Them's some purty birdcage awls!

Last weekend I discovered I have two NOS Japanese birdcage awls.
They found their way to me in a group of sundry tools a couple
of years ago, and I hadn't thought much about them until I
needed one and gave them a second glance.

The handles are square at the steel bit, but quickly go to round.
Maybe 90% of the handle is 1/2 inch round, and long enough to make
you think of a lathe tool.

Why?  I wondered, and then remembered -- the handles are held between
your two hands and spun back and forth to drill the hole.

Mike in Sacto