Why I Buy Tekton

[Hiball]

To avoid what you define as "redundant", tell me what you want to see and I'll post it.

I'm not sure why pictures, (which I don't have a problem in posting) are going to benefit this article- other than to add a sense of validation behind each person's perspective, but hey- what do I know?

Jason

Well 1st off Since Tekton isn't a Brand that your average Joe can walk into a store and put his hands on, Pictures do a lot... I apologize for wanting more, You guys can continue on with you Hot Debate on whether Tekton is as good as HF or Toptul, GW or whatever reasons you have for buying Brand X. I would personally like to know what issues any of you have had in regards to using the Brand, And before someone says they are the Best, Please show me some tools that have some use on them, Not a toolbox with brand New tools that look like they where organized with a Level and have never been used.

My Bad..

 

[nevercouldfigureitout]

I have a local tool store that's private owned & it's Great place to go. He carries many brands that you may see at harbor freight & other brands like grip, sk, GP, Titan, mayhew, kd, Tekton ,lisle,etc. I really like some of the other brands like Tekton that really have upped their game & for the price/quality really deserve a look at. Sometimes people get brand loyal & turn a blind eye to other stuff simpley because they're on a one way path an won't divert. To be perfectly honest the quality of the top brands like snap on have took a sharp decline in quality & may open the doors for these smaller companies to find a way into our tool boxes. I own a few Tekton tools an have been pleased with them so far. I'd Definately like to see some of their new products. The little shop near me is called tool world & it's a virtual gold mine for some good tools & he doesn't care one bit to keep up warranty issues I might have on anything. Actually after shopping there I've switched all my impact stuff to GP & sold my high dollar impact sockets & until I tried that other brand I couldn't have been convinced other wise.

 

[bsaint]

You can buy Tekton at Meijer

 

[Hiball]

You can buy Tekton at Meijer

Looks like they cover about 5 of the 50 states.

 

[bsaint]

lol. Well that's where Ive passed by them in real life

 

[Hiball]

lol. Well that's where Ive passed by them in real life

No Biggie, Im sure it will Help someone here find them.

 

[bsaint]

Before we moved here I always wondered what the hell Menards was. I thought it was like Grossman's Bargain Outlet (that maybe an east coast thing.)

 

[alan camby]

Before we moved here I always wondered what the hell Menards was. I thought it was like Grossman's Bargain Outlet (that maybe an east coast thing.)

Seriously?
There is a Menards in Toledo North. Whatever Toledo North is

I have never heard of Grossman's

Do you like Menards?
we have Home depot, Menards, and Lowes. Menards has the largest stores and the lowest prices. For some reason I prefer lowes.

 

[bsaint]

Before we moved here (Toledo) from Westfield, Massachusetts.

Ive only been to Menards to kill time. I like their tool selection but at the time I didn't need anything they sold. I will be back there tomorrow to grab some thing.

 

[John in OH]

I'm looking into a set of their metric angle wrenches, not 100% sold on it yet

I don't want to knock Tekton any more than I already have because far too many GJers have had good experiences with Tekton. Maybe my experience with Tekton was a fluke, but to give you another point of view take a read through my recent thread on my search and selection of Tekton angle wrenches. Pay particular attention to Post #32.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=271152&page=2

Maybe you should PM Dave.r and see if he can guide you to a better Tekton angle wrench set than I ended up with.

 

[Dave.R]

I don't want to knock Tekton any more than I already have because far too many GJers have had good experiences with Tekton. Maybe my experience with Tekton was a fluke, but to give you another point of view take a read through my recent thread on my search and selection of Tekton angle wrenches. Pay particular attention to Post #32.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=271152&page=2

Maybe you should PM Dave.r and see if he can guide you to a better Tekton angle wrench set than I ended up with.

John,

Have any your wrenches broken or failed? If so shoot me an email.

Thanks,

Dave

[email protected]

 

[John in OH]

John,
Have any your wrenches broken or failed? If so shoot me an email.
Thanks,
Dave
[email protected]

Dave, I haven't had a chance to use any of the set yet. But, since my use for angle wrenches is seldom and, I expect light, I really doubt that the wrenches will be subject to failure. Please don't get me wrong, I don't mean to be down on Tekton and the durability of these angle wrenches may prove to be fine.

