Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: All About Awls!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 พ.ย. 2020
- $9 Awl: amzn.to/2JpkanJ
Birdcage awl: amzn.to/39wJfrt
Punch set: amzn.to/3msAL8r
In showing off the usefulness of a small awl for marking your materials and punching holes in fabric and leather, Adam gets to share a tool that was handed down to him from his father. Even though an awl is basically a sharp point with a handle, they come in many formfactors and are used in the shop on almost a daily basis. How many awl-based puns can you come up with?
Shot by Adam Savage
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#AdamSavage #favoritetools - วิทยาศาสตร์และเทคโนโลยี
$9 Awl: amzn.to/2JpkanJ
Birdcage awl: amzn.to/39wJfrt
Punch set: amzn.to/3msAL8r
I have always considered you being the good kind of crazy, but is that a ruler on your left arm? Is it precise?
I don't know if you have them already, but if you search 'Spring Tools PM407' on Amazon, that's an interesting variant on punches/awls, and there are multiple tools of the same type available.
@@kommander9638 Yes, it's a tattoo of a ruler on his arm. No, Adam isn't the person posting in the comments of their TH-cam videos.
Am I the only one who absolutely loved the sound of the punches being moved around in the drawer?
No, I noticed. Because they are good quality steel they ring true and seem to play a tune.
It happens with hardened steel. A dead soft home made punch will have a dull sound and not ring. The pitch changes with the size and shape of the punch as well. Most of those punches looked like Starrett punches and they are really nice to use.
@@stevenb7319 Thanks for the info. And there is nothing like a Starrett!
@@harveysmith100 happy to share. As a craftsman machinist in love with his career and the history of its tools I’m very happy to shed light on anything I can.
We need a punch tubular bells rack 1-day-build ;)
I so wanted him to end with “Th-th-th-that’s ‘awl’, folks!!”
I just thought the exact same thing!
Well, you can't have it awl.
I could feel his pain when he told the story about his fathers tool being stolen.
Same.
this dude is keeping a 20 year old battery that won't charge. i love this channel.
I was looking for this comment. If one ever needed proof that Adam is a hoarder, hwere it is
You never know when you might need it, though. Right? Er ... right?
@@tested you got a point lol. maybe make it into something else. that way you can keeps it and it's functional.
@@tested My first cordless drill was a Makita 6095 which takes that very same style of battery. They were one of the first ever cordless drills made, long before cordless tools became widespread. They are built like a tank and last forever. I ended up with 2 of them and 2 of the lighter-duty 6096. I made loads of things with them, but eventually sold them and moved up to lithium-ion powered tools.
@@anastasis8295 As soon as he showed the battery I thought Makita. Spent many a day swapping packs between the charger and the drill.
When i was 10 my dad sent me to my neighbour's farm to get 2 awls, a very particular type of awl, a sorb awl, so i went to my neighbour asking for 2 sorb awls (2 sore balls), he laughed and said only if my dad returned his skyhook. I didnt get the joke for weeks after :')
Well ain't that a kick in the pants.
Haha! Funniest thing I've read in awhile. Thanks for sharing
dont get the skyhook part, I have a 2 skyhooks on my lathe and mill
While "awl" can be used generically, the tool with the rectangular handle was mainly an ice pick. I have a very similar one handed down in my family. Yes I've used it on ice....and wood and leather.
Yep. As should be obvious by 1 the ice company name on the side and 2 Goodfellas.
came to say the same thing! I was like, "wait, isn't that an ice pick?"
You are incorrect. All are awls.
An ice pick is an awl shaped item, that has lost its function back in the mid 1930's when refrigerators became a thing and people didn't need to use theirs to split ice blocks from the icebox. Where as the awl, wood, leather, paper craft, has been and still is, in use to this day.
Furthermore, whilst the ice pick has only one shape, long, thin, because it needed to pierce the ice to get decent chunks not shawings, awls, have pretty much any shape they need to serve. Long, thing, short, thick et cetera.
It's a common misconception generated on culture, but ice picks haven't been in use since the 40's, what people have been using, DIRESTA's own, are awls, especially his, since it has a stouter shape, an actual ice pick is somewhat more dainty, again, to serve as a good ice block splitter.
