Show your new tool arrivals

[Squankum]

I had not heard of Hoffman and Garant until you posted this. It ended up consuming 90 min of my Saturday evening to look into. I wish I discovered them months ago.. its slim pickings of the remaining PB Swiss ones. I was able to get an order in for 5 pieces Saturday night. They shipped me 3, but still charged me for the 5 (remaining 2 now gone from website also). It will be interesting to see what they send me for the remaining 2 or if they refund the difference. These 3 items that showed up (posi #1, flat 6.5, 8mm hex T-handle) are immediate favorites. I mean, it’s just PB Swiss but in nicer coloration. But I never had any PB Swiss dedicated drivers, just 1/4 bit handles and a bit T handle. These dedicated blades are the nicest I’ve handled. Perfect amount of edge breaking and tumble finish. Stepped tip on the flat. I see why you imply it’s a shame that they changed manufacture. I’ll wait and see if they send me new versions of the 2 they didn’t send yet. If not I’ll order one to see if the quality compares. DAMN these are nice.

I hadn't heard of them, either, but I had Posidrive on my mind lately, and it looked like a deal.

I ordered a Pz1 and Pz2 at lowww prices that, with shipping, came in at $22.92, and for two PBSwiss?!

Then I got an email from them, the Pz2 was out of stock, did they have my permission to send me part # 667712 2? I said yes. So what I received was a Garant-labeled Swiss-made Pz1, and a Garant Pz2 made in (COO unknown, not marked.) I'm in love! Wish I'd bought a set of Garant a few months back instead of the USAG with the lovely grips and dubious tips.]

Communication was prompt and shipping was quick, too.



The Swiss-made PZ1 has a more fluted grip (like the PB Swiss do.) Both have exceptionally grippy material. Not soft or mushy, not sticky, just a very non-slip texture. Like my favorite Wiha handles -- but more so! I like the feel of the simple square-ish handle of the bigger one.



Tips:


Their website now shows the Swiss-made Pz2 sold out, but (Swiss-made) Pz1 still in stock at $3.60.

GARANT Screwdriver for Pozidriv, with 2-component Haptoprene handle

Shop Garant Pozidriv Screwdrivers at Hoffmann Group USA for industrial pros and hobbyists alike. Premium tools, real expertise.

www.hoffmanngroupusa.com

They've also got a variety of PB Swiss products. Here are some outright PB Swiss screwdriver options. Prices seem fair on the smaller ones but I have no idea what VAT tax does to them.

Screwdriver for Phillips, with plastic handle, Cross-head size: 1 | Hoffmann Group

Buy Screwdriver for Phillips, with plastic handle, Cross-head size: 1 at the Hoffmann Group eShop: ✓ Personal advice ✓ Exclusive top products

www.hoffmann-group.com

UPDATE: ERROR! Notice the difference between the websites above; one's the mother ship in Germany, the other the US division I dealt with with my recent order. Different offerings sometimes. I tried to register at the German one and they really wanted to know what company I was from. (To the tune of checking against a Dunn & Bradstreet database of companies.) German website listings mention VAT tax.

 

[Squankum]

What length is the bar? Want...

Not my post but looks a lot like my 16" Craftsman (Western Forge) bar I got in a kit of pry bar/line up tools/punches/chisels from Sears as a youngster in the 80's. I had no way of telling that this questionable purchase would turn out to be such a wise decision.

Here's an ebay listing for one:

Pardon Our Interruption...

 

[Samuel D]

Wish I'd bought a set of Garant a few months back instead of the USAG with the lovely grips and dubious tips.

Tell me more about the USAG’s dubious tips. Are these the French-made ones?

 

[F-22]

I hadn't heard of them, either, but I had Posidrive on my mind lately, and it looked like a deal.

I ordered a Pz1 and Pz2 at lowww prices that, with shipping, came in at $22.92, and for two PBSwiss?!

Then I got an email from them, the Pz2 was out of stock, did they have my permission to send me part # 667712 2? I said yes. So what I received was a Garant-labeled Swiss-made Pz1, and a Garant Pz2 made in (COO unknown, not marked.) I'm in love! Wish I'd bought a set of Garant a few months back instead of the USAG with the lovely grips and dubious tips.]

