Eyelet pliers vs a hammer setter
Updated: 23 October 2026
A repair search shows a squeeze plier, a punch with an anvil, and a G-clamp. Eyelet pliers vs a hammer setter is reach and force. Use pliers near the edge, a size-matched setter when the frame cannot reach, and a canvas worker for a sail or an HGV curtain. The ten kits on the [eyelet pliers comparison](/hub/hand-tools/eyelet-pliers) are all pliers. The better tool may be none of them. Peter F. wrote this on 22 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. There was no striking test.
A repair search shows a squeeze plier, a punch with an anvil, and a G-clamp. Eyelet pliers vs a hammer setter is reach and force.
A repair search shows a squeeze plier, a punch with an anvil, and a G-clamp. Eyelet pliers vs a hammer setter is reach and force. Use pliers near the edge, a size-matched setter when the frame cannot reach, and a canvas worker for a sail or an HGV curtain. The ten kits on the eyelet pliers comparison are all pliers. The better tool may be none of them. Peter F. wrote this on 22 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you. There was no striking test.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Eyelet size | Hole cutter | Sizes in the tool | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  TOWOT TOWOT 10 mm eyelet pliers | 10 mm | One punch and a steel backplate | One | 9.2 | about £15.27 | View offer |
| Alternative |  HAPDEN HAPDEN 6/10/12 mm eyelet pliers | 6 mm, 10 mm and 12 mm | A punch for each diameter | Three | 8.3 | about £43.99 | View offer |
| Best value |  Swpeet Swpeet S664 5 mm eyelet pliers | 5 mm (3/16 inch) | Named in the bullet | One | 9.0 | about £12.99 | View offer |
On this page
Three tools, not one
Pliers squeeze a die. A cutter in the box does not make them a hammer setter, and all ten kits here are pliers. A setter is a punch, an anvil and a hammer. Trimming Shop's set starts around £6.09 and does not include eyelets. Le Prevo charges from £10 including VAT per sail size. The cover millimetre stays on the eyelet pliers for tarpaulins page.
When pliers are the right shape
Use pliers when the mark is near the edge and the die matches the box. No kit prints a throat depth. One HAPDEN review puts a set at about an inch from the edge. TOWOT is the 10 mm top pick, and the bullet stops at 3 mm. Swpeet is best value only at 5 mm. Skip pliers for the middle of a wide sheet, or for a sail or lorry curtain.
When a hammer and setter are the right shape
Use a hammer and setter when the frame hits the sheet first. Toolbug's £6.99 kits are mostly small craft sizes. A 5 mm anvil under a 12 mm barrel mushrooms the metal. Wonkee Donkee's sequence is hole, shank, washer, then a strike, and another only if the eyelet is loose. Dies that swap on a plier do not extend the throat.
Sails and lorry curtains
Laser Tools 7881 is a 12 mm and 16 mm HGV kit at £141.43 including VAT on workshopping.co.uk. Sixteen millimetres is not on these ten pliers. For the edge of a domestic tarp, use a 10 mm or 12 mm plier. For a mark the frame cannot reach, match the anvil. For a sail or curtain, use that workshop class or a sailmaker.
Common questions
Can pliers set an eyelet in the middle of a tarp?
Not once the frame meets the sheet. Toolbug gives that as the reason to buy a setter. One HAPDEN review managed about an inch from the edge, and no listing here prints a throat depth in millimetres. Folding a wide sheet until the middle looks like an edge tears the cloth and still may not square the die. Use a punch, an anvil and a hammer for a mark in the field of the cover.
Do I need a hammer as well as pliers?
Only if the kit's cutter is a separate punch. Several pliers in this set include a punch and a backplate, and a shared SBGGRL review describes punching thick fabric on a plastic disc. The setting action remains a squeeze. A hammer setter replaces that squeeze with a blow on an anvil. You do not need both tools for the same eyelet. You need the one whose shape reaches the mark.
What is the difference between a setter and a press?
A setter is a punch and an anvil you strike with a hammer. A press holds the die and closes it with a screw or a G-clamp, so the barrel stays square under more force. Toolbug's small setter kits and Trimming Shop's three-part set are the hammer class. Laser Tools 7881, at £141.43 including VAT on workshopping.co.uk, is a G-clamp kit for 12 mm and 16 mm HGV grommets. Hanolex's HPX1, from £172.80, is a banner press for vinyl.
Are the ten amazon kits hammer setters?
They are pliers. The titles are handheld eyelet or grommet kits with dies you squeeze. A hole cutter in the box does not make the tool an anvil kit. SBGGRL, TOWOT, HAPDEN and the others stay in the plier class even when a review says you must cut the hole first. A hammer setter is the separate three-part tool Wonkee Donkee shows for tarpaulins.
What tool do HGV curtains use?
Laser Tools specifies the 7881 kit for 12 mm and 16 mm grommets on HGV truck and trailer tarpaulins, with a G-clamp, anvils, punches and grommets. The UK shop price used here is £141.43 including VAT. None of the ten pliers is a 16 mm curtain tool. A domestic 10 mm gazebo kit is the wrong class, even at the same 12 mm figure HAPDEN happens to include.
Do sail eyelets use the same pliers as a 5 mm craft eyelet?
Le Prevo sells craft pliers and, separately, a setting tool and anvil per sail-eyelet size. The sail tools in their table run from about £10 including VAT for a small eyelet up to heavy turned-steel tools between £27.35 and £49.55 including VAT. A 5 mm amazon kit, and a three-die plier, does not replace one anvil per sail size. A sail whose failure matters goes to a sailmaker.
Is a £7 setter kit enough for a tarpaulin?
Only if the anvil matches the eyelet in the sheet. Toolbug lists setter kits from £6.99, and those kits on that page are mostly small sizes around 5 mm. Trimming Shop's hammer set from about £6.09 does not include eyelets. A 10 mm or 12 mm cover eyelet needs a 10 mm or 12 mm anvil and matching barrels. A cheap craft setter under a cover-sized eyelet is the same mismatch as a 5 mm plier.
Related pages
Sources
Sources for this comparison, last checked on 22 October 2026.
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005: Great Britain (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- BS 3102:1959, withdrawn listing (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Wonkee Donkee Tools, replacing eyelets on a tarpaulin (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Hanolex, why brass eyelets (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Hanolex, brass grommet size table (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Toolbug, how to use eyelet pliers (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Laser Tools, eyelets and grommets for covers and curtains (retrieved 22 October 2026)