Facom

[vicmills]

I'm a big fan of these spanners and collect the Made in France ones. What are your opinions of Facom please?

 

[shanny19]

Very high. I absolutely love my "cles a pipes" sets from Facom. Ultimate Garage is a great place to deal with if you're looking for Facom in the US.

 

[General Geoff]

The only Facom tools I have are the 501 series locking pliers. They work great.

 

[4xdog]

FACOM — SBD Europe — is very good. I have a number of pieces, including several clès á pipes, that get used often and I like them all.

 

[mr.lemons]

'spanners' Are you from the UK?

I really like their ratchets. Nothing compares at the price in the UK really.

£25-£26 on ebay gets you a new very nice Taiwan 3/8 pear head or made in Italy round head.

They have a bit of a reputation on here for being mostly Taiwan made but a lot (most?) of their tools look to be still made in France.

Edit.

 

[Negen]

I have this locking pliers and a full set of screwdrivers don't have a picture of at the moment. But I like facom/proto stuff. One of my favorite tool brands.

Sent from my G8141 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Mr_B]

Nothing wrong with the taiwan made stuff, even stahlwille producing stuff in taiwan .
For europe prices it amazing, not such a deal in US .
Wrenches are great, big fan of the ratchet wrenches, extendable ratchets they do nice too, like the air impacts too ns1600f and ns3500g

 

[bimmer630]

Someone was closing out round head 1/2” drive ratchet sets that came with extensions, a speeder handle, swivel, sliding t-bar, and metric 12 point sockets from 8mm to 32mm, all for about 150.00, in a cool red metal carry case.
I also have the 1/4” drive proto flex head that uses a facom head, and the facom clicr style hose clamp pliers which came off the Mac truck

Awesome tools.. and not that many people in the states even know about them


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dave455]

The quality, at least so far as the European made tools are concerned, has always been first class. As good as Snap On? Maybe not, but very good nonetheless!

Where Facom have always excelled, has been in the field of unique or specialist tools. (If you’ve ever worked on a French vehicle, you will know why) and over the years they have offered all manner of specialist items that simply are not, or were not, available anywhere else.

Unfortunately, I suspect that the best days are passing for Facom. Their older tools, many of which are still available I should point out, always seem to have been made on the basis that the company was constantly striving to produce better tools. It’s that philosophy that’s put Facom where they are.

Now, you can argue back and forth about he relative merits of Taiwanese tools, but ultimately the introduction of different / Taiwanese produced tools is driven by a desire to reduce costs / increase profits rather than a desire to produce better tools, and thats not going to turn out well in the long run!

My advice, buy the decent stuff while you can. Buy sensibly, and buy the European made tools, and you’ll be getting decent, intelligently designed tools. Just don’t pay too much for them - they sell well in the U.K. but they represent excellent value here, don’t start paying Snap On prices!

 

[shirk]

Facom shares a lot of items with USAG and you can usually get the USAG branded item a bit cheaper.

 

[ultgar]

Facom shares a lot of items with USAG and you can usually get the USAG branded item a bit cheaper.

Yes.......approx 85% of the USAG line are rebranded Facom tools. Facom ratchets (161B series) and most torque wrenches are made at USAG's facility in Gemonio Italy.

Many of the USAG items that I bring in are cheaper than those with Facom branding. Plus USAG has a US warranty.

One other note..........Vidmar now stocks rebranded Facom JET.6M3 and ROLL.6M3 6-drawer tool cabinets (in Black and Gray) in their Allentown PA warehouse. They are currently on "close-out" at $450-650ea + shipping from Allentown PA. Close-out implies they won't be bringing any more of these in. Great price for these tool boxes which are $1,000-1300+ in Facom branding (mainly due to high import freight). The gray ROLL cabinet probably looks like this (w/o the Facom labels....see https://primetools.co.uk/shop/facom-roll-6gm3-6-drawer-mobile-roller-cabinet-grey/#) and is a bargain at $450. Both of these cabinets are made in France.




SD

 

[Hermann-the-german]

I ones bought a set of Facom 40R design wrenches, because I liked the idea. After using them for a while, I am somewhat disappointed since they are much less useful than I hoped. However, they are very well made and finished.

