I just made it out of an old screwdriver. I didn't think I'd like it so much! Thanks James

just stopped by to see what this is awl about! Thanks for giving us your awl in this just like awl the others… before I get band I’ll stop even though that is not awl I’ve got. lololawlolol

I have used a birdcage awl, and I have used a brad awl, but the one I'm most proficient with is bugger awl.

Always wondered why there are different types of awls, now I know. And you showed why the bird cage (square end) awl is superior to the round end awl and how to change the latter to the former. Brilliant

I've lost count of how many square awls I've forged over the years. Glad to see them getting some appreciation.

"Egyptians used to use these, and uh... we still have a use for them today." Are there any Egyptian folks in the comments? Do you in fact still have a use for these today? Haha I don't know why I found this funny, but there you go. As always, another awesome video. Thank you for your content and your awesome jokes :)

I awlways loved using awls. Both of them have been very useful. I framed homes for a long time and the round awl was great for marking 2x4s. I also used the birdcage awl for installing the screws in door hinges and lock sets. Sometimes bits would wander in pine because the growth rings can be hard in some spots then soft in others. The awl could cut a screws starting hole where it wouldn’t wander!

old/broken screwdrivers make excellent 'stock' also, sharpen the point to a cone, essentially making a round awl tip, this alleviates the scribing issue and results in a hybrid awl aalso, they make very good 'reamers' for shopmade file handles, I make all of my handles with 1/8 pilot hole then use a gimlet or birdcage awl to fit.

I bought my first awl at a yard sale, got a old screw driver with it. When I learned about these I ground down the screwdriver into a square awl. So I got both for $2!

Converting a screwdriver to an awl is quite easy, either birdcage or round.

This type of awl was the first one I ever bought, yet I never thought of using it as a drill. Thanks for the lesson!

Finally a use for all those flat head screwdrivers.

Bushcrafters like to use awls to punch holes in wood still too, the awl on a leatherman or Swiss Army knife can be used for it.

Your humor is amazing, it allways makes me smile.

Boom #1. And yes have been waiting for!!

Absolutely genius, I love old school hand tools!and very much appreciate you taking the time to show us new comers there original purpose, as well as the many other things they can do.thank you sir,ur farthest northwest point of Washington fan

awl in all seems like a great video

That’s a surprise, I have been around tools all my life and I have never seen that before. Cool idea

round are very handy for metal siding installation

Good video! My Grandad was an old school Carpenter/ Cabinet Maker/Furniture Maker/joiner and worked as a wood machinist. Both before and after the 2nd world war. Was a very skilled man, back then woodworking wasn't split into areas you had to learn EVERY aspect of woodworking as an apprentice regardless what area you went into for your job as such. Anyhow the techniques used back then were passed down for thousands of years but have been MOSTLY LOST now! Both woodworking and Stonework/stonemasonry! (You only have to loom around the world at both ancient and more recent relics, stoneworks wooden structures building joints etc ALL done (supposedly) without power tools/ with hand tools!? Even buildings, some old houses cottages even country pubs here on England you'll regularly find 300+ years old and the joinery and woodwork even windows much of the time are original (they're also about 4.5-5ft high ceilings!) That's how much smaller people were 200-300 years ago! 4-5ft max! Anyhow my point is when you see what they achieved by hand in Wood and stone and the exquisite furniture carvings stonework paintings etc they cannot recreate that level of skill by hand now and I hear of many occasions where old tools turn up at a car boot sale in England (like a yard sale in the US) and people will find odd items of tools and equipment and ornate trinkets, complex and simple tools well used but their use is LOST To HISTORY! No one remembers or knows what they were used for! So it just shows that rather than advancing as a civilization we are in fact going backwards! And to make it worse they DESTROY these old buildings and replace them with concrete and glass crap that won't last 50years! I used to drink in a pub in the city of London that was built in 1500s-1600s and was ALL original Mahogany and Oak throughout! (They knocked it down 20years ago replaced it with a glass tower block!) Absolute TRAVESTY! All that HISTORY exquisite woodwork the stories that place must have been able to tell if it could talk! All wiped from History and this it seems is systematic and intentional! I'm GLAD that YOU and Others like you are keeping alive and reviving these old Techniques and Tools! As I believe as a race, we need to get back to that level of skill as individuals and become expert in these old techniques, so that we can revive this lost knowledge and tools.. rather than rely on computers and technology.. yeah obviously use power tools to speed a process up, but learn the process manually first! And try to reconstruct and relearn reverse engineer these lost techniques, joints, ways of working that produced furniture and structures that last thousands of years of allowed to not 50years max!! Sorry for the essay, just I love this stuff and I'm passionate about this. I'm currently acquiring as many old tools as I can find of different kinds for woodworking metal work etc and intend to teach myself the old techniques like my Grandad used to use and know but which are now lost mostly .. I think my next project will be to make a bird cage awl from maybe an old burred Philips screw driver or two, having just received a set of metal hand-files (bought from eBay lol 😅🤣😅!) Cheers from London England 👍💪😎🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Last year I bought a couple old screwdrivers from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore, cut off the tips and sharpened them to awls. Cost me like $2 for three or four.

Thanks for the tip. I filed my Stanley 69-122 awl into a square version with no problem.

I like to make my own awls out of nice old worn out screwdrivers with wooden handles. I'll have to convert a few of them to bird cage awls =)

Learned something new today! Thanks

I picked one up from ebay which the sellers grandfather had made from a broken square file. Works really well and makes a lovely line though I haven't tried using it to make a hole (yet) 👍

They also are great for making the pilot hole for drywall anchors. Such a simple and useful tool that really doesn't require much precision to make. To keep them sharp, occasionally (maybe once every month or so) I'll grab mine when going to sharpen a plane or chisel and just give it a few swipes on each side on the 300 grit stone. Seems to keep it good enough for really no extra effort.

