Geargarcon" of the forum here. It's a Bob Douglas blade, and he's now out of business. The haft is a medium Barry King. It looks fatter than most, but the fit in the hand is amazing! 

I was hoping to get some Bob Douglas blades when I discovered that he closed his business. His awls were famous. Now I know why.

I know none of this helps you, sorry! Good luck in your search.

[Fowlingpiece]

Just talked with Lee Douglas last night and their awl are still available.  Look for Douglas Saddle Co. On Facebook

[zuludog]

I have a spare, new, 2 3/4" John James awl blade & haft which you can have for the price of a pint.  PM me if you're interested

Same offer goes for anyone else in Britain if goody2shoes doesn't want it

[pat h]

I have been using Barry King awls  they have been fantastic.  Have heard nothing but good things about god things about Douglas blades

[480volt]

Bob makes two sizes of awl, slim and regular. I've only used the slim, in the haft that he also makes. If you have small hands, you may need a shorter handle, such as the one made by Barry King. Bob's awl blades are works of art, sharp and mirror polished right out of the tube. 

[immiketoo]

Ive used Douglas awl blades.  I have three of them and they are great but really thick.  I recently switched to awls by Lederlouis and they're excellent for half the cost of a douglas awl and haft.  They are smaller and have small hafts that fit in the hand nicely.

[alpha2]

20 hours ago, Fowlingpiece said:

Just talked with Lee Douglas last night and their awl are still available.  Look for Douglas Saddle Co. On Facebook

that is great news! I don't do Facebook, though, is there another way to contact them?

[Fowlingpiece]

6 hours ago, alpha2 said:

that is great news! I don't do Facebook, though, is there another way to contact them?

307-737-2222

 

[480volt]

You can also email Douglas Tools:

dsctools@rangeweb.net

[goody2shoes]

On 10 July 2017 at 11:24 PM, zuludog said:

I have a spare, new, 2 3/4" John James awl blade & haft which you can have for the price of a pint.  PM me if you're interested

Same offer goes for anyone else in Britain if goody2shoes doesn't want it

Hi thanks very much for the offer, do you mean the blade is 2 3/4" ? If so unfortunately that won't be for me as I'm looking for at most 1 3/4 and as thin as possible. 

Thanks any way

[goody2shoes]

6 hours ago, 480volt said:

You can also email Douglas Tools:

dsctools@rangeweb.net

Thank you I have emailed them 

[cowboycolonel]

If you haven's solved your problem already, i suggest  Richard Anderson.  He hand=makes every awl and does a magnificent job,  I use his awls to do hand stitching on saddles ( which isn't the easiest leather to pierce) and have been very successful. Never hurts to have several around though.

[480volt]

8 minutes ago, cowboycolonel said:

Richard Anderson

Contact info?

[cowboycolonel]

All I have is a number, and I believe he is in Wisconsin.  (715) 532-6301

[Boondoggle]

On 7/10/2017 at 1:49 AM, goody2shoes said:

Hi guys and gals,

I'm having some awl problems, my trusty perfectly honed awl that was passed down to me snapped whilst making a cartridge bag, since then I have tried a few new blades but they all seem soooo sharp and no matter how much polishing each edge it doesn't feel right,and I can feel it just slicing through the leather.  I'm using a Blanchard at the mo, any suggestions? 

Thanks

I use the Blanchard blades and they are fully sharp down the edges, which is consistent with the french style.  They are easily dulled though.  I just run them back and forth on the straight part of the edge a bit on a medium and then fine stone, and strop the edges as well.  You don't want to dull too much of the point, but if you feel the hole is still too large, you can dull up the shoulder as well.  I do this after getting the four sides all gleaming.   I also find that the Blanchard points are too acute for my taste.  Rounding them off a bit seems to help with maintaining the point sharpness.