Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Here are a few observations from this week's SEMA/AAPEX Shows:
My phone died so, I don't have many pictures. The professional tool reviewers will probably cover some of this stuff.
KNIPEX:They're releasing new hose clamp pliers that feature z shaped swivel jaw inserts for the quick click type hose clamps. Knipex also had the best tool giveaway at SEMA. They gave away 200 pairs of cobras on Tuesday, 200 pairs of 7 inch alligators on Wednesday, and another 200 pairs of something on Thursday (I was at AAPEX for the Thursday giveaway).
CHANNELLOCK: They're releasing their great adjustable oil filter pliers with offset handles. I think they'll be handy and a winner, winner, chicken dinner.
GEARWRENCH: Even with the market being flooded with new impact wrenches, Gearwrench jumped into the fray with their line of rebadged Cleco composite impact wrenches. They looked nice and had decent balance and feel but, they didn't have a demo set up so, who knows how well they work. Gearwrench is introducing their version of the EZ Red quarter stick. It's basically a fine toothed 1/4 drive ratchet on one end, and a ratcheting bit holder on the other end that's available in long and short lengths. What separates the Gearwrench version from other versions is that the Gearwrench model's heads lock in different positions just like a locking flex head ratchet would.
KOKEN had a nice booth full of their outstanding chrome goodness trying to expand their presence in the US market. I wish them well. Their tools could be as successful here as all of those high end Japanese cars cruising US Streets.
CHICAGO PNEUMATIC:is releasing a new compact impact wrench and a right angle impact wrench that is quite a bit shorter than IR's Hammerhead. Both show promise.
MAYHEW:introduced a new version of cable operated hose clamp pliers that feature a cable assembly that is supposed to be the easiest to replace. I wasn't impressed with these as I'd rather have a cable not fail through normal use and one without plastic clips but, that's just me.
SONIC TOOLS: had a large booth displaying their Taiwan made goodness. They had some very nice carts with shadowed foam inserts holding all manner of tool sets. They looked like a cross between toptul and facom copies.
SK:had no real news aside from the long breaker bars and locking impact extensions already pitched by Epstein's. They did have some nice aluminum tool carts that are US made. They demoed their X Frame ratcheting wrenches and may even ship the metric sets by December.
They are developing a new pear head ratchet based on the X frame ratcheting wrench design but, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for those to appear. The prototypes on hand were super heavy and had poorly designed handles in my opinion. Hopefully, the final product will be much lighter and not as slippery. What does show promise is a drop in replacement ratcheting mechanism (like a rebuild kit) that will convert any old SK round head ratchet into a double pawl finer toothed ratchet. I think it will be a hot seller for those that like the classic round head SK ratchet but, no availability date was mentioned. I keep cheering for SK but, they need to deliver more.
Anyway, those are the new tool items that stuck out the most to me.
My phone died so, I don't have many pictures. The professional tool reviewers will probably cover some of this stuff.
KNIPEX:They're releasing new hose clamp pliers that feature z shaped swivel jaw inserts for the quick click type hose clamps. Knipex also had the best tool giveaway at SEMA. They gave away 200 pairs of cobras on Tuesday, 200 pairs of 7 inch alligators on Wednesday, and another 200 pairs of something on Thursday (I was at AAPEX for the Thursday giveaway).
CHANNELLOCK: They're releasing their great adjustable oil filter pliers with offset handles. I think they'll be handy and a winner, winner, chicken dinner.
GEARWRENCH: Even with the market being flooded with new impact wrenches, Gearwrench jumped into the fray with their line of rebadged Cleco composite impact wrenches. They looked nice and had decent balance and feel but, they didn't have a demo set up so, who knows how well they work. Gearwrench is introducing their version of the EZ Red quarter stick. It's basically a fine toothed 1/4 drive ratchet on one end, and a ratcheting bit holder on the other end that's available in long and short lengths. What separates the Gearwrench version from other versions is that the Gearwrench model's heads lock in different positions just like a locking flex head ratchet would.
KOKEN had a nice booth full of their outstanding chrome goodness trying to expand their presence in the US market. I wish them well. Their tools could be as successful here as all of those high end Japanese cars cruising US Streets.
CHICAGO PNEUMATIC:is releasing a new compact impact wrench and a right angle impact wrench that is quite a bit shorter than IR's Hammerhead. Both show promise.
MAYHEW:introduced a new version of cable operated hose clamp pliers that feature a cable assembly that is supposed to be the easiest to replace. I wasn't impressed with these as I'd rather have a cable not fail through normal use and one without plastic clips but, that's just me.
SONIC TOOLS: had a large booth displaying their Taiwan made goodness. They had some very nice carts with shadowed foam inserts holding all manner of tool sets. They looked like a cross between toptul and facom copies.
SK:had no real news aside from the long breaker bars and locking impact extensions already pitched by Epstein's. They did have some nice aluminum tool carts that are US made. They demoed their X Frame ratcheting wrenches and may even ship the metric sets by December.
They are developing a new pear head ratchet based on the X frame ratcheting wrench design but, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for those to appear. The prototypes on hand were super heavy and had poorly designed handles in my opinion. Hopefully, the final product will be much lighter and not as slippery. What does show promise is a drop in replacement ratcheting mechanism (like a rebuild kit) that will convert any old SK round head ratchet into a double pawl finer toothed ratchet. I think it will be a hot seller for those that like the classic round head SK ratchet but, no availability date was mentioned. I keep cheering for SK but, they need to deliver more.Anyway, those are the new tool items that stuck out the most to me.
