Must share this post by @dhekhandelwal from Mumbai/Bombay, India The leather stitching awl shown here is made by and and used by most leather shoes repairmen in India. It is made from the steel ribs used in umbrellas. They sharpen one end then file a notch in it to snag and pull the thread through. Of course, they stick the other end in some sort of wood handle, sometimes a dry tree branch. Yes sir, there's no need for all the fancy doodads we all use in other countries. Did you know that the umbrellas were invented over 3,000 years ago. When I was growing up in Bombay, it was a yearly ritual to buy a new umbrella before May-June when the Monsoon season began there. My dad would take me to the shops selling umbrellas, then I would pick one out and use it for the next 4-5 months and carry it to school everyday. We didn't have weather forcasting and reports then! 😃 _Shop link in my bio_ . #leathercraft #stitchingleather #handstitching #satitchingawl #handmadeawl #leathertools #umbrellaribs #steelawl #ingenuity #improvise #creativity #creativeprocess #fleurdeleather #leatherstudio #artblog #designblog #experimentalstudio #makerblog (at Mumbai, India)