Challenge Eyelet Press

The Edward L. Sibley Mfg. Co.
Bennington, Vermont

The company later changed the name to the Challenge Eyelet Press Co. Inc. and moved to E. Dorset, Vermont.

Eyeleters were once popular desktop machines used for fastening papers.   Eyelets were considered classier than staples and were often used to fasten legal and other "official" documents.

Eyelet machines actually predate staplers.   The first paper fastener patented in the U.S.A. was an eyelet machine designed by William H. Rodgers of New York.   Rodgers's machine, like most early eyeleters required the user to first punch a hole in the papers, remove them from the machine, insert the eyelet by hand, put the papers with eyelet inserted back into the machine, and then clinch the eyelet.

The Challenge Eyelet Machine (first patented in 1887 as a riveting machine, with improvements patented in 1902) made the eyeleting process much easier.  First an eyelet is placed onto the punch in the base of the machine, and the papers to be fastened are placed on top of the eyelet.   The Challenge machine punches the hole and inserts the eyelet at the same time whenof the lever is pushed backward.   To clinch the eyelet, you then simply pull the lever all the way forward.

Challenge Eyelet Press - No. 1

These machines are very solidly built.   Both the base and lever are made from heavy iron castings.   There are steel linkages inside the machine that cause the bottom punch to lock in place when the lever is pushed (to punch the papers and insert the eyelet), while unlocking to allow the punch to retract during clinching when the lever is pulled.

The Challenge Eyelet Machines are the most commonly found eyeleters today, due in large part to their rugged construction - these things last forever.  The smaller No. 1 size machines are more common than the larger No. 2's.   Prices range from $15 to about $35.

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