Brad Awls

Brad awls are pushed into a wooden surface to create a hole for starting screws.  Scratch awls are generally finer and are used to scratch lines on wood to mark where cuts, etc. are to be made.

One of the above awls was made by W. Marples & Sons in Sheffield, England.  In 1821, William Marples Junior joined his father’s joinery making business, and the company was founded in 1828.  In 1860, his sons joined him and the firm became William Marples and Sons.  Over the years, they acquired John Moseley & Sons (London plane makers) and Thomas Ibbotson & Co. (Sheffield edge tool makers).  Their shamrock trademark is stamped on the awl and was used as the name of their tools beginning in 1937. 

In 1961, they had about 400 employees.  In 1962, the Record Tool Company and William Ridgway acquired a 50 percent interest in the company, and in 1972 the companies merged with others to form Record Ridgway Tools Ltd. and, after 116 years at its Hibernia Works, the company was moved to Dronfield.  A 1982 takeover by A.B. Bahco of Sweden was short-lived, and in 1985 Record returned to British ownership.  In 1998, the company accepted a bid from American Tool Corp. trading as Record Irwin.  Irwin itself was acquired by Newell Rubbermaid in 2002, and was renamed Irwin Industrial Tool Co.  Both the Marples and Record names were rebranded “Irwin” and have vanished from the marketplace.

William Marples was the uncle of Robert Marples and Joseph Marples, both of whom established competing tool-making business in Sheffield.  The Robert Maples firm disappeared early in the last century, but Joseph Marples Ltd. continues as a family-owned tool-making firm in Britain.

The other identifiable awl is a Stanley Hurwood No. 7.  The Hurwood designation refers to the fact that the shank goes right through the handle.  The fact that the handle is flat on two sides makes it much easier to use, since it doesn’t roll away when put down on the bench.