Piercing tools (4)
I believe the answer is:
awls
<span class="explanation-format__ClueExplanation">'<span class="explanation-format__original">piercing tools</span>' is the definition.<br/ ><span class="explanation-format__explanation">(I've seen this in another clue)</span><br/ ><br/ >This is all the clue.<br/ ></span>
(Other definitions for awls that I've seen before include "Small piercing tools" , "Laws about boring tools (4)" , "Tools for punching small holes" , "Pointed hand-tools" .)