Tools of Japan

[Frankstools]

Anyone interested in Japanese wood saws? I bought quite a few for myself, can show them off...?

 

[CAOS]

Nice vintage Lobsters, they still are making the finest adjustable wrenches around

I can't seem to find any information on that style. Any idea of the age? I was pretty excited to have it clean up as well as it did.

Thanks!

 

[american lockpicker]

Anyone interested in Japanese wood saws? I bought quite a few for myself, can show them off...?

Yes we would love to see them.

 

[onaeal7qowe]

I have few of the Japanese hand saws and I am not going back,I like them.I do have a Japanese socket set that was my grandfather's and I am never getting rid of this set.

 

[blue dog]

Anyone interested in Japanese wood saws? I bought quite a few for myself, can show them off...?

show em off. I have an old japanese flush cut saw, works great and has a bamboo handle.

 

[Burgerkong]

Lee Valley is a GREAT source of Japanese saws I've found.

 

[Frankstools]

ok, standby for some Japanese wood saws...

 

[FergusonTO35]

Wow, those Koken tools look pretty sweet. I see they have a 24 tooth standard ratchet, #383749. Do they have a long handle, flex head version of this one? At present I only have a set of 3/8 drive impact sockets that say "CR-V Japan", sizes 5/16 to 3/4. They're respectable looking tools and look to have been used very little. I'm planning to put them on Ebay soon, PM me if interested.

Oh, here we go. The 3774P is exactly what I want.

http://www.koken-tool.co.jp/catalog/en/#page=65

 

[Caleb T]

The lightweight ratchet is very cool.

 

[Lost Road]

I got a NOS Craftsman wood vise from 1975 with some other stuff I picked up.

 

[Frankstools]

A few Saw for show. these are the modern styles with replaceable blades.

 

[Sick Puppy]

Nice saws.

Nice one on your website BTW, I noticed this week it's had a big upgrade in terms of products. I can't remember if it's been asked before, but can you get tools that are not listed in your website?

 

[Frankstools]

Hello, I am able to get most Japanese items, what are you interested in?

 

[blue dog]

My japanese flush cut saw has a blade like the one in the first picture and a handle like the second picture. Sharp little ******* and makes a perfectly fine thin cut. Most amazing hand saw i have for sure.

 

[Frankstools]

Blue dog, they are nice, I tried a couple that I bought, most I have not used yet...It's sort of an investment in my retirement. Hope to get that one of a kind garage/woodshop..

 

[Frankstools]

Tool of the day

 

[superautobacs]

Some day I'd like to have that Lightool ratchet for my road box.
I wonder if the Americans or Europeans will ever introduce tools with the "light-tool" theme? Until then, Asahi's Lightool lineup (and some Keiba, Lobster, TOP, and Aigo) items will be unique to this world.


Some Japanese hand saw brands (discluding hand-made saws):

Maruyoshi (MTC)

ARS

Kanzawa Seiko (Samurai)

Saboten

Z-saw

Gyokucho

Silky

Silky just recently won a couple awards: the German based iF International design award and the Japanese Good Design Award.

 

[Frankstools]

They do make some fine saws! Z-saw I think has the best line going in the medium price range. My son visited Vancouver recently, said its very nice..he attends school in Bellingham..

 

[superautobacs]

Yes, Vancouver is a beautiful city to visit. I'm glad he enjoyed it.
The big ugly of this city is the property prices. It's INSANE.

Btw, I forgot to add Silky into the above list.

 

[jk47]

Born and raised in Vancouver myself. One of the most beautiful summertime cities in the world. I left because of the high cost of property, and long rainy winters. I couldn't imagine spending $500 000 on a 70 year old fixer upper house in my old neighborhood... East Van. For the people that don't know, that's the low income neighborhood

I wouldn't be able to expand my tool collection if I still lived there

 

[Frankstools]

Born and raised in Vancouver myself. One of the most beautiful summertime cities in the world. I left because of the high cost of property, and long rainy winters. I couldn't imagine spending $500 000 on a 70 year old fixer upper house in my old neighborhood... East Van. For the people that don't know, that's the low income neighborhood

I wouldn't be able to expand my tool collection if I still lived there

Vancouver indeed sounds expensive. My son tells me many Canadians travel to his town in Bellingham to shop..It's worth the trip..

Alek, I am starting to carry limited KTC tools now, also NT Cutters

 

[Notwerk]

Just some tools my dad left laying around the yard. Brought them in and dried them off (it had been raining) and lubed them lightly with some 3-in-1.
The adjustable is an "Award" brand, apparently made in Sanki, Japan. Pliers are Sears, made in Japan. No idea where or when he picked this stuff up.

 

[Sick Puppy]

Has anyone used the Lobster TG200NA or the Merry ZA185 screw pliers? What are they like in relation to the Engineer equivalents?

 

[superautobacs]

...
I wouldn't be able to expand my tool collection if I still lived there

Yeah, tell me about it.
When I see cheap property prices in the US it just boggles my mind to know what the same half a million dollars will get me down there!

Vancouver indeed sounds expensive. My son tells me many Canadians travel to his town in Bellingham to shop..It's worth the trip..

That's true. Cross-boarder shoppers have really made 2-hour + boarder lineups the norm these days. I bet it'll be crazy for the coming Black Friday.

Just some tools my dad left laying around the yard. Brought them in and dried them off (it had been raining) and lubed them lightly with some 3-in-1.
The adjustable is an "Award" brand, apparently made in Sanki, Japan. Pliers are Sears, made in Japan. No idea where or when he picked this stuff up.

