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There are entities that can and do provide a one stop shopping experience — SBD and Snap-on come to mind — but that is due to their insanely large size. Everyone else has discovered that they can run to East Asia and have anything made and have chosen to do that. Look at Klein moving into...

I have never been inside or bought anything from a Wal-Mart. Everyone at work thinks I’m weird but like you, I just don’t have a reason or need to go.

A lot of people, including a lot of people I had assumed were very intelligent, severely underestimated how much costs would increase over the last year and a half. Global geopolitics directly impacts manufacturing whether we like it or not. Our costs at my shop have skyrocketed. I wouldn’t...

What’s in Texas related to Eklind?

Yeah, it’s just the one location as far as I know. So with the closing I am assuming they are officially done. My first hex key set as an apprentice were Eklinds. I still have them and a some long and standard bright finish sets at the house. I’m really bummed about this news.

Eklind filed a WARN to close its HQ production facility in Franklin Park which is just outside of Chicago. As an Illinois resident and a dude in manufacturing I can say this *****. I know Eklind wasn’t the best but they were still decent hex keys at a really good price. It’s just Bondhus now...

A few oddball Snap-on things for home and work. A 1/4” spinner (it’s ok, I think the Koken one which is a bit thicker and has better knurling is a superior spinner), the trim/pry/anything-and-everything meme tool from awhile back, and the 8” thin jaw adjustable wrench. I also ordered a 14mm...

I believe he has said in the past that instead of traveling with his tools he prefers to simply go to the local HF and buy tools that he leaves behind once he gets the car going. As to his home box, I cannot say.

I keep my handbook in there along with my work ID and a bunch of quick reference books. The extra lock I assumed was due to just how pricey the bibles have become. Mine was >$100 15 years ago. It fits perfect in there. Probably thinking of things like v blocks, Grindalls, end-mills, taps...

I’ve been toying with this idea for work. I just don’t use metric enough to warrant an entire set. So I’ve thought about using my SAE set and just adding what isn’t an equivalent in metric.

A lot of techs come out of high school or trade school with minimal-to-no tools and start at a shop where they are expected to have a bunch of stuff right away to do their jobs. So regardless of where that tech buys their tools, they are going to be in some debt just because they need a lot of...

SB&D companies also really **** with the phone lines. I have much better results communicating through email.

Yeah, HF has been creeping into the market pretty well recently. I’ve seen a ton of corporate machine repair techs rocking all Pittsburgh and Icon tools. When you are responsible for your tools and you’re carrying/traveling with them, the tool trucks just aren’t as relevant to you. Look...

Yeah man, maybe for mechanics they are a standard and especially because mechanics are everywhere on social media so Snappy gets even more exposure. But here in industrial land Snappy isn’t even a consideration.

The big thing you always hear people say is that Channellocks are not expensive and aren’t bad for the price. The thing is, Channellocks are not that cheap. They are roughly on par with a lot of other brands that finish their products a lot better. Channellock and Klein are two brands that...

Matco Thursday became Matco Wednesday cause I have a lot of stuff going on at work for the rest of the week. Grabbed a stubby 3/8” ratchet and also snagged some straight pry bars on promo. My driver said that the straights had been sitting on his truck for years and the plastic was covered in...

I daily several sets of the OptiGrip hex bit sockets from Matco. They fit very, very tight. It almost makes it a pain to use because I have to really push to set them and pull to get them out. But they have not damaged any fasteners. My biggest gripe is that the steel they use seems weaker...

My Channellocks cut well, better than my Kleins, but not as well as my NWS. I think they are often an overlooked brand for cutters. Knipex has been hit or miss. I like the electrical pliers with the shears but I find their normal diagonal cutters require a lot of effort from the user.

Interestingly enough, if you have had any chance to watch the couple of channels that do tool box tours of professional techs on YouTube, you would see that impact sockets and wrenches are the top two tools guys have a ton of variance on. It seems that it’s rather hard for any reputable...

The adjustable wrenches are very good. The screwdrivers are really nice too but they do rust pretty easily. I actually like the handles though I know a common complaint is that they get slippery when oily. As far as Channellock pliers, that was my first plier brand that I ever bought. I’ll...