SK— NOS from eBay?

[RoadTraveler]

I've purchased a couple SK socket sets from ToolTopia recently (3/8 & 1/2").

Instead of buying a big 1/4" plastic cased set, I'm considering buying 1 or 2 of these 1/4" drive sets from eBay. One set would go in my shop box to help clean-up the hodgepodge of 1/4", and the other would be for a travel I'm putting together.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SK-Tools-1-...ls&vxp=mtr&hash=item43ad4c41d4#ht_4953wt_1141

Is this stuff NOS, and different from what is currently made/sold?

Looks the same as this metric kit which is still sold 'new' from ToolTopia?

Is the "Palm Control" ratchet different than the 'normal' ratchet that is now sold with other 1/4" kits?

http://www.tooltopia.com/sk-hand-tool-91813.aspx

Thanks for the input.

 

[Jawn]

Far as I know, that is NOS. That ratchet does not appear to be on SK's site, but the sockets should be identical to current production stuff. (edit: just looked, the link on tooltopia shows the Palm Control ratchet as well... whether or not you'd actually get that rat if you bought the set, I don't know...)

I picked up the metric shallow 5mm-15mm set with Palm Control ratchet on ebay for $30 some time ago, then found a SAE shallow/deep set and a deep metric set later to finish it all off.

I'm guessing the Palm Control ratchet is a product of Facom influence and no longer made with the SK name, and that's a shame... I love it despite the large head. In fact, I just bought a 3/8" one off a GJ member.

 

[jk47]

I bought this NOS 1/4" palm control set last year from the same seller... Performs very well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SK-TOOLS-1-..._Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr&hash=item56486a83d7

I bought a SAE sister set from Sears.com on discount for $35. The picture and description showed the palm control ratchet, but on arrival the regular ratchet with the + selector was included. I was dissaponted with the knurling, and 3 months later the ratchet bit the dust (skipping, locking).

Both ratchets were cleaned and lubed, but the palm control works, and the other does not.

There are 2 models of the 1/4" palm control ratchet. Slim head and regular, I can't remember which comes in the set though. I bought a set of 1/4", 3/8" 1/2" from another seller last year, and prefer the slim model.

 

[karl1672]

SK CLOSEOUT! 13 Pc 1/4" Drive Metric Palm Control Socket Set $14.88

The one review states the ratchet thats included is not whats shown in the pic, but is the 40975 ratchet.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00999561000P

The fractional set is also on closeout.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00999546000P?prdNo=16&blockNo=16&blockType=G16

This was from the hot deals thread a few weeks ago. From that deal maybe?

 

[RoadTraveler]

snip...

I'm guessing the Palm Control ratchet is a product of Facom influence and no longer made with the SK name, and that's a shame... I love it despite the large head. In fact, I just bought a 3/8" one off a GJ member.

That's what I was thinking. The sockets should be fine, the ratchet may or may not be as good as the newer stuff.

 

[DRhodes]

NOS - A bit high on price IMO but they are nice ratchets. I think you would be pleased with the set.

 

[RoadTraveler]

I bought this NOS 1/4" palm control set last year from the same seller... Performs very well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SK-TOOLS-1-..._Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr&hash=item56486a83d7

I bought a SAE sister set from Sears.com on discount for $35.
snip...

I'd considered buying SAE and metric sets separately, hopefully for about $40 each, which would give me extra 1/4 drive ratchets. Might be more of these 1/4 drive ratchets than I need/want?

I assume the seller I linked who is offering the SAE & metric as a kit has eliminated one of ratchets to sell it separately? For $69 shipped for SAE & metric seems about what others have paid. Since this seller is in So. Calif., they should get to me quickly in Nevada after they ship. But there appear to be many sellers/options for these little kits.

Though I usually like the organized plastic cases that the bigger, more complete socket sets come in, they are not always the best use of space for travel. I need less 1/4" for my truck kit, and these little sets on rails appeal to me as small and clean, I'd add them to a tool roll. The primarily negative seems to (possibly) be the ratchet.

