Cornwell Hex bit sockets. Any good? Prices seem low.

[impactims]

See the pic.



Compared to the competition, ie Snap on, these are LOW prices.

Is the quality equally low?

They are “Cornwell” as opposed to the “Blue Power” economy line.

My dealer says they are supplied by Professional Tool Products.

Not sure what to think of them. Part of me wants to celebrate the low cost. On the other hand they are likely manufactured with sub par quality materials in order to be that cheap.

 

[woody 73]

This one question is a bit tricky to answer, as a rule Cornwell made in the USA at their factory you cannot go wrong. Blue power are made overseas.

This is the tricky part of the equation where are PTP tools made... I am thinking made overseas, but I am not sure about this.

Home

professionaltoolproducts.com

At least that would seem to equate to their low cost?

I know that does not answer your question but here of late Cornwell is going more overseas and for one am a bit concerned.

 

[woody 73]

I would think they will be ok at least they do have a warranty, hope that helps you out a little bit.

 

[BrandonV]

Seems good if you can find a way to obtain Cornwell tools. I've never seen a truck ever.

 

[Pinne]

No mention of country of origin, so I think it's safe to assume these are most likely Taiwanese or Chinese. That alone doesn't make them of poor quality, but certainly impacts the price.

Professional Tool Products' website makes no mention of their own manufacturing, they are a sourcing / design business. They do claim to source some items in the US as well as in Taiwan and China. So if this is an item that Cornwell is purchasing from them, I'd venture that it's similar / the same was what you could buy from another brand for even less money. This is important because it starts to impact the achievable quality of the product at a given price. I have a little bit of manufacturing experience, so my take on this is as follows:

Tool truck tools are generally expensive because there is a margin paid to the driver / franchisee for sales and service (30-35% seems to be industry standard) as well as a margin to the brand (Snap On, Mac, Matco, Cornwell, etc) to cover R&D, warranty, logistics costs, etc.

• For a $60 tool, the truck driver pays somewhere around $40.
• Then the brand would have a margin - I'm unsure what amount that would be for a tool they're sourcing rather than manufacturing, but it'd need to be at least 40% to account for warranty replacements, logistics costs, etc. So that puts their cost for the tool around $24.
• Then the sourcing agent, possibly Professional Tool Products in this case, needs to make a margin - this could be lower depending on how much support / warranty they offer and what level of logistics support they're providing. But even at 25% your $60 tool is realistically around $17-18.

Likely, these tools cost even less and the margins are greater everywhere. I think it's unlikely that these tools are any better than the similar sets you can buy from Tekton, Capri, and other TW sourced brands for 40% less money. If I were trying to save a buck, I'd probably buy from Tekton or Capri and get an equivalent tool.

 

[j3rf]

While I could be wrong (with no evidence to support), I don't think PTP has a US factory. Pretty sure most of their stuff I have seen is Taiwan produced.

 

[impactims]

The COO according to my dealer is Taiwan.

 

[KnurledNut]

Those used to be sourced from VIM. I assume they still are.

 

[impactims]

Anyone ever used them?

Do they break easy?

Do they hold up?

 

[Fedwrench]

I have Cornwell Torx bit sockets. They twist instead of snap. You can't compare these to Snap on Bit Sockets. Maybe Mac because a lot of Mac's bit sockets are imported. As always Knurled nut is spot on with the VIM connection with Cornwell. VIM makes some excellent bit sockets from S2 steel. The question is, what's the expected lifespan of your Cornwell Dealer? Without a Cornwell dealer, it doesn't really make sense to buy/hang on to Cornwell product. The Cornwell dealer's I've had over the years have been great people but, they didn't last. Cornwell isn't a segment leader in anything. I don't believe any of their current bit sockets are Ohio made. If you have a Cornwell dealer, get a price list from him/her. The stuff made in the USA by Cornwell will be in bold print and everything else will be in regular print. I also don't understand the interest in Professional Tool Products If you want a made in Taiwan tool as someone mentioned above, pick up, VIM, Capri, or Tekton for a lot less coin than buying Taiwan made from a tool truck. Capri & Tekton offer a very easy & fast warranty especially if you purchase from their web sites along with reward point that spend like cash on future orders and free shipping past a certain point.
If you're in the market for bit sockets, check or Capri & Tekton offering. Be sure to visit the outlet section at Tekton's web site to save even more money.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I've got the Cornwell Torx set. As mentioned, it's likely a VIM rebrand. Quality wise, they're great. I bought my set used on ebay years ago and I've yet to break one. I would go with another brand before paying for them to say Cornwell though.

 

[GX460DIYguy]

Go look at the description and then go to vim’s website and read theirs. It’s the exact same description if I remember correctly. Unless you have a dealer you want to support I’d get a set off eBay for much less.

 

[Steve_P]

I have Vim, Tekton, and Capri bit sockets, plus other brands. The three I listed all seem about the same and they all advertise S2 steel bits. Bonus points to Vim and Capri for selling complete sets with all three drive sizes. As said, whether to pay the extra for the tool truck depends on your dealer service, whether you think he'll stick around, and how often you expect to need replacements.

For home use, I primarily just self-warranty; I bought a bunch of replacement bits in smaller sizes that I can press into the socket.

 

[Zewnten]

I've used them. They seem to hold up fine.