William Payne
Well-known member
I know what you mean but what I was meaning is USA companies need to establish and maintain strong corporate pride in domestic manufacturing instead of max profits at all costs.
Epstein's Tool Gossip : Channellock's New Locking Pliers
- Thread starter jsackin
- Start date
I know what you mean but what I was meaning is USA companies need to establish and maintain strong corporate pride in domestic manufacturing instead of max profits at all costs.
Jbullfrog
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Corporate pride died 20 years ago. A lot of the current management have no idea how to use the product their company produces. They make decisions based entirely from reports and cash flows.
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NFH2740
Well-known member
What other juicy grapevine action can you tell us? SK news? AP finally sells us their version of the Snap On JP1? Epstein Day 2023?
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
Harbor freight bought the Malco Eagle Grip plant. They plan to float it on a barge to china and resume with making Panda Grips.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Thanks for sharing.
The 45 inch blue handled pry bar sounds interesting. The pry bars have a Wilde vibe to them. 
lwlobo
Well-known member
Can you clarify what you mean, and where this equipment is?
The WF equipment in general was liquidated and the property sold and plant torn down. The site has new buildings and is a Amazon distribution center now.
Western Forge Closing Down
A lot of it has to do with fiscal policy and the FIRE sector (finance, insurance and real estate) sopping up too much money from the productive economy. It really bothers me when a company like Western Forge goes out. They held it down for decades. And for the price, the guys and gals at the...
www.garagejournal.com
I suspect some of the equipment and tooling was pulled out before the liquidation, and possibly sent to S-K, but I never heard for sure.
It took months to haul away all that equipment, still makes me sad to think about it.
anndel
Well-known member
I've seen and tried some in the Snap-on truck before SO went with Malco. They're ok and do the job. I may pick up some Channellocks.
Those look so wild, I'd be afraid to use them! But it's a totally unique vise grip design I'd love to own.I love when history repeats itself. Maybe they can duplicate the tremendous success that they had with these.Some folks like these but I’m not one of them.
-Don
What happened to the BollmanGrip German locking pliers HJE used to carry? Only a couple of welding pliers left.
I bought several pairs a number of years ago and they were nicer than anything else at the time and have held up very well. They were a bit limited on styles, though.
I have some GripOns and Tektons, too. Meh, not my favorite. All the others are old USA ViceGrips.
I bought several pairs a number of years ago and they were nicer than anything else at the time and have held up very well. They were a bit limited on styles, though.
I have some GripOns and Tektons, too. Meh, not my favorite. All the others are old USA ViceGrips.
I have the Snap-on Grip-on set LP404. I have never been impressed with them. They were on sale at the time, too.
I probably paid more for that set than about 80 pairs of Petersens.
honcho
Well-known member
Grip-On expanded their production, Channellock expanded their product line
A very simplified example to explain:
Channellock has product line of 1 product, contracts with Grip-On to produce another item for Channellock to sell as a Channellock product. Now Channellock has a product line of 2 products, one made by Channellock and one made by Grip-On, both sold by Channellock as Channellock products.
Channellock doubles their product line while they still only manufacture half of their product line.
Lots of brands manufacture nothing. Channellock does manufacture their signature product but they sell lots of things that they don't actually manufacture.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
The new Channellock screwdrivers ware made by Mayhew. The old ones were made by Pratt-Read. MegaPro makes their ratcheting screwdrivers. There are other brands that are selling pliers made by Channellock.
It just makes sense to contract out certain tools. That's how the industry has been for ages.
It just makes sense to contract out certain tools. That's how the industry has been for ages.
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William Payne
Well-known member
My Dad always said never put accountants in charge. My current boss ironically also shares that view.
There is something wrong with American manufacturing. Germans build stuff and live well, Japanese build stuff and live well.
Why can’t the USA do that?
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ because they allow the bean-counters to become part of the decision-making process, and when that happens, everything goes to ****.
AmericanMechanic
Well-known member
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- Dec 30, 2014
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Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Husky used Red for slotted and blue for Phillips. The rest were clear/black, except for the nut drivers, which were color coded by size.