Communication was prompt and shipping was quick, too.



The Swiss-made PZ1 has a more fluted grip (like the PB Swiss do.) Both have exceptionally grippy material. Not soft or mushy, not sticky, just a very non-slip texture. Like my favorite Wiha handles -- but more so! I like the feel of the simple square-ish handle.



Tips:


Their website now shows the Swiss-made Pz2 sold out, but (Swiss-made) Pz1 still in stock at $3.60.

GARANT Screwdriver for Pozidriv, with 2-component Haptoprene handle

Shop Garant Pozidriv Screwdrivers at Hoffmann Group USA for industrial pros and hobbyists alike. Premium tools, real expertise.

www.hoffmanngroupusa.com

They've also got a variety of PB Swiss products. Here are some outright PB Swiss screwdriver options. Prices seem fair on the smaller ones but I have no idea what VAT tax does to them.

Screwdriver for Phillips, with plastic handle, Cross-head size: 1 | Hoffmann Group

Buy Screwdriver for Phillips, with plastic handle, Cross-head size: 1 at the Hoffmann Group eShop: ✓ Personal advice ✓ Exclusive top products

www.hoffmann-group.com

Side by side, it is interesting to see how much more "crisp" the finish on the PB Swiss is. I'm sure the new ones aren't too bad either but it's certainly not on that level.

I like my Facom Isoryl set a lot too, wouldn't say they're bad (assuming the USAG are the Facom production).

 

[ararat]

https://a.co/d/8NUHZJN

Ordered some of these. GJ influence strikes again.

They arrived with a note.

 

[Squankum]

Side by side, it is interesting to see how much more "crisp" the finish on the PB Swiss is. I'm sure the new ones aren't too bad either but it's certainly not on that level.

I like my Facom Isoryl set a lot too, wouldn't say they're bad (assuming the USAG are the Facom production).

Side by side, the Pz1 by PB Swiss is the one that's in focus! Best I could do with my phone.

More on the sub-FACOM screwdrivers in another post.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I bought a set of Crescent SAE wrenches a few months ago and had been meaning to get a matching set of Metric. Wife asked about ordering something on The Jungle while I was at work . . . and had my laptop open. Needless to say, I put a couple things in the cart and placed the combined order. She couldn't figure out where her items went that she put in the cart.

 

[spyerx]

I bought the same Ernst kits this week, for 60 wrenches. Honestly a little expensive for what they are, but they are well made, I'm sure you can get copies somewhere, but these are nice, they work, made in use, etc. I really like them. No regrets

 

[Squankum]

Tell me more about the USAG’s dubious tips. Are these the French-made ones?

I misremembered! I bought some USAG screwdrivers for some friends for Christmas.

Amazon.com

These are not the full-zoot highest quality FACOM-also-USAG, a good value for the price and attempt to get some non-GJ-type friends up to a higher standard of tool.

Later l, got myself a Stanley Fat Max set for a road tool bag I'm making. Like the USAG, made in France. FACOM nerds at the FACOM thread tell me that they're made in the Bost factory that FACOM absorbed about a generation ago. (At what point do you call that factory's screwdrivers FACOMs? Then there's the FACOM Expert, which is like their Blue Point. There are USAG's that look just like FACOM's best, and those aren't the ones I'm talking about today.

Show your new tool arrivals

You and me! The only ones who like them... and buy new ones!(y) They are great when dealing with carbed bikes

www.garagejournal.com

I've since used those Fat Maxs and looked at the tips and I'm not sure they have the grip they should. They almost look like they got sandblasted and then chromed.




Both have similar grips (USAG more colorful) and I think the shape is very ergonomic and the material very grippy. That part, I like. I haven't used them enough to say the tips are bad. Typical GJ whiner here, who's been using Wiha a long time.

