IIT 90200 Eyelet Pliers with 100 Eyelets

The eyelets that come with this tool are crap, but I was buying for the tool itself, to use with these grommets Amanaote 5mm Internal Hole Diameter Gun Black Eyelets Grommets with Washer Self Backing Pack of 200 Sets in a corset that I'm making. They work wonderfully together even though the grommets are a little larger than the eyelets that came with the tool. The pliers are very easy to use, and don't require too much strength to squeeze. As someone who insists on constantly typing, sewing, and knitting despite carpal tunnel, my tools need to be hand-friendly, and I did not experience any pain or cramping while using these to set grommets in one side of the corset (haven't finished the other side yet). I was able to quickly and securely set my grommets, the tool working very well with them. I didn't realize until re-reading the questions just now that the tool actually punches holes - I had been poking holes with a seam ripper, then using a knitting needle as a makeshift awl to make them bigger (which is probably better for the fabric, but is more work), which is what most corset-making tutorials tell you to do, and which worked just fine. I wouldn't use the included eyelets on a garment. Perhaps on a decorative pillow or something similiar where the backs won't be exposed or rubbing against anything. They splay very poorly, and leave very rough edges that are going to catch on everything they come into contact with. Don't buy this expecting to use the eyelets for anything that's going to get regular use. I used a couple to test out the pliers before setting a couple of my good grommets as practice and finally moving on to my project, and that's honeslty about all they're good for.

This is a $5 "bargain bin" tool shoddily Made in China. Makes eyelets with jagged edged. Tool is made of junk metal with sharp edged rivets. Head is cheap chrome coated pot-steel. This will rust if humidity goes over 70%. Not Heavy Duty - very light duty, like to use on paper cardstock. Will not perforate even plastic, but mangles everything into a sharp edged mess. More Imported Disposable Junk.

I needed eyelets for a costume I was sewing for my child. After reading reviews of all the possible tools, I selected this one. It did NOT come with any directions, and the manufacturer's web site did not have instructions either. In order to unlock the pliers, you need to remove a small metal cylinder from a hole in the side mechanism--this took some time to figure out. Where this cylinder came out, there is a hole punch to create the hole in the fabric. There is a sliding piece of metal that screws into the side of the pliers here to adjust depth in from the edge to make the punch. The punch did not work great on my fabric--satin--but well enough that I was able to use scissors to complete the hole. The actual squeezing of the eyelet onto the fabric was very easy and you do not need to have super grip to do it. The eyelets that come with the pliers are 3/16 inch (4.7 mm). They are single-sided. When applied to satin, at least, they leave very ragged metal edges on the other side. After doing some practice eyelets on extra fabric, I decided that they would not work for this fabric--they'd catch and cause runs. Perhaps other one-sided eyelets are different, but these seem very cheap. I found 2-piece eyelets (I'm still not sure of the distinction between these eyelets with washers, and grommets, although it seems the grommets may be larger?) that were 3/16 inch at Michael's Crafts and they worked perfectly. The costume looks professional and there are no sharp or ragged edges on either side. I think these pliers could easily be used for the next size smaller, 1/8 inch eyelets, but you would not want to use them to make the punch in the fabric, since the hole would be too large and the eyelet would pull and slip out. I think you could probably also use them for the next size up, 1/4 inch eyelets, but may need to augment the hole after using the punch mechanism. Overall, this is an easy-to-use product and did exactly what it was supposed to, without much hand strength, and without damaging any of the eyelets or the fabric. I'd give it 5 stars if the eyelets that came with it were not so cheap.

I bought this to convert a piece of clothing to a lace-up style. It came with absolutely NO instructions so after a while of trying to figure out how to unlock it, I was finally able to unlock it and test it. I tried it on 2 different types of materials: terry cloth (wash cloth--it was the closest thing to me at the time that didn't matter if I put a hole in it) and a satin type material. The terry cloth did very well, the hole punch tool punched the hole right out and the eyelet clamped on perfectly. The satin type of material did not do very well with the hole punch step.. instead of punching a hole, it kind of just chewed the material so I had to make the hole with scissors. I also discovered in some of the cases the hole that was made was bigger than the eyelet so I had to go back with needle and thread to close the gap - I think this could possibly be because of the type of material I was using (satin-y) so I just used scissors to snip a tiny hole only big enough to fit the long part of the eyelet through. This is a big and heavy tool so at times I had to use both of my hands to finish setting the eyelet (small hands). All in all I really like it and will get plenty of use out of it.

This worked really well for about 320 eyelets and then not so much after that. I think the spring got stretched out so for the last bit of work I had to do I had to hammer the rest of the eyelet down. Not a big deal, it looked fine, but just a little inconvenient. This is good for occasional use, not repeated like I was doing.

I bought these eyelet pliers based on reviews and the fact that they are marketed as heavy duty. I am not sure if I just got a faulty pair but the broke on the very first use. I did a test of the pliers on some medium grade leather to make sure they would work properly before I began using them on my project. Worked on the leather perfectly, but as soon as I went to punch through my fabric (light weight cotton with a piece of interfacing, the top of the punch snapped off completely. They still work as eyelet pliers but I bought them primary because the are able to punch holes as well which saves me from buying a separate tool. Good for setting eyelets, bad for punching through fabric.

So, I do a fair amount of costuming and corseting. Because of this, I have used numerous installation methods: Dritz eyelet pliers, numerous specialized eyelet setters (with a mallet), even industrial hand presses (when I've been fortunate enough to be at a workshop that has one). Because I am generally using eyelets for thicker materials (or multiple layers of it) I needed something that would install sturdy eyelets, wouldn't make a ton of noise in doing so, or cause too much pain to my hands. I also needed something with the strength to deal with hard brass, and double sided eyelets, as the latter are essential for better longevity in a costume. Hammering die setters can be loud, especially in an apartment, and tend to be very brand-specific forcing you into only buying one brand of eyelet for it to work. Hand Presses are phenomenal, but also phenomenally expensive. And most eyelet pliers require an insane amount of grip strength and yet often install misaligned eyelets due to poor plate-to-plate contact. I found these to be a great solution for me. The compound action means I don't have to strain my hand much to squeeze, and the alignment has always come out perfect. It works very nicely even with my hard brass grommets with washers. I highly recommend them for anyone who wants a consistent eyelet installation without the expense of a press.

This product broke within 1 hour of use. The pliers part has 2 small nubs where you place the eyelets to squeeze. One of the nubs that holds the eyelet in place just collapsed, slide down into the part or broke off -- I don't know which, but it broke and now this product is completely worthless. It won't splay an eyelet when placed in it any longer. Other reviewers said the handles also bend and I can see where that could easily happen because they are very light weight; therefore, I didn't press very hard and used a hammer to finish splaying the eyelets after using this pliers. I would not recommend purchasing this item.