Which stitching awl?

[DaveP]

Which diamond stitching awl do you recommend?

[darkmatter35]

I use Barry King for my thinner leather and Osborne for my thicker leather. I think its mostly just preference.  Osborne are cheaper so I can get several sizes but they need to be sharpened. ;The Barry King are sharp and polished when you get them.

John 

[Scootch]

I use the Barry King with the interchangeable blade.  The handle is in-between his small and medium size.

Scootch

[Alden]

my favourite awl is one I found at a market that is interchangable. 2.6mm x 30mm. No Idea who made it. I have a Tandy one that is ok but I never use it. 

 

[LumpenDoodle2]

I found the best awls, that suit me, come from Japan.    I think the company is called GoodsJapan, and a member of this forum has reviewed them.

Sorry, having a senior moment for names this morning.   Need more coffee.....

[Frodo]

I buy the cheapest wally world  diamond awl i can find,  then reshape the blade with a belt sander to fit my personal needs

 . I remove the thin to wide taper,  I like my awls thin and slightly blunt

I am opening an existing hole not creating a new one.

 

For punching a new hole ,  I use a very sharp awl,  ''scary sharp''  

[mike02130]

I use a Vergez Blanchard.  I paid 18 bucks but now I see them in the $22. range.  It took a bit of work to polish it.  I used stones and sandpaper.  I bought a Barry King awl blade and carved a handle.  I think I paid $25.00 for the blade.  I was pretty disappointed and keep kicking myself for not returning it.  It looks as if it was the same as the VB until someone over-polished it and made it thinner, narrower and less diamond shaped.  The widest point--which is narrower than the VG--is at the base where it meets the handle.  They make good tools but the awl I got sucks.  Maybe it was just a one off?   I never contacted them about it, but I'm sure they would've made it good.  I have a Palo Santo flat awl that I use sometimes with KS blades' irons that works well for .45mm thread but not on anything thicker that is knotted in the needle.   Rocky Mountain Leather has a few awls on their site that interest me.  Let us know what you you end up getting.  

[DaveP]

Thank you  for your replies. Looked at the Barry King awls. Yes, they look nice. I searched all mentioned. I ended up ordering the Rocky Mountain awl. Others seemed out of my tool budget. If I need to hone it some I'm ok with that. Just ordered yesterday. Waiting and repost whenever it arrives.

 Thanks again,

David

[DaveP]

Received the Rocky mountain awl. It was nice.  Loose in the handle.  It's too short for my needs going through 3 layers of veg tan. They were very helpful with my return. They suggested a Vergez Blanchard.  Received it yesterday.  The length is great,  blade needed some attention.  Goes thru easily now. It still needs a little more work. They are very friendly and helpful with all of my questions. Again thanks for the help!

 

[Tugadude]

6 hours ago, DaveP said:

Received the Rocky mountain awl. It was nice.  Loose in the handle.  It's too short for my needs going through 3 layers of veg tan. They were very helpful with my return. They suggested a Vergez Blanchard.  Received it yesterday.  The length is great,  blade needed some attention.  Goes thru easily now. It still needs a little more work. They are very friendly and helpful with all of my questions. Again thanks for the help!

 

Recommend you check out Nigel's video on sharpening a saddler's awl.  Some good advice therein.

 

 

[DaveP]

Great video...thanks