Eyelet Repair

[start_today 757]

Is there an important difference between the bigger eyelet press like you see in shops, vs a small handheld one? Is the press that much more better, or is it just that those are quicker and smoother so you spend less time? 

And, for people who replace eyelets at home, do you have a recommendation for where to buy them in bulk? Quality and cost seems to jump around a bit. I’d prefer a seller in the US so I’m not paying international shipping costs.  

[sturdy22 26]

I have done eyelets at home on my skates and my sons. I have a riveter but I don’t have the eyelet attachments. I got a cheap hand held press (looks like pliers) on Amazon for $10 and some 1/4 #8-12 barrel eyelets and washers. Works ok, not as clean as what an actual rivet press and eyelet attachment would do but keeps the holes in the boots from ripping out. The hand tool is pretty cheap and is now completely bent from use but it served its purpose. 
If someone was paying me to repair their skates I would definitely get the attachments and do it right.

[Vet88 673]

On 9/14/2023 at 2:52 AM, start_today said:

Is there an important difference between the bigger eyelet press like you see in shops, vs a small handheld one? Is the press that much more better, or is it just that those are quicker and smoother so you spend less time? 

And, for people who replace eyelets at home, do you have a recommendation for where to buy them in bulk? Quality and cost seems to jump around a bit. I’d prefer a seller in the US so I’m not paying international shipping costs.  

A bigger eyelet press will last longer and you can get more force into it with less effort, which generally translates to a better press. Unless things have changed since I last did these, you have to use bigger eyelets for hockey skates, these eyelets are larger and longer than normal retail shoe and boot eyelets. You can see this in the repairs shown in the prior post, the eyelets are not big enough for a proper fit and will tear out if too much force is applied to them. As to where to buy them, there are plenty of places once you know what to look for, for example blademaster sell them  - https://blademaster.com/web/en/2606-eyelets

[start_today 757]

I’ve seen that blade master link but a) looks like they won’t sell to US buyers b), like I said, I don’t know where to start with sizes. 

Are hockey skate eyelets not standardized? After a lot of googling I haven’t found anything that says “buy size X.”

[sturdy22 26]

The repair (pics) I shared are only temporary, to keep the holes from enlarging. I only coach in these skates so the force on the boot is far less then playing.
 

Blademaster will sell to US buyers through their New England supplier. I have had trouble in the past ordering even after setting my location to “USA”.

For whatever reason I can only order from blademaster after setting to their USA site if I am not on WiFi. I have to use cell signal, I live in California.

Video link attached explains eyelet size 63 and 64.

 

 

Edited September 17, 2023 by sturdy22
Clarification