However, as I mentioned in other posts, I already had a few selected Sunex angle wrenches and decided to get a full set. Since I had heard such good things about Tekton, that's what I got. My disappointment came from the obvious cosmetic differences between the Tekton and the Sunex. Since Sunex and Tekton are the same tier products, I was pretty disappointed in the way the Tekton's were stamped, broached and finished as compared to the Sunex.

I tried to be very objective in my comparison of the two products and had also hoped to mitigate my griping by offering some suggestions on how to improve the Tekton angle wrenches and, perhaps, make them more desirable than the Sunex wrenches.

 

[BenJAMin]

Tekton is making a splash here in Michigan. I can point out a independent tool store, a chain of lumber yards, and Meijer stores within a short drive of me. I've had to warranty one thing and the independent store took care of it ASAP. They have become the new Craftsman for me.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Tekton don't have retail replacement. Though to be fair a lot of the import tools are good enough that you don't need retail replacement. They sell us made pliers and the same rule applies. But if you get that one defect out of a thousand the headache might be tremendous.

The quality on this stuff has improved tremendously in the last 5 years or so; I don't blame any of the guys (myself included!) using it, it's good stuff. I don't know about mainline but incidental stuff sure...most of the retail incidentals are import anyway.

 

[Dave.R]

Tekton don't have retail replacement. Though to be fair a lot of the import tools are good enough that you don't need retail replacement. They sell us made pliers and the same rule applies. But if you get that one defect out of a thousand the headache might be tremendous.

The quality on this stuff has improved tremendously in the last 5 years or so; I don't blame any of the guys (myself included!) using it, it's good stuff. I don't know about mainline but incidental stuff sure...most of the retail incidentals are import anyway.

Email us a picture, we FedEx you a replacement. Most times the turn around is less than a few days.

We try to make it pretty streamlined.

 

[T45]

You buy them at a premium in person or over the internet/?

OP you gonna answer this?

 

[jsharpphoto]

Sorry. I didn't answer it because I misread the question, and thought it had been answered.

I buy them 100% on Amazon.

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

How do you know all this inside information about how Tekton stay with same manufacturers and blah blah. At the end of the day they are all the same Chinese ****. But at least you can warranty Harbor Freights tools by going to the store as I have done in the past. Where do you go to warranty Tekton tools? Do I have to send them in? If so who pays for shipping? And I have to package it and making a trip to the post office.

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I am a Toolaholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the Toolman wont give me no credit

 

[Hiball]

How do you know all this inside information about how Tekton stay with same manufacturers and blah blah. At the end of the day they are all the same Chinese ****. But at least you can warranty Harbor Freights tools by going to the store as I have done in the past. Where do you go to warranty Tekton tools? Do I have to send them in? If so who pays for shipping? And I have to package it and making a trip to the post office.

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I am a Toolaholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the Toolman wont give me no credit

Scroll back about 5 posts.. I personally can't comment on Tekton tools in regards to whether they are just your run of the mill ****, but I can say based of the reviews on Amazon that they have a extremely high presence in regards to poor reviews, they seem to spend a lot of time following up with customers To make sure there concerns are taken care off.

 

[Dave.R]

How do you know all this inside information about how Tekton stay with same manufacturers and blah blah. At the end of the day they are all the same Chinese ****. But at least you can warranty Harbor Freights tools by going to the store as I have done in the past. Where do you go to warranty Tekton tools? Do I have to send them in? If so who pays for shipping? And I have to package it and making a trip to the post office.

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I am a Toolaholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the Toolman wont give me no credit

You make a phone call, or send an e-mail. No sending it in, or wasting gas money driving to a store.

Most times it's on your door step within a day or so.

 

[John in OH]

How do you know all this inside information about how Tekton stay with same manufacturers and blah blah. At the end of the day they are all the same Chinese ****. But at least you can warranty Harbor Freights tools by going to the store as I have done in the past. Where do you go to warranty Tekton tools? Do I have to send them in? If so who pays for shipping? And I have to package it and making a trip to the post office.

If you're going to ask a question, you should first read all the previous posts in the thread. Your question has already been answered by Dave.R in post #95 above.

 

[BioNerd]

Its good to know that tekton has better customer relationship. Perhaps we could start a thread titles "Tekton Pass/Fail" to know from board memebers what to trust and what to not.

Ive bought a couple of things from them. I prefer to go to harbor freight and check out the item myself.
I thought that tekton wad absolute ****, I will consider the brand for my next online cheapo lil gadget self gifts.

Thanks

 

[jsharpphoto]

This is my inventory of Tekton tools, and the level of usage they've seen in a certain amount of time.

