Are the "new" King **** tools any good?
- Thread starter spv
- Start date
They are still good quality. I have a set of metric combination wrenches purchased in London in 1984 when we were living there. Replaced one recently and it seemed similar quality although the style had changed slightly.
For comparison, I also have two sets of Whitworth double box end (double ring spanners) and combination wrenches that were purchased new this year. They also seem to be good quality.
I would buy King **** (i) if I was a Brit just for the history and national pride, (ii) lived in the U.K. (lower price) or (iii) needed Whitworth. However, there are are probably better alternatives for the price if you are not in the U.K. and paying additional export/import costs.
EDIT: King **** wrenches are manufactured in "England" as far as I know. I have personally never seen an Asian made King **** wrench. Quality is not an issue. The only issue to me is the price you have to pay depending on where you live.
For comparison, I also have two sets of Whitworth double box end (double ring spanners) and combination wrenches that were purchased new this year. They also seem to be good quality.
I would buy King **** (i) if I was a Brit just for the history and national pride, (ii) lived in the U.K. (lower price) or (iii) needed Whitworth. However, there are are probably better alternatives for the price if you are not in the U.K. and paying additional export/import costs.
EDIT: King **** wrenches are manufactured in "England" as far as I know. I have personally never seen an Asian made King **** wrench. Quality is not an issue. The only issue to me is the price you have to pay depending on where you live.
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impulse922
Well-known member
suprisingly, looks like some if not all of it is made in england.
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The ratchets are generic Taiwanese, the ratcheting wrenches are GearWrench.
Socketry, extensions and spanners are English.
Adjustable wrenches are the same Irega ones everybody else sells.
Hex keys look like Elora, possibly the screwdrivers are too?
Sadly it probably isn't rational to buy them outside Europe unless you've got a barn full of MGs. They're good tools, but they wouldn't be a rational choice at a premium price.We're pretty much reduced to speciality hammers, knives, woodworking tools and scissors in terms of tools with global appeal. I'll spare you my rant about that situation, which, at least until well into the '90s, had very little to do with cheap imports
spongerich
Well-known member
Is it completely juvenile that I want to make a set of these for my wife's car?
woody 73
Well-known member
When I visit my relatives in England I am always blown away by the high taxes; I will never again complain about parking a car at the meters in the USA. My brother-in-law paid $25pounds for 1 hour which is over $30.00 dollars.
I bet those King **** tools will cost a small fortune...Maybe I could buy a small country!
I bet those King **** tools will cost a small fortune...Maybe I could buy a small country!
Yes...
...and that's firmly to be encouraged
Wait, what? Where was that?! That's five times the peak rate in central London
Our current government is probably open to offers, but a 12 piece metric standard length combo. set from King **** is only £73, or about $115.
Flange
Well-known member
Comparing prices in the US vs UK is not always a good thing. For example gas in the UK is about £5.45 for one UK gallon which is about $8.50 USD. However, my aunt has got multiple sclerosis and she does not have to have health insurance to cover her treatment. How much in the US?
On the subject of tools, European tools in Europe are affordable but I can imagine that they are very expensive in the US. Snap-on tools in Europe are eye wateringly expensive. For example I purchased a standard SO ratcheting screwdriver about 10 years ago off a truck and the cost was about £50 which is about $79 USD
Its just the way exports to and from the US work.
Bolster
Well-known member
What double-entendre? 
Of course, it could just be me!Flange
Well-known member
The answer is yes. The double-entendre does carry over but, and perhaps its just me, but because King **** is such an old established brand it does not have any snigger value any more unless its the first time you hear the name.
I have always had an appreciation for King **** tools so I dont snigger at the name (but I can see why someone would do).
Personally I always snigger when I see a TV show from the US and they talk about someones fanny or someone having a fanny pack. In the UK a "Fanny" is a slang term for a womans front bottom. A bit like the use of the word ***** in America but not in reference to a cat.
spongerich
Well-known member
Flange
Well-known member
"Spotted ****"
Traditional sponge pudding, often associated with school lunches. Very nice with custard. Most school kids snigger when they see it on the menu but most people grow out of it once they leave school. It a piece of England.
Traditional sponge pudding, often associated with school lunches. Very nice with custard. Most school kids snigger when they see it on the menu but most people grow out of it once they leave school. It a piece of England.
