What Is an Awl Tool Used For? | Piercing, Marking & More

An awl is a pointed hand tool used to pierce starter holes and mark lines in materials like leather, wood, and fabric.

If you’ve ever struggled to push a screw into hard wood or guide a needle through thick leather, you’ve felt the need for an awl. This simple tool—a handle fitted with a sharp steel spike—solves that problem by creating a precise starting point. Whether you’re sewing, doing light woodwork, or making a quick repair, understanding what an awl is used for helps you pick the right one and use it safely.

What Jobs Does an Awl Handle?

An awl’s core job is to pierce or start holes in materials that resist needles, screws, or nails. It’s not a drill; it creates a guide point rather than removing material. Here are the most common tasks it performs:

• Piercing holes: For sewing leather, canvas, or heavy fabric before you push a needle through.
• Starting screws and nails: Creating a small pilot hole in wood so fasteners go in straight and don’t split the material.
• Marking layout lines: Scribbing a line or point on wood, metal, or plastic to show where to cut, drill, or position a joint.
• Craft and bookbinding work: Punching aligned holes in paper or leather for stitching and binding, as bookbinders do.
• Repairs and multitool duty: On multitools, a small awl handles piercing, prying, or scraping tasks depending on its shape.

The awl’s strength lies in control. You can place a hole exactly where you want it, which is harder with a spinning drill bit that tends to wander.

Choosing the Right Awl for the Job

Not all awls are the same. Tip shape and shaft strength vary, so using the wrong one can damage the tool or the workpiece. A longer, stouter awl with a wooden handle is built for heavier work like wood; a slim, fine-pointed one suits bookbinding or delicate leatherwork.

Consider the material you’ll most often work with. A heavy-duty awl with a thick shaft can start holes in wood and plastic. A fine, delicate awl pierces paper, cloth, and soft leather with less tearing. Multitool awls are usually shorter and designed for occasional prying or scraping, not sustained heavy use. Selecting the right type for your main material is more important than buying the most expensive model. Match the tool to the task, not the other way around.

For a deep-dive into built-in options, see our roundup of the best awl multi-tool options with tested picks for everyday carry.

Common Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Even a simple tool has its pitfalls. Here are the three most common things users get wrong with awls:

• Using it as a pry bar or heavy punch: An awl is for piercing and starting holes, not for prying off lids or hammering through thick metal. This bends the tip or breaks the shaft. Use a dedicated pry tool or punch for those tasks.
• Treating all awls as interchangeable: A bookbinding awl is not the same as a woodworking or marking awl. Using a fine-pointed bookbinder’s awl on a hardwood board will blunt or bend the tip.
• Expecting it to work like a drill: An awl starts a hole; it does not bore a deep, precise one. For larger holes in dense wood or metal, use a powered drill. The awl’s job is to give the drill bit a point to bite into.

Respecting these limits keeps your awl sharp and your materials intact.

Safety, Storage, and the Awl on a Multitool

An awl’s point is sharp enough to puncture skin with ease, so treat it like the blade it is. Use controlled pressure—let the tool’s weight do the work rather than forcing it. When you’re done, store the awl with a protective cap or in a sheath. If you carry one on a multitool, keep the tool’s blade closed when not in use.

For light tasks, a multitool awl is a handy addition. It works well for piercing canvas, starting a screw in softwood, and scoring a line on plastic. It’s not a replacement for a dedicated full-size awl on heavy jobs, but it handles the small fixes that come up on a daily basis. Having this capability built into a pocket tool means the right tool is usually already with you.

So the awl earns its place as a simple, low-cost tool that does a few jobs very well—starting holes, marking lines, and setting up your materials without fuss. Choose one that matches your material, use it with care, and it will last for years.