Leather too tuff for awl

[chris_r]

I'm in the process of making a sheath. The leather is about 3.5mm thick and I'm having problems getting the awl through it. I've gone through about six blades now and it's becoming expensive and extremely frustrating. When only the tip bends I've been re-sharpening to extend the life, but in most cases the blade bends significantly beyond repair. I'm onto my last blade and when this one goes I'm going to be stuck. Is there anyway to soften the leather a little to make the job easier? Will wetting it have any detrimental effects?

 

[John Fenna]

Many makers us a 1mm or 1.5 mm drill to make the stich holes in tough leather....

 

[chris_r]

Guess I'll be off to work for a session on the drill press then. Cheers John.

 

[durulz]

Can you get a 1mm drill into a press drill?
It's a lot easier with a Dremel type tool...

 

[Kerne]

What sort of awl are you using? (And what sort of leather?) I have never had much trouble with leather this thick - I tend to put the leather on a cork sanding block and , after having marked the stitch positions, press down vertically. Wetting the leather will certainly make it softer but the drawback is that it becomes much easier to damage.

 

[chris_r]

Can you get a 1mm drill into a press drill?
It's a lot easier with a Dremel type tool...

Yes, no probs with a 1mm or 1.5mm bit in the drill press. Dremel's a good call though. May have to look into getting one.

What sort of awl are you using? (And what sort of leather?) I have never had much trouble with leather this thick - I tend to put the leather on a cork sanding block and , after having marked the stitch positions, press down vertically. Wetting the leather will certainly make it softer but the drawback is that it becomes much easier to damage.

The leather was a n off-cut so not sure what it is. It's veg tanned and 3 - 4mm though. the awl's a 2" diamond shape. You can probably guess that I'm quite new to leatherwork. ;-)

 

[MSkiba]

I came across the exact same issue, and I didnt want to drill the leather (I want to stretch it with an awl rather than cut bits out).

Make sure the awl is super sharp. I use an awl where you have to insert the blade into the handle yourself, force it in as far as you can, to make the awl blade shorter than usual = less chance of bending.

When making a hole with a awl, wiggle it a little bit to help it get through the leather. This is now what I do and it works a charm on 3.5mm leather.

If you are still struggling with it, you can wet the leather, only if your going to dye it afterwards as water will mark the leather if your leaving it in natural colour. Also note when you wet the leather its sensative so its prone to marking, so be gentle with it.

Hope this helps!

 

[Kerne]

Also - I find you have to spend some time sharpening the awls that you buy - I use a Fallkniven DC4 for this.

 

[Dave Budd]

the awl blade needs to be SHARP!!!! it should be a little dagger with sharp edges and point. Make sure you polish it too, the stropping makes a huge difference. Also, what are you piercing onto? I use a mat made up from cork wall tiles (its about 1/2" thick). The awl should push vertically through very thick leather. I go through 1/2" thick sheathes faster with an awl than I do with the drill press and even when the shetah gets to almost an inch it's not silly hard work

 

[luckylee]

as all the others have said you need to spend some time on the awl, and get it super shiny and sharp with my awls, i have done them all with micro mesh, and then after that stropping usually suffices, i prefer to awl my sheath as drilling removes the material, and if you make a mistake, you have had it, but with the awl you can find exactly where you want the whole to be, and after you have finished the holes will close around your stitching, it gives a much better finish, you can also get a pricking iron, which will help you guide you awl, and start you of with the process, and the stitching looks great if done this way, if you go down the drilling route make sure that both sides are level, if you go down that route you will soon realise what i mean.
good luck and keep at it.

 

[Greenbeast]

the blades i got from leprevo have gone through 3 layers of 3.5mm veg tan without any attention spent on them

 

[Amon81]

I've drilled in the past, but after I tried using my woodlore awl I'm sticking with that. I get a much better end result.

It's a cracking awl, it goes through metal too, I've used it to make a hole in a tin for making char-cloth and when making pop can stoves, though it's easy to make the holes too big with it as it's a meaty awl.

Its' £22 and for what you get I'd say it's probably the best buy on the woodlore's site.

When making the holes in leather I put a sheet of A4 on a couple of folded in half newspapers on a bit of old workserface I use on my table. I find I need a couple of papers as it can be easy to go through one, I put a cutting mat under the papers.

 

[luckylee]

I've drilled in the past, but after I tried using my woodlore awl I'm sticking with that. I get a much better end result.

It's a cracking awl, it goes through metal too, I've used it to make a hole in a tin for making char-cloth and when making pop can stoves, though it's easy to make the holes too big with it as it's a meaty awl.

Its' £22 and for what you get I'd say it's probably the best buy on the woodlore's site.

When making the holes in leather I put a sheet of A4 on a couple of folded in half newspapers on a bit of old workserface I use on my table. I find I need a couple of papers as it can be easy to go through one, I put a cutting mat under the papers.

hi amon, is the awl really that good mate? how did you put the handle on it please, if you could put a few pics up that would be great my friend, nice to see a fellow brummy on here two.

 

[Black Sheep]

I use two awls......

No.1 - Made from a 1.6mm darning needle, makes holes through 20mm of leather no problem. These are made by heating and flattening the eye of the needle so it stays in the handle. these are great because when it goes dull you just make another for pence...

No.2 - diamond blade awl - as others have said needs to be sharp, but you can always make the hole with the above awl the finish it with the diamond awl

I'm not convinced with this hang up folks have with Diamond awls and saddle stitch I manage perfectly well with a round awl (round hole - same as drilling) and saddle stitch.

Richard

 

[Hedgehog]

When I use a drill I put a polished & sharpened nail with the head cut off in the chuck not a drill bit. No material is removed & the finish is better (no ragged edges & the holes seal shut round the thread).

By hand with a diamond/round awl then dampen the leather slightly & as everyone says sharpen & polish it very well to begin with.

 

[Wayland]

As said above, spend a little time sharpening and polishing the awl.

Most blades are nowhere near sharp out of the packet, if there is a difference with the Woodlore one it is probably just that it has been sharpened.

 

[Amon81]

Finally here is a photo of my RM awl.



I just stuck it in a old broom handle and it works, but I will put it in a propper handle at some point.

I also sharpen it from time to time. A sharp awl is much easier to use, plus a bit of beeswax when using leather makes it even better.

I really like the square shape as it opens up what ever I make a hole in and roll it an I have a nice round hole. Plus goung through 3 layers of 3mm is pretty easy.

 

[mountainm]

I have used a drill in the past (easier with a drill press to get your alignment correct). I tried a round and diamond awl too. But now I use stitching pincers for anything less than 12mm thick. So fast and easy and everything is perfectly aligned.

 

[big_swede]

Just get a decent sewing machine (e.g. singer 132k can be had for very little) and be done with it. Takes a bit more space than the drill press, but it's the same degree of machine vs hand work. Or maybe singer 45k class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-RVjj6J--s

 

[Amon81]

Nope not for me.

If I want to make something out of leather I will make it all by hand. For the small amount of stuff I make it fells the right way of doing things.