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Eyelet press vs pliers

Updated: 23 October 2026

amazon.co.uk shows a plier kit around £16 with a long rating file beside a 4 kg lever at about £33, and both pages say grommet. An eyelet press vs pliers choice is about what your hand does, not which listing has more reviews. Pliers squeeze one size in mid-air. A lever curls a two-part ring on a fixed base, with dies you change. If you already want the lever, the checks are on the [eyelet press buying guide](/hub/diy-supplies/eyelet-press/sub/eyelet-press-buying-guide), and the eight presses are on the [Eyelet press comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/eyelet-press). This page does not rank those eight. Prices and weights are from amazon.co.uk listings on 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

amazon.co.uk shows a plier kit around £16 with a long rating file beside a 4 kg lever at about £33, and both pages say grommet.

Our top picks

KATSU KATSU 4-die hand press

Best overall

KATSU KATSU 4-die hand press
8.2/10about £34.98
View offer
Keadic Keadic #0 #2 #4 hand press

Alternative

Keadic Keadic #0 #2 #4 hand press
7.0/10about £42.99
View offer
KATSU KATSU 3-die hand press

Best value

KATSU KATSU 3-die hand press
7.5/10about £32.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.They are not the same tool
  2. 2.Weight, price, and where you work
  3. 3.Canvas, banners, and sheets
  4. 4.Which to buy

They are not the same tool

A grommet plier is handheld. You hold the cloth in the jaws and squeeze. The ring closes if the fabric is light and the plier is the right size. Kits that turned up in the same search as these presses weighed about 830 g to 960 g. A lever press is a small bench tool. You fit a matched die pair, seat the ring and washer, and pull a handle. The frames in the comparison weigh about 3.15 kg to 5.04 kg. A hammer, a punch and an anvil, often about £5 to £11, is the usual UK kit for one tarpaulin eyelet. If the search started because a sheet tore, the tarpaulin eyelet press page comes before you decide the press has beaten the pliers.

Weight, price, and where you work

The money gap is smaller than the practical gap. Pliers in this search sit around £15 to £25. The eight lever presses run from about £32.99 to about £51.29. LetCartMaker, the lightest press here, is listed at 3.15 kg. Keadic is listed at 5.04 kg. A plier that lives in a drawer does not ask for a bench. Weight only helps if the base stays still. Reviewers who leave these presses loose describe wobble and an uneven curl. FreeTec tells you to fix the press on a flat tabletop and warns that cast iron is brittle under misuse. A plier has no foot to bolt, so it runs out of force on stiff canvas. Ten light holes a year are a plier job, or a hammer kit if they are on a sheet. Dozens of rings, on bags, curtains or banner hems, are where the lever earns the space.
KATSU KATSU 4-die hand press

Testsieger

KATSU KATSU 4-die hand press
8.2/10about £34.98
View offer

Canvas, banners, and sheets

Pliers lose first on thick cloth. Canvas, PVC banners and tarpaulin fight a short jaw, and the ring sits oval. A bench press puts the force through a die. A press does not remove the need for a clean hole. It removes the need to squeeze the ring shut by hand. Some pliers are too small for a sheet, which Wonkee Donkee tells you to check. Sheet kits here are about 10 mm or 12 mm inside. One torn trailer eyelet is a hammer kit of that size. A row of eyelets, with the press bolted down, is the lever's job. Neither tool is a load rating if the sheet restrains cargo. A press that is not fixed down is the wrong answer even when the fabric is right.

Which to buy

Buy pliers when you will set a few light holes, the fabric does not fight the jaws, and you want a tool under about 1 kg. Expect about £15 to £25. Buy a hammer kit, not pliers and not a press, when the job is one tarpaulin eyelet at 10 mm or 12 mm. Buy a lever press when you expect dozens of rings, the material is canvas, banner or a repeated sheet hem, and you can bolt or clamp the base. Budget about £32.99 to about £51.29, plus a board. A press you cannot fix down is a worse buy than pliers, because the leverage never arrives and the casting takes the shock. If staff will use the tool, suitability under PUWER 1998 is the next question. These hobby listings are not guarded industrial presses.

Common questions

Why do pliers have more amazon.co.uk reviews?
More buyers need a small tool for a few holes. Pliers around £15 to £25 collect ratings from light-fabric jobs. The lever presses cost about £32.99 to about £51.29 and need bench space, so fewer people own them. A longer review file shows which class is popular. It does not show that the pliers will curl a canvas or tarpaulin eyelet.
Can pliers set a tarpaulin eyelet?
Sometimes, and often they cannot. Wonkee Donkee says some pliers are too small for a tarpaulin and that you should check the size. UK sheet kits are about 10 mm or 12 mm inside. For one hole, a hammer kit in that size is the usual repair. Use a press for many holes, with a 10 mm or 12 mm die and the base fixed.
Can a press set a shirt eyelet?
It can if the small die fits, and it is an awkward tool for that job. These presses weigh about 3–5 kg and include 6 mm or #0 dies. A shirt hem is a few light holes. Pliers are the nearer tool. If you already own the press, test the small die on scrap. Do not buy the press only for shirts.
How much heavier is the press?
Where a weight is printed, these presses list about 3.15 kg to 5.04 kg. Dyna-Living does not state one. Pliers removed as the wrong class weighed about 830 g to 960 g. You lift several kilograms onto a bench and leave the tool there. The plier stays in one hand.
What if I only need ten rings a year?
Buy pliers, or a hammer kit if the rings are on a sheet. Ten holes a year do not pay back a 4 kg press, a board and a set of dies, unless the fabric already defeats jaws you know. The press earns its place when you set dozens of rings and you can fix the base.

Related pages

How to use an eyelet press

Eyelet press

Best eyelet press: four-die KATSU, and who skips it

Eyelet press buying guide: size, base, then reviews

Tarpaulin eyelet press: 10 mm and 12 mm sheet rings

Sources

Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings compared on this page. Updated 22.10.2026.

  1. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. HSE: PUWER overview (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. HSE: EIS30, industrial presses (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. Wonkee Donkee: replace tarpaulin eyelets (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. House of Tents: repair tent tarpaulins (retrieved 22.10.2026)