Lost Art Press

An Update on Rivierre Nails

Posted on by Lost Art Press
A historical image of the Rivierre nail factory.

Rivierre nails from France are a staple in our workshop. They hold better than any other manufactured nail we’ve used, and they look good, to boot. We order them almost every other month – Megan uses tons of them in her tool chest classes.

But lately the supply has been drying up.

Several readers have contacted us about the shortage. Is Lee Valley discontinuing them? Is the factory kaput? We sent messages to both the nail factory in France and Robin Lee, the head of Lee Valley Tools, to see if we could find out.

We haven’t heard back from Rivierre, but Robin Lee responded immediately (as he always does).

“We WANT to buy (the nails)….but can’t…. still trying!” Robin wrote in an email. “Probably best to not count on us for supply at this time!”

Robin explained that the Lee Valley buyers had been unable to get in touch with the Rivierre factory for some time and were then forced to discontinue them in early 2022. They finally heard back from the factory in October and were told that Rivierre had shut down for a while but was looking to reopen.

But since that message, Rivierre has gone silent again.

Robin says they will continue to try to reestablish the supply of nails between Rivierre and Lee Valley. 

Until then, keep your fingers crossed and let’s all hope that Rivierre (founded in 1888) gets to its second centennial. 

— Christopher Schwarz

39 thoughts on “An Update on Rivierre Nails”

  2. Let’s hope they continue on. I have a small stash of these I’m hoarding. I also have a stash of the Dictum nails I bought a couple of years ago which are pretty good as an alternative. Don’t know if they still produce them but it may be worth checking.

      1. Fair enough. Then I guess they’re in the same boat. A quick glance at their website indicates they may still have a supply in stock.

        1. Depends on the thickness of the bottom boards. For 1/2″ boards, a 4d headed nail (such as the clinch roseheads). For 3/4″ bottom boards, a 6d headed nail.

  5. Has anyone ever tried using “Horseshoe Nails” ?
    I have no experience with shoeing horses, but the nails look to have a rectangular double tapered profile.
    I believe the nails get clinched over and cut down once the nails are thru the horse hoof, so the nails should be clinch-able for woodworking.
    The finish on a lot of the nails is appears smoother than nails like Tremonts (I don’t know whether this would be a good thing, but maybe fixable with a bucket of sharp sand)
    Horse shoe nails are available in stainless steel, which might be good for certain things.
    Only main negative is the price.

    There’s even a video on youtube from a manufacturer in India called Manek or Maneklal showing a horseshoe nail manufacturing machine in use.
    I think they sell the machines.

    1. I’ve wondered the same myself – my wife has horses. You can get copper nails also. Our farrier is coming out in a few days and i’ll see if she won’t give me a couple to try.

  6. Hi Chris. I called Rivierre just now (I’m French). They are alive and kicking and producing nails. Doesn’t seem like they were closed in the recent past, so maybe Lee Valley needed to follow up. At any rate their site is clous.eu. Clous is nails… you can order directly from their site which has multiple languages.

        1. We try not to be a distributor for anything but our tools and books. The margins require a different business model than ours – and in-house fulfillment. I suspect LV will reconnect with them in time. And I also wouldn’t want to compete against LV.

          1. Sure. It seemed to make sense on the surface, as Lie Nielsen stopped carrying them a while back. But maybe they were just having the same issues as LV.

      2. Which ones are the best to stock up on for an ATC build? Diamond head 35mm? They are definitely not cheap…

        1. The pricing is very odd. They were very cheap when sold by Dictum, but required a relatively large purchase to get the per-nail shipping cost down (shipping to the US). Dictum also only sold the blue color I believe. Lee Valley’s pricing is/was fair, and nice to not have to do a bulk order. But direct from the mfg, they are very expensive, much more than either LV or Dictum. I suppose they just don’t want to deal with smaller orders themselves?

        2. 50mm is what I use for attaching the bottom boards (also what I use in the DTC)

      3. Maybe the person in charge of North American distribution retired and the position hasn’t been filled? I’m…kind of kidding – but having spent fifteen years in manufacturing, it’s certainly not outside the realm of possibility!

  8. I have just received these from the Suffolk latch company here in the UK. I think the heads are a bit bigger than the Rivierre so maybe not quite as good an aesthetic. Guess you guys are all looking for a US distributer rather than dealing with the imports etc. Not meant as a gloat ha.

    https://www.suffolklatchcompany.com/products/rosehead-nails?token=b911f724-a21a-4701-aa1a-7af5ee2e65f5&utm_source=yotpo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=map&ref=yotpo_8?variant=32278080913492

  10. Huh well that explains why I had to go with Tremont nails for my dutch toolchest build over the holidays. Thought it was a bit weird that Lee Valley’s stock was only like one type of nail but not showing their usual discontinued label for the others. I’ll be giving the Rivierre nails a shot once they come back in stock, I liked the Tremont ones but want to give both a go before deciding which I prefer.

    1. Can you share which styles and sizes of Tremont nails you used for the ATC? Thanks!

      1. Go old school. Buy a cheap forge and anvil, then get some “interns” to pound them out. Obviously labor is expensive, but interns are free! And they’d be gaining valuable life skills for their future nailsmith careers.

        *Sarcasm. I hope that’s clear.

  13. I bought various copper nails direct from them in October and November. First was to prove to my wife that the copper nails we ordered from the Czech Republic would arrive slower than those from France (we’re in Slovakia). I was right. Second because the first was a test run and I needed more. Ordering is a tad odd – they respond quickly confirming the order, then nothing at all until they arrive at your door.

  14. Here in Finland you can buy hammered head forged nails from selected hardware stores. As far as I know they are all made in Estonia. Unfortunately the prices are almost a double compared to Rivierres + less sizes to choose from.

  15. At the end of November, I bought from them a box of 5 cm diamond heads that was swiftly shipped. Nothing indicated a hiccup.

  16. Looks like a good time to renew my request for an authoritative treatise on wooden nails. 😉

  17. I have recently bought boxes of copper nails from them, so they are definitely still around. Just about to order a load of forged nails to make shutters.

  18. GREAT DEAL ON PATTERN MAKER’S/CARVING VISE AT GRIZZLY.COMI know this is not the correct place for this notice, but I wanted to share it and maybe you can put it where more folks will find it. Grizzly has this vise for $129 with free shipping. It appears to be the exact same vise sold many place for much more money and often expensive shipping. I ordered one today. No other involvement other connection.

    Grizzly T30398 – Pattern Maker’s Carving Vise
    $129.95
    T30398 Pattern Maker’s Carving Vise

  19. II just put in an order at clous.eu. A few 50mm ones for an ATC build plus some copper ones (coz they look cool although I’m not sure where to use them). Shipping to the US was 17.50 euros, so $20. Anyone who needs them might as well order direct. Plus they have massive variety of different types of lengths and head styles and metals on their website.

    1. Lee Valley was selling them for ~$0.16/nail while they’re ~€0.35 direct from clous.eu, and the shipping on a smaller order pushes that close to $0.50/nail. You can get hand forged blacksmith nails for $1/ea on Etsy.

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