 

[eschoendorff]

I love my Facom tools. Everything I have is made in France. Not a huge fan of the 440 wrenches. My favorite are the pliers. I have Knipex but I always favor the older French made Facom.

 

[Qualitytools]

I also have a few FACOM tools, the older ones made in France and the newer as in my ratcheting wrenches are made in Taiwan but still very nice fit and finish.

 

[tanukiboy]

FACOM also makes the best ratcheting screwdriver, IMO. This one replaced the Williams driver in my toolbox. I think the magnetic + locking chuck is a great feature.

View media item 84033

 

[cheechi]

Of the current production tools, are there any 'must have' Facom tools that are worth the price importing them to the US?

 

[mr.lemons]

 

[HRNTK]

Some () Similar tools..

 

[jimmyin3D]

Just here to revive the love for Facom tools.

They excel with innovating and there oil filter wrench is the best on the market. There earlier versions were a band type with a screw to tighten it down. The new ones have teeth to grab on but it has the same basic design. I love mine and it has never struggled to ever get an oil filter off.



I was suspect at first of these extendable ratchets but they are very extensive in actual use. The design is much better than the ones made by Stanley or apex. There is no wobbling and is very solidly built, with nice audible clicks when it sets into a position. I have both the JXL and SXL and they both quickly became a huge asset, especially when traveling light on odd jobs. They are Taiwan made but its hardly an issue when they perform great, also at the price I got them for ~$80-90



And mentioned above the Facom/Proto rebranded locking pliers 500 Series are amazing. Even having one will afford you such a huge range of uses. I know it’s a French design to have the adjustable openings but Facom has a good assortment of them and made with quality like all Facom tools.


Show me what other Facom tools you love!

 

[dutchgray]

I like the roundhead ratchets and the 440 combo spanners.
I have a couple socket sets as well, all good tools.

 

[geo9]

Very good tools, with good price -performance and guaranty wise.
Value for money tools for sure, as mr.lemons has noted.

 

[Firebrick43]

I had some Facom but the were always giving up if I used a stahlwille any where close to them

I love all my facom era sk ratchets, which share the guts, once you loctite the screw in place.

 

[jimmyin3D]

I like the roundhead ratchets and the 440 combo spanners.
I have a couple socket sets as well, all good tools.

The 440 wrenches are great. I have them in SAE and absolutely love the forged offset of the box end. It’s designed in a way that the wrench body doesn’t get in the way and acts like a thin wall socket. Also the I-Beam handle is very comfortable to use. Best part they are very affordable, I purchased mine off amazon.DE for about $50, and have seen it go for about $70 on eBay a 1/4-15/16 complete set.

 

[californiaHank]

I have quite a few of their ProTwist screwdrivers and like them a lot.
They have a huge variety of styles and sizes in their catalog, far more than Snap-On or any other full-line manufacturer I know of.

I also prefer their MicroTech precision screwdrivers to most others.

Their insert bits for hex, torx, etc. are also first rate, though somewhat pricey.

They make quite a few miscellaneous tools that are exceptionally good, too - like hacksaws and hammers. Their pliers are quite good, but tend to be pricey.

I don't have a lot of their sockets or wrenches, but I have a 3/8" drive set that is a mix of made in France (ratchets) and made in Taiwan (sockets) that is definitely of at least the same quality as the top American and European brands.

 

[OMMP]

It would be good to see if there is anyone that has mishmash of good old and new quality Facom items... Are there, now, some significant difference? I do have some number of items - and they are good, really good... But maybe not just right there

 

[jimmyin3D]

Also my favorite hammer is a Facom French pattern with a square face and a cross peen type back end. It’s a small and compact hammer at about 1.25lb but it’s a joy to use for general work.

 

[Tonyuk]

Excellent stuff, i havent had a bad thing from them.

If you're in the UK search Primetools on ebay. They're an official dealer, buy from them and everything has a lifetime warranty (mostly).

The ratchet spanners they make are the best out there imo.

 

[geo9]

Their "mechanic" hammers are quite nice, although a bit top heavy. The really deliver a punch. Their regular all black 500gr is the hammer I use the most. The synthetic handles seem to be quite robust.

