Hollow rivets are typically utilized in industries such as apparel and footwear. Solid rivets, which require a secondary riveting process, are employed for joining heavy-duty workpieces and often form permanent, non-removable structures. Semi-hollow rivets, however, enjoy the widest range of applications. "Tapered-tail" rivets-characterized by a reduced wire diameter at the tail end-are manufactured from hard wire stock; they are capable of penetrating steel plates up to 0.5 mm in thickness without the need for a pre-drilled hole, ensuring that the rivet remains unbent and undeformed during installation. These are widely used in the manufacture of combination lock cases, travel luggage, and military-grade bags. Conversely, "hollow rivets" (a term often used interchangeably with semi-hollow rivets) are produced from softer wire materials and are generally required to remain free of cracks after being flared open. These come in numerous varieties; nowadays, semi-hollow rivets or "male-female" rivets are increasingly being adopted on a large scale to replace traditional axles in certain toys, thereby significantly reducing production costs. Blind rivets (including pull-mandrel and drive-pin types) are predominantly used for riveting relatively thin or soft materials; the manufacturing requirements for these are generally less stringent, and they are typically produced using materials with high plasticity.
Hollow rivets were likely invented primarily for the manufacture or repair of horse harness equipment. While the exact date of the hollow rivet's invention remains unclear, horse harnesses themselves were developed sometime between the 9th and 10th centuries AD. Much like nailed-on horseshoes, riveted harnesses helped liberate slaves from arduous manual labor. Furthermore, rivets spurred the development of numerous other significant inventions, such as the iron tongs used by coppersmiths and blacksmiths, as well as sheep-shearing shears.
