Enderes Tool Co

[SellersMachineCo]

I recently found a display of Enderes screwdrivers in a local Ace hardware. I had never heard of them, but searching lead me here. I’ve done a lot of reading and learned that they shut down in 2012 but then reopened. What happened after that is unclear… are they still in business? Google searching turns up several different addresses. One was torn down in the past few years, one looks abandoned, and the other is a computer repair place now. I’d love to add another American made tool brand to my list, but I’m not sure if they are still around.

 

[woody 73]

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Enderes Tool Company

This is story that does not fly under the radar instead it swoops over the top of it, because it does get talked about on the GJ and you can still find their tools at hardware stores. This was a fun story for me because the first two pictures are indeed a vintage Enderes tool and the last five...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[SellersMachineCo]

Ask a question get an answer...

Enderes Tool Company

This is story that does not fly under the radar instead it swoops over the top of it, because it does get talked about on the GJ and you can still find their tools at hardware stores. This was a fun story for me because the first two pictures are indeed a vintage Enderes tool and the last five...

www.garagejournal.com

I read that thread, but there is no real update since 2016 besides one person who said he called them and they are still in business. I’ll call them today and see what I can find out.

 

[bonneyman]

I find good used ones regularly. If you can't get a new one keep an eye out at garage sales and such. You're bound to find one.
Here's a few of mine from some years ago. I've added some more and given a few away. But my collection seems to keep growing.

 

[four.cycle]

Enderes / Enderes Tool Co., Littleport, IA (1896) / Northbridge Tool LLC (2012) 1521 E. Hawthorne St., Albert Lea, MN 56007 / 14925 Energy Way, Apple Valley, MN 55124 / http://www.enderes.com/ est. 1896, merged with Albert Lea Machinery 1911 / http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers.html#enderes / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344543 /

you might want to bookmark this link

and this one too

welcome to the site!

 

[KnurledNut]

I find good used ones regularly. If you can't get a new one keep an eye out at garage sales and such. You're bound to find one.
Here's a few of mine from some years ago. I've added some more and given a few away. But my collection seems to keep growing.

I have that same red smaller interchangeable one and I love the size.

 

[ez-duzit]

I use the red ones on a daily basis. These are extremely well made tools

 

[NFH2740]

I bought a set shortly after ET reopened. They make Dasco Pro striking tools look good; punches bend easily and the chisels quickly became dull.

Mayhew is my first choice.

 

[SellersMachineCo]

Enderes / Enderes Tool Co., Littleport, IA (1896) / Northbridge Tool LLC (2012) 1521 E. Hawthorne St., Albert Lea, MN 56007 / 14925 Energy Way, Apple Valley, MN 55124 / http://www.enderes.com/ est. 1896, merged with Albert Lea Machinery 1911 / http://alloy-artifacts.org/other-makers.html#enderes / https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=344543 /

you might want to bookmark this link

and this one too

welcome to the site!

Wow, this site has some excellent organization! Thanks for the links!

 

[SellersMachineCo]

An update, I called the company today and spoke to a nice lady on the phone. She answered “Northbridge Tool”. I was hoping to order some of the 6-in-1 screwdrivers with my “Sellers Antique Machine Co.” branding on them. She told me all they had available was the imported version. So I asked if they had any American made screwdrivers available currently, and she said no they all look to be imported. I’m hoping maybe there was some confusion and this isn’t the case, but she gave me an email address that she said would go to the owner. I’m going to try to get some more info.

 

[tool_scrounge]

I was also told that the screwdrivers were now all imported about 6 months go.
They were hoping to start US production of 6in1 screwdrivers in the future,
But had no estimate of when.

 

[BTJHP]

given a few away.

I can vouch for that

 

[bonneyman]

I can vouch for that

How's that driver doing for ya?

 

[BTJHP]

It's good. The handle is much better on that type of Enderes than the handle type that has the profile of a giant Torx bit.

 

[bonneyman]

Great! I love happy customers! lol

 

[SweetD]

I love my vintage Enderes red handle 6-in-1 screwdriver - it's my go-to for many around the house jobs. Came from my brother's father-in-law's place when we were cleaning it out after he passed. Thanks Big Phil and RIP!

 

[Steve_O]

I recently found a display of Enderes screwdrivers in a local Ace hardware. I had never heard of them, but searching lead me here. I’ve done a lot of reading and learned that they shut down in 2012 but then reopened. What happened after that is unclear… are they still in business? Google searching turns up several different addresses. One was torn down in the past few years, one looks abandoned, and the other is a computer repair place now. I’d love to add another American made tool brand to my list, but I’m not sure if they are still around.