8 inch Bench Vise - I bought this because my USA made 80's 4 inch craftsman vise was too small for a specific task, and after that project I retired my other vise(s) to the shelf, and this has been on my bench ever since. (approx 8 months)

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-5409-8-Inch-Swivel-Bench/dp/B000NPT6O8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421163251&sr=8-1&keywords=8%22+tekton+vise

Dead Blow Hammer - I didn't have one, and it was on woot for a steal, so I picked it up. It's comfortable to use, and it does what it should. It's seen limited use but the face hasn't dented or been damaged. (approx 9 months) I'm not 100% sure which weight i have, i can check later.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GMN4CKI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Ratcheting Bar Clamps - These are basically brand new, but the shafts are stiffer than the harbor freight or chinese bessey versions. I haven't ever held real german bessey clamps, so I can't comment. I have the 30 and the 36 inch versions. I did some testing in the garage and they seem to function well. Ratcheting bar clamps for me are just to keep things aligned while I apply "real" clamps, so I imagine these will fulfill that destiny. In full disclosure, these were the only thing i've ever had to email customer service about. The clamps arrived from amazon and had some cosmetic flaws, most likely due to how they were handled at amazon's warehouse. Tekton got replacements out in record speed. I emailed after lunch on friday, I had new clamps on tuesday.

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-39183-18-Inch-Ratchet-Spreader/dp/B000NPZ5J8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421163599&sr=8-1&keywords=tekton+ratcheting+bar+clamps

Low Profile 72 tooth Ratchets - I have these in all drive sizes, and they are excellent. I bought them for when my gear wrench 120xp flex heads are either too big, or the flex function gets annoying. They've seen light use in the last 2 months since I got them, but the finish on them is excellent, and the metal has significantly less imperfections than ANY of my gear wrench stuff.

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-14932-Profile-Polished-Ratchet/dp/B00KLY1CDY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421163869&sr=8-1&keywords=tekton+profile+ratchets

Scraper and Remover Set - I bought this on woot at the same time as the deadblow, and have only used the scrapers a few times. They scrape, they can be resharpened, that's all you can ask for. The "removers" have proved to be very useful. I'm not a professional mechanic so I likely haven't been using them not for their intended purpose. I did bend slightly one of the hooks on a remover, trying to remove something that should have been done with a pry bar. My fault, not tekton's, and I bent it back using my big *** tekton bench vise. One thing that I really love about this set (as much as you can love a scraper set) is the handles. The solid handles feel great in my hand. So much so that I will likely replace my craftsman screwdrivers down the road because while those red and blue plastic handles are iconic, they are uncomfortable after extended use. Anything tekton makes with those solid red handles, is very likely to be comfortable to use, if nothing else.

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-6945-Professional-Scraper-Remover/dp/B000NPPBQU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1421164026&sr=8-2&keywords=tekton+scraper+set

I also have a handful of sub $10 items like manual impact driver, precision pick set, and things like that. They have all been exactly as you would expect for mechanics tools designed to do dirty work.

 

[TheRobotCow]

I'll add in what i know about HF since i used to work for them.
They have many manufactures for many products(Corporate pretty much choose the cheapest one and takes it). When you go in for a replacement we would just give you the same thing if we had it in stock. Batches vary since different companies make them. All they care about is sales and not about the tool you're getting.

 

[Zeke]

I'll add in what i know about HF since i used to work for them.
They have many manufactures for many products(Corporate pretty much choose the cheapest one and takes it). When you go in for a replacement we would just give you the same thing if we had it in stock. Batches vary since different companies make them. All they care about is sales and not about the tool you're getting.

You just proved me wrong. I'll take it.

 

[cheechi]

8 inch Bench Vise - I bought this because my USA made 80's 4 inch craftsman vise was too small for a specific task, and after that project I retired my other vise(s) to the shelf, and this has been on my bench ever since. (approx 8 months)

Thanks for this. Good vises don't come up on CL basically ever. Counting on getting a good old USA one is basically not an option. So I have been considering a DP vise from them. If you can count on your bench vise that much then I'm pretty sure I can get a decent DP vise out of that level of quality.

 

[jsharpphoto]

I'll add in what i know about HF since i used to work for them.
They have many manufactures for many products(Corporate pretty much choose the cheapest one and takes it). When you go in for a replacement we would just give you the same thing if we had it in stock. Batches vary since different companies make them. All they care about is sales and not about the tool you're getting.

thanks for chiming in, and confirming what we kind of knew. glad to know I wasn't just speculating out of my ***.

