If not a Klein product, who makes them?
Klein Tools Go To China?
- Thread starter r_olson_06
- Start date
If not a Klein product, who makes them?
bw77
Well-known member
I agree. I asked Klein directly why the 11-in-1 is not marked "USA" and
they replied "It's made in the USA, we appreciate your business".
They ignored my question completely.
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Stride. They market them directly under their own Imperial brand, but they re-brand them for almost everyone. Chances are when you see one of those stamped metal strippers under any brand, it was likely actually manufactured by Stride.
http://www.stridetool.com/tools/electrical_datatools/stripper_06.html
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
I'm confused.
I thought WF made similar strippers for Craftsman..... prolly based on reading over at Epstein's.
Is there a tie between Stride and WF?
Goodness.
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
From what I heard, Klein now makes the strippers themselves; but at one time Stride/Imperial made them for Klein, as well as Craftsman.
silver2000
Well-known member
As one poster put, only the simple hand tools are made here, the others are all Chinese. In my opinion Klein has turned to garbage. The finish looks bad and as one other put my few tools haven't held up at all from minimal use. Too bad for Klein and all of us. I will stick with Facom, Snap On and a few other select tools from various companies.
I am happy to see that Mayhew chisels are still made here and a bargain compared to SO and others, and the Channel Lock has so much still made in the USA, very nice to see.
I am happy to see that Mayhew chisels are still made here and a bargain compared to SO and others, and the Channel Lock has so much still made in the USA, very nice to see.
Brownsfan
Well-known member
I have a set of Cornwell screwdrivers that look like those German Kleins. Isn't Klein a German name anyway
kc-steve
Well-known member
Yup, from Klein's history webpage, "Mathias Klein emigrated from Germany . . ." and established the tool company in the mid-1800s.
Steve
RCStocker
Well-known member
The reason they went to China is a no brainer.
All the taxes and regulations on manifacturing in this country have killed business. It is as simple as that. Insurance is so high, workmans comp is insane. The permits, fees and taxes on everthing including the materials is nuts.
I would go to Canada before China but even Canadian made tools are going to China.
When the over head cost more than it does to make the tool it no longer makes sense to stay in the US.
All the taxes and regulations on manifacturing in this country have killed business. It is as simple as that. Insurance is so high, workmans comp is insane. The permits, fees and taxes on everthing including the materials is nuts.
I would go to Canada before China but even Canadian made tools are going to China.
When the over head cost more than it does to make the tool it no longer makes sense to stay in the US.
metaldad
Well-known member
Interesting. That link takes you to Imperial......... which used to be Imperial Eastman, used to be in Morton Grove, Il, They were into refrigeration tools.
The plant closed, thought the name went away.
Morton Grove, and that plant, by the way, is (was) only a coupla miles west of the Klein facility in Skokie. (if that plant is still there)
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Not that I'm aware of. Do you have a link to the Epstein article?
I can't swear no one else makes those strippers - A&E used to be involved in similar products - but I'd need some convincing. I sure can't see Klein making them in-house when they're busy outsourcing items they actually did once make! Klein needs to focus - and quickly - on their fundamentals; they've been in free-fall for years now and they can't live on a reputation built up over a century forever...
lbgradwell
Well-known member
I hadn't heard that and I sure hope it's wrong! The Imperial tubing tools are my favourites; I personally think their cutters are superior to Ridgid...
lbgradwell
Well-known member
metaldad
Well-known member
Look at the link. Bought out in '96, they dropped "Eastman", and moved to Ohio.
