Does awl need to match pricking iron?

@danieljlee1891 Hi Daniel, I will add one thing to the great answers you have just received.

If you are penetrating all the way through your leather with your irons, then you can also use a small round awl instead of a bladed awl as you stitch.

You will not open the slits any wider, but you will widen the slit temporarily which will allow an easier stitching experience.

hi there, i have palosanto awls, and they are very nice, sharp, but the blades are very flat. they work brilliantly with thin leathers, and when you hold it with the palosanto name face up, the blade is at the correct angle. they should work well with 2mm leather, but anything thicker and they start to struggle to go through, tried it on some 4mm bridle and you could feel it starting to bend. so i bought some awl blades and handles and shaped the blades myself. i also have a doldokki water drop awl, absolutely beautiful to hold and use, but the handle shape is slightly big, so its easy to drop which isnt good.

i think philip did a piece on making your own awl handle with a collet, so you can change blades, i keep thinking to look at that one day.

I hope I can help out here! I have asked the same question here before so I will quickly quote what Philip said at the time: "Note though, that you can use an awl slightly smaller than the prongs on a pricking iron, you just sacrifice the angles on the back of the seam slightly.

An awl larger than the prongs will allow better angles when using thicker thread. I mismatch all the time." Basically it's up to you and what you are looking for in the final look of the stitch, a slightly bigger awl will help you open the hole slightly but only if it is only sharpened on the tip of the awl. That way the rest of the awl will only stretch the hole instead of cutting it, which can be closed up after stitching with a tap from the hammer. I would also suggest taking a look at the awl sharpening/shaping course here on the masterclasses and the video about awl blade setting (youtube or instagram) those will help you to set up an awl exactly how you want and probably save you some cost since buying awl hafts and blades is not very expensive, alternatively if you can't get your hands on those, vergez blanchard awls are somewhat widely available and those are a great place to start too. The difference between the diamond shape and french style is also up to your preference, although most awls that come in diamond shape such as the vergez blanchard awl will work best after reshaping/sharpening them. With the exception of japanese style diamond awls, which are intended to leave a more diamond shaped hole, just like diamond stitching chisels. And finally, finding the needle on the backside of your stitch will become better with practice. I was also very frustrated with the slow going in the beginning but committing myself to using French style clams and using an awl whenever possible really sped up the process. Basically, the more time you spend on it, the easier it will become, using an awl does help since you have somewhat of a reference point to aim/feel for. Although using your other needle as if it was an awl can also help in the meantime :)

You might also find that trying some smaller diameter thread can help with pulling through the holes. If you want to try even smaller needles than John James, System S+U needles have a size smaller, although the eye is also tiny so you would use smaller thread too.

Hope that helps a little!