Here is my understanding of what these items are: An "awl", in my local family dialect of American English, has a teardrop-shaped handle of wood, and a round metal shaft going to a point.
A stiletto has a thin, flat blade, like a letter-opener, and a handle more like a knife handle. In my local family dialect of American English, a bodkin is a flat, blunt, needle-like object, with a long narrow eye, used to thread ribbon through eyelets, or elastic through a tube. I have run across many of these on eBay, and the items offered as "bodkins" vary. My dictionary (my old 1960's dictionary) also has "a dagger or stiletto", "a stiletto-like implement, esp. one for punching holes in cloth", and "a stiletto-shaped ornamental hairpin." The "large-eyed blunt needle" definition appears last. What would you, personally, say a "bodkin" is? (Remembering that dialects of English vary from family to family, as well as country to country.) Lynn Carpenter in SW Michigan, USA alwen at i2k dot com - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