FYI, all this not to be confused with scratch awls, yet another awl shaped item. The wiki on this is poorly written, an awl, is the oldest form in both name (we're talking 15c~17c written as nawl) and function, and it's a pointed item used to pierce leather and fabric. We've been making them since the dawn of man.
@@aserta First: you should have said "You're awl wrong!"
Second: my family used a ice pick as an ice pick, occasionally, until I used it on wood sometime in the late 60's. The reason I object to calling it an awl? It broke immediately (as in as soon as I forced the tip against the wood). My dad's reaction? Never used an ice pick like that; their metal is too brittle for use on anything that isn't even more brittle; use an awl. I used the awl; it took me pounding it thru the wood which broke the icepick without even being dulled.
I'm glad someone mentioned it, triggered a obsessive compulsory reaction to point it out like a crazy person.
If you work with wood, treat yourself to a square awl, sometimes called a birdcage awl.
Because it is square it doesn't just push the wood aside, with each twist it cuts the hole.
Just one of the tools you love every time you use it.
Fun and informative as always! The tool Adam is showing at 3:37 is actually an ice pick which would originally be used to break down ice blocks; not something we do so much anymore. You can actually read the text on the handle which says, "Save Food, Flavor, Money with ice." It lists "Di Donato Ice & Fuels CO" as the source. It was probably a promotional item and may even have been given away free to customers. That thing could easily be older than Adam is! That was back when people used an "Ice Box" instead of electrically powered refrigerators to keep food cool. Blocks of ice were regularly delivered to your home to keep your ice box working.
Never thought I would hear anybody besides myself get excited about an awl ! Worked as an AC tech for decades and awls were invaluable for lining up the holes in panels and also putting leverage on them so you can get the screws in the holes. Used them daily for years . Helped my Dad assemble a metal shed a few years ago and I used this trick to get everything aligned. Also could be used in a pinch as a punch for making a mark to drill holes. One of my favorite go to tools!
Motion for a Tested "Give it your awl" shirt.
Seconded
We need this.
The first time I saw anyone use the Color your tools trick was a guy who had completely painted his hammer gold . It was awl I could think about when Adam showed his stripes.
my grandfather was a diesel mechanic that was brought in during WW2 to help build bombers the tools he had i still have a wrench of his its a giant wrench you could use it as a baseball bat lol. its the pride of my collection. he willed his tools to me but that was the only thing i was able to get my sociopath of a step father sold them off for drugs i really wish i still had those tools he had a wrench that was only used on a Desoto. they were meticulously taken care of. he was the one who taught me shop and tool safety and security. and yeah he had an awesome collection of awls . he said they may not be fancy but they aren't meant to be, they punch holes thats what they do. glad someone took the time to speak about them and thanks for reminding me of my grandfather. you folks have a great week.
Please open up more of your drawers and film their contents, Adam. Thanks!
Oh jeez, those long handled Makita drills. I think that was the first cordless drill I had ever used.
Ahh back in the days when Makita was king of cordless, Milwaukee was corded and DeWalt was budget tools you got at Target. Things were so different then.
@@stevenb7319 it's been an interesting ride for sure.
I new a guy in the late 80's/early 90's who painted all his tools pink. As he put it, men are much less likely to steal or use a pink tool.
Great idea and it’s funny how that’s true. The fact people relate colors with sexes and avoid certain ones for it is funny to me, especially as a color deficient person.
My dad did this in the plant where he worked. Nobody wanted to steal his pink tools.
Their sexism is his gain.
@@Circuitssmith that's not so much sexism as it is enforcing traditional gender norms. As in, it's not about any disfavoring of women, rather it's about reinforcing manliness.
I have done this very thing. The guy that kept taking my tools told me "I will never touch your tool now that they are girlly pink"
That old one of course is a ice pick made during the time everyone had an ice box.
Everyone laughs at how all my tools have my initials all over. Every single socket. I even use my scratch awl to mark tools.
You wonder how hard it must have been for Adam not to say: "you don't want just one Awl, you want them Awl."
he did lose his cool and slipped hard on "awlways"
I would laugh if he took an Awl in his mouth and started to pop latex balloons lol
This was truly a knockout video about punches, Adam!
