Awl Shape


BigDaddyO

BigDaddyO

Scout
Bushclass I
Joined
Dec 20, 2011
Messages
601
Likes
123
Location
Western NY
I'm doing my first leather work and i have a question about the Awl for poking holes for stitches.

I figure i'll just sharpen a nail and stick it in a piece of wood for now, but is the tip supposed to be round or is it supposed to be like a diamond shape? I've done some searches but couldn't find anything on this. Also, what should the thickness of the awl be?

Thanks for any info.
Mike
 
BigDaddyO,
First let me clarify that I am no leather working expert. I have only been stitching leather since September, so please do not take my word as the gospel. I have used awls with four different shapes – round, diamond, rectangular, and convexed on two ends like an eye.

In my limited experience, I find the circular shape to be the easiest to use for most applications, as I must only focus on placing the point in the correct spot and driving it straight through the leather. The other shapes have less symmetry and thus require you to align the awl on two planes rather than one and then drive it through straight.

I believe the diamond and eye-shaped awls allow the thread to better stack which allows for a cleaner looking stitch if everything else is done right. I have a 6 hole punch shaped like a stubby fork with diamond shaped tines. These tines are aligned through their mid points, but they are canted about 30 degrees from the plane defined by their centers of gravity. This orientation further enhances the thread stacking effect and limits the potential for errors in alignment. The look of this arrangement is very clean, but it has a staggered appearance similar to this /////////////////////// rather than the effect I get with the circular awl which looks more like this ------------------.

If I am incorrect in any or all of my assumptions, I hope one of the more experienced leather workers will make corrections.

Take care,
Malcolm
 
No expert here, but I use round needles and round awl. I don't use the awl much, I mark the hole and then drill them with a Dremel.

~JohnP
 
It all depends on the type of stitching you are doing and the weight of the leather you are working with. I have had fine results with minimal gear in lighter leather such as buckskin (ie. finish nail, light hammer, standard heavy needle with artificial sinew or dental floss). But, if you are planning on doing a saddle stitch, a diamond shaped awl can be useful. If you are going to do any lacing, then a thonging chisel might be be necessary, but i've laced with suitable round punched holes. The holes have to be large enough for you to get your leather lacing through.
 
OK, it was pretty rough going. I'm doing stitching so i got an old 4 prong fork, bent it over and sharpened the tines into diamond shapes and hammered them through the 5 layers of leather with a mallet. The fork is pretty shot now but at least i got through this project. I am doing the saddle stitch "which is my first time" but i only have one needle of the proper size that i can get this mending twine through the eye so it was REALLY slow going. I finished the sewing just in time as the eye of the needle broke out on the 2nd to last stitch. managed to poke the twine through the last hole but it was tough.

I now need to attach 2 rivets and pick up a snap from somewhere, attach it, then wax the whole thing.

Also, this is my first leather purchase which was a scrap bag from hobby lobby and it turns out it's thick but it's fuzzy on both sides so i don't think it was the right stuff but ehh, it works... hopefully it will look OK after waxing.

Thanks for the tips.
Mike
 
BigDaddyO said:
I'm doing my first leather work and i have a question about the Awl for poking holes for stitches.

I figure i'll just sharpen a nail and stick it in a piece of wood for now, but is the tip supposed to be round or is it supposed to be like a diamond shape? I've done some searches but couldn't find anything on this. Also, what should the thickness of the awl be?

Thanks for any info.
Mike
Click to expand...

The ones sold at leather shops are diamond shaped. So are the ones in my kit. There are a couple other shapes but they're rarely used and not worth thinking about.
 
Malcolm C. said:
BigDaddyO,
First let me clarify that I am no leather working expert. I have only been stitching leather since September, so please do not take my word as the gospel. I have used awls with four different shapes – round, diamond, rectangular, and convexed on two ends like an eye.

In my limited experience, I find the circular shape to be the easiest to use for most applications, as I must only focus on placing the point in the correct spot and driving it straight through the leather. The other shapes have less symmetry and thus require you to align the awl on two planes rather than one and then drive it through straight.

I believe the diamond and eye-shaped awls allow the thread to better stack which allows for a cleaner looking stitch if everything else is done right. I have a 6 hole punch shaped like a stubby fork with diamond shaped tines. These tines are aligned through their mid points, but they are canted about 30 degrees from the plane defined by their centers of gravity. This orientation further enhances the thread stacking effect and limits the potential for errors in alignment. The look of this arrangement is very clean, but it has a staggered appearance similar to this /////////////////////// rather than the effect I get with the circular awl which looks more like this ------------------.

If I am incorrect in any or all of my assumptions, I hope one of the more experienced leather workers will make corrections.

Take care,
Malcolm
Click to expand...

You are pretty much spot on.
 