 

[Squankum]

I bought the same Ernst kits this week, for 60 wrenches. Honestly a little expensive for what they are, but they are well made, I'm sure you can get copies somewhere, but these are nice, they work, made in use, etc. I really like them. No regrets

Yeah, I hemmed and hawed for a solid year about buying a $52 set of German nutdrivers, then didn't flinch at a $32 magnetic holder for them. (shrug)

 

[M635_Guy]

I got the new Badland 1.5 ton jack for my pebbly-**** driveway...

It fits under my normal (actually pretty-small in a couple cases) cars and of course has zero cares about the pebbly surface.

 

[Etchase]

I misremembered! I bought some USAG screwdrivers for some friends for Christmas.

Amazon.com

These are not the full-zoot highest quality FACOM-also-USAG, a good value for the price and attempt to get some non-GJ-type friends up to a higher standard of tool.

Later l, got myself a Stanley Fat Max set for a road tool bag I'm making. Like the USAG, made in France. FACOM nerds at the FACOM thread tell me that they're made in the Bost factory that FACOM absorbed about a generation ago. (At what point do you call that factory's screwdrivers FACOMs? Then there's the FACOM Expert, which is like their Blue Point. There are USAG's that look just like FACOM's best, and those aren't the ones I'm talking about today.

Show your new tool arrivals

You and me! The only ones who like them... and buy new ones!(y) They are great when dealing with carbed bikes

www.garagejournal.com

I've since used those Fat Maxs and looked at the tips and I'm not sure they have the grip they should. They almost look like they got sandblasted and then chromed.




Both have similar grips (USAG more colorful) and I think the shape is very ergonomic and the material very grippy. That part, I like. I haven't used them enough to say the tips are bad. Typical GJ whiner here, who's been using Wiha a long time.

I really like the Facom tips. The handles are excellent for my hands. I have way too many screwdrivers and I like lots of them, but I could live with just Stanley’s brands and Vessel offerings.

 

[Pinne]

Picked up a new-to-me tool box, a small Proto cart for my bike room / office.
It's got a flip up door at the bottom (with some pretty bitchin' stickers on it from wherever it lived prior) which is working well to store all my cleaning products / consumables.
Upper drawers have most of my common use bike tools.

Also picked up those Kai scissors that were listed in Hot Deals - really, really nice.

Lastly, a Milwaukee half inch mid-torque impact. This was actually from an e-rebate, excited about this one.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Picked up a new-to-me tool box, a small Proto cart for my bike room / office.
It's got a flip up door at the bottom (with some pretty bitchin' stickers on it from wherever it lived prior) which is working well to store all my cleaning products / consumables.
Upper drawers have most of my common use bike tools.

Also picked up those Kai scissors that were listed in Hot Deals - really, really nice.

Lastly, a Milwaukee half inch mid-torque impact. This was actually from an e-rebate, excited about this one.

That Impact looks so small compared to the shears.

 

[mikeinri]

That Impact looks so small compared to the shears.

And its own belt clip!

Mike

 

[Professor Gascan]

Love my Tone's... Let us know how you like the Powerbuilt. It's one of the few recent ratchet purchases I didn't really like and returned. Not that exact one, but similar...

I bought the 1/4 and 3/8 drive 9" version of the PB, and the standard length Tone rh3ch a while ago and like them enough to try this little diy experiment.

For few dollars more than I could find the compact, flex head Tone, I ended up with a fh that's two inches longer than what Tone offers plus a stubby 1/4. Just curious what you didn't like about the Powerbuilt that you returned?

 

[Pinne]

That Impact looks so small compared to the shears.

It's pretty compact, which is great. Not much bigger than the M18 1/4 hex driver.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Two weeks ago I said it was the first time I had stepped on a Snap-On truck in 37+ years.

Well today was the second.

1/4 drive shallow, six point socket set
3” 3/8 drive impact extension
Pocket pry bar
Freebie - Pocket screwdriver

 

[tamaraw]

Guessing these are forged steel, and not plastic as they are on many cheapie sets?

Thinking about 3D printing a set as one of the first things I do with one.

Asahi still makes chromed steel spinners of near identical design.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Grabbed a 1 1/2" wrench at Menards tonight.