I just read your post on the Garage Journal. I can report that we are again making USA made 4-1 and 6-1 screwdrivers. We can also imprint your name and logo on them if you wish. That "nice lady" on the phone was my wife Sharon. I am not sure if you misunderstood her or visa versa, but the vast majority of our screwdrivers are USA made. We do have a few items that we import to compete with others, but all of our fixed blade drivers, 4-1 torx and robertson drive, electrician's screwdrivers are all made here in Minnesota along with 99% of all of the other tools that we make. We operated for 2 years out of Enderes' old facility (which was a horrible building btw). We then moved into an 80,000 sq ft facility across town. The Apple Valley location was their corporate offices before they closed. We are currently making everything that Enderes ever made plus we have added a few new items that Enderes never had the capabilities to make
Steven Overgaard
Owner

 

[ericg]

I just read your post on the Garage Journal. I can report that we are again making USA made 4-1 and 6-1 screwdrivers. We can also imprint your name and logo on them if you wish. That "nice lady" on the phone was my wife Sharon. I am not sure if you misunderstood her or visa versa, but the vast majority of our screwdrivers are USA made. We do have a few items that we import to compete with others, but all of our fixed blade drivers, 4-1 torx and robertson drive, electrician's screwdrivers are all made here in Minnesota along with 99% of all of the other tools that we make. We operated for 2 years out of Enderes' old facility (which was a horrible building btw). We then moved into an 80,000 sq ft facility across town. The Apple Valley location was their corporate offices before they closed. We are currently making everything that Enderes ever made plus we have added a few new items that Enderes never had the capabilities to make
Steven Overgaard
Owner

Steven, when will your online store be open? I checked the website and did not see any option to purchase any products

 

[09Q]

This is quite interesting as multiple years ago I remember reading that Enderes went out of business and I haven't seen any of their products in well over a decade. Very glad to hear that the screwdrivers are still American made; with the exception of Channellock 6 in one version I haven't any domestic options since I thought Enderes went out of business.

Makes me wonder since Western Forge no longer exists and I am not sure if A&E Handles does anymore whom actually makes the handles? Only the handles for the Wiha and Tekton are USA made while the other components are imported (Taiwan was the last COO).

 

[bonneyman]

What I remember from that time is Enderes went into backruptcy and closed. The company that used to repair their machinery - right down the street - bought them and rehired as much of the original staff as they could. The process to acquire them took like 6 months, so, not all the employees were still available. I think they were able to reuse most the old injection machines to make their own handles, but some - like the 6-in-1 that I like - couldn't be used. So that style was made in Taiwan. If the interest got high enough they'd buy another machine and make those stateside.

I just keep grabbing every one I find in the wild.

 

[toolmiser]

I just read your post on the Garage Journal. I can report that we are again making USA made 4-1 and 6-1 screwdrivers. We can also imprint your name and logo on them if you wish. That "nice lady" on the phone was my wife Sharon. I am not sure if you misunderstood her or visa versa, but the vast majority of our screwdrivers are USA made. We do have a few items that we import to compete with others, but all of our fixed blade drivers, 4-1 torx and robertson drive, electrician's screwdrivers are all made here in Minnesota along with 99% of all of the other tools that we make. We operated for 2 years out of Enderes' old facility (which was a horrible building btw). We then moved into an 80,000 sq ft facility across town. The Apple Valley location was their corporate offices before they closed. We are currently making everything that Enderes ever made plus we have added a few new items that Enderes never had the capabilities to make
Steven Overgaard
Owner

Is there any retail stores that sell your items? I've also always liked your tools.

 

[ohhimark]

Epsteins has some Enderes products

 

[ChevyEFI]

we have added a few new items that Enderes never had the capabilities to make

I look forward to the PDF catalog update.

 

[Steve_O]

Steven, when will your online store be open? I checked the website and did not see any option to purchase any products

We dont have an online store at this time, but you can call and order anything that you want. We manufacture over 200 different tools and have over 650 catalog items (although some are the same items just packaged differently) If a dealer handles 100 different items, that would be a lot. We have them all. Epsteins handle a number of our items online. There are also some resellers on ebay and Amazon

 

[ericg]

We dont have an online store at this time, but you can call and order anything that you want. We manufacture over 200 different tools and have over 650 catalog items (although some are the same items just packaged differently) If a dealer handles 100 different items, that would be a lot. We have them all. Epsteins handle a number of our items online. There are also some resellers on ebay and Amazon

Thank you Steve. Do you know when the online catalog might be updated so that we can see all of your offerings or is the online catalog the latest version?

