Awls, dividers and compass points are sharp and thus can be easily damaged if not protected (or even worse, poke us). Over the years I have used wine corks, plastic wall anchors, and segments of plastic pipes as point protectors, but there’s an even better solution.

I am quite lucky to have a partner who is an avid knitter, otherwise I would have never heard of Needle Protectors. In the knitting world there are plenty of points to protect. Since knitting needles (which are often made of metal and can be quite sharp) can poke through bags and baskets or be damaged while falling to the ground, manufacturers are offering all sort of tip protectors that can be bought in stores and online.

I recently bought two kinds of protectors on Amazon. The first were single caps (they came in a few sizes) for protecting awls, gimlet tips, and dividers. When I need to leave a divider open, in a predetermined setting for repeated measurement, I protect the point with the individual caps. Needless to say, I also use these single caps to protect my awls and other sharp, pointed tools.

The other product I purchased was a small/medium two-hole cap protector which I use to cap my dividers when closed. (The two hole cap can also be bought in a large size).

If you care for your tools’ tips and want a handy protector that can be easily capped and pulled off, do consider these products. When shopping for them online make sure to compare prices. There are a few vendors on Amazon that sell them and prices vary.