How to Use a Jiffy Rivet

At Ohio Travel Bag, we specialize in quality hardware for handbags, belts, and other leather goods, and we always set our hardware perfectly. But for those of you at home who need to replace a rivet on a bag, or are making your own bag, we want to show you how to perfectly set your jiffy rivet for a quality look.

What is a Jiffy Rivet?

A jiffy rivet is a solid brass piece of hardware that’s perfect for securing materials like leather or canvas together. There are many types of jiffy rivets available…

• Single Cap – A jiffy rivet with a single cap on the female side and a flat bottom on the post or male side.
• Double Cap – A jiffy rivet with a cap on the female side and a cap on the post or male side.

Which type of jiffy rivet you use depends on your personal preference and how you want your final product to look. Our jiffy rivets come in a variety of sizes and colors, so be sure to check out our catalog to see all we have to offer.

How to Set a Jiffy Rivet

There are multiple ways to set both double and single cap jiffy rivets, and how you choose to set yours largely depends on what tools you have at home. If you will be setting rivets often, you may want to consider investing in one or more of the tools mentioned in this blog post.

Setting methods include:

• Using a punch & mallet
• Using machine dies
• Using a hand crank machine
• Using a bench-mounted foot machine

Here we’ll be taking you through the steps to set a single cap jiffy rivet using a specialized punch tool and a mallet. Let’s get started!

Take the male part of the rivet, which is the post with a flat bottom. Stick the post through your pieces of leather. You may have just one piece of fabric or multiple pieces. Be sure the post is sticking out of the leather just a few millimeters.

1. Take the male part of the rivet, which is the post with a flat bottom. Stick the post through your pieces of leather. You may have just one piece of fabric or multiple pieces. Be sure the post is sticking out of the leather just a few millimeters. 
2. Take the cap, or rounded end, and place it on top of the post sticking out. Set it in place with your fingers and make sure that the flat bottom of the post is resting on a hard table top or other surface.
3. Take the rounded punch tool and fit it on the cap that you just placed. This tool works well because it fits the curvature of the cap. 
4. Once the punch is in place, take a rawhide mallet and give it a few light taps until it clicks into place. Be sure not to tap too hard or you’ll damage the cap. 

There you have it – a perfectly set jiffy rivet! If you’d like to see this in action, or want to see how the other methods work, watch our how-to video.

Check back for more how-to videos and blog posts to learn how to install other types of hardware. Contact Ohio Travel Bag today for more information!