Pratt-Read's own brand had a great color code:
Red - Keystone and Cabinet
Purple - Robertson
Blue - Phillips
Green - Torx
Brown - Clutch
Yellow - S.A.E. Ball Allen, and S.A.E. Nut Drivers
Orange - Metric Ball Allen, and Metric Nut Drivers
Their Ball Allen and Nut Drivers had additional colors for size, near the shank. Wright used a the same system for their nut drivers, since they were sourced from Pratt-Read. However, P-R didn't put anything on the but end, making them difficult to ID in a tool bag.
Klein puts the driver symbol on the end, but they don't specify the tip size for Slotted and Phillips, only the part number and length. Their Robertson, Torx, and Nut Drivers have a symbol with the size indicated, and the symbol is color coded according to size.
Instead, most brands use the brand color for everything, which is nice, but not the most helpful. I'd like to see a color scheme like what P-R used, but with shape, tip size and shank length indicated on the **** end. I can't think of anyone that does that.
sweet victory
Well-known member
Garage journalists do not represent the typical tool consumer. We are particular about country of origin, quality, suitability for use, etc. The average American consumer cares about color and price.
slowtwitch73
Well-known member
The maket is (and has been) swamped for vise grip type tools... made in the US no less? Not a winning game plan.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ Admittedly, it was an uphill battle from the beginning, but the failure of the "Malco Eagle Grip" cannot be attributed solely to price.
The Filson Company sells about the highest-priced outdoor work clothing money can buy. They're still in business and making a good portion of their product in country.
Nordstroms doesn't have any problem getting women to pay $400 for shoes or men to pay $1100 for suits.
Not always about price.
They just forgot to sell the sizzle, not the steak.
The Filson Company sells about the highest-priced outdoor work clothing money can buy. They're still in business and making a good portion of their product in country.
Nordstroms doesn't have any problem getting women to pay $400 for shoes or men to pay $1100 for suits.
Not always about price.
They just forgot to sell the sizzle, not the steak.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Well, other than us and other tool enthusiasts, who even KNEW that Eagle Grips EXISTED?
No one. People don't buy things they don't know about. Price was defiantly a problem, but awareness was a bigger problem.
No one. People don't buy things they don't know about. Price was defiantly a problem, but awareness was a bigger problem.
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slowtwitch73
Well-known member
Eh, kinda a weak analogy. Filson has been around for 126 years. Tools are mundane consumer goods...you know... tools. Guys on here get all waded up about them but that's about it. Could hardly be considered a luxury good.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Now that's just a vicious rumor 2nd Gear. Stop spreading these conspiracy theories.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Channellock's adjustable wrenches are also made in Spain, which I consider to be a good thing, as Irega makes really good adjustable wrenches.
And like lots of tool companies, they've moved most production out of the US.
four.cycle
Well-known member
^ nope... Filson's mainline stuff is still made here. the suit I tried on at Nordstrom a couple years ago was U.S. made. (I did not buy a suit there.)
it's all about the marketing, and Malco just wasn't up to the task on that, apparently.
doesn't matter what it is, or how much it costs - somebody out there will buy the damn thing:
Pontiac Aztek
"UGG" boots
ridiculously overpriced Tommy Hilfiger, Benneton, or any number of other "designer" clothing lines
doesn't matter if it's made in U.S.A. or the Dominican Republic.
buddy of mine used to sell used cars with a partner. his partner's favorite expression was "There's an *** for every seat."
marketing, baby, marketing. Malco dropped the ball. simple.
it's all about the marketing, and Malco just wasn't up to the task on that, apparently.
doesn't matter what it is, or how much it costs - somebody out there will buy the damn thing:
Pontiac Aztek
"UGG" boots
ridiculously overpriced Tommy Hilfiger, Benneton, or any number of other "designer" clothing lines
doesn't matter if it's made in U.S.A. or the Dominican Republic.
buddy of mine used to sell used cars with a partner. his partner's favorite expression was "There's an *** for every seat."
marketing, baby, marketing. Malco dropped the ball. simple.
I cannot find a single thing on the website that claims to be made in USA. I was in one of their retail stores last year. All the tine cloth stuff was labeled 'made in Bangladesh'.
four.cycle
Well-known member
dunno what to tell you .... all of mine was made in Seattle, Washington.
