I wanted to learn a simple way of fixing two pair of tennis shoes that I have. You provided it for me without any annoying music. Thanks a whole bunch.

Thanks for the vid! I have 4 pairs of my old work boots that need repairs. $40 for an awl is way better than $300 for a new pair. Hopefully I can get by on these for a while before I have to order new ones.

Dave you're a champ. Clear and articulate, easy to follow videos of this quality on KZfaq are uncommon. Congratulations on your skills. Best regards.

Me (John Matthews on Eugenia's page) again. Especially appreciate your honesty and utility. You never claim to be a super-craftsman. You are like wife and myself--a generalist who can do a number of things, some imperfectly, but all in an economically feasible way that builds independence and freedom. This is what matters.

I visited this channel only to learn what that tool is called (awl), yet I found the video absolutely compelling that I watched it all the way through!😀

I’m working on a pair of my dad’s boots and I need to get a needle for my stitch awl (broke mine). This was the perfect refresher because it’s been A WHILE since I’ve used the awl. Thank you!

Thanks for the great video and explanation of the process! After watching your video I purchased a similar lockstitch sewing awl and was able to repair some worn and torn stitching on my leather caulked timber boots! Your demonstration saved me a lot of time and money that would've been used leaving my work boots at a cobbler! Thank you!

Always wanted one of those stitchers but honestly wasn't sure how it worked. Thanks for this video, definitely going to get one now.

Thank you Dave. I started sewing leather at age 60. 66 now, and have completed the type repairs you show here. Imperfect, but very functional.

Great boots, great presentation. Thanks, Dave...

I'm always ripping the corners out of the pockets of my blue jeans. I think you just gave me an idea on how to repair them . Thanks a bunch!

Excellent information. Thank you so much, Dave.

Well I've been using the stitch awl for years and never ran the thread through the chuck holding the needle. Just goes to show you don't know what you don't know till you do. Thanks I'm sure it will make stitching easier.

Thanks I bought one of those at the thrift shop and your demo is excellent! Thanks I had no clue how to use it!!

You make a great teacher. Thanks for the lesson.

.I thank you for posting this! I have my grandfather’s old awl and always wanted to learn how to use it. Now I know!!! Thanks a million!

Thanks Dave, I looked at that stitcher on Amazon, but couldn't figure out how it would work. Now I've gotta get one!

Love your modest and relaxed way of presentation. Very informative though. thank you.

nice to see you got your boots done before you go to Alaska

Wonderful!!! Now I learned it. Thank you so much.

Dave! You're a natural teacher bro. Jack - Canada

You have knitted together a radical reboot. Thanks Brian 77

Great tutorial, thank you!

Hi Dave, Awls are a lot of fun to use, Rock On!

Thanks man, helped me know what I was looking for and how to get started

Thanks for the demonstration

Thank you....always wondered how those things worked. Might hafta get me one of those.

Thank you. I’m gonna give it a try!

Great video. Educational!!!

I looooove my Whites!

You're awl right

Hope you get some good use out of them nice work!

Good for you man, thanks for sharing. I’m not sure I’d have the patience to restore them myself.

Cool stuff Dave, I have always wanted to get one of those awls but wasn't sure how hard they were to use. Thank you for showing it in such detail, and with good explanation of each step That's sadly very rare on KZfaq. Good luck with the knife project down the road -- I can attest from the quality and beauty of my Ulu that you make great knives. ATB

Very handy tool I use the speedy stich awl brand I've swapped the heavy-duty leather needle for a heavy-duty sewing machine needle (smaller diameter ) and thread for repairing canvas tarps in the field

I landed up with an Awl in a box of old axes I bought at a yard sale, Now I know how to use it Thanks.

Great video

Very useful...

Nice work! I would probably use a saddle stitch (punch holes with an awl and use a needle on each end of thread). Saddle stitch is a lot more durable in leather than an awl stitch. Love your channel!

Thanks v m for this. Really useful (in the UK, during the coronavirus lockdown) as the stitching on my two-year old walking boots has rotted. Contributed to be me, apparently, as Dubbin rots stitching (which I didn't know). So it'll be wax preserver for me!

Love my Whites! Enjoy the AlCan.

Hey Dave, glad to see someone else that repairs their own boots with an awl. I've had one of those for over 30 years. I don't think they changed the design at all in that time. I always have it with me in my repair kit for canoe trippin.

Great boots Dave! Glad to see them brought back into service. I think about people like my grandfather who was born 110 years ago. He would probably repair and maintain his boots like that when he was a young man! We are responsible for our resources and waste. I LOVE salvage :>) My wife calls me Fred Sanford lol! -Mike

Way cool = thanks for posting

.........been waiting for this one :)

Puttin' new stitches in ol' boots...Sounds like a county song! :-)

Nice job. You took a neglected pair of well crafted boots and brought them back to life. You should get many years of use out of them. After the soles are gone you should attempt a resole or send them out to White's.

Blues is like a real good wife Yes, the Blues is like a real good wife The Blues give you comfort and keep you warm all your life. Repetition is a cornerstone of all music, without repetition you don't have music you have noise.

In a pinch I've used dental floss for thread....works pretty good!!

I bought a slightly different stitching tool and NOW might be able to use it. Little Tip! I watch my boots and if any stitch breaks anywhere I dry the boot completely and apply a couple coats of super glue to that area of the seam. Seems to work for a while but I've never had one come loose again!

This is by far the best explanation I've come across. Every serious outdoors person or "do-it-yourselfer" needs a sewing awl of some type , especially those going on an extended trip . Mine is a super-light and compact model with lousy and hard to understand directions . Thanks Dave for this badly needed , well explained , easy to understand and very well filmed instructional vid . As a side note , camera clarity is just unreal !! (would love to know what type U use) All the best .

