Victorinox Awl

The modern Victorinox awl includes a sharp edge and a groove, which turns it into a reasonably efficient drill for working in leather, wood or sheet metal. This tool is sometimes called a reamer.

To use the awl tool to drill a hole, follow these steps:

1. Poke a hole with the sharp point.
2. Rotate the awl and gradually enlarge the hole.

In leather or other soft materials, you can often push the awl directly through the material, and then rotate it to get a rounded hole.

The awl will stay sharp for a long time if you only use it on wood, leather, aluminum or copper (or other soft metals).

You can use it for emergency "drilling" in sheet iron, but that will rapidly dull the awl's sharp edge.

Sewing Hole

Modern versions of the Victorinox awl also include a hole about midway along its length, so you can use it to push thread through leather or cloth when making emergency repairs.

HINT-- You can use the awl as a crude needle (along with dental floss or other thread) and make emergency repairs of backpacks or other camping gear that are surprisingly sturdy. Of course you might want to bring along a real needle and thread instead-- store a small needle inside the tweezers, and wrap some thread around the corkscrew or tuck it into the gap beneath the knife blades.

Other Awls

Older versions of the Victorinox awl do not have the sewing hole. Victorinox added this feature to the awl in 1991, so you can use its absence to date the older Swiss Army knives.

A few Victorinox Swiss Army knives include a reamer that has similar functions, but a slightly different shape. There is also a plain awl on the SwissTool, with a more abrupt taper, a sharper edge, and no sewing hole.

The Wenger awl/reamer is a similar tool that does not have the sewing hole, groove or sharp edge. It's a gentler tool that you can use to push a hole into soft materials, or to remove burrs from a drilled hole in metal or wood.

The Leatherman awl/reamer has a similar groove, with a more abrupt taper (and no sewing hole).

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