The Crispin Colloquy

Here's an awl that Dick Anderson just finished. If there's enough interest, we may have a source for this much needed resource.

That awal looks very good . I would buy some.

If interested in the awl or awl haft please call 715-532-6301 or email me.

Thanks.....Dick

Here are a couple pictures of the awl and haft that I'm now making. The awl is heat treated tool steel and the haft is dymond wood with a brass ferrule. They are made one at a time, like your boots, so can be crafted to your size. They can be seen at the Sheridan leather show at the Thornapple River Boots booth. If you are interested please email thornapple.boots@usa.net.

Jake, Dick,

That Dymondwood looks pretty nice...better than I would have thought. What's that? The "Hunter?" I've got so much wood now that it's starting to take up some room, if you know what I mean. Once I get my drillpress back, repaired or replaced, Im gonna have to turn like I had a fever. Then I may try some of the DymondWood. I'd make a handle now if I had some but I got to get through some of this stuff first.

It's good looking though and the awl is sweet!

Tight Stitches
DWFII--Member HCC

Hey Jake,Dick,
those awls look so good.
Is that the actual colour of the Dymond wood or have you taken the pictures with your 'new' camera (thinking 'bout your blue/black elephant boots)?

If the colour is accurate - the green running through it like that's amazing. You can see the magic in them even without holding one.

I see some of the saddlery supply houses like Weavers, are selling burnishing tools made from a similar(?) dark brown wood called coco something.

Do you make/use handles that shape for your regular sewing awls? By regular, I mean the awls you would use on a bridle or saddle. most of mine are the conventional tapered type as I find the screw in sort too cumbersome, just wondering how that shape would go?
You guys are so talented.

More power to y'awl.
T.

(Message edited by Tomo on May 11, 2004)

Tom,

Hey...I can't take any credit on making these rascals. Those pics were taken by Dick. He had some problems posting them, so I posted them for him. Can't say if that's the true colors, or not. Dick? Dee-Dubb?

Weaver? I believe it's Cocobola wood. I have several awl hafts made of Cocobola wood that Dick has so graciously made me. I use them in all my work. I have several different sizes of saddler's awls that I use with these hafts.

I would highly recommend trying one of Dick's awl hafts, for any type of work requiring an awl.

Take care!

Tom
I usually try to tell everyone that we grow that dymondwood down on the banks of the thornapple river that runs by the house. But you folks being so sharp and all( except Jake still believes that) it is thin sheets of wood that is dyed different colors and then basicly glued back together with a lot of pressure and heat. Very durable but also hard on the tools needed to cut it. I can make the hafts out of any dense wood that you would want exept it costs a little more than the standard hard maple.
Thanks for posting the pictues for me Jake.

Dick, Jake,
you guys sure got the drop on me with that wood!
I'd never seen timber like that before. Couldn't believe it.
Never thought of laminating though. Wasn't I a goose??
Still mighty fine looking awls, just the same.
Have a good one guys.

More power to y'awl
T.

Here's one more Dick has recently made:

I just ran accross and bought a lot of awls on ebay - they appear to be very nice, but I do not know the manufacturer. The makers mark that is visible on most of then is:

NEA&NCo

Is anyone familiar with the mark?

Erick

Erick,

Post a photo of them...?

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

I'll try, I'll be pretty busy for the rest of the day.

Erick

Here's a couple of pictures:


I can't get a good shot of the makers mark. There is one Square awl, and a few pegging awls - the rest are curved inseam awls of various sizes.

Erick

Erick,

Looks like you got some good ones...and some pegging awls too! I've never heard of the maker but they don't look like new--all to the better if they're not, IMO.

How did you come across these on Ebay? What words are you searching under?

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

Erick,

They'd be New England Awl & Needle Company. No idea when they went out of business, but my feeling is NEA&NCO awls are earlier 20th c., and darn good steel too, if mine are any indication. My master had, now I have, a collection of them in graduated sizes and types he got from old Saint Elizabeth's mental hospital in Washington DC back in the 1950s or very early '60s. St E's, as we used to call it, had a shoemaking program. I wonder what other cool stuff they dumped? Good find there.