I love when there is a history behind tools! As a hobby, I restore old tools, mainly woodworking tools, but I also have an early "monkey wrench" style wrench that came from my grandfather's tool box. I found an old original advertisement for that exact tool and I have mounted the advertisement onto barn siding and secured a piece of acrylic over it and mounted the wrench below it. It hangs as a centerpiece for the wall of antique tools I've collected over the years. I also have family cabinet makers/ woodworking tools brought over in 1687 in a time-worn box with an ancestor who was a furniture maker from Ireland. They have been handed down through the generations when I inherited them from my grandfather. The first time a female was left them too. I was very close with my grandfather and spent almost every day in his woodworking shop. He taught me about woodworking when I hit ten years old and was able to reach the top of the workbench, which I have and is from the early 1800s. His shop was dusty in the corners and smelled of wood and his cherry pipe tobacco. I still miss him some 40 years after his death.
Knowing how accident prone Adam is I was just watching the end of the awls the whole time.
5:49 What is Adam apologizing for? The chime of those punches was 👌 nice.
Adam, I love these videos, and I REALLY appreciate that you give it your awl!❤
Hey Adam, big fan, it was really cool to meet you @ SDCC a few years ago. I was so excited waiting in line, that when I got up front, you asked me what I wanted to talk about, and I was too excited to think that far ahead! Mythbusters was everything, and Tested is a treasure. Build on
I love my legacy tools. The feel of well loved tools that have been in the family for generations is like nothing else if you are the type of person to enjoy using good tools. I am lucky enough to to have some 4th and 5th generation tools from the late 1800s and early 1900s and still use them regularly. Thanks for sharing Adam.
We want to see the rest of those wooden drawers! Pls do a show & tell as the box itself looks beautiful and I bet it's full of useful tools and treasures
My grandfather’s awls are some of my favorite tools
I didn't have an awl but needed one a couple of weeks a go.....so I made one from a peice of Plym tree that i cut last year and a piece of steel rod sharpened to a point....a but of sanding and some oil finish and it looks, feels and works great....I've used it pretty much everyday since making it!!!
Decades ago, I worked as a mechanic for Donnelly Advertising in Boston. My favorite tool memory was of a "spud wrench", a tool with a open-end wrench on one end. Often used by linemen to construct transmission towers, whose often multiple holes often didn't line up (say it ain't so!), One lineman would put the post end of the spud wrench into the two opposing holes, wrestling them into alignment, while the other guy put a bolt through, assuring the matching of the other holes. Genius!
I worked as an airbrush artist for a few years. My blue, black, grey, red and silver hobby knives would go "missing." I bought Pink and Purple ones... I still have those! 😁 If I am ever again in a situation where I need to color tools again, my colors will be pink and purple!!!
I just make my own punches and awls. I have so many custom made tools in my shop. I found that a little splash of pink paint will keep a lot of guys from borrowing your tools.
I just love old tools, they bring so much history and I feel they can impart wisdom in some way, thanks for the awl some video, cheers
Really sad to hear about your father's screwdriver being stolen... I didn't inherit many tools from my grandfather. When he died I was quite young and all his tools were either thrown away or my uncle took them. I did manage to keep some wrenches of his though. Still use them to this day!
Great vid! I also have an old wooden handled awl that was my grandfather's. I keep it handy in my shop and use it frequently
Talking about Awls, Thank you for continuing Because that's never ALL and pulling your punches.
I took a sheet metal class in high school, and we used awls on a daily basis. It was how you marked out what you were doing, it was how you transferred measurements to the metal. Hell, i even used to freehand markings (I.E. Labels), so that i could keep track of various multi part projects. We even used compass awls, to scribe circles and arcs.
You are correct, a very underappreciated tool for metal workers especially.
True story, when i worked at a steel mill, almost all mechanics (i was an electrician/automation engineer) carried some type of awl or punch tool (a fancy awl with a spring and release mechanism to punch a mark into metal). Just because being able to make a mark before doing a job was sometimes indispensable. For the same reason, ALL of us carried sharpie markers.
Pro tip! Always mark, document, and record BEFORE starting to take something apart. It will save your sanity when you eff something up. Sure, you can always research prints, and otherwise figure out what you did wrong, but being able to reference what it looked like BEFORE you messed with it saves so much time.
I also have my grandfather’s awl and it’s an absolute treasure to me!
Totally agree, I love my old awls and use them all the time
I have my grandfather's bradawl, I really like that I know it was his and makes me think about him every time I use it.
Awl right! This is the one we have been waiting for awl year!