It is awl we needed to know.

Thanks for teaching me a little more about the stabby thing.

I modified the tip of a round awl to be a taper pointed triangle. It cuts pilot holes easily and quickly even in hardwood. Similar idea to the square birdcage awl of course.

I've been making these for years out of a screwdriver that I managed to break the tip on. I just didn't know they had a real name.

Interesting stuff. I probably should make one. Got some old rusty screwdrivers that aren't good for much else.

Wonderful. I use my standard awl for poking holes in drywall to set anchors. But the birdcage variant would be better. Converting mine.

I actually have a really old sort of hand drill that's not much more than a bird cage awl with a twisted shaft and a small part that makes it spin when you run it up and down. The tip is quite small, but it's great for making pilot holes and other applications of the sort.

Really, really interesting, James!!! 😃 Thanks a bunch!!! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

Well now I have to go to the hardware store. I have used an awl and matching screwdriver that were my grandfather's. I had never seen a bird cage awl before. I don't know that I would drill holes with it, but starting screws could be a big help. Starting screws in things like MDF is a major pain because it's so tough. This looks like it would make a world of difference, more so if you are trying to start those really short screws that go into drawer slides that always end up non perpendicular to the surface of the wood.

A twofer: great video and the word "symmetricality"!!

"Hey, y'all"as an opening for a video about awls. Automatic up vote.

the last one crack me up! nice video. cheers

One of the places where a bridcage awl can not replace the round one are places where you use the awl where you specifically want the just pushing away action. That is for example basket weaving rope work and similar.

Oh, I'm definitely making it one of these days

Thanks for this video.

I love my bird cage y'all! Symmetricallity? Is that different from symmetry?

Awl in all that was great James! Awlright I'll see myself out.

I'd love to see a video about making a birdcage with a birdcage awl. Seriously. I'd really like to know how that was done.

You know those tapered drill bits with countersink that like to break? I wonder if you chucked up a birdcage awl in a drill how it would work for high speed construction work like decking. Probably a lot more durable and can be resharpened many times.

if you use a true old fashioned screw which is tapered from top to bottom (furniture restoration etc), you need a birdcage awl to pre drill your hole, so the screw fits properly in the hole.

I have found similar things made out of carbide meant for deburring and marking steel. The only issue is they are kind of delicate. The KZfaq channel This Old Tony has a great video on them.

Awl in awl a great video James👍

More educational content here. I love it! I'm a little interested in the awl that looks to be made from brass plumbing fittings. I'm gonna re-watch and see if I can get a better look at it!

Took the plunge and bought a stanley off of ebay. Excited and nervous to see if I actually get what I payed for and if it is as nice as it looked. I got some maple and apple to get to. Edit:Package received. It has a plane in it!

Awl-some! Thank you!

I like to have a twist gimlet. It's basically a tiny auger drill with it's own handle.

Made one like a year ago out of a gutter hanger nail and scrap wood

Very helpful! I've been coveting yours for a while now when they've made an appearance in your videos. I like the idea of making some in different sizes. What are these shafts called at the hardware store?

That video was awefulll

I am just in awl by this video!!

Awlright I’m listening.

One awl to rule them all!

Awlfully corny James….. Very interesting - and answered a long standing question. You are a great source for hand tool information

Awl in awl, this was a pretty good video. 🤣😝

And that's awl she wrote!😂

Nice!

Makes me wondering if a carbide rod sharpened on a diamond stone. is feasible for this application.

Awl good. Subscribed. :)

I was hopeful you would talk about a 3-sided awl versus a 4-sided... some swear by the 3-sided... more curious than anything else...

Another use is for drilling the pilot holes for cut nails.

I have a Saws Awl, does that count?

What about gimlets, do you ever use them instead on an awl for making small holes?

The puns are Awlful. 😁👍

Hey ya, drill like an Egyptian

Where did you get the little awl with the brass handle?

Can you show us how to catch a bird?

Do you think an old broken screwdriver could be used to make this? Or would the hardness be wrong?

I bought an old push drill at a second hand tool shop. Mrs tellthemborissentyou saw me use it, she tried it and never gave it back. It now lives in her craft box. It is just the best way to start screws.

I thought bird cage awls used by the studio to make "La Cage aux Folles"

I'm trying to imagine how a birdcage would be constructed and look like when made with a birdcage awl. Would you have any idea what it would look like?

So, now we need to make a birdcage.

Hey y'awl 😁

I have some awls. Don't use them very much. I don't have any birdcage awls though.

Symmetricality you say? I say, maybe don't argue with someone who's handling a sharp awl!

I think we need a project with not much more than an awl and a knife. Actually sounds more like something Rex would do but...

Awl-some prison shanks

Awl that and a bag of chips.

snide remark

If folks don’t like this video at least you gave it your awl.

Finally lol

I think you thought of awl the jokes that could be told about this subject.

ice picks are a bygone tool .... ehhehehe ... OORAH!!

You gave your awl.

Paul Sellers--- see his channel--- frequently demonstrates the use of a square awl.

Symmetricality? No sir. Its symmetricity. Thanks!

Symmetricality??? Maybe just symmetrical. 🤭

I prefer a Bee awl. Tip your waitresses folks

proper saddle stitching uses a diamond point awl, not a round one - aside from that, good video - thanks