Using a stitching awl

[bluepenguin]

Hey everyone! I'm fairly new to leatherwork, and I'm getting to be proficient with tooling, dyeing, etc, but when it comes to actually constructing anything, I'm lost. So I picked up a bunch of Al Stohlman's books, and I've been doing a lot of reading and practicing. My problem, though, is this. When I'm using a stitching awl, after I've gouged a sewing channel and all that, it takes a major effort to get the awl blade to go through the leather. As in, I can't make it happen. Obviously I must be missing something, but I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Johanna]

What weight leathers are you sewing, and how well do you sharpen your awl? Do you have a stitching pony or something you use to free up your hands? What kind of awl do you prefer, and are you able to pierce the leather on at least one side in one smooth move? Hey, I don't have any answers, but there are lots of folks here who do. Give them something to work with!

Welcome to leatherworker.net, there are some great people here, and we hope you enjoy yourself.

Johanna

[abn]

B.P.,

I don't know about the other folks here, but I've never been able to put my project in a stitching pony and just "go to town" with two needles and an awl balanced in my hands (like the books say). My leather is usually too thick or too hard (post-dyeing) to do it.

What I do is this:

I set the project flat on my workbench. I use an overstitcher to mark an evenly-spaced set of holes. Then I strike the awl with a mallet to create my stitching holes. (Don't do this on your kitchen table without some sort of cutting pad underneath! :biggrin: ) After making the holes, then I gouge the stitching channel. Probably not the fastest way to do it, but it works for me.

BTW, I was always embarrassed to admit I did things this way until an older (and very respected) leatherworker with arthritis in his hands told me he had to do it the same way...

Hope this helps (and welcome to the forum!), -Alex

[bruce johnson]

Blue Penguin,

I suspect the issue is how you are securing the leather, the probable hardness of your leather, and the awl blade itself.

I can't really handsew very well in anything other than a stitching horse. By keeping the stitch line close to the jaws of the horse everything stays in place, the lines come out even, and I am happy.

Hard leather especially if dry leather to start with, then dyed, which further hardens it if not oiled, is a little tougher to do. Notice I said little, because I think the next factor is the biggie. Not impossible just harder.

You have to have a sharp awl blade. No getting around it. There is only one maker of awl blades I have found that have anything close to useable out of the box. Most need more than just a stropping new. The Tandy, Osbornes, and most others require some shaping, then finer stones, then fine wet/dry sand paper, and then stropping. Awl blades absolutely have to be sharp and smooth. I don't know it TLF still sells the awl with the blade stuck into the end, I used them for a while, but don't care for them. I much prefer the style of awl that has a chuck in the handle and replaceable blades. I have a couple of the red handles Tandy ones. I cut the knob off the butt end and flatten it a bit. The I can push with my palm - much less effort. Same with some styles of the Osbornes. If the blades (and some smaller sizes do) tend to be a bit loose, break off a toothpick and stick it in the chuck too.

I have awls from TLF, Osborne, and Bob Douglas. The blades from Bob Douglas are weapons, they are great and ready to use out of the box. I bought the shortest awl handle he makes, and still cut it off. I like them palmable. If you get one from him, remember how sharp the blade is to start, and sharpen all your oither blades to that degree. Once sharp, if you drop one and the blade tip hits the floor - you will be upset. It takes time to get them right.

Unless you have a physical reason not to, the Stohlman instructions are right on for handsewing. Keep everything in your hands. Setting down an awl and watching it knocked on the floor by the 4 foot thread you are pulling through will wreck your day. It isn't a race, but doing a good job doesn't have to take all day either.

Bruce Johnson

[Tom Katzke]

Yep, it can be done just like the book says. You can even sew rawhide when it is cased correctly. I use the Osborne awls and work them over. I have one of those cheep head mounted magnifiers that Hidecrafters sells and use it to get a good look at any blade I am sharpening. The blade should be smooth as glass with no marks, all this while still keeping the diamond shape. By the time I am done I guess I could afford one of the Douglas blades. I am sure that you can get them at Sheridan Leather Outfitters 1-888-803-3030.

Tom Katzke

Central Oregon

Blue Penguin,

I suspect the issue is how you are securing the leather, the probable hardness of your leather, and the awl blade itself.