 

[TheCarbideRat]

In regard to those pics on the first page... I dunno, really? Complaining about scratches on a wrench just seems creepy to me.

 

[cheechi]

How about more pictures and details of the some membership owned Tekton tools versus the redundant "Why I buy Brand X" arguments.

Here are my Tekton tools, minus the shortest 3/8" extension that rolled out of my way so I didn't see it to include.



Here are a Cornwell, Kobalt USA, CM USA, and Tekton extensions to compare the chrome




Here is the reason I bought them, the knurling, compared to that CM USA extension.



I like them. Heard about them here and saw they were within the budget and looked good online. There are some reviews on Amazon that unfairly criticize the Cr-V extensions when they intend to criticize a different set instead. They are pretty easy to spot anyway.

I have no regrets. Being my only experience with Tekton I am pleased and depending on the tool I would look at them again for simple things.

 

[twertsy]

Just wanted to thank Dave R. for the box 'o stuff. If y'all recall I posted earlier about the less than perfect finish on my new set of Tekton wrenches and he sent me a goodwill package. Thanks Dave!

 

[Bull]

Just wanted to thank Dave R. for the box 'o stuff. If y'all recall I posted earlier about the less than perfect finish on my new set of Tekton wrenches and he sent me a goodwill package. Thanks Dave!

That's solid CS right there.

Pliers are probably Wilde?

Let me know how the ratchet compares to the original style HF composite. I need one in 3/8.

 

[Spinaker01]

My first experience with Tekton has not been that great from a quality control aspect. Just ordered the Metric & SAE flare nut wrenches from Amazon. Problem is I received two 10mm & 12mm wrenches where one needed to be the 3/8 & 7/16 SAE wrench.

 

[twertsy]

That's solid CS right there.

Pliers are probably Wilde?

Let me know how the ratchet compares to the original style HF composite. I need one in 3/8.

Hey Bull, I don't have the ability to make such a comparison....have no HF ratchets.

 

[CatSplat]

Pliers are probably Wilde?

Yes, the Tekton USA pliers are Wilde-made. It's tough to buy a better set of pliers for the price, I replaced all of my beater groove-joint and slip-lock pliers with them and they're great.

 

[jsharpphoto]

Just wanted to thank Dave R. for the box 'o stuff. If y'all recall I posted earlier about the less than perfect finish on my new set of Tekton wrenches and he sent me a goodwill package. Thanks Dave!

More evidence to my "gives a ****" remark. Glad things worked out.

 

[jsharpphoto]

My first experience with Tekton has not been that great from a quality control aspect. Just ordered the Metric & SAE flare nut wrenches from Amazon. Problem is I received two 10mm & 12mm wrenches where one needed to be the 3/8 & 7/16 SAE wrench.

So was this an Amazon error? Or did it ship directly from tekton? Have you contacted them about it? Either way, it doesn't quite seem like a quality control error, rather a brain fart. Either way, I'm sure it will get made-right.

 

[Spinaker01]

From Amazon, but in the Tekton packaging.

 

[MG11068]

Does anyone know why there are Tekton products for sale on Ebay and other places that aren't on the Tekton website? For instance, they have socket holders on the website but not ones with handles like this one at Sears.

http://www.sears.com/tekton-3-8inch-drive-socket-holder/p-SPM2094612003?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5

 

[cheechi]

Added on November 12, 2010

Maybe it's old and not on the website anymore? Not like sears is known for accurate descriptions maybe they got the brand wrong on this one?

 

[MG11068]

There are other things I have noticed elsewhere that I can't seem to find on the website. Such as...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3pcs-TEKTON-6-FOOT-WOOD-FOLDING-RULER-TAPE-MEASURE-SAE-/301497390100?pt=US_Measuring_Layout_Tools&hash=item4632a51414

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tekton-5-pc-Mini-Level-Set-71142-Lifetime-Warranty-/351296773595?pt=US_Measuring_Layout_Tools&hash=item51caeb5ddb

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lot-Of-2-New-TEKTON-4733-Brass-In-Line-Oiler-1-4-NPT-/351293989813?pt=US_Hand_Tools&hash=item51cac0e3b5

I can't even find them searching for the part number on the website. I suppose all these could be old items that have been discontinued but there seems to be an awful lot of them.