I have two awls. One is diamond shaped. I made it by drawing out 1/8" key stock to a point, smoothing it up with a file, and quenching it in motor oil twice. I also have a triangular shaped one. Both are mounted in deer horn handles.
highlander
 
I have a variety of awls and I find myself using a hand forged 3 sided one the most. I made a few of these from some high carbon spring steel stock. My next favorite is an old mild steel round awl I forged many years ago. I have a diamond cross section one made by Osborn but I never used it yet. Kind of just waiting I guess. By the way if you need a bunch of good leather working needles go to eBay and search for "sail making needles". These are just the same as the ones used for leather working. I bought about 3 or 4 packs for around $5 each, 25 needles to a pack. Size 14 works great for general use. A lot cheaper than leather store needles in most cases. By the way my stitches are like this ........ and that seems to work fine for me too.
 
Mountain Ron said:
By the way if you need a bunch of good leather working needles go to eBay and search for "sail making needles". These are just the same as the ones used for leather working. I bought about 3 or 4 packs for around $5 each, 25 needles to a pack. Size 14 works great for general use.
Click to expand...

This is great information,
Thanks.
 
From what I've read a diamond shaped awl is supposed to help stack the thread as explained above and make it harder to tear out. Mine is a diamond shape from Tandy but I've bent it twice and the next one will most likely be from a nail filed till I get tired of filing

5 layers of leather! Wow what are you making. I hope you glued the edges together to keep them aligned. Instead of banging a fork through the leather user the tines to mark the top piece and then an awl or in the case of thick leather a drill press can be used if you have one.

Bob
 
I use my drill press with a small nail that I cut the head off of when there's multiple layers. It gets the job done and it looks good once you've gone and stitched it as the leather shrinks back around the thread material.
 
I use a diamond awl and stitching is like this — — —, but maybe 30 ° off center like this ///
the tip is not pointet as a needle, but slightly rounded and sharp


I use the round awl for stitching back two holes to end the stitching and to lock the stitches,
if you use a diamond shaped awl you can cut the tread
 
I used a 3" or 3 1/2" deck screw and some oak dowling rod I had to make my awl. Just pilot a hole into the dowling, screw the deck screw into it with some wood glue, and hack the head of the screw off. Reshape the nub into a sharpened point. My point is tapered more like a mini spear point.
 
I don't work leather much, so that's probably why I don't get it...but if you have a square awl, can't you just turn it 45 degrees and get a diamond awl?
 
Adam B said:
I don't work leather much, so that's probably why I don't get it...but if you have a square awl, can't you just turn it 45 degrees and get a diamond awl?
Click to expand...

If you turn the square awl 45deg and then squish the sides closer together that would be closer to the shape of a diamond awl. kind of like this

/\
\/

Bob
 
Ebay also sells Osborne harness needles, a necessity if you do a lot of leatherwork!

PMZ
 
The diamond shaped awl if used properly will help keep the stitches aligned, but it's main use is to separate the fibers of the leather in such a way as to keep them from tearing which would weaken the stitch, it can be used to make stitch holes in fairly thin leather, or through a couple of layers of thin leather in the 7~8 ounce range, it is also good to prep holes already made in leather by other means.
Using beeswax or in a pinch candle wax on the diamond awl will allow the awl to do it's job a lot easier, most leather workers keep a small block of beeswax on their work benches to 'freshen' awls and needles.

The round shaped awl is not really an awl, it's actually a scribe, usually used for aligning holes or to scribe lines.

Needles.......

Sharp round pointed needles with small eyes are used for sewing cloth garment fabric.

Sharp pointed diamond shaped needles with large eyes are generally used for sewing canvas type material such as sail cloth, when used to sew leather they cut the fiber of the leather and weaken it, they are also dangerous, anyone who chooses to use one to sew their leather project will soon learn just how sharp they really are, they will also learn that it is almost impossible to get a blood stain out of fine leather.

Round blunt pointed needles with large eyes are saddlers needles and are best suited to doing leather sewing projects, buy good needles from leather craft or supply stores, Cheap needles are weak and will break at the worst of times usually ending up with the broken end in your finger or worse under a finger nail, or the eyes will break where they meet the body of the needle.
Blunt saddlers needles will slide through holes in the leather much easier than diamond shaped needles, and more important, they won't cut your thread when being passed through the same hole as your last stitch when using two needles to form a lock stitch, which is the one most used in leather working.

Making holes, although many methods of punching holes in leather are employed, the most productive and easiest way is the mark the holes and drill them, I find the dremel type tools best suited for this task.
Using a 1/16" drill or a bit smaller works well, once the holes are drilled a quick prepping with the diamond shaped awl and you are ready to start sewing.

Thread, most leather projects such as holster or sheath making will benefit from the use of waxed cotton thread or artificial sinew.

Learned over many years of leather work, hope it helps.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top