Blackhawk Tool Sets

[Dzmax77]

I just ran across several made in USA Blackhawk mechanics tool sets on ebay and some appear to still be available on Proto’s website. Are these sold anywhere other than the amazon, ebay, etc? They seem to be offered at a decent price. I’d rather buy this than whatever is offered at HD, Lowes and Menards.

Home Industrial Tools Official Site | PROTO

Proto Industrial Tools - Safety Obsessed

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BLACKHAWK 99 PC SOCKET SET 1/4", 3/8" & 1/2" DRIVE #9796 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for BLACKHAWK 99 PC SOCKET SET 1/4", 3/8" & 1/2" DRIVE #9796 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

 

[GeoBruin]

I've bought blackhawk sets from MSC, Circle C Supply, and possibly others in the last few years but they're definitely disappearing. Ebay still has quite a few it seems and I've bought some stuff there as well.

It's good stuff. May not ever be collectors items like the real vintage Blackhawk stuff but still about the most affordable USA* sockets/wrenches you can find still in the box.

*Note the ratchets pictured in your set there are not USA made (Facom?) but they are nice.

 

[mikebaker1129]

SBD is killing off the Blackhawk brand.
I confirmed this with a SBD rep on the phone while having a warranty issue with a BH ratchet.
I was sent Stanley in place of a BH and I was not happy.
If you want a set I would urge you to get it while you can.

I did just pick up another 3 drive set missing a few pieces locally for a steal of a price.

 

[FMB4]

Sorry to hear that SBD is discontinuing the BH line of tools. Guess I'll have to grab what I need to complete my metric set of combos. Thanks for the info Mike.

 

[lardy1]

I have combination wrenches and DBE's from Blackhawk. NOS off eBay. I don't know about their sockets but the wrenches suit me just fine. Like the OP, I'll take NOS domestic over big box imports most of the time.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I hate to see Blackhawk go, but it's been slowly disappearing for a while now. With Craftsman, Proto, and MAC, there isn't much of a point in the Blackhawk brand.

I'm surprised they didn't go the Porter-Cable route and make it the store-brand for some retailer.

 

[Dzmax77]

Beware of Fraud!

I went ahead and purchased a ‘new’ 99pc Blackhawk Socket Set on EBay. It was technically open box but I didn’t care, it was up for a decent price. After purchasing, I looked at the ratchets more closely and compared them to the diagram inside the case, the picture on the case cover and with a pic of another set sold on EBay and they weren’t the same. They had replaced the USA round head knurled ratchets with the cheap Chinese made Blackhawk closed ratchets. Seller claims thats how they came from factory but that’s BS. Other sets he was selling also had the ratchets swapped out for the cheaper Chinese GW-*** series. Added pics of the same set from the BS seller and another with the proper ratchets.

He refunded my $ but I am still upset. If I didn’t catch this, it would’ve been a pain to return ans ask for refund.

 

[GeoBruin]

Beware of Fraud!

I went ahead and purchased a ‘new’ 99pc Blackhawk Socket Set on EBay. It was technically open box but I didn’t care, it was up for a decent price. After purchasing, I looked at the ratchets more closely and compared them to the diagram inside the case, the picture on the case cover and with a pic of another set sold on EBay and they weren’t the same. They had replaced the USA round head knurled ratchets with the cheap Chinese made Blackhawk closed ratchets. Seller claims thats how they came from factory but that’s BS. Other sets he was selling also had the ratchets swapped out for the cheaper Chinese GW-*** series. Added pics of the same set from the BS seller and another with the proper ratchets.

He refunded my $ but I am still upset. If I didn’t catch this, it would’ve been a pain to return ans ask for refund.

See my post above. I believe this is similar to other Stanley Proto ratchets made by Facom in Italy (not China). I agree it's not cool to advertise one model and sell another however. It happened to me and I was **** hurt enough to go out and find the original round head models on ebay. I kept the facom models however and I actually like them.

 

[FMB4]

I'm a very long time fan of Plumb/Proto tools and said company's other branded tool name offerings. But I will not buy anything Stanley and/or B&D. But that's just me.

 

[bigjeff94]

I have that set with the old style ratchets. I love it its a great set. I was lucky enough to have some other blackhawk kits so I made the set all 6 point except for the half inch sockets. I am not a huge fan of the ratchets so I replaced them with the old blackhawk kilness designed ratchets. My favorite kit.

 

[toolmutt]

I have some Blackhawk socket sets and ratchets but not a kit as shown. Very happy with all of it. In fact, the 3/8 RHFT ratchet with thumb ring is the most buttery smooth ratchet I own (and that includes some SO dual 80's).

 

[mikebaker1129]

Beware of Fraud!

I went ahead and purchased a ‘new’ 99pc Blackhawk Socket Set on EBay. It was technically open box but I didn’t care, it was up for a decent price. After purchasing, I looked at the ratchets more closely and compared them to the diagram inside the case, the picture on the case cover and with a pic of another set sold on EBay and they weren’t the same. They had replaced the USA round head knurled ratchets with the cheap Chinese made Blackhawk closed ratchets. Seller claims thats how they came from factory but that’s BS. Other sets he was selling also had the ratchets swapped out for the cheaper Chinese GW-*** series. Added pics of the same set from the BS seller and another with the proper ratchets.

