Lace a Brooks On-The-Cheap?
 

My B15N needs lacing. The leather hole-punch tool is inexpensive, and I can certainly afford some waxed cotton shoelaces to do it up, but have any others had good results with a leather awl? I have one on my Swiss army knife. Also, what diameter of cord would I be better off using? Is 2mm as good as anything else? I would like to note that I have removed the stock row(s) of lacing holes, because they were cracking (not in British slang), and I then beveled the then-shortened skirts.
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Paul, a drill will also work to create the holes. This might be the safer way to go since the saddle had cracks earlier. An awl might stress the leather and create additional cracking. The thicker the shoelaces the better.

Definitely get yourself a leather punch for the job…the awl on the SAK is a tool for expedient uses and not a very good one at that. The awls found on true “Harness Jacks” are much better designed but they still are for emergency repairs like a broken strap or belt (originally designed for quick fixes to “tack” when horses were the normal mode of transportation). The awl is to be twisted to cut the hole and it works best on a flat surface (otherwise you have to hold the leather really taught. With your saddle, you will have to hold edge to keep taught while trying to cut hole with awl (same issue with a drill). A leather punch is just so easy to use as you don’t have to keep leather taught and cuts such clean holes it really is the only way to go.
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That makes sense. I see some drills for $15.00 that will do up to 4mm, so I'll go with that unless advised to go wider. It will be a more-gentle operation for the reason you noted, and because the punch needs to be inserted as a pincer, up behind the leather, and my side-rails could prevent that. The saddle was bone-dry when I bought it about 2 years ago, but seems to have responed well to olive oil, Shoe Grease and Sno-Seal.
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"Before"

Markeologist, That is some good perspective and history on the awls. I think I'll by-pass the twisting and gouging.

Any drill-bit will work, metric or SAS. If you don't have a drill and drill bits, check with a neighbor or nearby friend.

If you want to mimic how Brooks drilled their holes, take a look at my B5N (above) and B15 (below). You will notice the holes begin small and progressively are enlarged to the center. Hope this is helpful.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...720&fit=bounds
https://hosting.photobucket.com/albu...720&fit=bounds

You can get a relatively good leather punch for less than $20 which gives you a suite of hole sizes…start small and go next size bigger until you find optimum size. Use a ruler and mark your holes and then punch away…really quick and easy…steering you away from drill as for that you will still need to have leather pulled taught to keep the bit from jumping around and to keep hole cutting straight.

I also have a B15 that may need this treatment. I really like the 15. Mine however has the alligator cracking on top that I’ve never seen anything work on. One poster had good results grinding it off with a wire wheel brush and then refinishing the more open pore leather to some degree. Like the OP, the beauty is that nothing is lost by trying. I find the 15 more comfortable that the 17 which is possibly due to thinner leather that is sometimes mentioned. My experience with the 17s is hit or miss.

Nail gun.

Absurdist humor aside, another vote for a conventional set of drill bits. Should slice through nicely, especially if the skirts of the saddle are not too fibrous. Avoid using step bits so the leather doesn't get sheared by the bit.

-Kurt

You've already gotten plenty of good advice but I'll add one more note: since you're not going for originalism anyway, I'd consider spacing the holes out a bit more than they were originally. This will give the old leather a little more material for greater strength, and even with slightly fewer holes you'll still have plenty for adequate lacing. Might get a little better lifespan from your repair.

Drilling leather
 

Eehh... I would strongly advise not to drill leather. The drill bit just tears a hole rather than punches. I'm assuming you are lacing it as the leather has stretched beyond the maximum adjustment on the nose. I would slacken it completely and pull the rear end of the leather and make new holes, refasten and trim the old rear skirt off. Hoping to rejuvenate an old Brooks in the middle where it is weakest with lacing on old leather is a forlorn quest.

Thanks. That's what I am intending. Six holes per side, and I think 4mm will be wide-enough:
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...39494dc596.jpg
Ready for drilling and lacing

I still have room left on my bolt, but I'm not sure how much more the top, at the rear rivets, is going to take:

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...59f0fb0440.jpg

If you can tighten more on the nose, slacken off, drill three or four holes on the rear end thru the back end of the metal skirt that rolls back and near vertical beyond the rear rivets (these are on a horizontal plane in your picture). Choose a mark between each of your existing rivets to spread the stress away from the old ones. These will support your original rivets and anchor the leather around the curve and thus support a great deal more weight. Tension up again when all is secure. Use bolts and washers as being around the slope you won't be sitting on them.

When we lace a tired brooks (mine is a 2010 Pro) do we lace above or below the rails? And what is the best lacing material?

Lace above the rails.

I have an inexpensive leather punch and would use that. It is fast and cuts clean holes and is easy to use for the side of a saddle. Placement is not as precise as I might like, so I would work out how to do that.

If I were drilling holes in leather, I would use a "brad point bit" (I have a set for woodworking). These have a central point for locating the hole but cut very clean holes because they cut starting at the perimeter (not the center).

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Use a nickel to spread the load

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bb37c41ce3.jpg
A metal bridge is better as it doesn't rely on old leather to tighten up the saddle.
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All of these Brooks saddle frames were manufactured in the 1930s

...I have had good results using flat woven shoe laces. I think they might be either woven out of cotton or from some polyester blend.
They last a long time, and they lay flat against the skirts, if you do it carefully. I have a punch, so the holes I'm using are punched.

OK, but I’m more scared of the bolt and rivets on the noses on those saddles than I ever was of my Orange Krates gear selector!

Balls of steel
 

If you file them enough you won't have a problem. However Brooks do sell the copper rivets that are 18mm in diameter for the nose. They smooth the ride for those that have the money but not the bolas de acero.

Another way around any discomfort could be to wear a good pair of tweed breeches.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...945d623330.jpg

Using anything other than a punch on leather is barbaric. Brooks did NOT drill holes.

Pfft!

What's "barbaric" are those bolts and washers used by Johno69. THOSE are barbaric.