"Adam's Awl About It"
"Awlways"
I did custom picture framing for years. An awl was used to poke a starter hole in the wood for the eyehook, the eyehook was put in the hole, then you put the awl through the eyehook and spin it - it makes it incredibly easier to screw those little buggers in - especially on an oak frame
I love your selection of awls and punches. I have three of my own: an old ice pick like yours (though without any marketing labels); a leather awl with a short triangular shaft, sharp point, and rather long handle that fits well in the hand; and a Drizt brand sewing awl that’s less sharp but has a very comfy handle and flared shaft that’s great for making somewhat larger holes. It’s also really useful for holding things in place when ironing, turning corners when sewing, or using other hot tools like a heat gun.
Keep up the great content!
One of my fave tools is my grandfather's awl. It is a favorite because it has his name engraved in his tiny, perfect cursive and also still has the Sears price sticker attached, now long blanked with age. It almost looks identical to Adam's grandfather's one, but my handle has a deep rich red patina I liken to just being used daily. Still has the protective red rubber tip. Thanks for the nostalgia.
Love your enthusiam.
Adam should make a book of EYE SPY in his shop, that would be awsome
Amazing tool tip love it
This is actually really relevant to me right now! I modified some handmade leather journals with retention straps to hold more refills but messed up the alignment. An awl probably would have been perfect! Maybe I'll try to pick one up to fix them with new holes for the straps. Thanks for sharing, Adam!
Super fun and easy to make too! I salvaged some really nice shafting from an old inkjet printer and made a few. You can turn the handles on a lathe or just use a dowel. Dip the handle in poly and it will last forever!
My grandfather passed away in 2007. Last year my grandmother gave me his lathe, scroll saw, and wood turning tools. It's in storage at my mum's right now. Someday I'll have a space I can set it up in.
I LOVE these vids, Adam!
I’ve got a few awls in my shop. One is a very old socket awl. It attaches to the handle just like a socket chisel. My most used awl is a diamond point that I made myself. I use it for leatherwork.
😃 I have some of my father's tools - he was a carpenter, 30 years in the union - which treated us well for many many years. My father had an awl exactly like your grandfather's awl, Adam. It is the very thing I thought of when I saw the title of this vid. 😁 Imagine my surprise when I saw you were showing it. 😊 I still have my father's awl. 😏
Woodworker here. I have several awls from Bridge City Toolworks from back in the 80s and 90s, along with a similar ice pick. There is rarely a project that I don't use at least one of them.
My respect to your shirt!!!
❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗❗
This are some of the most important things what goes down the drain in this weird times.
Stay all safe and healthy 🤟
"Regular kit of what gets frequently used" Sounds like a new episode!
9.6 Volt Mikita was my first battery drill too. I’m glad things evolve and improve over time because batteries and battery tools have come a long way over the years.
I teach and introduction to practical woodwork at Benchspace Cork in Ireland and awls are part of the toolkit I give to my students. They use them to punch holes in wood to start drill bits, I have a collection including my grandfathers one. My father told me when I started woodworking that they're the cheapest and most important tool in woodworking.
Love your shirt Adam!
My family participated in few work days, and our tool identification color was a shade of pink. We've also used yellow in more recent years, because that's the spray paint we had around.
My favourite awl is a square awl. It's the best thing for making a hole in a piece of wood that will let you drill in a precise spot. When you have a wood with varying density, like oak or ash, or even pine, it can be difficult to drill it right where you want to, unless you have a square awl. I made mine out of an old screwdriver that didn't have a handle, and I made a handle out of hickory on my pole lathe, and the ferrule out of copper pipe. I made it 100% with hand tools in about 3 hours. I was very proud of that.
Wow! So random! I just downloaded and watched some of the first season of Tested VR yesterday before going to bed where Adam mentioned his awls. The first thing I see in the morning is a new video of exactly the same awls! :D
on the topic of awls and punches i go to yard/estate sales and get them when ever i find them i have a box full of old punches i can custom grind if needed then i have a few punch sets in tool boxes for the common stuff. as for awls i have a few old ice picks along with old screw drivers i took a grinder to and made an awl out of. they are handy i have a lot of my grandfathers and my dads tools and when i was a tradesman working in big shops every one had a color mine was yellow then blaze orange.
