A visit to Wilde Tool (BIG PICS!)

jsackin · Apr 20, 2011

I visited the Wilde Tool Co. yesterday, and first things first. Here's some giant pictures.

Here's some more pic links. Didn't want to overload anybody.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/buttons.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/machinewithyellowgate.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/manandmachine.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/manandmachine444.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/manworkingwithmachine.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/moreplierparts.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/moreplierparts1.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/paplierparts.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/plierparts.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/pliersparts4.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/plierspartsinbarrells.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/pplierparts.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/prybarparts.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/punchcardsystem.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/slipjointpliers.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/warehouseboxes.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/warehouseboxes1.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wildeautopliers.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wildemachinery.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wildepunches.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wildescraperparts.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wildetooloutside.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wrenchpile.jpg
http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff443/jsackin/wrenchpile2.jpg

I'm editing a video of their manufacturing facilities, and that should be done in about a month or so. Really cool place. Nice people. A great US family tool company. I don't know if you guys have had a "bolt fastener vs. rivet fastener" pliers debate, but this might spark some conversation. Wilde believes in the bolt fastener. This is what really sets them apart from other US plier manufacturers. Let's face it, no matter what plier you buy, after many years of use, it starts to get a little loose. With the bolt fastener you can tighten it up and have it working like new again. Also if it ever breaks, it's easily fixable.

The problem some guys have with this system is that it isn't flush, so you can't get it in some tight spaces. Well, Wilde is currently working on a "flush" bolt fastening system that I think is a great idea. I can't go into too much detail about it, as it's still in the development process, but I think it's going to be a big hit.

For all you ratchet modifiers, I talked to them about their pry bar handles, and they can get them blank and in many different colors, so the question is, what size hole would you prefer, or would you even want a hold drilled in? Is that something you'd do yourself? The handles should be easy to get, so give me an idea of what colors would be most popular and I'll start getting an order together.

Brief history of Wilde:

Started in 1922 right here in Kansas City by two brothers that came up with the idea for angling the nose of a pliers 32 degrees. They took this one idea, invested everything into it, and soon had a whole line of pliers and other tools they were making. They moved the plant to Hiawatha Kansas and have been there ever since. Used to make tools for Montgomery Ward and Western Auto. Now they make them for Sears, Snap-On, Armstrong, Proto, Blackhawk and more.

Oh, I also scanned in a 1958 Wilde tool catalog here:
http://www.archive.org/details/WildeToolCatalog1958

Jori

http://store.harryepstein.com/dailydispatch/2011/04/a-trip-to-wilde-tool-co/

rob05 · Apr 20, 2011

Thanks for sharing, sweet pics! I'd love to go check out a factory like that

rebelram · Apr 20, 2011

How is Wilde supposed to be pronounced? Is it "Wild" or "Will-De"?
I have a pair of their snap ring pliers and they are great!

jsackin · Apr 20, 2011

rebelram said:
How is Wilde supposed to be pronounced? Is it "Wild" or "Will-De"?
I have a pair of their snap ring pliers and they are great!

"While D".

Lump · Apr 20, 2011

Cool pix. Thanks. I'll have to look for Wilde tools in the future. Good for them!

I once went on a tour of a metal-working factory like that, but it was Smith & Wesson firearms in Springfield, Massachusetts. These photos reminded me very much of that visit. It was pretty cool too.

mikevango · Apr 20, 2011

Cool.

kc-steve · Apr 20, 2011

jsackin said:
. . . For all you ratchet modifiers, I talked to them about their pry bar handles, and they can get them blank and in many different colors, so the question is, what size hole would you prefer, or would you even want a hold drilled in? Is that something you'd do yourself? The handles should be easy to get, so give me an idea of what colors would be most popular and I'll start getting an order together. . .

Jori

Why stop at ratchets? If different sized holes can be offered then I would also like to see other things like hex wrench handles, file handles, and home made anything handles, etc. Let your barriers down. I hate buzz words so I refuse to say anything about "outside the boxes."

