They are Tools, and they say Snap-on

[bomber]

I used to wander antique stores and gun shows, looking for interesting knives (mostly split-spring whittlers, but I'm a sucker for most anything unusual), and, if there was nothing else of interest, I'd paw through the small "Swiss Army Knives."

Quotation marks, as many of these lil gems are not from either of the two manufacturers that supply the Swiss Army, but I digress.

I was cleaning a couple of knives the other night, and ran across these . . .

For those that like irony (my favorite type of humor), both were made in . . . .

wait for it . . . .. .

China.

;-)

 

[daveblank]

I used to wander antique stores and gun shows, looking for interesting knives (mostly split-spring whittlers, but I'm a sucker for most anything unusual), and, if there was nothing else of interest, I'd paw through the small "Swiss Army Knives."

Quotation marks, as many of these lil gems are not from either of the two manufacturers that supply the Swiss Army, but I digress.

I was cleaning a couple of knives the other night, and ran across these . . .

For those that like irony (my favorite type of humor), both were made in . . . .

wait for it . . . .. .

China.

;-)

In all honesty those are not true Snap On tools. The distributor had them made for promotional items. sometimes it's done through Snap On & sometimes it's done through an outside vendor.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Daveblank is correct. Where I used to work, we marked these type of promotional products all the time, sometimes for Snap-On.

 

[kartracer23]

The top one is a cheapo knock off of a Swiss Army. The bottom one is a real Victorinox. The bottom one looks to be inlaid - which is only done in Switzerland and is a lot more expensive than the standard pad printed knives.

I sell promotional products and it's funny to look through catalogs and see the cheap little tool kits or tools that have Snap On or Black & Decker or any of the name brand tool logos on them. What happens is that the company has bought something else from the manufacturer with their logo (maybe pens for the office) and the factory takes that logo and puts it on different stuff for the catalog photography.

 

[81Seca]

Snap-On puts their name on some decent knives too. I picked up the Snap-On branded Kershaw Leek awhile back on eBay. But many of the knives I've seen with the logo are cheapies.

 

[charlie_nj]

Has anyone tried beeping Roger to ask him?

 

[bomber]

Kart -- you may be right that the black knife IS Victorinox, but, if so, it's the only Victorinox I've seen without their name anywhere on the knife -- the main blade is marked:

STAINLESS
CHINA

The logos seems to be silk-screened (hard to tell from a pic, granted), but pretty well silk screened . . . . . .

Not trying to start an argument (though gooodness knows that easy enough on the intertubes) -- just thought the little things might be of some small amount of interest.

 

[kartracer23]

Kart -- you may be right that the black knife IS Victorinox, but, if so, it's the only Victorinox I've seen without their name anywhere on the knife -- the main blade is marked:

STAINLESS
CHINA

The logos seems to be silk-screened (hard to tell from a pic, granted), but pretty well silk screened . . . . . .

Not trying to start an argument (though gooodness knows that easy enough on the intertubes) -- just thought the little things might be of some small amount of interest.

Dang - that's about the best knock off I've ever seen! Normally I can spot them from a mile away - the handles have a completely different look-the real ones have less of a plascity appearance.
I didn't look for the Victorinox seal because if it's inlaid on two sides (which it obviously isn't), they delete the shield from the back.

This is the kind of stuff that I get into it with my clients about every day. Here's Snap-On (or a dealer), who is trying to sell high quality tools at a premium price. But when it comes to their own promotion, they go with low quality knock offs. What does the guy who gets the $2 Snap On logoed knife think about the quality of Snap On when it breaks on him first use? They'd be better off spending that $2 on imprinted Post-it Notes vs. an inferior tool.

 

[bomber]

No argument from me at all, Mr Kart -- I agree entirely --

SOmething tells me there's a couple of small companies in Switzerland that feel the same way ;-} -- I've got just under a hundred of these things (generally thrown in with other purchases or picked up for a dollar or two), and the only ones that are the genuine article are promos from software companies, of all things . . .. . . . . .. .

 

[daveblank]

This is the kind of stuff that I get into it with my clients about every day. Here's Snap-On (or a dealer), who is trying to sell high quality tools at a premium price. But when it comes to their own promotion, they go with low quality knock offs. What does the guy who gets the $2 Snap On logoed knife think about the quality of Snap On when it breaks on him first use? They'd be better off spending that $2 on imprinted Post-it Notes vs. an inferior tool.

Most of the customers realize that since it's a promo item it's usually not that expensive.

Since it has the dealers name on it, it's not a Snap On promo, it's the distributor's promo. The money is coming completely out of his pocket.

& if it breaks, I'll hand him a new one. No big deal. As long as the customer has a small free gift with a distributor's name on it is all that matters. It's a small fee to pay for daily advertising.