Awl w/90° Bend

The 90-degree bent awl is the one you reach for when the straight tip can't make the approach angle. Hooking out a stuck O-ring or seal from a recessed groove. Reaching around a derailleur pivot to free a stuck pin. Lifting a snap ring out of a groove. Pulling a clamping wedge that's seated past finger-reach into a stem or seatpost clamp. The 90° geometry lets the tip work along a plane perpendicular to the handle, which is where most stuck small parts live.

The 639B is 165 mm overall with the bend put in the working end of the hardened tool-steel shaft. The hardening matters here: an unhardened awl with a 90° bend will deform on the first hard hook against a stuck part, and the geometry that made the tool work is then gone.

What the 90° tip does best

• Hooking O-rings, seals, and snap rings out of recessed grooves
• Reaching around a pivot, a derailleur cage, or a stem-clamp wedge that's set past the bolt opening
• Lifting a stuck cable end out of a brake lever or shifter where the cable can't be pushed through from the housing side
• Removing a circlip from a seatpost binder or rear-derailleur jockey-wheel bolt
• Working in the recessed cavity of a press-fit bottom bracket cup when you need to dislodge a stuck dust seal

For straight-line work, see the straight-tip awl 639A. For curving past an obstruction, the S-bend 639C reaches what the 90° can't. For cable-routing inside the frame, the 30-degree hooked awl 639D is purpose-built for the fishing work.

Specs

• 165 mm overall length
• 90-degree bent tip in hardened tool steel
• Composite ergonomic handle
• Article number: 639B

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill teams. The 90° bend is put into the same hardened tool-steel stock that the straight, S-bend, and hooked awls use. The four tip geometries share construction and differ only in where the bend goes; the line is designed as a set, and most working benches end up with all four.

Pro tip from our mechanics

The 90° bend is the one most mechanics underestimate until they own it. After the first stuck O-ring that comes out without a fight, the tool earns its drawer. Our workshop hand tools guide walks through the awl line and the rest of the small-tool layer: Workshop hand tools every bike shop needs →