Thanks for all the photos and catalog. Great stuff.

Steve

cnc-me · Apr 20, 2011

Very interesting.
Thanks for posting.

jabberwoki · Apr 20, 2011

I too will look for their stuff and support them!

cnc-me · Apr 20, 2011

I take it, that they are OK with you posting all these pictures.

Fedwrench · Apr 21, 2011

http://wildetool.com/

Actually I think these guys have scaled back their operations. they used to make ratchets, extensions, and other drive tools in addition to their current line mostly for Uncle Sam. I see some of their stuff on Ebay from time to time.

Ritter4.0 · Apr 21, 2011

For the prybar handles, I would want an 1/8" hole drilled in the center. That will ensure the handle is centered, and that the user can drill it out to whatever size they want.

Even 11 · Apr 21, 2011

Cool pictures, Thanks for sharing! I have tried to get a tour at Western Forge a time or two but they are very locked down on their operations.

-Dane

mofo62 · Apr 21, 2011

.

Much Thanks for sharing pictures,Best!!! :thumbup:

V!

thetreshon · Apr 21, 2011

Wow - I love seeing stories on this!

To be honest though, I never knew much about them, and have NEVER seen a Wilde tool in my life, not even at pawn shops. But, I"m in Canada, so that could be a reason.

What chains do they sell their products? Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot? And are labeled "Wilde" or do they just manufacture for other brands?

jsackin · Apr 21, 2011

thetreshon said:
Wow - I love seeing stories on this!

To be honest though, I never knew much about them, and have NEVER seen a Wilde tool in my life, not even at pawn shops. But, I"m in Canada, so that could be a reason.

What chains do they sell their products? Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot? And are labeled "Wilde" or do they just manufacture for other brands?

They are mainly a private labeler. The only places you can find Wilde tools are at smaller tool distributors like Epsteins. I'm not actually sure who else carries their line, but definitely no big box stores.

Jori

route246 · Apr 21, 2011

Very nice. Thanks.

Slowboat · Apr 21, 2011

Thanks - loved the pictures and just placed an order.

Monte · Apr 21, 2011

thanks for the pics !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BajaBound · Apr 21, 2011

Very cool!

Skin · Apr 21, 2011

Fedwrench said:
http://wildetool.com/

Actually I think these guys have scaled back their operations. they used to make ratchets, extensions, and other drive tools in addition to their current line mostly for Uncle Sam. I see some of their stuff on Ebay from time to time.

I could be mistaken but i believe they were one of the companies that got a smack down from the FTC for labelling imports USA and that was when they stopped offering drive tools.

Hank McMauser · Dec 10, 2011

Do they make the C'man pry bars? if not they sure look the same I love my craftsman's

archirelic · Dec 10, 2011

Just looked through the photos again since this was bumped to the top; all I can say is that I would LOVE to pull a couple shifts there just for the experience!

blue dog · Dec 13, 2011

Hank McMauser said:
Do they make the C'man pry bars? if not they sure look the same I love my craftsman's

Yes, they make the red handled c man pry bars.

SMKS · Dec 13, 2011

Skin said:
I could be mistaken but i believe they were one of the companies that got a smack down from the FTC for labelling imports USA and that was when they stopped offering drive tools.

I tried googling this and I can't find any online records about it. Where did you hear this? The obvious high profile case is Stanley. I found records from that.

Also, Wilde has sockets, ratchets and wrenches listed on their website. They're obviously rebranded for Wilde by other companies.

http://wildetool.com/catid-41.cfm

EDIT- I found it. This is part of the Stanley case. Stanley was making private label tools for Wilde and saying they were USA made when they really weren't. Or at least that's what the FTC alleged. That seems to be Stanley's wrongdoing, not Wilde, IMO.

http://www.ftc.gov/os/1999/06/stanleyworkscmp.htm

hammergodthor · Dec 13, 2011

Cool pics, thanks for sharing!

Vinko · Dec 13, 2011

jsackin said:
"While D".

