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Klein Tools Go To China?

R

r_olson_06

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Feb 12, 2012
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I bought a new Klein level last week and lone behold "made in china". The level looks the same and seems ok. Model # 931-6RE-SEN. Now the worst part I also bought a new Klein Blue Handle Journeyman Series Linesman Pliers. 2nd Cut on a Sheetrock screw and completely snapped off one jaw at the pivot. I also had a co-worker with the same style linesman with the same issue after a week. Maybe a bad batch and they warrantied. But the quality is now **** leaving only German cutters for quality. They say made in the U.S.A. but also talked to a Klein rep saying the steel production has moved to china? So maybe forged in China, Assembled in the U.S.A.? This will be the last new Klein Tool I buy. Has anyone else noticed these issues?
 
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CJinPA

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Jan 21, 2012
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Erie, PA
Was just at HD looking for an aluminum torpedo level this weekend and noticed the same thing. Made in China just isn't making me want to buy. Taiwan is one thing but I just can't stomach China tools.
 
H

Holt

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Dec 5, 2008
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Location
Bellevue, Nebraska
Klein has a lot of non hand tools that are china made but almost there basic handtools are still made inUSA. Yes I myself have notice a quality decline. Ive always thought there linesmans where there top product and dont think thry would outsourse to china for there flagship products.
 
J

jontar

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May 1, 2012
Messages
199
It appears that their levels and some low level tools for data fags have moved to china, there VDV line of tools is mainly Taiwan (which is part of China again basically) most of their pliers, screwdrivers,hammers, sockets, ratchet wrenches (apparently comb and open end wrenches), fish tapes, pouches, climbers and belts etc are USA made, some of their adj wrenches are made in Spain, ratchet cutters and cobra style pliers are made in Germany, I have a folding rule that's Swiss made, and a knife or two made in England, 2 meters made in Korea by UEI, the list goes on and on, they have become like everybody else and out sourced certain products in their cat. I continue to purchase Klein tools, because they continue to support the electrician trade through great products, and new ideas, some of their ideas lately or questionable I totally agree,

On a positive note, their Knockout cutters were made in Mexico and I was in Home Cheapo today, and seen several made in the USA,

The one thing I'd like them to do is to bring the 10in1 mutli drivers production back to the USA, the Taiwan made one or not the same, they are bulky and don't have the right feel, and for them to fixed the grips on their comfort grip screwdrivers back to the way they were 10+ yrs ago.
 
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jabberwoki

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May 1, 2009
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6,466
Location
puyallup wa usa
Yep i had bought a new pair of wire cutters thinking KLIEN was a good brand. Bastards chipped and now they are rotting in the garden.
I went to put some ball joints on the truck and the store only had china **** so i had to use them and 2 out of 4 bolts stripped with just the mildest tension.
F.CK chinese **** wake up America and say NO MORE.
I`m getting really pissed at this lately as you can tell!
 
J

jontar

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May 1, 2012
Messages
199
As an Industrial electrician I have to own a set amount and number of tools, valued around 5000.00, 80% of them are Klein because they are the best, I have everything from there socket and wrench sets to their meters, to their lineman pliers, the one major thing they have never gotten into is hot line gear, they have a flash sheild and helmet and a few insulated screwdriver pliers , but thats it, a rubber blanket/ hose or two and that's about it, I wish they would go into this a little deeper, right now we use Chance, or Salisbury or others for shot gun sticks , lazy lineman sticks, personal grounds, lil mule come alongs, insulated speciality tools etc.

I do have a set of Klein climbers and most of my climbing belt is Klein, except for my retractable lanyard and pole choker are Salisbury, I see Klein finally came out with a pole choker of their own and a 3 in 1 lineman wrench.
 
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Z

zer0cell

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Joined
Aug 25, 2010
Messages
1,325
I have some relatively recent Klein Linemans pliers and Long nose pliers. They have performed great so far. I know there is a lot of Klein bashing going around and yes, some of their lineup has moved overseas but every pair of pliers I have used of theirs has had a solid made joint and good cutting action and was clearly stamped as Made in USA - not assembled in USA with global components. I continue to purchase Klein and Channellock tools, along with some Knipex here and there for tools that the aforementioned brands do not make and I feel would be useful to me. I have yet to try NWS. I'm not contesting that some of you may have had a bad experience but so far I have been very satisfied with the products of theirs I have purchased and will continue to buy more of them until that changes.


NOTICE:
By the way... for those of you who have had an epic fail of your Klein pliers what was the letter marking towards the bottom of the jaws? My longnose says "Z" and my linemans (which I have used quite a lot) say "V". Both have served me well so far and I have no complaints....
 
