Types of Leather Awls and Related Parts
Awl Haft
A leather awl haft is essentially a handle that can fit interchangeable awl blades. This allows you to have a single handle and multiple blades, instead of many separate awls taking up space on your workspace. It can also make having several useful tools less expensive, as blades are typically cheaper alone than as a fixed part of a handle.
For an awl haft, it’s important that the handle is sturdy, and fits comfortably in your hand. The size should feel good and provide a nice gripping surface. Some awls are basic and functional. Others come made from exotic or rare woods, and have unique, ergonomic shapes.
At the top of the haft (where it might be struck with a hammer or maul), the awl should have some sort of abrasion protection such as a metal or leather end. This will keep the wooden part of the handle from being damaged when used for a task that requires hitting it on the top to provide more force when using it.
Hafts are a handy way to widen your leather working tool set in an efficient way.
Collar Awl
Collar awls are usually used by saddle makers. They feature a long tang (about 8″-10″) with sharp cutting edges on the end. They pierce leather, creating a slit that will allow you to either push or pull thicker lacing through.
The slit shape will allow the leather to sit more flat (than if it were just a round hole) after the lacing is pulled through. This leaves a much more pleasing visual appearance to the finished piece.
Since these are generally used for larger holes through ticker leather, the longer design of them helps provide the leverage needed to make the work easier.
Curved Awl
Curved awls are very helpful for creating holes for stitching rounded or curved leather pieces together (as opposed to those that are flat). When joining two pieces that will be over a curved surface, the curved awls create an opening that will more naturally reflect the curve of the final stitch, allowing for tighter stitching and more overall control. It also looks much nicer as a finished piece.
These awls also work well when you don’t want to fully penetrate the leather. You can use adjust the pressure applied by hand and go only as deeply into the leather as needed. The curve allows for more agile precision with this task. It takes a little practice to get used to, though then becomes another helpful tool and skill for leather craft.
Diamond Awl
When looking for a tool that can make a hole in leather without leaving a large opening, try a leather diamond awl. They are awls with a diamond-shaped (think 4 corners coming to a point) blade and a very sharp point. These are a very popular type of awl.
The sharp point allows it to cut into the leather, while the diamond tip pushes through. The result is a tiny “x” cut in the leather. Due to the material flexibility of the “x” cut, when thread passes through along with the additional space needed for the needle, it forms a tight seam, a benefit of the leather diamond awl pattern.
This is better than just a hole punched into the leather, as holes created like that would often be larger than the thread used and leave a loose-fitting seam once complete. This wouldn’t look as great, so often diamond tipped awls are used in work that will be stitched.
Leather diamond awls come in various sizes so the crafter can choose what size hole is most appropriate for the project. This is definitely a recommended leather working tool.
Here is a video of a diamond awl being made and used for a project.
Lacing Awl
This type of awl is used for pulling leather lacing through holes. The tip usually has a small hooked end, or an eye (like on a needle, just much larger). The lacing awl is pushed through the material, lacing hooked onto/through the end, and it’s pulled back through the material (with the lacing with it). This is repeated for each hole the lacing will be pulled through.
Lacing is usually much heavier and thicker than thread, so it requires a larger, sturdier tool to hook and pull it through.
Sewing Awl/Needle Awl
A sewing awl (also referred to as a needle awl) is an awl with a pointed needle end and an eye on it. This is one of the most helpful leather stitching tools. This allows threads to be passed through the needle and pushed through leather material when stitching two or more pieces together.
It essentially functions like a thick, strong needle. Instead of being pushed through by hand, or with a finger thimble, it can be pushed through via the handle, held by the hand. This is usually helpful, and sometimes necessary, as leathers can be very tough, thick materials. Having a sturdy way to pass thread through them can make things much easier.