Love my awls thanks for the awesome video
My dad wrote his name on his Makita cordless tool batteries back in the 90s also. I still like the form factor of those batteries.
Awl and awl that was a great video! Thanks!
That ice pick of the past is the to use. It also works as scribe. It is also great at putting a hole in the other hand.
Cresent makes one of the best 1/4 scratch awls around, I have some antiques that are pretty good but those Cresent's we beat on day in and day out and use them as sort of a spud to align holes in sheet metal.
I’m fortunate to have a few of my Grandfather’s tools. He was building Forman during the war. And most importantly his tool chest
I am in Awe of all the awls!
I also have my grandfather's awl. The tools that are handed down are always the ones you will continue to reach for.
An important addition to an awl collection is a flared one, for making holes in fabric slightly wider.
Only "awl" I have is a Diresta ice pick. It's a good one.
Mine says "Consumer's Ice Company Dial 2-2495"
1:11 on "awl-most" a daily basis?
Yes, I will see myself out, thanks.
Used Awl the time?
@@ultimatenoob8261 You can't *not* hear it once you start thinking like that :P
What the hell, I was thinking earlier today that I should get an awl (for doing some bookbinding), and here is a freshly uploaded video about awls!
That was awl inspiring, thanks. I watch awl your videos
Totally awl-inspiring
I am a big fan of the. . . I believe it was called a birds beak awl, with the round shaft that has a bit of flat sharpened at just the end, doing mostly wood and leather, its my go to (switching generally when I go to fabric for obvious reasons) unless there is a situation that calls for something specific outside of that, which is good for tracing, scribing, and punching a hole.
My dad used blue on the end of his tools to mark that were his. He also had a cordless screwdriver that used the same battery.
I've got some tools from both my grandfathers. I've got one large wrench from one grandfather that has his employee number stamped on it. And have a work helmet from my other grandfather when he worked on a large tunnel project in Niagara back in the 50's/60's.
By the way, I appreciate the way you linked this from Twitter rather than go through Linktree or on Instagram, going through Stories. Fewer clicks is better.
Good awl around the recommendation.
My great grandfather painted all of his tools green. My dad has a few of them that still have the green on them
I ordered 5 blocks of titanium. 2” wide 1” thick.
I machined my own set of screwdrivers out of it. I ordered exotic wood “cut offs” off Amazon. Like 10 pounds of wood pieces.
Used them for handles on the six piece set I made. Heart, African Ebony, Burl etc. they came out wonderful.
I've always known the dutch word for this (priem), but never knew how this tool was called in english. Now i do and it made my life just a tiny bit better :)
We use them alot for checking holes in tires at my work
I don't make things from scratch, but I do work on bicycles as a hobby. Having an awl to poke into the end of a run of cable housing makes it a lot easier to install the cable itself, since cutting housing always pinches the inner layers together.
Not just for punching holes, I used an awl last night to form the eye in a tiny tow rope for a model.
I have always considered the one with the Ice & Fuel logo an ice pick which I have along with 4 or 5 other awls most that I made myself.
I work with foam and fiberglass, an Awl is the second most important tool I have, first being a good pair of shears, third is a nice paint scraper sharpened to a blade.
I don't have that many but there's a few awls in the tool box and several punches. Punches especially have many times gotten me out of a jam or gotten a jam out of whatever. They're indispensable.
I got one on my leatherman surge and the amount of time I use it to mark a precise place to drill in wood and good for laminated wood to get the hole going especially when its hard to reach and you can put much pressure on the drill and its probably the 4th used tool I use on my leatherman besides the plier head (i know it has multiple tools on it but its and awl in one part :P),Phillips head, knife and the awl
"give it a hammer"
Now that is a wording I will want to remember for future use.
As @AwE calls it #PercussiveMaintenance
I've taken Adam's advice and started hitting antique stores and malls. Last weekend I scored a couple of late 1800 try squares for $25.
Someday my son, this awl will be your's.
That pun was awlful
What about that shadowy place in the corner?
@@KevinIrish that is where the harbor freight tools are. Never go there. 🤣
@Neil Peters shut
I really feel for you whenever you talk about the thefts
Great shirt. 👍👍
For spring pins there are special punches with a center to locate the punch.
Got a whole set of those old Makita 9.6V and most still take a charge but short run time. Also have many of those cordless tools by Makita made in Japan.