Sanki is actually the OEM, and they are made in Niigata prefecture in northern Japan.
FWIW, you won't find the name Sanki anymore; they've renamed their company Sunkey

Has anyone used the Lobster TG200NA or the Merry ZA185 screw pliers? What are they like in relation to the Engineer equivalents?

I haven't used either of those two mentioned, but I do have the 3 Peaks versions, one standard plier and one locking plier type.
A lot companies now offer these screw-grabbing pliers. IIRC, 3 Peaks was the original, until Engineer came out with a bang with all their all-or-nothing PR campaign, advertisements, and endorsements. That's why they are the most well known in Japan, and perhaps globally. Since then, companies like Merry, Fujiya, KTC, Tone, Lobster have come up with their own versions or simply added the product to their line of offerings.

Some will have different sizes offered while others will only have one size.
That lobster one, which I haven't seen til you mentioned it, seems pretty cool. I wish there's a good closeup shot of the jaws.

The latest offering from Engineer and 3 Peaks have fine-tuned the jaw ends so that they'll bite shallow truss head screws. That's not to say that the original ones won't do the job; the newest ones are further optimized for grabbing such screws.


Ok, I did some searching around and I think I got a close up photo of the correct Lobster version as I see that it's a slip-joint type:

Compare that to the newer Engineer or 3 Peaks versions:

BTW, the only time I used my 3 Peaks plier was to remove/install some E clips. It was the most suitable tool that I had to do the job without frustration.

 

[Frankstools]

All of the Japanese screw remover pliers are good. The Engineer PZ-58 seems to be the best seller. The lobster is a little cheaper, but just as good in my opinion..

 

[HarveyM]

Here's something new I saw on CMG (Canadian motorcycle guide) online :

It's a miniature toolbox kit with 1/4-inch ratchet set, screwdrivers and wrenches!

 

[Monte]

cool !!!

 

[pacsguy]

Here's something new I saw on CMG (Canadian motorcycle guide) online :

It's a miniature toolbox kit with 1/4-inch ratchet set, screwdrivers and wrenches!

Wow. You have to get us a link to buy that.. Very neat!

 

[j.c.whitney]

http://sk-sale.net/

Unfortunately, I can't read or speak Japanese.
Limited success using google translator.

 

[dkobayashi]

man, I really want that little toolbox..maybe I can get a translator to get me one.

Also, I'm in Vancouver too! But I'm getting ready to move soon.

 

[dkobayashi]

Oh yeah. the price of that bottom + top combo and I think the tools inside is around 550 USD.

 

[kippieland]

That is SO COOL! I figured the price would be though...but still cool though.

 

[dkobayashi]

Looks like it's directed towards RC car guys? Wish I had the money to drop on that..would be awesome for storing stuff at a hobby table.

 

[jk47]

You can contact KTC directly through their North American Nepros.net site or the member Frankstools, he just became a KTC dealer. Frank can ship on the cheap from Japan by way of USPS, he is in the military so he gets the benefit of domestic shipping.

 

[Frankstools]

Yes I just became a KTC dealer..I started populating my web site with KTC. I will look into the mini tool box..

www.frankstools.com

 

[dieselmike]

getting ready to leave the lower mainland myself. my buddy just got back from japan brought me a sweet lobster wrench. one of the new style ones with the hole in the handle. sweet.

 

[superautobacs]

Oh yeah. the price of that bottom + top combo and I think the tools inside is around 550 USD.

Here's a link to some more pictures of the contents and specifics of SK21912XX set:
http://www.ems-tools.jp/bt_frame_sksale05.html
The price is a lot more affordable.

getting ready to leave the lower mainland myself. my buddy just got back from japan brought me a sweet lobster wrench. one of the new style ones with the hole in the handle. sweet.

Nice gift!
Leaving the lower mainland to go where?

 

[SMKS]

I recently bought a really cool Truecraft 1/2" drive ratchet. It's a fine-tooth design with around 72 clicks per revolution.

I've been buying Truecraft tools recently. More pics and info on my purchases in this thread.

It appears this ratchet was made for Daido (Truecraft's parent company) by TOP, or whoever makes TOP ratchets. TOP still sells tools. In fact, Level Chrome sells this exact ratchet for $39. http://www.levelchrome.com/TOP-RH4-12-Drive-Ratchet-_p_241.html

 

[jk47]

I recently bought a really cool Truecraft 1/2" drive ratchet. It's a fine-tooth design with around 72 clicks per revolution.

I've been buying Truecraft tools recently. More pics and info on my purchases in this thread.

It appears this ratchet was made for Daido (Truecraft's parent company) by TOP, a Japanese tool company. TOP still makes tools. In fact, Level Chrome sells this exact ratchet for $39. http://www.levelchrome.com/TOP-RH4-12-Drive-Ratchet-_p_241.html

I bought the 3/8" and 1/2" TOP ratchets from Level Chrome when they were on sale. I really like the 1/2", the head is very compact, almost exactly the same size as the 3/8". Much smaller than my 1/2" SK palm control, I posted a few comparo shots in the tools from the old world thread. Near the bottom of the page.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1763891#post1763891

 

[superautobacs]

It's interesting that tool makers don't offer more ratchets with built-in speeders. Definitely a useful feature.

Thanks for the comparision pics, JK, of the 3/8" and 1/2". That's a nice compact 1/2" head for sure.

I've always had these two guys in mind:

Built-in speeder with square drive on the handle end:

Built-in speeder with square drive on the handle end and with a built-in wobble drive: