How to Use a Pegging Awl & Pegs to Make a Shoe

Use a pegging awl to attach a shoe's heel.

Handcrafting a shoe is a complicated but rewarding process, and the pegging awl will help you put on the finishing touches. A pegging awl is one type of awl specifically designed to help you insert permanent pegs on harder surfaces, such as the shoe heel. Once you've used a sewing awl to whip-stitch the sole and leather uppers together, grab a pegging awl to finish the shoe.

Things You'll Need

• 1/4-inch thick piece of wood
• Wood chisel with straight edge
• Mallet
• Leather heel piece
• Pegging wwl

Instructions

1. Slice pegs from a one-fourth-inch thick piece of wood. Use a mallet and a sharpened, straight-edged wood chisel to cut long strips along the wood grain. Position the chisel's edge at the corner of the wood where you want to cut, then use a controlled motion to gently tap on the butt of the chisel until a slice begins to split off. Continue up the length of the wood until you release the peg.

2. Measure the depth of your heel piece, sole leather and the width of the awl. Trim the pegs to match the awl thickness and clip them to the measured heel depth plus the depth of the sole leather. Trim the pegs as closely as possible to avoid inserting the peg past the sole of your shoe.

3. Wet the heel leather thoroughly to make it supple. Line up the heel leather with the leather sole of the shoe and secure it with a clamp on a workbench or shoe stand. Use a mallet to tap the pegging awl into the heel piece one-fourth to one-half inch from the heel edge depending on shoe size and awl thickness. Wiggle the awl back and forth until you can smoothly withdraw it from the leather. Repeat this around the edges of the heel leather.

4. Keep the shoe in a secure spot as you use the mallet to tap the pegs through the heel leather and into the sole leather. Trim off any excess peg length from the heel leather using a sharp knife.

Tips & Warnings

• Wet leather will shrink and stiffen as it dries, which helps set the pegs.

• Clear any loose items from your workspace before using the pegging awl to avoid mishaps when using the mallet and sharp awl. Secure all work materials and strike away from your body, or work over a thick piece of wood to protect yourself.

References

• University of Tulsa: Glossary of Footwear Terminology, A
• Chopine, Zoccolo, and Other Raised and High-Heel Construction: Pegging a Heel
• S. B. Juniper: Craftsmanship