He refunded my $ but I am still upset. If I didn’t catch this, it would’ve been a pain to return ans ask for refund.

I bet he was telling you the truth. I have noticed other sets come with the ratchets you posted. I believe BH discontinued the round head ratchets. I have received the ones pictured as warranty items. The paint brush handle ratchets are based on the Facom design.
I am pretty sure Geo and I swapped new ratchets with each other.

 

[Dzmax77]

Idk, there was another 99 piece set with the correct ratchets in them. The photo on the cardboard sleeve and diagram on the case clearly show round head ratchets with knurling on the handles, I don't think they’d replace a $30-$40 ratchet with a $10 closed offshore one and leave the MADE IN USA label on.

I really wanted that set too.

 

[mikebaker1129]

See my post above. I believe this is similar to other Stanley Proto ratchets made by Facom in Italy (not China). I agree it's not cool to advertise one model and sell another however. It happened to me and I was **** hurt enough to go out and find the original round head models on ebay. I kept the facom models however and I actually like them.

Yes we swapped remember?

Idk, there was another 99 piece set with the correct ratchets in them. The photo on the cardboard sleeve and diagram on the case clearly show round head ratchets with knurling on the handles, I don't think they’d replace a $30-$40 ratchet with a $10 closed offshore one and leave the MADE IN USA label on.

I really wanted that set too.

How much was the set you purchased?
Interested , because I prefer those ratchets to the knurled handles.

 

[mikebaker1129]

This is the used & missing piece kit I purchased a couple weeks ago.

 

[GeoBruin]

Yes we swapped remember?

How much was the set you purchased?
Interested , because I prefer those ratchets to the knurled handles.

Haha, you're right! We did swap!

 

[Dzmax77]

Yes we swapped remember?

How much was the set you purchased?
Interested , because I prefer those ratchets to the knurled handles.

A little over $200 with tax.

 

[mcj115]

At the auto swap meets recently (Carlisle and Hershey) there has been several vendors with good deals on Blackhawk tools. I bought a 86 piece wrench set for $200. The vendors also had socket sets. Almost all th Blackhawk tools they had were made in Taiwan. I did get one US produced breaker bar also.

 

[Mr. Tool]

I purchased this Blackhawk (by Proto) Torx set back around 2013 and it is a great set.

Like the fact that it came along with a roll up pouch.

 

[sk farmer]

i think the op and others making much ado about nothing and i highly doubt the seller switched ratchets. the older round head blackhawk ratchets were new britain type ratchets without thumbwheel on the head and marked usa . i know, i have a few, a 1/4 and 3/8. they were later replaced with the ones like pictured on packaging. they are/were a stanley made ratchet with a thumbwheel built into the top of the mechanism. i know, i have a few, a 3/8 and 2 1/2 drive. i also know that they are more than likely not a usa made ratchet. every piece in my sets are marked usa except the ratchets. i don't think that style of ratchet has been or ever was made in the usa, hence no made in usa markings even though included in sets with every other piece marked usa.

those non usa marked ratchets are nothing special but are actually pretty tough. my long handle 1/2 has seen some healthy abuse.

i believe what the op received was set made from whatever was left of whatever black hawk had left over and having none of those round heads left the were replaced with something else and the packing pics never changed.

that's just my 2 cents worth and i may be wrong but i highly doubt it. i have been around here going on 12 years and have seen this discussion come up several times before.

 

[Dzmax77]

These are not the same as diagram and photos on cardboard sleeve.

 

[sk farmer]

yup i get that they are different. what i am trying to say is blackhawk is being phased out, plain and simple. they are throwing together kits from whatever they have laying around. it's not uncommon for packaging and promo pics to not exactly match the contents included. if you are unhappy with what you received, by all means send it back. it's a whole other matter to accuse someone of fraud when you get a ratchet marked blackhawk in a blackhawk set that the seller claims it came with.

as i stated before. those ratchets with the built in thumbwheel are not marked usa and i have never seen one marked made in usa. i don't care what the packaging says, those ratchets are highly unlikely to have been in usa made in the first place.

 

[KnurledNut]

yup i get that they are different. what i am trying to say is blackhawk is being phased out, plain and simple. they are throwing together kits from whatever they have laying around. it's not uncommon for packaging and promo pics to not exactly match the contents included. if you are unhappy with what you received, by all means send it back. it's a whole other matter to accuse someone of fraud when you get a ratchet marked blackhawk in a blackhawk set that the seller claims it came with.

as i stated before. those ratchets with the built in thumbwheel are not marked usa and i have never seen one marked made in usa. i don't care what the packaging says, those ratchets are highly unlikely to have been in usa made in the first place.

The same ratchet was labeled Stanley and marked USA.
(Not saying I put a lot of confidence in anything they mark as such. )

 

[Al Borland]

That thumbwheel ratchet was made as a Challenger ratchet in the USA, then Stanley happened.
They sold that ratchet under more names than a Kilness ratchet was.
That is one of the tools they were marking USA that wasn't.
Funny thing is, the Taiwan version works better/smoother than the USA version.
(Might just be age/wear but it makes me laugh)