OP
r_olson_06
Well-known member
BTW the newer demo drive screwdrivers are junk the tips are way too soft. Used one for non beating applications just as a screwdriver and the tip wear on my flat is worse than a normal Klein. Maybe not designed to be used as a screwdriver. And really if you are going to buy a meter especially if you are industrial is there any other name than FLUKE. Is worth taking a short cut where a bad reading could cause 10's of thousand in damage or even worse. Pay the little extra money for someone who specializes in an area and not taking the Amazon "walmart" approach and spread yourself over a large area and then quality will drop. Ever since klein started making the data tools and the meters and testing equipment the quality has dropped. It may be on an unrelated note. You don't see Fluke selling trying to sell cable cutters just like you don't see Knipex trying to sell meters and testers. I am also an Industrial Electrician and have well over 15k invested in tools from sockets to power loggers. And my klein tools are slowly working there way out of my tool box. In the last year I have broke 1 linesman broke jaw at pivot joint, 2 nutdrivers cracked 3 walls by hand at the point. 1 stripper snapped center pin. I am not hard on tools. I own several other tool brands and use them more than my Klein such as knipex and NWS for all cutting and stripping applications. Channellocks and Knipex for Channellocks and Pliers. Fluke and Raytec for all my metering and testing applications. Maybe I just have bad luck but it is still hard to believe.
They really should redesign that tool as I found the wall thickness much too thin and had several fail under what I consider normal use. These were older models that surely were made in the U.S.
The only multi-screwdriver I have found that will hold up is this one...
http://www.toolbarn.com/lenox-23932.html
data *** (data installer), horse **** (kellems grip,http://www.afielektrik.com/pdf/urunler/hubbell-wiring/t.pdf), peckerhead (motor connection box,http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=192982), KY (yellow 77 pulling lube) all trade names, they are meaningless except to identify parts/people
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Yep, I knew that; I thought you were saying the tools weren't being produced anymore...
But they are.
http://www.stridetool.com/tools/tools.html
figs (funkin instrument guys),lazy lineman stick (telescoping hot stick), R2D2 (greenlee fishing vaccum) dykes (side cutters) jap wrap (splicing tape) smurf *** (aqua gel pulling compound) burning pole (falling down power pole, cause you can't climb proper) kiss (shock) kiss of death (electrocution) theres about 100 more, some way worse the data ***, its trade slang, doesn't mean anything at the end of the day
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Pantsfall_McFixit
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2012
- Messages
- 167
Yeah something"***" is slang nowadays for anyone who is an aficionado of something. For example, I am a tool"***" because I like tools. Also any Klein product made in China is a product I'm not buying.
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
here's 400 or thereabout more definitions
enjoy!!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=***
enjoy!!
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=***
The Klein plant in Skokie is about 3 miles from me. I don't know if it's shuttered entirely yet. The local paper said something about the majority of the manufacturing done at this plant was moving to a southern state. Sad to see them go. They've been there forever.
Klein expanded their line maybe 5 years ago, to include all kinds of electrical industry products, that they never produced before. Most of those expansion products were not made here and none of them were competing items to what they already made.
As far as the quality of their linesmans, I've chipped the cutters many times when I used them for what they were not meant to be used for. (Like cutting a fish tape) The only ones I buy now are the ones with the hardened cutters. They have to be ordered but they hold up really well.
Conductor562
Well-known member
A Southern "State" huh? I'd be more inclined to believe it's headed for a Southern Province 
I have both of those strippers and there's some subtle differences between the two. The Kleins have a little bit longer handles and the diameter of the handles are slightly larger too. The front portion of the pliers that do the stripping are the same size. The locking mechanisms are slightly different, but work on the same principle.
The most noticeable difference is the way they strip the wire. The Kleins are real shy of the wire and you have to wiggle them back and forth several times until they finally get through the insulation. On 14AWG multi-strand wires, I've finally resorted to cutting through the insulation using the 16AWG die and then switching back to the 14AWG die to pull the insulation off. On solid wires however, the Kleins work fine.
The Strides work flawlessly on both multi-strand and solid wires in all sizes.
I'd say on comfort, the Kleins are more comfortable with their larger handles. Based purely on function, the Strides are significantly better.
The perfect strippers would be the Klein handles with the Stride stripping dies.
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lbgradwell
Well-known member
Well that's interesting (to me at least!)...
