Awl w/Straight Tip

The straight-tip awl is the most-used awl in the shop. Open a freshly cut shift housing so the inner cable feeds without snagging. Picking out an internal cable that's wedged against a frame's downtube exit port. Scribing a steerer for the cut line. Clearing dried mud from cleat-bolt holes. Verifying that a hex socket isn't worn round by feel before reaching for the wrench. The straight tip does all of these and a dozen more small tasks that no other tool reaches cleanly.

The 639A is 165 mm overall; long enough for two-handed work where one hand controls the tip and the other steadies the workpiece, short enough to fit a tool roll without poking through. The steel is hardened tool steel; the handle is ergonomic-shaped composite with a flat at the back that keeps the awl from rolling off the bench.

What the straight tip does best

• Opening cable housing after a cut. The cut almost always pinches the inner liner; the awl chases the liner back to round so the cable can pass.
• Picking at a snagged internal cable inside a frame's downtube routing. The awl reaches what your fingers can't.
• Scribing reference marks on a steerer, seatpost, or stem before cutting or trimming.
• Clearing dried mud from cleat-bolt heads before reaching for the hex wrench.
• Verifying that an O-ring's groove is clean before reseating.

For curved approaches and recessed pivots, see our 90-degree bent awl 639B, the S-bend 639C, or the 30-degree hooked awl 639D. All four tip geometries cover the work between them; the straight tip is the one you'll reach for most.

Specs

• 165 mm overall length
• Hardened tool steel tip
• Composite ergonomic handle
• Article number: 639A

Built in Zreče, Slovenia

Unior has been forging hand tools in Zreče since 1919, and sponsors professional road and mountain-bike race teams. The 639 series awls share the same hardened tool steel and the same composite-handle construction across all four tip geometries; only the tip shape changes. The hardening is what separates a shop awl that holds its point through years of daily work from a hardware-store one that bends on the first stiff cable.

Pro tip from our mechanics

The most underrated use of a straight awl is verifying a hex recess for wear before you commit a hex key. A worn recess looks fine but feels round to the awl tip; a clean recess catches the tip on the corners. Thirty seconds of awl-check saves the bolt that would otherwise round on the wrench. Our workshop hand tools guide covers the rest of the workshop hand-tool layer: Workshop hand tools every bike shop needs →