Give us your,,,,, awl....

I forged mine from tool steel round bar that was squared and tapered with mallet and anvil. Handle is an antler drop from a buck. Also made a little cover from river cane that has a rawhide plug in the base

I hardened and tempered the end which allows the point to stay sharp. I only dress the end when needed with a few licks from a single cut mill file which is always apart of my kit. Very handy tool that is a must for almost any project or repair job.

Depends on the ultimate purpose. I have made many and also have others made with period blades/tips. For a general purpose awl carried in my gun bag, I prefer a tapered triangular profile - will make holes of many sizes that don't close and the awl can also be used to drill holes in wood (as might be needed for a field repair or replacement of a rammer or pipe stem). I also have a round awl made from an antler tine used to force holes into canvas when making sewn grommets - cutting a hole weakens the fabric in this high-stress area.

I will post pictures eventually...

My main awl has a period blade which is a long, tapered, slender square on both ends. I mounted it in a button antler with a boss, and made a sheath for it from a hollow elderberry twig. The corners are not sharp, I generally don't want to cut the material I'm working on.




Spence

Boy, did I make mistakes with leather awls over the years!   I guess my two best excuses are I didn't have a real leatherworking mentor and there was no Internet when I began working leather.  Well, perhaps some others can learn from my mistakes.

My first two I made as a pair.  I used two sizes of round, tool steel rod and ground/filed/stoned/polished them with a tapered "Three Square" or Triangular cross section for the cutting blades.  I hardened and tempered them and finished sharpening them with stones and fine Emory Cloth.  The larger one was for lacing and the smaller for sewing with thread.  I glued them into curved antler handles that came off the same Buck, so they matched pretty well.  Even sewed up a double sheath to hold them both with the curved handles facing outboard.  They looked pretty good, but didn't work out very well.  Here's what went wrong.

First, I made the blade part sticking out from the handles too long.  I thought 2-3 inches would be good and that turned out way too long.  I broke the smaller one, probably from a combination of it was too long and it was one of my first attempts at hardening/tempering by eyeball.  The tapered triangular cross section worked "OK" for stabbing the holes, but later on when I began using tapered square or diamond cross section blades, I was amazed at how much better the tapered square or diamond cross section blades worked.  While the curved antler handles seemed to have a very comfortable natural curve, I later found some kind of straight or tapered straight handle was much easier to align and use the awls.  I also didn't know it was best to have an awl that suited the type/diameter of the thread I was going to use.  IOW, for example, linen thread for sewing leather comes in different numbers of "cords."  The fewer the number of cords, the smaller diameter/width of the thread.  So having one or two awls to match the number of cord threads is the best way to go.

OK, so I came across a set of about a dozen old/used removable awls, that I purchased mainly for the curved awls in the set, as I needed them for butt stitching leather bayonet and sword scabbards.  The awls were tapered square or diamond shaped and worked SO MUCH better than my triangular blades, it was hard to believe.  The only trouble was someone added the WRONG kind of adjustable handle to the set, to sell it, and I didn't know that at the time.  Even with my large hands, it was heavy and bulky, but I incorrectly thought for years it was the correct handle.  Below is a link or picture of the WRONG kind of adjustable handle to use:
img1.etsystatic.com/203/0/14409243/il_fullxfull.1269504925_4npk.jpg

Here is a link/picture of a more traditional handle and awl.  Notice the awl doesn't stick out very far from the handle?  However, the main problem with full round handles is when you lay them down to re-wax thread or any other reason, they will roll around on or even off the bench.  
www.buckleguy.com/144-43-haft-with-43-harness-awl-inserted/

I have looked at many more old awl handles over the years, the ones you can tell were used for long periods of time by real saddlers and professional leather workers.  They were sort of elliptical shaped and usually with a flat side so they won't roll around on the bench.  These are VERY nice to use.  Oh, notice the awl blade sticks out more than the Osborne one, but not too far.  I couldn't find a picture of an original one, but this one from Tandy generally follows that shape.
i.ebayimg.com/images/i/291392671673-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

I don't know for sure, but I don't think 18th and early 19th century awls came with adjustable handles for using different blades.  However, if you want a good adjustable handle for interchangeable blades, this one works very well. 
d2ch1jyy91788s.cloudfront.net/tandyleather/uploads/images/product/Craftool-Pro-Awl-Haft-83021-00.jpg

Nock and I discussed a little bit about awls in a different conversation, but I didn't get quite this in depth on handles and I'm sorry I didn't have the time then.  I did mention it was best to buy awl blades for the number of cord threads one will use, though.  

For a period correct fixed awl handle, and IF the "Craftool Pro" one is painted wood, I would strip the strip the paint off it and find a piece of copper or brass tubing to replace the collar.  Another choice would be the handle in the following link.  In either case, I would apply some Tru Oil to the handle wood and hard rub it smooth afterward.
www.fineleatherworking.com/leather-tools-awl-handle/

Gus


 

Thank you Gus. Very helpful, as always.