Awls

Re: Awls

Dave Thompson - Champaign

>Left: contemporary common rosewood awl with cheap cracked brass ferule

Center: Millers Falls 365

Right: 6" Japanese socket awl

Re: Awls

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Dave

Very nice indeed.

We should hear more about awls, as much as we hear about marking knives. They are not just for "poking holes" in things. They do a better job of marking lines that run with or against the grain that a marking knife will do. In my understanding, a marking knife is to mark across the grain, while an awl marks along to the grain (hence my recent picture posted here of a marking set - knife and awl).

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: Awls

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Hi Dave,

I like awls. I have a few interesting ones but my favorite is a small Millers Falls with a black painted bulb.It just feels perfect and is a joy to use.With the bulb in my palm the point doesn't reach the tips of my fingers.Eventually I plan on making my own but I haven't decided on a design yet.Awls are easy to collect,they don't take up much space and to mount them all you need is to drill a small hole in something.That socket one is interesting.I've never seen one before.---Jack

Re: Awls

wayne anderson

>Awls are handy tools. Here are a couple I fashioned from two trashed-out flea market screwdrivers. I put some scrap cocobolo scales on the perfect handle awl (screwdriver). The other awl handle is made of stacked leather. Just a little time with a belt sander and buffer is awl it takes to give the beat-up tools another life ;^) -Wayne

Re: Awls

Dave Thompson - Champaign IL

>Very nice... Thanks for sharing.

Your awl on the left matches my shop screwdrivers (minus cocobolo). I like your idea of turning it into an awl.

Re: Awls

Bill Lowrance in Geneva

>A variant form of awl has a square-cross-sectioned shaft/point. I bought a nice one ("C.K." brand, and called in British a bradawl) in Edinburgh that has a well-made beech handle, a brass ferrule, and a polished, hard point. Just a little rotating back-and-forth quickly bores or enlarges holes. Probably more useful in bookbinding or leatherworking when one is both forming and sizing holes for cord, but useful for woodworking too. Feels good in the hand.

Nice ones...

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>The MF one look neat, I like the flutes in it. Personally I like and use the Japanese ones. I really like the smallest one of the pair. The ones in your pic look exactly like the ones I got from the Japan woodworker.

Hmmmm a awl-ful thing to start collecting...

Is that awl there is?

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Dave,

I don't have the Japanese style awl - but the other two of yours look a lot like mine. My third woodworking awl is a relatively new (10 or 15 years old) Stanley. I like the MF awl too, it's really sturdy and appears to be meant to take a beating. Not that I would ever subject it to a beating.

All the rest of my awls are for leatherworking - I probably have eight or nine of them. (I don't need that many - but they came in one lot.) It really is hard to avoid the temptation to pick up more. :)

Skip (apologizing for the bad pun)

Re: awl or nuttin' at awl

William Duffield, on the Cohansey

>Here's one I made.

The handle is olive, ferrule is brass compression nut, and the shaft is way too hard. Everytime I drop it, it gets shorter. It was originally a Chinese pin punch, that had not been properly tempered. It snapped off while I was punching a hole in some saw steel. One of these days, I'll have to grind another point and then differentially temper it, so the shaft is fairly stiff, but still not so brittle it breaks easily, but the point is hard enough that it won't quickly dull in use. I find these also to be useful for marking end grain, and for starting drill bits.

When lofting a wooden boat, a dozen or more awls are almost a necessity. These need to be able to take a lot of abuse, as they are often driven with a hammer or a mallet to hold a bent wooden batten in place while drawing curves on patterns or on actual structural members, like ribs and keels.

Remember Adam's PW article on the striking knife? Well, depending on your point of view, an awl may be only half a tool :^) Any time your marking knife has a tendency to wander by following the grain instead of the pattern, you should seriously consider whether an awl might be more effective. Whenever your marking knife's kerf disappears in the grain, again, you might consider an awl, even a dull one.

OK, just one more (again)

Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)

>Skip

I do have a few awls on my shelf. Like Wayne's (but only if you close one eye and squint), one is made from an old screwdriver, but mostly they are old leather working awls.

I have made a few as pictured below (and posted before), made from spade bits. These are inspired by Patrick Leach's marking knife, and are used for scribing rather than punching. Consequently, they are shaped like a pencil.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Re: OK, just one more (again)

Skip in Falls Church

>Hi Derek,

Wow! Those are beautiful. I don't recall seeing them before. Very nice work!

I really do like the old leatherworking awls. The ones with the mushroom heads are very comfortable to use - for leatherworking any way. One of these days I plan on either getting or making a bradawl - just curious to see how well they work.

Skip (wondering how well a panther head awl would work)

Skip,that would make it a Pawl

Todd O. Cronkhite Maine Native in FL. Exile :~(

>

Re: Skip,that would make it a Pawl

Skip in Falls Church

>If I made a Beagle head awl would I be having a bawl? :)

Skip

Awls well that ends well!

Derek

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