I can't really handsew very well in anything other than a stitching horse. By keeping the stitch line close to the jaws of the horse everything stays in place, the lines come out even, and I am happy.

Hard leather especially if dry leather to start with, then dyed, which further hardens it if not oiled, is a little tougher to do. Notice I said little, because I think the next factor is the biggie. Not impossible just harder.

You have to have a sharp awl blade. No getting around it. There is only one maker of awl blades I have found that have anything close to useable out of the box. Most need more than just a stropping new. The Tandy, Osbornes, and most others require some shaping, then finer stones, then fine wet/dry sand paper, and then stropping. Awl blades absolutely have to be sharp and smooth. I don't know it TLF still sells the awl with the blade stuck into the end, I used them for a while, but don't care for them. I much prefer the style of awl that has a chuck in the handle and replaceable blades. I have a couple of the red handles Tandy ones. I cut the knob off the butt end and flatten it a bit. The I can push with my palm - much less effort. Same with some styles of the Osbornes. If the blades (and some smaller sizes do) tend to be a bit loose, break off a toothpick and stick it in the chuck too.

I have awls from TLF, Osborne, and Bob Douglas. The blades from Bob Douglas are weapons, they are great and ready to use out of the box. I bought the shortest awl handle he makes, and still cut it off. I like them palmable. If you get one from him, remember how sharp the blade is to start, and sharpen all your oither blades to that degree. Once sharp, if you drop one and the blade tip hits the floor - you will be upset. It takes time to get them right.

Unless you have a physical reason not to, the Stohlman instructions are right on for handsewing. Keep everything in your hands. Setting down an awl and watching it knocked on the floor by the 4 foot thread you are pulling through will wreck your day. It isn't a race, but doing a good job doesn't have to take all day either.

Bruce Johnson

[ClayB]

I agree 100% with Bruce on the awl blades by Bob Douglas. I broke the Tandy awl blade that I was trying to sew a cantle binding on a saddle with. Since our local leather store had closed down, I went to a local saddle shop hoping I might be able to buy an awl blade from him. He told me to get one from Bob and that was all he would use. I couldn't believe the differnce they made over the Tandy awls that I hade been using. Bob's blade slide right through all the layers of leather on the cantle binding with very little effort. I know it's sometimes hard to justify the cost of really good tools, but once you use some of them, you realize they are worth it.

I don't hand sew like Al Stohlman teaches in his books. I still set the awl down a lot. I know that sometime I should just practice until I get it figured out, but I don't sew all that much and haven't taken the time to learn to do it properly.

Clay

[bluepenguin]

Thanks y'all! I will definitely look into the Bob Douglas tools. The sharpness factor probably has a lot to do with my issue, actually; I sharpened the blades I was using and thought, oh good, they're sharp now, but I examined them more closely after I read your posts and realized they could use a lot more elbow grease. Thank you so much for the pointers!

[CitizenKate]

I've never quite understood what the point was of only marking the holes with an overstitch wheel or thonging chisel, then having to actually make the hole when you're juggling two hand-held needles and thread. Every time I've tried to use an awl in that fashion, I've ended up stretching the edge of the leather and the holes were never uniform in angle or spacing, even when I was careful to really nail my hole marks with the awl.

I can tell you my awl is quite sharp. While in the process of purchasing it, it went about 2/3rds of the way through my flexor carpi radialis (inside forarm muscle) with no effort at all while was juggling some packages in my arms. I spent some time sharpening it even more since then.

It just seems to work much better if I pre-punch the holes before I even begin stitching. I can get a nice, fluid rythm going with the needles, so the actual stitching gets done in less time, and the stitches come out nice and even.

But, hey, I'm new at all this sewing and lacing stuff. If someone knows why it's better to do it that way, I'm always changing how I do things in order to improve.

[Billsotx]

Hey Kat,

Ouch!

It's not like tatooing , not your arm, the leather and it takes 2 needles - say, "Two!" ... lol

[CitizenKate]

Yep, I've got two o' them, too. (Needles, that is.) LOL

Hey Kat,

Ouch!

It's not like tatooing , not your arm, the leather and it takes 2 needles - say, "Two!" ... lol