Spotted **** - especially home-made (and with custard) is so delicious and well-loved, it triumphs over any shortcomings over its name!
re: "King ****", my take on the name is only very slightly different from Flange's
It's not a brand that is normally seen outside of serious-use circles (at least not in the South-East)
Some may think it''s slightly amusing but I wouldn't call it a double-entendre. **** has so many slang meanings (even are many are derived from the same thing) but I've never heard King used in connection with it used instead of ****, knob, willy or more crude terms. Young guys may laugh at it once but they'd be though of as pretty gormless if they saw it as a long-running joke.
Older folks would think, instantly (if at all) of a reference to one our Kings Richard, particularly the Third (who was character-assassinated by Shakespeare, presumably at the behest of some sponsor).
So, on balance i'd said no - if it is seen as a "saucy" joke, it's too mild to pass muster. Someone who's being a bigger-********-than-most might possibly be called a Prize **** but not a King **** - but then I'm only guessing at what the connotations might be Stateside...
re: "King ****", my take on the name is only very slightly different from Flange's
It's not a brand that is normally seen outside of serious-use circles (at least not in the South-East)
Some may think it''s slightly amusing but I wouldn't call it a double-entendre. **** has so many slang meanings (even are many are derived from the same thing) but I've never heard King used in connection with it used instead of ****, knob, willy or more crude terms. Young guys may laugh at it once but they'd be though of as pretty gormless if they saw it as a long-running joke.
Older folks would think, instantly (if at all) of a reference to one our Kings Richard, particularly the Third (who was character-assassinated by Shakespeare, presumably at the behest of some sponsor).
So, on balance i'd said no - if it is seen as a "saucy" joke, it's too mild to pass muster. Someone who's being a bigger-********-than-most might possibly be called a Prize **** but not a King **** - but then I'm only guessing at what the connotations might be Stateside...
My experience in London was that there were lots of words and phrases with **** or **** in them, and I was the only one snickering. This is a Picadilly line with service to Cockfosters...
It's like the German taxis with "Gute Fahrt" on them.
cruiser808
Well-known member
LMAO! Damn you guys, I spit out my coffee all over the computer. You mooks owe me a new keyboard. 
Teken
Well-known member
Ok, then how about this?
LMAO! Damn you guys, I spit out my coffee all over the computer. You mooks owe me a new keyboard.
Teken
Well-known member
If someone post up a can of hairy **** I will just explode . . . 
Bolster
Well-known member
Why is it all potentially interesting discussions of good tools such as King **** and Ridgid and Urrea devolve into teenage locker humor on this board?
Geez, you guys have the psychology of pre-pubescent 13 year olds.
(huh huh huh, he said "pube," huh huh huh)
Geez, you guys have the psychology of pre-pubescent 13 year olds.
(huh huh huh, he said "pube," huh huh huh)
cruiser808
Well-known member
Why is it all potentially interesting discussions of good tools such as King **** and Ridgid and Urrea devolve into teenage locker humor on this board?
Geez, you guys have the psychology of pre-pubescent 13 year olds.
(huh huh huh, he said "pube," huh huh huh)
Well Bolster, maybe I can explain. This is us.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=mook
I am gone 5 minutes and look what happens. The discussion moves from tools to "tool". Funny stuff! I am going to get the AF double ring spanners given they sound like quality tools. I admit that the amusement value also contributes a small part. I will only be getting the UK made gear. Thanks to those that contributed the background info on manufacture.
polo2k
Well-known member
As a fellow Brit (wiltshire) I couldnt help but notice the relevance of your user name (in a strictly non mechanical sence!)
polo2k
Well-known member
On a serious note I recently bought some Kamasata stubby spanners and they reminded me of the chunkyness of BD tools
Another brand that I think is still brittish made (i think) is Britool (recently got 2 rails of their sockets and im very impressed) #http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Britool-1-2-10-32mm-16-Pce-Metric-Socket-Set-708220-/180515666847?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a07927b9f
cant really go wrong for £32 delivered!
Another brand that I think is still brittish made (i think) is Britool (recently got 2 rails of their sockets and im very impressed) #http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Britool-1-2-10-32mm-16-Pce-Metric-Socket-Set-708220-/180515666847?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a07927b9f
cant really go wrong for £32 delivered!
Flange
Well-known member
Flange has always been one of my favorite words. Some people think it is rude (same ones who laught at King **** or Spotted ****) but it is so descriptive. If you had to describe a flange, it would take loads of words. Flange is just ........Right.