ThNks

Hi Bushradical...how's it going? I have 3 pairs of old loggers boots, Pierre Paris, John Leckie and Vibergs. The first two are really old, but not too badly beaten up, just very dried out with a few cracks. I washed them off in cold water scrubbing them with stiff bristle brush, paying close attention to the seams and welt I then left them out in the fresh air and sunlight for a day. I then used some leather restorer (basically liquified beeswax) very liberally, massaging it into the leather with my fingers (this really soaks into the leather). Again I leave the boots outside for a couple of days then they are dry to the touch and quite supple. Finally I get some beeswax, Pine Tar and Turpentine in equal parts and brush it into the leather (and seams and soles) with a toothbrush (my wife's, not mine). This is quite sticky and takes about a week to cure but makes the boots very water resistant (Pine Tar has long been used in Finland for leather weather-proofing). Lanolin is also a good medium to treat dry leather. I England Grangers wax is very popular as is Dubbin (but do not over apply to stitched areas). In Canada SnoSeal is popular. I have an awl that I stitch sheaths with, but as yet, have not tried to sew footwear. Thanks for this video, Whites are good boots.

Maybe a curved needle on the thread end and some long needle nose pliers would work to get the thread back through the loop?

Thanks for the lesson. Interesting patches on your pants, is that wool?

I have these Ridgecut boots from tractor supply, supposedly waterproof. Before wearing them, I gave them a couple of layers of waterproofing silicone spray. Still, the stitches are starting to go. The leather is cracking at the second toe joint. I'm not sure how I'm going to use a stitches in small spaces.

in the blues the process is the same but there is nuance within it

Reusing boots by restitching, nice job. Like your way of repurposing things that someone one finds no value in. Saves money,....great video... look forward to more...how did you repurpose the pants, it looks pretty cool.....how about some tips in another video on that......

Thanks

I just saw you in a FB Ad "hohopanda" for a leather stitcher.

Cant remember if I told you or maybe you know. Whites will do a complete rebuild on boots and I think its half the price of a new pair? Great video! I have never used a stitching awl lol. I have like 3 of them.

I have been thinking of making a leather sheath for a surprisingly good quality flea market knife I recently bought that came with a nylon sheath that is already falling apart, so I have been wondering how one of those stitching awls works (never having used one before). Now I know and it seems to be easy enough that even I can do it, thanks. Cool video and, once again, quite timely information for me. Now I just have to find some good quality leather... and figure out how to cut and fit that for the knife... I don't suppose you're thinking of making a "this is step by step how to make a leather sheath for a knife with a crappy sheath" video anytime soon? ;o)

hi dave, somewhere in my looking through you tube videos, i saw a guy that bought a mechanical hand operated stitching machine, the heading reads: Fisters hand machine cobbler shoe repair machine dual cotton nylon line sewing machine, it's $189.99 w/free shipping from amazon...check it out, even if you didn't want to purchase one, they are old fashioned and cool to see.

I bought one of thoz stitched awls n gave it away b4 using it... What brand is that one u used?

Hey thank you for posting, where you put that not, could you put a little hook needle on the end? so you could feel it inside the boot. Thanks again.

Oh baby I hear those blues are calling tossed salads and scrambled eggs.

How come there are some patches of white on the boots after painting them with mink oil? Are some of these spots inevitable depending on the leather damage?

What's the name of the tool holding your needle and thread?

Lol i saw ur hand in the boot and it made me nervous. I literally just stabbed my thumb to the muscle with my awl....

You are using a needle with an eye on it, I've seen others using a needle with a hook, are those fundamentally the same or you're using different sewing method?

Are they holding up it taught me to care for my boots

So that's how you yous that stitching device.

I have those boots

There's part 1?

Got further along the vid and noticed that cool half a dollar knife.

What if the boots are lined, e.g. with Goretex?

So uhh... Is that where this project ended?

l love to get one where you get one l'm from Scotland

I bet I could put a high gloss shine on those boots dye them first.

Dude it's time to just get some new boots

But without the Blues we would not have ROCK N ROLL. Where is your inside the boot camera? J/k

Nice video and thanks for teaching us "How To" do this. But, I rather see a Nicer Set of Leg's as the Model.........Like an Beautiful Girl model for instance. he-he🤣

Hi Dave when I used to do my leather work to sell or any repairs needed for myself or others I used to use Ko-Cho-Line Leather DressingI had a pair of work boots that with dressing and constant use lasted me well over 10 years I tried to re dress them at the change of every season they got to a point you could ALMOST use them as Gum boots in winter I have an expensive pair of Boots that so far have lasted 22 years and are still in excellent condition I did a Amazon seach and found the dressing if you are interested www.amazon.com/Ko-Cho-Line-Leather-Dressing-Carr-Martin/dp/B002HJ4HU6Ko-Cho-Line Leather Dressing by Carr & Day & Martin you dont need much per boot and what I do is give it a good coverage let it sit on the boots for 24 hours and rub off any that hasn't been absorbed it does a wonderful job of reconditioning your boots By the look of those boots of yours YOU really need to give them a good coat some times you may have to give then a second coat depending on how "Thirsty they are" keep in mind the initial cost of the tin of Ko-Cho-line is approx 19$ AUD But it does a lot of boots and leather goods over the years so it does work out as a cheap preventative Tony from Western Australia ( BTW stitching awls aren't my favorite tool Grin !)

what is that tool called?? edit; ... I'm an idiot.. it's in the title. lol

They look a bit too far gone to me, but obviously they've still got some use left in them.

I know its a video but one could practice and take more time to achieve professional standards

Dude just go spend ten bucks at value village and get you some shoes.

Don't like the blues. OMG 😆😆😆😆