Maybe Stride isn't behind the Kleins. Now I want to know...
I still can't believe Klein decided to start manufacturing a new product line while letting their bread & butter products tank.
Maybe Stride isn't behind the Kleins. Now I want to know...
I still can't believe Klein decided to start manufacturing a new product line while letting their bread & butter products tank.
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
IIRC that's the way Kleins have always been.... at least for me.
I used to carry two identically appearing but different P/Ned Ideal strippers - one for stranded wire, the other for solid
but have switched over to a single pair of Kleins for both stranded and solid and live w/two operations to strip stranded wire.
Why is this?
For a given wire size (AWG) the stranded OD is ~* one wire size larger than the solid OD
ie: OD 16 stranded ~* OD 14 solid
* approx equal but not quite
Clear as mud, eh?
Once upon a time, I thought so too....
I'm still not sure whether they're made by Stride or not. I was convinced that they were, but that was before I went out and bought the Kleins. I had bought the Strides first.
Another difference I noticed between the two is the wire cutter that's behind the stripping dies. The Kleins have a straight cutter, while the Strides have a slightly curved cutter.
I had returned the first pair of Kleins back to Home Depot because I thought there was something wrong with them by the way they were stripping the wires. But the replacement pair performed the exact same way. I should mention that I probably wouldn't have noticed the way the Kleins strip wire so much if I hadn't already owned the Strides. They Strides work flawlessly and make stripping wires very easy. That's not to say that the Kleins are a struggle to use; they're still very good strippers, but it's just that the Strides are so much more precise and make stripping wires a breeze.
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Can you post some nice, clear close-ups showing the differences, CWP1616L?
kwright
Well-known member
There's a whole lot of Taiwanese that would likely take serious exception to this statement. Taiwan (the island) is not part of mainland China politically, or geographically for that matter. Mainland China would very much like for it to be different, and still consider Taiwan as "theirs", but Taiwan has been completely independent of the mainland since about 1949 (if memory serves). Though it had a rocky start as a country, today it is considered a true multi-party democratic country.
Perhaps you are thinking of Hong Kong, which was reunited with the rest of mainland China about 13 years ago now.
I was a history major, if you couldn't tell.
Yes I can and I will.
FlatBrim Franny
New member
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- Mar 2, 2013
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Stride does not manufacture Klein strippers. They are manufactured in Skokie along with their pliers and cutters. Drivers are manufactured in Lincolnshire. And the "southern state" you speak of is Texas. The new manufacturing plant has already been purchased and I believe they are already producing some tools out of that plant. How do I know this? Don't work their now, but I worked for Klein for a couple years in the past.
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Good information, Franny; thanks for clearing that up!
I must say I am surprised...
I must say I am surprised...
bw77
Well-known member
Franny, do you know anything about the 11-in-1 screwdrivers? Klein says they
are made in USA, but they are not marked as such. Why would they do that?
Brownsfan
Well-known member
I bought a Klein 11in1 recently and the package said made in USA but the tool itself does not. Kinda like snap on pliers. The package they came in said made in USA but the tool does not.
FlatBrim Franny
New member
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- Mar 2, 2013
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The "in ones" are not made in the USA. Some of them (can't remember which sku's) are packaged here in Iowa. If they're packaged here, you can look at the packaging closely it'll have just a USA flag on it. If I remember correctly it won't say made in the USA. The few that aren't packaged here are bought packaged complete from China.
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
as someone famous says - the bastards!
jeffmoss26
Well-known member
My original Klein 11055 were dead ringers for the Craftsman, except the grips were yellow/blue.
My current ones have that newer stuff lock.
My current ones have that newer stuff lock.
They look similar, but there are some differences. The Kleins have longer handles as well as having larger diameter handles; they have different lock levers; a different shaped wire cutting area; and the stripping dies are not as precise as the Strides. If I was gonna recommend one over the other, I'd recommend the Craftsman branded Strides.