Odd. Never heard that pronunciation. I've got some of their stuff from flea market and from Epsteins and maybe some rebadged stuff I don't know about.

There standard and waterpump pliers are no great shakes, but they're simple and do the job.

64merc · Dec 13, 2011

Ritter4.0 said:
For the prybar handles, I would want an 1/8" hole drilled in the center. That will ensure the handle is centered, and that the user can drill it out to whatever size they want.

Yeah, that would be a good idea. +1

jsackin · Dec 13, 2011

So Wilde posted some of the video I took on youtube.
They still haven't got around to setting it to music, but in the background you can faintly hear Adam talking about the origins of Wilde. Enjoy!

HandyManny · Dec 13, 2011

Excellent post. Thanks for sharing. I own a few pliers made by Wilde, but they were made for the Blackhawk, SK, and Superior brand names.

I agree that Wilde has scaled back in sized, production, and number of products offered. I think right now they are just trying to survive, not sure how much longer they can hang on to keeping USA production. But glad to see them weathering the storm.

Personally I'll always choose Channellock over Wilde for USA made pliers. I just haven't been that terribly impressed with a couple newer pliers I bought made for Blackhawk by Wilde. They are tough, just didn't seem to be assembled right, jaws misaligned. If they want to stay in business and keep operations here in USA, they need to maintain quality and be better than the stuff being imported.

Right now Channellock owns the plier market with what appears to be Knipex moving in slowly to the larger retailers.

jsackin · Dec 13, 2011

HandyManny said:
I agree that Wilde has scaled back in sized, production, and number of products offered. I think right now they are just trying to survive, not sure how much longer they can hang on to keeping USA production. But glad to see them weathering the storm.

I believe all the products that Wilde is no longer offering is stuff that was being outsourced. I've seen a number of manufacturers this year get rid of the products in their line that they weren't actually making.

If anything, I would say they are actually expanding their manufacturing processes to include a lot more items like a whole new line of fixed joint pliers and their new flush fastener design.

spity · Dec 13, 2011

I like the wooden handled screw drivers they make!
The website is a pain in my *** though.

HandyManny · Dec 13, 2011

jsackin said:
I believe all the products that Wilde is no longer offering is stuff that was being outsourced. I've seen a number of manufacturers this year get rid of the products in their line that they weren't actually making.

If anything, I would say they are actually expanding their manufacturing processes to include a lot more items like a whole new line of fixed joint pliers and their new flush fastener design.

They may be offering a few new products lately, but compared to the amount of various tools they used to offer I can tell you for certain that they have signifigantly scaled down their whole operation. They used to be a much bigger company with more exposure to the consumer than they are now.

Chory · Feb 22, 2016

Menards here in Wichita Ks has a section of their tools but mostly carry just chisels and pry bars. Very good quality and US made 100%!

Jeremy77 · Feb 22, 2016

thetreshon said:
Wow - I love seeing stories on this!

To be honest though, I never knew much about them, and have NEVER seen a Wilde tool in my life, not even at pawn shops. But, I"m in Canada, so that could be a reason.

What chains do they sell their products? Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot? And are labeled "Wilde" or do they just manufacture for other brands?

Home depot does carry some Wilde options (mainly pliers) on their website.

winlinmac · Feb 23, 2016

Cripe Distributing as well as few other eBay sellers, and Amazon carries them too

Tekton's Slip Joints are rebranded Wilde's

Roberts210 · Feb 23, 2016

Thanks for posting this. Beautiful!

cliftonbros89 · Feb 23, 2016

Cool trip. I like Wilde. I have several of their punched, chisels, cotter key pullers, gaskets scrapers and pry bars. Very pleased with all of them. Good American made tools at a fair price with a good warranty.

mikebaker1129 · Feb 23, 2016

Jori since you were at Wilde were you able to secure some special deals that you can pass on to your favorite customers ?

Green color on the handles drilled 1/8 hole,unmarked or marked.

lbgradwell · Feb 23, 2016

He was there 5 years ago. You'd probably know by now...

A visit to Wilde Tool (BIG PICS!)

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