Dritz(R) Gripper Plier Kit For Assorted Snaps

by Dritz

Product Features

• Applies #15, #16, #17, #25, #19 and #34 snaps
• Applies 24-3 and #30-1 snaps and #104 eyelets.
• Includes pliers, rubber adapters for snaps, yelllow adapter for jumbo snaps

Product Details

• Shipping Information: View shipping rates and policies
• ASIN: B0001DS56W
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,714 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing (See Top 100 in Arts, Crafts & Sewing)
  • #23 in Automotive > Tools & Equipment > Hand Tools > Pliers > Plier Sets

Product Description

Includes pliers, rubber adapters for snaps, yelllow adapter for jumbo snaps, size 16 snaps-4 sets andn 1/8" eyelets-25ct. Easy to use. Applies #15, #16, #17, #25, #19 and #34 snaps, and 24-3 and #30-1 snaps and #104 eyelets.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Works well and lasts for years, April 1, 2007

By 

SFHandyman (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dritz(R) Gripper Plier Kit For Assorted Snaps

I really like snaps on the shirts that I make. This pair of snap pliers makes it simple to add them. I have occasionally gotten one of the pieces misaligned and ended up with a prong not aligned, but I just pull it back off, straighten the prongs with a pair of regular pliers and remount it.

There is a very wide range of button colors available. You can also mount the snaps that don't have a 'button'. All that shows is a little ring of metal and those come in lots of colors also, so you can try to match your fabric and they don't really call attention to themselves, or use a contrasting color and let the ring show. Those are also much flatter than the button front ones.

I've even put a snap on the fly of all my boxer briefs. It looks good and prevents "escapes" and gaping. I remember pajamas when I was a little boy, and the fly front would gape easily. If you have a man or boy in the family do him a favor and add a snap to the fly on his pajamas. You can also just replace a button with a snap. You will still see the button hole stitching above and below the snap front, but if you center it well, the prongs of the snap will hold the buttonhole shut.

Once you use these, you will probably never sew on a snap again. The only reason to sew a snap is if you MUST have it not show.

You can also install small eyelets with these. It's hard to mess up an eyelet, just make a tiny hole first and push the eyelet into the hole, then use the pliers to spread and fold the back edges.

The head swivels so you have either the button snap side or the eyelet post. The front snap pusher is plastic so it doesn't mar the surface of the snap.

When you use them for snaps, there are little rubber rings that holds the snap parts on the pliers. As long as you center them well and don't let the fabric pull them off center, they mount very easily and I've never had one come off. They have never aged, no matter how many times I've washed them and worn the garments. Out of the hundreds I've used, I've had a couple lose their grip because one of the center grippers got bent, but you can usually just bend it back. If that doesn't work just pull it off and add a replacement of that part.

Snaps are so much faster and easier to mount than sewing buttons and buttonholes, they are also much easier to use for fingers that aren't nimble from age or injury. Small children also have a much easier time with snaps than buttons. You can also use a snap with one hand. If something catches the fabric and it gets pulled open, a button could come off or break (or worse, it might hold so well that the fabric tears), where a snap just unsnaps with no damage and you can snap it back. It's also kind of sexy that my shirts can be removed by just 'ripping' them open. You certainly can't do that with buttons.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ther must be a better way, September 15, 2009

By 

Heather Schmidt "Twingles" (Clovis, NM) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dritz(R) Gripper Plier Kit For Assorted Snaps

I just bought this kit and even as a well educated person, and someone who does a lot of sewing and crafts, these directions are difficult to understand at best. I wish they would show more pictures of exactly how the rubber rings fit on, and how the snap pieces fit within them. I have tried every way possible, and the one that seems to match the directions the best does not produce good results because the rubber rings get in the way. They either cause one or both parts of the snap to move as the pliers are closed, and the snap does not line up right, or it gets the rubber ring caught between the snap pieces when squeezed together. There must be a better way to install snaps easily and quickly. I will keep trying it to see if practice makes perfect, but for a busy mom of 3 little ones, I would rather spend my time on more important things than figuring out how to get the snap pliers to work well. I may look into getting another tool, even if it's more expensive.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Practice first- after practice this works great!, October 11, 2010

By 

Shala Kerrigan (Anchorage) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dritz(R) Gripper Plier Kit For Assorted Snaps

For the types of materials I set snaps in most often, I do use a couple snaps practicing getting them set right. I agree with the other reviewers that the instructions are pretty scant.
I use the snaps on bracelets made out of recycled bicycle inner tubes and occasionally grommets on aluminum cans for other projects. For the bracelets, I needed to poke the prongs through the rubber first, then close the pliers to set the snap.
For regular sized snaps like the pearl snaps that Dritz makes, you'll want to put a rubber ring on both sides of the snap setter. One side is metal, and the other is plastic. You'll slip a rubber ring on each side, then for the bottom of the snap, put the post part of the snap post down in the plastic side, and the pronged side in the metal side. Then set the snap so the post is facing up on your project. For the socket side, the socket side of the snap goes in the metal part with the ridged lip up and the decorative top of the snap with the prongs goes on the plastic side, face down. Set the snap so the decorative face is on top of your project.
For thicker materials like rubber, you might want to poke the holes for the prongs through first, then close the pliers to set the snap.
To set grommets, you take the rubber rings off,make a small hole where you want the grommet set. turn the plastic plate so the round peg is at the front, then set the grommet face down on that.Align your project with the pliers, close the pliers to set the grommet, remember the plastic side will be the top of the grommet.
I really recommend practicing with a bit of the same material first before you possibly mis-set a snap in something you're working on.
So far, I've used this successfully on rubber, fabric and aluminum.