Sewing Awl anyone?

[vinnie]

I've found 3 corner awls work best. Fairly easy to with a propane torch and an old garage door spring. Heat straighten,heat and bury in wood ash for a week to cool. Shape and sharpen heat to blue and quench in oil not water. Do it outside it will smoke and stink. Vinnie

[langloisandy]

Awls

Shadow,

Good post!

Note: Leather awls are usually squarish and have SHARP edges. A normal round awl suffices for most leathers but try to snag a dedicated one for leather if you have shoes, holsters etc to sew. ALSO: a small drill bit and hand drill/dremel works for boring holes in leather too.

My sewing machine sews up to an inch of leather so I rarely use an awl these days, but I keep them on hand for repairs and such.

Andy

Hey they are not just for sewing leather. Read up on them and you can use them for all sorts of stuff repairing leather, canvas, shoe soles, tears in animals or human skin, rubber, etc. And the sewing thread is some of the strongest you will find for many uses in itself. Definate for the BOB bag or Stash.

[Skyowl's Wife]

Skyowl already had one of these :p, I read up on how to use it and was researching extra needles for it. Somewhere on here, I shared a story about fixing a tent in a wind storm with a cross-stich needle - wish I'd had it then!

[shadowwalker]

Always keep extra needles in them. I seem to break mine at the worst times. I get my needles from Tandy Leather stores mostly.

[Skyowl's Wife]

Hadn't thought of this, will get one and learn to use it.

[SandHillsHillbilly]

I found them very inexpensive at Harbor Freight and picked up a couple of them. I may not make the prettiest stitches, but it gets the job done.

[TLM]

I bought a couple of them "after" I screwed up my wife's sewing machine
trying to make canvas bags.:o

[herbalpagan]

I loved my awl ! Unfortunetely I have lost it in some move or other. I'm going to pick up another when I find one that looks good. Those things are so handy for so many different things.

[unswydd]

What a great idea shadowwalker. I hadn't even thought of that. I do have a sewing kit in my BOB but nothing like that. Kewl!

[shadowwalker]

Hey they are not just for sewing leather. Read up on them and you can use them for all sorts of stuff repairing leather, canvas, shoe soles, tears in animals or human skin, rubber, etc. And the sewing thread is some of the strongest you will find for many uses in itself. Definate for the BOB bag or Stash.