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 is the official technical partner of multiple World Tour and downhill 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 →