 

[Dave455]

Their boxes are nice.

Well finished, and fair pricing!

This small box is a design unique to Facom. I love these and have two!

 

[Dave455]

I like their pliers too.

These are from my road box. I wanted chrome plated as I’m not using these every day, but the German makers only offer chrome plating with massively oversized grips that I don’t get on with.

These grips are perfect. Although they are a little more bulky than a vinyl dip, they don’t get in the way, and they are made of a hard material that wipes down easily

 

[Dave455]

3/8 drive locking extension!

I have two of these (5 and 10 inch) and use them a lot. Mine are older, and definitely French made.

I have yet to see a design of these I prefer.

 

[geo9]

These grips are very nice. Too bad they discontinued them, I prefer them to the new ones like many others, as I understand. The "spring" function is very useful too.

New on the left, older handles in the middle.

 

[Dave455]

These grips are very nice. Too bad they discontinued them, I prefer them to the new ones like many others, as I understand. The "spring" function is very useful too.

New on the left, older handles in the middle.

Yes, totally agree!

The old grips are just about perfect. The new ones are quite clumsy by comparison. But probably cheaper. Perhaps the redesign is to conceal a switch in country of manufacture.

Here are my Micro-Tech screwdrivers. I love these, and generally a I’m a PB Swiss fan.

The PB have probably got better blades, but these are the better handles. Better for general engineering too, rather than specifically electronic work!

Colour coded too!

 

[geo9]

1/2 set with older style rotator ratchet. Feel and fit seems to be the same like 10 years ago. Vendors claim that quality has improved even more these last years. No complaint here so far. No COO.
This is almost half the price of a comparable Gedore set (for example).

 

[geo9]

@Dave455
IMHO Facom have the best screwdriver handles in the business. I am referring to the Protwist and Micro-Tech stuff

Here is an older impact set, NS.550A which is now discontinued. Now they sell NS.550B with the new modular box. I have noticed that the short impact sockets in the new set are a little bit thinner than the older ones. The new(er) set has the latest type impact sockets for wheels though, which Facom claim that are stronger (they have a ring at the top).

 

[Dave455]

@Dave455
IMHO Facom have the best screwdriver handles in the business. I am referring to the Protwist and Micro-Tech stuff

I don’t own any of the Protwist.

And I’ve got so many screwdrivers around I really don’t need more!

Having said that, I see they offer them in Stainless. I have relatively few stainless drivers (a couple of Wera Pozidriv) but I find them great for using with woodscrews that don’t always have the best formed heads and can damage plated screwdriver blades, so I’ll probably pick up a couple more. Might consider the Protwist!

Could do with a decent set of impact sockets, all mine are oddments. Was thinking KoKen, but I might have a look at Facom too.

 

[CoogarXR]

I have a Facom ISORYL AR screwdriver. It seems well made. It's got a translucent reddish-orange handle that doesn't have any odor, so it has that going for it.

 

[richfinn]

I have a mixture of old stuff (80s Ŕenault special tools for sump/gearbox plugs)

And newer screwdrivers/pliers

Some odd metric sockets (nice quality)

Good tools, but one set of screwdriver handles crumbled to dust (in storage) but the other sets with the same handles are fine (I believe they are the protwist)

Look at Beta too, they make some interesting tools

 

[jimmyin3D]

Here is another unique Facom tool, the Facom 43 Series flare nut line wrenches. They have a flanged back so the nut wont slip or slide out. I was very close to buying a set but a SO set landed in front of me for cheap. I wish more manufacturers would take this on, it’s very simple. I can see the drawbacks too though where it won’t let you slide down.




And most ppl who work on euro cars know this tool. It’s a clic clamp hose pliers to take them off and on. There are cheap alternatives but Facom makes the best out there.






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Check out my for sale listing in the classifieds:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=438994

 

[geo9]

Good tools, but one set of screwdriver handles crumbled to dust (in storage) but the other sets with the same handles are fine (I believe they are the protwist)

I believe it was the older Ergotwist, not Protwist, series where handles crumbled. In particular these with the red -not black- handles.