 

[elmer]

Got these leveling feet at an auction the other day. Probably put them on my Bridgeport.

 

[Squankum]

Two weeks ago I said it was the first time I had stepped on a Snap-On truck in 37+ years.

Well today was the second.

 

[BobsYourUncle69]

-Some old Gedore. 3/4" set sans sockets.
-Armstrong 3/4" ratchet
-Unknown 1/2 US made ratchet , looks old.
-Gedore 3/8" ratchet

 

[pfbz]

...I had Posidrive on my mind lately

I only have a few Pozidrive screwdrivers (PB-Swiss), and perhaps a few more bits... Iwork on everything the i cross paths with, but can't recall ever needing a PZ.

Of course it's also entirely possible I've come across them and just jammed a Phillips in there without knowing it. Where have folks here run into PZ???

 

[pfbz]

I don't think I posted this one yet... Arrived yesterday.

I batch up my Snap On warranty stuff and send it in every 10 years or so ;-) Their warranty service really is pretty amazing.

They are also remanufacturing my digitorque wrench (that service isn't free), should arrive tomorrow.

 

[pfbz]

Yeah, I hemmed and hawed for a solid year about buying a $52 set of German nutdrivers, then didn't flinch at a $32 magnetic holder for them. (shrug)

You can blame me for that one...

 

[Ohio Andy]

I only have a few Pozidrive screwdrivers (PB-Swiss), and perhaps a few more bits... Iwork on everything the i cross paths with, but can't recall ever needing a PZ.

Of course it's also entirely possible I've come across them and just jammed a Phillips in there without knowing it. Where have folks here run into PZ???

Probably stuff from Europe... IKEA furniture perhaps.

 

[Ohio Andy]

Yeah, I hemmed and hawed for a solid year about buying a $52 set of German nutdrivers, then didn't flinch at a $32 magnetic holder for them. (shrug)

Dad???? Dad???? Is that you? Or is it just me looking in the mirror?

Father's Day coming up... I miss my dad! I should borrow one this year.

 

[Squankum]

I only have a few Pozidrive screwdrivers (PB-Swiss), and perhaps a few more bits... Iwork on everything the i cross paths with, but can't recall ever needing a PZ.

Of course it's also entirely possible I've come across them and just jammed a Phillips in there without knowing it. Where have folks here run into PZ???

Ski bindings is one use. (I find out today -- Pozi #3.)

 

[Squankum]

Grabbed some stuff at HF the other day.

Pictured:
- yet another "Braun" LED flex-light. (I'm not sure, but I think that, thanks to the magnetic base, I have sent one on a mystical journey, say ,underneath a Ford Transit.)
- yet another little "Braun" flashlight, this time for Ms. Squankum's BMW
- big dumb cheap magnet for dumb one-time job
- my little container of Vaseline jelly that I have upstairs, just a reminder to me and youse guys that the aluminum threads on these aluminum flashilghts like a little Vaseline on them.* I unscrew the base cap and remove and replace batteries in my Braun work lights, rather than fiddle with the little USB hole/charging. (And I have a separate charger for 18650 batteries.)



Not pictured:
- Cheap HF oil filter pliers, for Ms. Squankum's BMW, in case she ever tries to get the cooling system pressure cap off the reservoir someday
- One solar PV panel/LED light garden path light.

_________
* I learned this trick reading the directions to a Mag-Lite years ago.

 

[Jtels85]

I shared this in another thread and realized I could have put it here.

After several months of searching for a more comprehensive mechanics set, I bought the 268 piece Master Mechanic set from True Value. It comes with long panel wrenches, 72 tooth ratchets and pretty much every size you would need. Same OEM as Husky and Duralast.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

I only have a few Pozidrive screwdrivers (PB-Swiss), and perhaps a few more bits... Iwork on everything the i cross paths with, but can't recall ever needing a PZ.

Of course it's also entirely possible I've come across them and just jammed a Phillips in there without knowing it. Where have folks here run into PZ???

