Caligae and Calcei making tip

[Neuraleanus]

I'm in the process of making a pair of caligae for a friend and in the process of stitching the out-soles to the uppers using tunnel stitching I broke all of my curved awls. I then remembered about the bunch of curved needles that I had purchased for another project. I cut off the ring and mounted one in an awl holder and used this to continue the work. Not only did these curved needles work, but they did a better job of making the tunnels in the out-soles than the curved awls had. The curvature was just right. Here is a picture:


I purchased the curved needles from an archery supplier:

www.3riversarchery.com/product.asp?i=8020