Diamond Shaped Awl
Diamond shaped saddle stitching awls

The awl is an important tool in the art of leather craft, it allows to punch a hole in order to pass the needles for saddle stitching.
There are two types of awls:
- the round awl, with a round and conical section blade. They are used to open or enlarge an existing hole.
- Diamond awls, which cut the leather rather than pierce it. The hole obtained is actually a slit, which allows to obtain angled stitches in saddle stitching.
In this article, I show you how to create diamond awls, and in particular the most delicate part, which is the blade.
- 1 -
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I use as a base hardened blue steel concrete nails (3.5 mm in diameter) |
- 2 -
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Using a clamp vise, I draft the four faces on the high speed grinder. It is necessary to dip frequently the blade into water to avoid loosing the steel's temper. |
- 3 -
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Then I refined the faces to the water grinding wheel. |
- 4 -
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The blades are then sharpened onto the diamond stone using progressive grit, up to 2000 grit. Lubrication with water. It is important not to leave a pointed blade, but on the contrary the tip should be flat, rounded and sharp. |
- 5 -
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The edge is finally honed on a leather strop. Here is a first ebony handle and brass ferrule. It is important to adjust the volume and the length of the handle to the size of your hand. |
- 6 -
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A second curly ash handle. The flat handle avoids the tool from rolling down the table. The biggest awl at the top of the picture is an old harness awl that I restored. (Big model, for harnesses and horse tackles). |
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Example of use on the sewing of a belt loop using the clamp. |
Do not hesitate to react to this article in case of any question. You can contact me
also on my Facebook page.
Good work !
Christophe
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Category : - Leather Work
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