When you compare these eBay NOS deals to what appears to be the same thing new from ToolTopia for $80 seems hard to go wrong with the NOS stuff unless one needs more. Am I missing something?

 

[kburns]

The palm control ratchet is from the era before SK went bankrupt. The ratchet mechanism was a Facom design and is no longer available from SK. Facom sold SK Tools to an investment group that continued marketing the palm control ratchets up until the time of bankruptcy. SK also had another ratchet design that used the same internal mechanism without the palm control feature. It too disappeared with SK's demise.

Any such ratchets today would have to be NOS. Replacements and rebuild kits wouldn't be available today unless Ideal (the company that bought out SK's assets) just happens to have some leftover inventory. Facom sold out to Stanley who has a line of ratchets that use the same basic palm control mechanism today. I don't know for sure whether or not they would be interchangeable with the older SK palm controls.

 

[pipsters]

Those SK 1/4" sets were recently at Sears for $15 a piece. I wouldn't even consider paying $70 for it, it's just 1/4" sockets for Pete's sake. That is obscene.

On a side note how did your SK sockets look that you bought from ToolTopia? Mine had issues, I had a bunch that had very little detent pushed into them, some with flaking chrome, and quite a few that had very light roll marks for the socket sizes pushed into them. I returned them.

 

[jk47]

The only thing these sets are missing are extensions. Make sure you disassemble the ratchet, clean and lube. The NOS factory lube turns to a gummy wax, making the ratchet useless.

 

[buening]

Just a thought, but you can get some of the older SK sets in the steel boxes for a pretty good price. They often come with both deep and shallow with the ratchet. Example of a completed listing and a current one (although current is listed as nice-used)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/S-K-21pc-1-...H_DefaultDomain_0&vxp=mtr&hash=item4ab397811d

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SK-Tools-49...681?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564880ac21

I've bought NOS ones in the steel green cases in both 1/4" and 3/8" and have been very happy with the quality. Finding Metric is a bit of a challenge with the older stuff though.

 

[RoadTraveler]

Those SK 1/4" sets were recently at Sears for $15 a piece. I wouldn't even consider paying $70 for it, it's just 1/4" sockets for Pete's sake. That is obscene.
snip...

$15 for a combined SAE and metric set?

Others are saying they saw $35, which is just a bit lower than the above link.

I'd like to find them for $15.

 

[RoadTraveler]

snip...

On a side note how did your SK sockets look that you bought from ToolTopia? Mine had issues, I had a bunch that had very little detent pushed into them, some with flaking chrome, and quite a few that had very light roll marks for the socket sizes pushed into them. I returned them.

I hadn't inspected each piece but did after your post. You're correct about the markings, some are much deeper (nicer) than others, with a few being as light as much of the recent Craftsman stuff I have. They do need to work on this if they want to call themselves "best".

Only one socket is to the point where I might return it, a 1" socket in the 1/2" kit is poorly/incompletely chromed and/or polished on the lower sides, looks pretty bad for a new tool. I think I will eventually ask for a replacement.

These complaints aside, I thought I wasn't going to like the RHFT S-K ratchets, but I do, they feel better than anything else in my told box.

 

[RoadTraveler]

Just a thought, but you can get some of the older SK sets in the steel boxes for a pretty good price. They often come with both deep and shallow with the ratchet. Example of a completed listing and a current one (although current is listed as nice-used)snip...

That 'new' set that sold for $41 looks like a nice kit!

 

[pipsters]

$15 for a combined SAE and metric set?

Others are saying they saw $35, which is just a bit lower than the above link.

I'd like to find them for $15.

It was $15 each, or a shade under that, don't recall, $14.**. So $30 for the metric and SAE and w/ two ratchets. You missed it by a week.