One big ticket item would be (euro-style) cabinetry. Hinges, hardware … A lot of the fasteners for this have a PZ2 drive. https://www.mcmaster.com/products/euro-screws/

Just another example of the same type fastener from Blum, big cabinetry hardware manufacturer also very present in the US: https://www.woodworkerexpress.com/blum-deep-thread-system-screws-7-x-13mm.html

Cabinet hardware by Blum for modern living spaces

Hardware for Kitchen and Bathroom Cabinetry: Hinges, Runners, Lift Systems, and Drawer Box Systems

www.blum.com

Not every fastener and/or adjustment screw has a PZ2 drive, but a lot do.

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Beerhippie]

Ski bindings is one use. (I find out today -- Pozi #3.)

As a Tyrolia binding tech, I used them daily. The big Posi are what the bindings mount to the skis with.

 

[Squankum]

My Memorial Day sale Koken finally arrived today.

Koken's least skippy, most Flank-Drivey-ist, and somehow quite affordable socket set. (Fairly priced even before the big holiday sale.) 8-19mm, no skip.



Even came with a socket rail. A rail that, unlike some others I've known, doesn't fight you to the death to remove a socket.



Pardon my problems focusing at close range. Satiny down low, and the rest of the socket seems like satin that got polished a little bit. Each socket reads size, Koken, part number, made in Japan. No laser beams involved, either.


Really taking the Flank Drive (they call it Surface Drive*) concept far. I don't know how well these will work but I'll know soon enough.


_________
* Make your own Carlinesque commentary about "How else is a socket going to work?" and "surface streets", too.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Recent cutting and pinching arrivals.

C.K Electricians Scissors 492001
Slightly longer and more protruding blade than many options (35mm excluding the notch), ideal for my more general use.

C.K Lambsfoot Knife C9036
Another one of these, super versatile.

C.JET Tool 8" Heavy Duty Scissors (I'd call them angled shears)
Took a while to find what I wanted, nothing attractive from well-known companies here in Europe.


Knipex Cobra multi-component atramentised 180mm 87 02 180, with plastic jaw covers 87 09 180 V01
This joins my 250 and 150 pliers wrenches.

Knipex Cobra XS 87 00 100
This joins my XS pliers wrench, which is double the price and less versatile. I returned the 00 19 72 XS LE pouch as it's disproportionately bulky for the size of the tools.

 

[neophyte]

I only have a few Pozidrive screwdrivers (PB-Swiss), and perhaps a few more bits... Iwork on everything the i cross paths with, but can't recall ever needing a PZ.

Of course it's also entirely possible I've come across them and just jammed a Phillips in there without knowing it. Where have folks here run into PZ???

Ikea Furniture, and other stuff made in Europe or primarily for the European market.
Ikea only started selling actual Pozidriv screwdrivers in store within the past decade or so though.

 

[Samuel D]

Even came with a socket rail. A rail that, unlike some others I've known, doesn't fight you to the death to remove a socket.

Lamentable alignment of socket size markings. Tut-tut. Ha ha.

 

[moemc]

My Memorial Day sale Koken finally arrived today.

Koken's least skippy, most Flank-Drivey-ist, and somehow quite affordable socket set. (Fairly priced even before the big holiday sale.) 8-19mm, no skip.



Even came with a socket rail. A rail that, unlike some others I've known, doesn't fight you to the death to remove a socket.



Pardon my problems focusing at close range. Satiny down low, and the rest of the socket seems like satin that got polished a little bit. Each socket reads size, Koken, part number, made in Japan. No laser beams involved, either.


Really taking the Flank Drive (they call it Surface Contact*) concept far. I don't know how well these will work but I'll know soon enough.


_________
* Make your own Carlinesque commentary about "How else is a socket going to work?" and "surface streets", too.

I’ve had these on the list for a while. I’m curious to read your review on how they work. Are they so loose fitting thats its bothersome to hold them straight on the fastener? Enough play to use them as SAE and MM? A candidate for actual daily driver use or specialty use only?

 

[Squankum]

Lamentable alignment of socket size markings. Tut-tut. Ha ha.

I call it "imperfect alignment." All are readable!

 

[netbrad]

Not new, but new to me.

What is the part number on the Craftsman set?