La lezna permite perforar el cuadernillo.

Lezna means awl: a pointed tool used to make small holes in materials such as leather, paper, or bookbinding materials.

It is a real and correct word, but it is not especially common in everyday conversation. You are more likely to see it in contexts like:

• bookbinding
• leatherwork
• crafts
• traditional tools

So for many learners, it feels like a specialized vocabulary word.

Because lezna is a feminine noun in Spanish, so it takes the feminine article la.

• la lezna
• una lezna

This is something you usually just have to learn with the noun. The ending -a often suggests a feminine noun, and in this case that matches the actual gender.

Permite means allows, makes it possible to, or enables.

It comes from the verb permitir = to allow / to permit.

So:

• La lezna permite perforar el cuadernillo
  = The awl allows you to pierce/perforate the booklet/signature

Grammatically, permite is:

• third person singular
• present tense
• from permitir

because the subject is la lezna.

Because after permitir in this kind of structure, Spanish often uses an infinitive.

Pattern:

• [subject] + permite + infinitive

Examples:

• La máquina permite cortar el papel.
• Esta herramienta permite trabajar más rápido.
• La lezna permite perforar el cuadernillo.

In English, this is often translated as:

• allows (someone) to perforate
• makes perforating possible

Spanish does not need to before the infinitive in the same way English does.

Yes, both are possible.

• permite perforar el cuadernillo = allows perforating the booklet/signature
• permite perforarlo = allows perforating it

The version with el cuadernillo is clearer if the object has not already been mentioned.
The version with -lo is natural when the object is already known from context.

So the original sentence is perfectly natural, especially in explanatory or instructional language.

Cuadernillo can mean different things depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• booklet
• exercise booklet
• pamphlet
• in bookbinding, a gathering / signature: a group of folded sheets sewn together

Since the sentence mentions a lezna and perforar, this strongly suggests a bookbinding context. So here cuadernillo probably means a folded section of pages that is being pierced for sewing.

Also, cuadernillo is a diminutive of cuaderno.

• cuaderno = notebook
• cuadernillo = small notebook / booklet / little section

But in technical contexts, the meaning is often more specialized than just small notebook.

Spanish usually uses the definite article more often than English does.

So el cuadernillo is normal here because it refers to:

• the specific booklet/signature being worked on, or
• the general item understood in the procedure

Spanish often prefers:

• abrir la puerta
• lavarse las manos
• perforar el cuadernillo

where English might sometimes use a possessive, no article, or a different structure depending on style.

It is a very good choice, especially in technical or neutral language.

Perforar usually means:

• to perforate
• to pierce
• to make a hole in

Depending on context, other verbs could appear, such as:

• pinchar = to prick / puncture
• agujerear = to make holes in
• hacer agujeros en = to make holes in

But perforar sounds precise and appropriate for instructions or tool descriptions.

A few natural translations are possible, depending on context:

• The awl allows you to pierce the signature.
• The awl is used to pierce the booklet.
• The awl lets you make holes in the booklet.
• The awl is used to perforate the booklet section.

If this is specifically about bookbinding, signature may be the most accurate translation for cuadernillo.

In Spain Spanish, lezna is pronounced approximately like:

• LETH-na in much of Spain, where z sounds like the th in think
• LES-na in Latin American pronunciation, where z sounds like s

Stress falls on the first syllable:

• LEZ-na

So in Spain Spanish specifically, a learner should aim for something close to LETH-na.

Yes, absolutely.

• La lezna permite perforar el cuadernillo = The awl allows/enables perforating the booklet
• La lezna sirve para perforar el cuadernillo = The awl is used for piercing the booklet / serves to pierce the booklet

The difference is small:

• permite focuses on making the action possible
• sirve para focuses on function or purpose

In tool descriptions, sirve para is often very common and natural.
Permite sounds a little more formal or technical.