Stitching awl

It is a thin, tapered metal shaft, coming to a sharp point, either straight or slightly bent.

Styles may vary, as they are adapted to specific trades, such as making shoes or saddles.

A small copper awl from a Tel Tsaf grave in Israel is currently the oldest metal object discovered in the Middle East.

[2] In terms of nomenclature, French Canadian fur traders in the late 18th or early 19th century called one band of the Salish peoples of the American Northwest Coeur d'Alene, meaning "heart of an awl", in reference to their savvy in trading.

British traders and later colonists adopted the French term for the people, which eventually became the official name of the tribe.