Like I said, a domestic manufacturer that moved production overseas.dunno what to tell you .... all of mine was made in Seattle, Washington.
William Payne
Well-known member
So who without question actually makes the best buyable in production locking pliers and c-clamps?
There is a brilliant podcast / radio program about marketing called “Under The Influence.” Something Mr. O’Reilly says that I very much believe is true is that people make.decisions based on emotion, and then rationalize. Even for utilitarian products for industry.
While not everyone has seen that Knipex demo with how the Cobras bite into tubing, but if you’ve seen it and stood on it I suspect you’d be sold on them as a high-quality tool that justifies the price over conventional pliers.
I don’t know what the ‘hook’ should have been for Eagle Grips, but I can’t help but feel that something along the lines of what Knipex did would have been a good answer. And getting it in front of the target audience is the other half of the problem to solve.
(I don’t think advertising a hardness number would have the same impact, but even specs like that weren’t talked about)
While not everyone has seen that Knipex demo with how the Cobras bite into tubing, but if you’ve seen it and stood on it I suspect you’d be sold on them as a high-quality tool that justifies the price over conventional pliers.
I don’t know what the ‘hook’ should have been for Eagle Grips, but I can’t help but feel that something along the lines of what Knipex did would have been a good answer. And getting it in front of the target audience is the other half of the problem to solve.
(I don’t think advertising a hardness number would have the same impact, but even specs like that weren’t talked about)
four.cycle
Well-known member
dscheidt said:
If you take the time to pick through their online catalog item by item, you will find that it's a mix and there are a lot of items still made in the U.S.
here's the URL to check: https://www.filson.com/
Thanks.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Marketing, or lack of it, certainly played a part along with the crazy price. For a number of years Malco had a booth at SEMA as they make a lot of automotive body shop type tools including shears and really sort of cool adjustable sanding blocks. Correct me if I'm wrong Fed but I didn't see them there this year. Now SEMA is the biggest automotive show in the country filled with people that own **** loads of vise-grips and you're not there to promote your product. Harbor Freight had half of a floor or so it seemed. Malco CLEARLY NEEDS A NEW MARKETING MANAGER.
neophyte
Well-known member
People who owned Pontiac Azteks seemed to love them.
Supposedly, they were also the best “regular” SUV to own back in the day if you needed to move a rear projection TV.
As for UGG boots, the classic versions are sheepskin, and are perfect for walking around in a city when it snows.
My mother has a couple pairs she wears in the winter when it snows, although I don’t think she has worn then this year since there basically hasn’t been any snow.
William Payne
Well-known member
I find it really interesting that I have asked this twice now and nobody seems to be able to answer it.
General Geoff
Well-known member
I can only answer with my subjective opinion that Facom makes the best locking pliers now.
GJ consensus seems to be Milwaukee, with honourable mention to Bremen as good value, and a grudging admission that Irwin is better than it was but not as good as it used to be.
I have a few Grip-Ons. I haven’t used them hard yet, so I haven’t noted any issues with the teeth. I grew up on Petersens, and tend to like their feel, still reach for them first, but the GripOns do still seem well made, offer a nice range of jaw shapes, and I quite like the epoxy coating.
Hardness doesn’t really matter for clamps. I don’t know where to get these in the US, but I really like the one I have with this jaw shape:
(There was also a thread about 3.peaks - a Japanese made plier. Not many GJ’ers have tried them, but they look interesting)
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Because clearly it is more profitable in the short term to win the race to the bottom.
Vessel does this so nicely with their crystaline screwdrivers. Really nice clear accetate with a red core for phillips or blue for slotted, and they print the shape and size on the end as well. Hard to see it on a photo, but they're really nice.
consti2tion
Well-known member
Here is a little SK news, a guy on a FB SK tool group posted these pictures of a newly acquired wrench.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
There is no BEST. That died with Eagle Grip. But there are good for the money. TOPTUL (which I believe is readily available in your part of the world) and Milwaukee are good value. Since you don't have Harbor Freight the Brennen mentioned above isn't applicable to your situation but are good for the money as well.