Either way, knowing that that guy bought them for that, I couldn't justify $70 on those two sets. Even if I didn't know what he paid for it. I bought the 49 pc 3/8" deep and shallow anniversary SK set for $120 and that was something like 45 3/8" sockets. with a ratchet, two extensions, a thumb ratchet, and a universal joint.

 

[pipsters]

I hadn't inspected each piece but did after your post. You're correct about the markings, some are much deeper (nicer) than others, with a few being as light as much of the recent Craftsman stuff I have. They do need to work on this if they want to call themselves "best".

Only one socket is to the point where I might return it, a 1" socket in the 1/2" kit is poorly/incompletely chromed and/or polished on the lower sides, looks pretty bad for a new tool. I think I will eventually ask for a replacement.

These complaints aside, I thought I wasn't going to like the RHFT S-K ratchets, but I do, they feel better than anything else in my told box.

Yep, that is why I returned them. No way was I going to pay for that. I expected a lot nicer product personally. The chrome and markings on the ones that were good however were PERFECT and looked great.

Also, I found I really do like the laser etching on the Craftsman sockets.

 

[RoadTraveler]

Yep, that is why I returned them. No way was I going to pay for that. I expected a lot nicer product personally. The chrome and markings on the ones that were good however were PERFECT and looked great.

Also, I found I really do like the laser etching on the Craftsman sockets.

You make some good points, makes me wonder if I should have invested in Wright tools instead for some new, made-in-USA stuff. Someone else had suggested it when I posted in the made in USA thread.

 

[thesilverone]

Some bums over at slickdeals bought a bunch only to sell them on ebay for a profit.

We only have one bum here (Fordman7795) who is trying to sell them to this community for a profit. Without this forum (community), he probably wouldn't of even known about the deal.

 

[RoadTraveler]

Some bums over at slickdeals bought a bunch only to sell them on ebay for a profit.

We only have one bum here (Fordman7795) who is trying to sell them to this community for a profit. Without this forum (community), he probably wouldn't of even known about the deal.

Glad you guys pointed this out to me... think I'd rather continue to buy from ToolTopia now that I know some details.

 

[pipsters]

You make some good points, makes me wonder if I should have invested in Wright tools instead for some new, made-in-USA stuff. Someone else had suggested it when I posted in the made in USA thread.

Wright tools are significantly higher priced than SK. Just keep that in mind.

What bugs me is SK is perfectly capable of producing a quality product. The issue is the same one Sears has - consistency.

It bugs me because I really wanted to go with SK. But I couldn't justify keeping the product with the sockets in the condition they were in.

 

[CISO1969]

Some bums over at slickdeals bought a bunch only to sell them on ebay for a profit.

We only have one bum here (Fordman7795) who is trying to sell them to this community for a profit. Without this forum (community), he probably wouldn't of even known about the deal.

I'm not so sure he is trying to make a profit on these. Wasnt the deal $29 I think for the 1/4 inch palm ratchet sets at Sears? So let's say he paid tax too, and had them for store pickup and didn't pay for shipping. he wants $40 shipped -so that's $29-31 plus $10 and change for flat rate priority mail -so that makes roughly $40 right?

If I got any numbers wrong or facts wrong then I will stand corrected, but if those are the facts, sounds liek he isn't taking advantage.

CISO

 

[blackgold]

I just bought from Sears and got them for 14.98 each.
Brian

 

[thesilverone]

as of last week they were 15 bucks a set like blackgold stated

 

[RoadTraveler]

Wright tools are significantly higher priced than SK. Just keep that in mind.

I went shopping after I typed the above and came to the same conclusion I did a few weeks ago, it would be more than I want to spend to buy a bunch or Wright tools.

What bugs me is SK is perfectly capable of producing a quality product. The issue is the same one Sears has - consistency.

It bugs me because I really wanted to go with SK. But I couldn't justify keeping the product with the sockets in the condition they were in.

As I posted here on GJ and on my blog, the main reason I purchased the new SK tools is because I'm pretty disgusted with Sears, and want to support a Made-In-USA company/product if I can.