 

[Steve_O]

This is quite interesting as multiple years ago I remember reading that Enderes went out of business and I haven't seen any of their products in well over a decade. Very glad to hear that the screwdrivers are still American made; with the exception of Channellock 6 in one version I haven't any domestic options since I thought Enderes went out of business.

Makes me wonder since Western Forge no longer exists and I am not sure if A&E Handles does anymore whom actually makes the handles? Only the handles for the Wiha and Tekton are USA made while the other components are imported (Taiwan was the last COO).

We used to buy all of our handles from A&E. They were expensive, but a nice handle and made in USA. After the company was sold, I tried to place another order and was told that I would have to buy at least $20,000 at a time or price would triple. I was not aware of any other companies in the US making screwdriver handles. All of our 6-1, 4-1, 2-1 handles are molded right here in our home town. We found a company in china that supplied the identical handle. I cannot tell the difference between the two. All of our blades are made here in our facility. Over the years, I always loved Enderes fixed blade screwdrivers. They seemed to fit the screws, especially the phillips sizes, better than any other screwdriver I had ever had. They used to be made on some home made equipment that Enderes had made years ago. Now they are made on our new cnc swiss machine. They are hands down the best screwdrivers that Enderes has ever made, (and not just because I am the one that programs the machine.) We have added a few sizes that seemed to missing from the lineup. I think now we have 26 different sizes of screwdrivers

 

[Steve_O]

Is there any retail stores that sell your items? I've also always liked your tools.

Since we have gotten back in business, we have picked back up a few thousand dealers in the US. We still get calls from former customers that have just found out that we are back in business and want to handle our tools again. Unfortunately, we are not in any of the major hardware warehouses so we rely on sales reps calling on customers to place orders. Many of our sales reps have retired or passed away in the last few years. Finding replacements has been hard. It seems that nobody wants to go out on the road all week and sell tools on commission. Go figure. When I place all of our dealers on a map of the US, it looks pretty impressive until you start to zoom in and see some of the open spaces. Let me know where you are located and what you are looking for and I can make a map for you of dealers in your area

 

[Steve_O]

Thank you Steve. Do you know when the online catalog might be updated so that we can see all of your offerings or is the online catalog the latest version?

The online catalog is the latest version that we have. The things that we have added are primarily imported items such as 6-1 import screwdriver, we have a 25' tape measure that we are just getting ready to get out. We are adding a 7-1 stubby ratcheting screwdriver. It is an import, but I got a sample of one a couple of years ago and have been using it for changing tooling on our cnc lathe and swiss machine and I just love it so I ordered 5000 ea of one that has your basic bits plus a couple of sq drive bits and another one that has torx bit sizes. Enderes 2-1 stubby screwdriver was always a #1 phillips - 3/16 flat bit. I could never figure out why, if you only had one size, it wouldn't be a #2 phillips-1/4" flat, so I added one. We have started making our own roll pin punches and I am adding some extra sizes. We have added several different sizes of fixed blade screwdrivers. The basics are all still the same.

 

[ez-duzit]

This is my principal and most used screwdriver (6-in-1 Enderes). Excellent tool. Nice, large handle with good grip. I customize yachts. And this screwdriver is in my main tool bag, replacing the orange-handled one in the photo.

 

[Ohio Andy]

I look forward to the PDF catalog update.

Took me a bit to find it

http://www.enderes.com/catalog/2016Catalog.pdf

Lots of interesting things.

 

[ive]

Are the punches and chisels made of the same quality as 15 years ago? Wondering if anybody has bough those items recently?

The punches and chisels I did have from them years ago are the best I have ever had. Lost some over the years and would like to get a new set if the quality is the same.

Thanks

 

[ive]

Are the punches and chisels made of the same quality as 15 years ago? Wondering if anybody has bough those items recently?

The punches and chisels I did have from them years ago are the best I have ever had. Lost some over the years and would like to get a new set if the quality is the same.

Thanks

Bump

 

[bonneyman]

You know, think i have an Enderes steel punch in my coffee can of metal punches. I did some re-arranging a few months ago and kind of remember an Enderes among the brood.

Good steel, worth it if you can find the sizes you want.