DW and Al,
Well, I lucked accross them listed under leathercraft tools and treatments- usualy items listed like that are for burning and tooling, but occasionaly there are machines or tools that are useful to me - I got lucky.

I was happy to see that they were even better looking in person as they were in the picture. There is a good variety of sizes in the lot.

I couldn't find out anything on the company except that there was a legal case:
"New England Awl & Needle Co. v. Marlborough Awl & Needle Co., 168 Mass. 154, 155, 46 N. E. 386, 60 Am. St. Rep. 377",
that is cited in legal battles involving misrepresentation - one company making a product that could be mistaken for another companies product also cases of clear mislabeling - I don't know if the notation indicates a date somehow.

On another note, I checked the "Colonial Needle Company" web site, and they appear to have stopped selling the curved awls that they used to have listed.


Erick

The case the Findlaw pulls up that mentions them is a supreme court case from 1919 that is citing the precedent of an earlier case. The case that's being cited is from a Massacusetts state court case in 1897.

Marc

Since the Law Library is just a short walk away, and it's a nice day, I went over there to take a look at the cases listed. The crucial case is New England Awl & Needle Co v. Marlboro (sic) Awl & Needle Co.
Apparently in 1885, the NEA&N Co, of West Medway, Mass. started using a a bronze colored box with a brown label, of a certain size, with specific iconography to market a small amount of their product. This amount increased in 1893 and by 1896 constituted 3/4th of their product packaging. In September 1895, the Marlboro A&N co started packaging their product in a virtually identical package, other than the lable saying "made for "United States Awl & Needle Co". NEA&N co. sued for an injunction against the MA&N Co and eventually won. This case is cited as precedent in 31 other cases in Mass and 21 Federal cases. The company seems to vanish back into obscurity and I am not finding anything but materials on the United Awl and Needle Co. of West Medway, Mass.

Marc

Here's an awl that Birdsell Leather in Australia is selling.
I think we refer to them as German awls don't we?
I haven't seen one in the flesh (which is probably the last place you want to see one anyway) so I can't vouch for their quality etc,



I should put in the link to Birdsells.

Try, www.birdsell-leather.com

Trading hours are 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 12.30pm on Saturdays.
36 Chegwyn Street
BOTANY NSW 2019
AUSTRALIA
PH: 02 9316 6299 FAX: 02 9666 4769
Freecall 1800 625 238

More power to y'awl

T.
P.S. Duncan might know something about them??

(Message edited by Tomo on July 01, 2006)

Tom,

Doesn't quite look like a German style awl. Close but no teddy bear.I can't tell what the awl looks like in cross-section either.

All that is not to say thatthe awl wouldn't work admirably...just that there are some differences. 'Course I can't realy get a good look at it from here...Oz is a long way from Oregon.

BTW, the link to Birdsell's doesn't work [img]http://www.thehcc.org/forum/images/old_smilies/sad.gif"%20ALT="sad[/img]...are you sure that's the right spelling? "Birdsall" (now I'm not sure of the spelling) is the outfit that supplies all the fancy kangaroo that Sheridan Leather is carrying. In fact, the last pair of boots I posted in the Gallery (bone and black filigree) was Birdsall Kangaroo.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

I just checked it it's birdsall leather

CW

I met the owner of Birdsall back in '98 at a craft show in Sydney i was displaying at, and as a result bought their leather dyes. Not bad.
And yes they do sell leather

Cheers
Duncan

A student of mine sent me one of Dick anderrson's inseaming awls...just like the one pictured in the photo in Jake Dobbins' post that starts this topic.

This was the first one I had seen of Dick's inseaming awls and I have to say that I am impressed. I have a "lifetime" supply of Barsley inseaming awls but aside from a perhaps (my preference only) too short tang, Dick's looks terrific--as good or better.

Dick Anderson may be the only source of decent inseaming and sewing awls left in the world for all I know, now that Barnsley is gone. Give him a try...he's a good man to work with, and honest as the day is long.

Tight Stitches
DWFII--HCC Member

He can also make a pegging awl that's well worth the money.