Summary

Awl is a very simple but handy tool to have in your stringers arsenal of tools. These are usually just a sharpened to a point piece of steel mounted on a handle. They come in many different lengths and different bends on the ends for different tasks. Can be found in big box home improvement stores, online and even Walmart.

When stringing they're great to use for opening holes when you need to fit multiple strings through the same sidewall hole. Light pressure is all that's needed to push strings to one side so that last string will fit through easy, especially if the tip of your string is frayed or burred from melting. They also work great on some heads that have plastic slag left in the sidewall hole from the molding process. Another great use for these is on heads that have very sharp edges on sidewall holes that cause premature string failure. Just insert the proper size awl and give it a couple circular rotations to take care of burrs and sharp edges. The main thing to remember when using awls on sidewall holes is to use right size and not get carried away. If excessive force is used it can stress the plastic of the head and even break the head. If that happens the warranty is usually voided by most manufacturers.

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