Awl by Hand Reviews 

Absolutely delighted with the quality and finish of the collar I have just received. Customer service is exemplary from the ordering to the very carefully packed delivery. I would highly recommend and will certainly be purchasing a further collar for my other dog.

I'm amazed with the quality of the trousers belts that I bought from you. Leather quality - excellent, it will last for years to come. Stitching, finish of the edges, finish of the top and "flesh side" of the belt: all top notch. Buckle is solid and strong, will never break. Beautiful belts made with attention to details, you can precisely choose the size which is very important. I will definitely buy again from you. Thank you.

Better than any picture could do justice, costumer care was second to none from placing my or to receiving my item, i will be ordering again

Thrilled with the dog collar we ordered. Superbly crafted & promptly made & delivered

Absolutely beautiful dog collar for my dog. It is obvious that this lady really cares about the quality of what she makes, and she is very talented in what she does.
Customer service and delivery were spot on.
Would thoroughly recommend.

Ordered a leather double ended lead as a gift, this lead was made and sent promptly, carefully wrapped. It looks and feels like a beautiful quality product and in addition a little card giving care advice and a small pot of leather conditioner was included.

Wasn't a straightforward 'ask' in the end, but met my requirements all the way with no request being too much trouble.

I recently bought a collar and lead set for my little Border terrier x JRT, and could not recommend Awl by Hand highly enough. Absolutely superb customer service; Lyndsay was so helpful from start to finish. Great communications and very helpful suggestions - we made some changes to the standard design to make sure it wouldn't be too bulky for a small dog. The end result is absolutely gorgeous, exactly what I wanted: beautiful craftmanship, super quality materials and it looks great on my wee girl. Very reasonable price for the quality hand made product, and arrived quickly too. Thank you Lyndsay!

Beautiful and highest quality leather belt. It was so nice, everyone in the family wanted one!
Very fast turnaround and excellent quality of workwomanship!

Thank you Lyndsay. When our actual guide dog lead plunged into a river (not attached to our dog) we tried in vain to retrieve it. As we no longer volunteer for guide dogs we thought all was lost….until I found your website. We couldn’t be happier with the superb quality of crafts(wo)manship and leather. The perfect replacement to our previously perfect lead. Highly recommended.

I was complimented by another dog-walker the other day on the half-check collar and long training leash my boy. Brody (our gorgeous Dobermann) was wearing. I was asked if I could recommend the company that made it... was it good quality... is it hardwearing? I didn't hesitate to recommend the person that made it.

Awl by Hand made our bespoke set and after receiving it, I later ordered a short 'traffic-leash' too and I thought I'd give my opinion after around 6 months use.

When this set arrived I didn't really know what to expect. Sure, I'd read through their website and I liked the look of the equipment but did that really tell me enough? No, not really! Websites can be deceptive... It's not until you see a product, feel it and use it do you really know what you've bought.

So when the Half-check and training leash arrived, the first thing that struck me was how obvious it was that the product had been made with a huge sense of professional pride because it came so beautifully presented with a large business card, cleaning instructions and a free pot of leather conditioner. It was boxed (not a cheap plastic bag) and the collar and leash was carefully wrapped in tissue paper. The experience of opening and unwrapping it made the process almost 'ceremonial'... You only present your product like this when you're proud of what you've made.

Made from premium quality English bridle leather, we chose Dark Havana colour and solid brass fittings. The stitching is amazing and the product oozes a very understated quality. The solid brass fittings are heavy and solid and compliment the colour beautifully. I knew immediately I'd found the right company to make our equipment.

You can get a nice colourful nylon leash and collar from a certain mass-selling website for under a tenner... so why would you pay a lot more? Well that’s easy, my boy is worth it and deserves far better. I also knew that I didn't want to be buying collars and leashes every year when they've worn out, snapped or been chewed. More importantly, I wanted to know that when he is on his leash, he's perfectly safe and secure. In future, I doubt that I'll even check Awl by Hands prices before ordering again because I now know 100% that they are worth every single penny.

After six or seven months of use... twice a day - every day, training sessions, long walks, short walks, rainy and muddy walks and searing sunshine too (yes, we have had some super-hot days in the UK) a wipe down with a damp cloth and a quick re-conditioning with the free leather conditioner provided, and the collar and leash looks shiny and new. It has softened (as Lyndsay at Awl by Hand said it would) and it is extremely comfortable in the hands to use - even with a 44kg pup who pulls like a freight train when he's excited to go for a walk!

In summary, the equipment from Awl by Hand is probably the very best investment I've made for my boy, and I simply cannot recommend them highly enough. The whole process from choosing which style and colour, ordering and paying to putting the collar on and going for that first walk with it is super-easy; all you need to do is measure your dog, choose a style and a colour and Lyndsay at Awl by Hand does the rest. And by 'does the rest', I mean hand-makes each product beautifully, with care and a professional pride that is rare today.

Do I recommend Awl by Hand? Hell yeah!!

UPDATE: December 2024 and everything I said above is as true today as it was then. The half-check collar, training leash and traffic leash (and a beautiful ‘show collar’ I bought after this) are still going 100% strong. Everything is used daily… sometimes twice daily and in all weathers and the life of this set goes on and on and on.

Would I still recommend Awl by Hand? Without a doubt… without question… without hesitation!