Awl

An awl is a simple hand tool: a sharpened metal blade set into a handle, used to pierce holes through leather. For hand-sewn work, the awl is arguably the single most important tool in the kit — the quality of your stitching holes determines the quality of your stitching.

Types of awls

• Diamond awl — ground to a four-sided, diamond-shaped point. The gold standard for stitching holes, because it cuts a slit rather than a round hole, which lets thread lie flat and grip the leather fibers on either side.
• Round awl — leaves a circular hole. Better suited to lacing or hardware placement than stitching, since round holes let stitches shift.
• Scratch awl — a simple round point used for marking or scoring lines, not piercing full holes.
• Stitching awl — a haft that holds a needle (and sometimes a spool of waxed thread), designed to punch a hole and pull thread through in a single motion.

How to use it

1. Mark your stitch line first, usually with a pricking iron or overstitch wheel, so hole spacing stays even.
2. Push the awl through firmly in one motion, keeping the same angle for every hole along a seam.
3. Twist slightly as you withdraw the awl to avoid tearing the hole larger than needed.

Care

Keep the blade honed — a dull awl tears leather instead of piercing it cleanly, and it takes more force to push through, which makes it harder to control the angle. Strop the blade on leather with a little polishing compound the same way you would a knife edge.