I don't think I'm going to return my SK sets, and might still buy a 1/4" set to go with the 3/8" and 1/2" I already purchased, maybe not. But I do have to ask myself... How much better as these new SK tools compared to Craftsman and at what cost premium?

Thus far I do like the SK ratchets, and I didn't think I would, but you correctly pointed out the inconsistent nature of the finish and/or stamping of the sockets, which doesn't quite fit the image SK is putting forth.

But as other threads/posts have correctly point out, all brands have their quality control issues and imperfections and performance, value, and cost have to be balanced for most of us.

 

[Danglerb]

I like SK, look for the old stuff all the time, but avoid anything around the bankruptcy.

I don't have sympathy for the gripe that someone is making a profit. I LIKE making a profit, and if I can buy something and pass it on to one of the groups I am in and make some money for myself and save people in the group some money or even just offer them something hard to get at a fair price I think that is a good thing. OTOH I've done it a few times and gotten some serious flaming, end result I sold the items on ebay for twice as much and people in that group missed out on some NOS items that were both the best ever made and no longer in production.

OTOH in no business sense did I actually make a profit, I sold the items for four times what I paid, but I found them by going to dozens of auctions and spending half a day inspecting and bidding, plus I put my money down speculatively, which means sometimes I buy a batch of junk, sometimes treasure, so cost needs to average out.

 

[pipsters]

I went shopping after I typed the above and came to the same conclusion I did a few weeks ago, it would be more than I want to spend to buy a bunch or Wright tools.



As I posted here on GJ and on my blog, the main reason I purchased the new SK tools is because I'm pretty disgusted with Sears, and want to support a Made-In-USA company/product if I can.

I don't think I'm going to return my SK sets, and might still buy a 1/4" set to go with the 3/8" and 1/2" I already purchased, maybe not. But I do have to ask myself... How much better as these new SK tools compared to Craftsman and at what cost premium?

Thus far I do like the SK ratchets, and I didn't think I would, but you correctly pointed out the inconsistent nature of the finish and/or stamping of the sockets, which doesn't quite fit the image SK is putting forth.

But as other threads/posts have correctly point out, all brands have their quality control issues and imperfections and performance, value, and cost have to be balanced for most of us.

I just bought my Craftsman stuff and exchanged it at the store for stuff that I was happy with. Took a little longer but I also saved a ton. Bought the 299 pc socket set, full 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" stamped and laser etched sockets up to 32mm 1-1/2" for $305. Bought the 18 pc pro polished wrench module for $55. SK wrenches would be around $200 for the same ones. I did have to exchange about 14 of them in store, took an hour of measuring, but I saved $140.

Craftsman has good stuff, you just have to do a little leg work to get it.

 

[RoadTraveler]

Yep, Craftsman can be a bargain, I have lots of it.

After some of these post today I drove to my local Sears for the million:1 chance they might have some of this closeout SK stuff. They didn't of course, but after walking the aisles and looking around, I was reminded of some of the reasons I no longer care much for Sears/Craftsman.

There is very little selection/stock and there is one remaining tool guy. Either the relatively nearby Harbor Freight put the hurt on them and/or Sears' business model and marketing did, but it leaves much to be desired as a tool store or outlet. I think it's the latter, seems like my local Sears is not the only tool department that is a shell of its former self.

Just being inside for less than ten minutes reminded me of some of the reasons I purchased the new SK, and the Armstrong surplus stuff from Uncle Sam's outlet.

 

[fivespdcat]

I just got my $15 SK 1/4" socket set, and I have to say it is nice, well worth the $$$. Would I pay $80 for it? I don't know, but this set is nice, as was my metric set that I bought a while back for $25. I have 2 of the 1/4" ratchets now and I think that's what bothers me about this guys ad. He probably bought a bunch of the clearance sets, broke them up and selling them at a huge mark-up then reselling the extra ratchets for $30 or something...

 

[dieselmike]

those 1/4 sets are just clearance sets from sears, marked up