B

Brownsfan

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Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
5,975
Location
Cleveland Ohio
jontar said:
It appears that their levels and some low level tools for data fags have moved to china, there VDV line of tools is mainly Taiwan (which is part of China again basically) most of their pliers, screwdrivers,hammers, sockets, ratchet wrenches (apparently comb and open end wrenches), fish tapes, pouches, climbers and belts etc are USA made, some of their adj wrenches are made in Spain, ratchet cutters and cobra style pliers are made in Germany, I have a folding rule that's Swiss made, and a knife or two made in England, 2 meters made in Korea by UEI, the list goes on and on, they have become like everybody else and out sourced certain products in their cat. I continue to purchase Klein tools, because they continue to support the electrician trade through great products, and new ideas, some of their ideas lately or questionable I totally agree,

On a positive note, their Knockout cutters were made in Mexico and I was in Home Cheapo today, and seen several made in the USA,

The one thing I'd like them to do is to bring the 10in1 mutli drivers production back to the USA, the Taiwan made one or not the same, they are bulky and don't have the right feel, and for them to fixed the grips on their comfort grip screwdrivers back to the way they were 10+ yrs ago.
Click to expand...

Data fags? Really? So if you choose to do data com work your a "***". I did low voltage and av work for a 4 years and I am not a "***". I have a wide assortment of Klein pliers, cutters, strippers and crimpers and they are some of my most used tools. I have a set of 15 year old crimpers that I still use. I also use Channellock and Snap On pliers and the kleins have been just as good. The 1005 crimper is still my favorite of all time. They crimp insulated connectors with the least amount of force out of all the other crimpers I own. I also own 2 Klein meters. The AC/DC clamp and the true rms regular meter. I mainly use them for auto electrical and they have been great. Not one single issue. For the price you get some great meters.
 
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C

Conductor562

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Oct 2, 2012
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West "By God" Virginia
You're behind the ball on this one. About 8 months ago I got me heart broke when I noticed several Klein branded China items at HD. I emailed Klein about it and they responded with a line of **** about how "great advances in the Chinese steel manufacturing process has enabled them to offer professional users the top quality tools they expect, at a lower price point than ever before". They went on to assure me that "Klein tools has a proud American heritage and has never closed an American plant". Now, maybe it's just me, but I didn't notice any decline in price :dunno: If I'm paying $15 for a screwdriver it's going to USA on it!

On a brighter note, have you tried the Channellock 369 lineman's? I've been very happy with them and the cutter is fantastic. No need to run off to Germany.
 
C

CWP1616L

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Aug 31, 2012
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Still made in USA

KLEIN11055_zps4433284f.jpg
 
D

dirtydogintex

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Sep 28, 2012
Messages
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inner looper-3rd Div Houston w & n
...
On a brighter note, have you tried the Channellock 369 lineman's? I've been very happy with them and the cutter is fantastic. No need to run off to Germany.
Click to expand...
Tried the 'new' 3610?
Supposed to be a 369 plus an inch to give more leverage.
The little I've heard is good.... but I just haven't gotten around to getting a pair yet....
 
R

Rezeppa

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Sep 23, 2012
Messages
444
Location
Newport, MI
I have actually noticed the opposite of most of what has been stated here. I have found the quality of Klein tools to be extremely low. The tools haven't held up like they used to. I was just having this conversation with a friend in Arizona that just finished his master electrician schooling. The edges of their dykes isn't what it used to be. I would rather own channel lock usa pliers over Kleins.
 
B

bw77

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Jul 10, 2009
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Location
Upstate NY
I recently bought a Klein 11-in-1 screwdriver. It does not have USA
anywhere on it. I emailed Klein and I was told that it was made in
USA. Still, I wonder why they did not put USA on it.
 
D

dirtydogintex

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inner looper-3rd Div Houston w & n
Seems like I've been buying a whatever in 1 screwdriver set monthly for the last year split between Klein, CM AND Ideal.

They all look to be holding up pretty much the same*.
They all also look the same except for the name.
WF, Wilde, chicom products? dunno - could be the same spec but different CoO


* For heavy nut driver usage best to make sure that size NUT driver is 'heavy' wall.
It'll depend on the screwdriver configuration or model. (ie: Klein HD)
 
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jeffmoss26

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May 25, 2011
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Cleveland, Ohio
I have never used Klein's datacom tools because they are all imported, and most look to be rebranded.
I have lots of Klein screwdrivers, pliers, etc of varying years and have not seen any major issues. I will not buy a Klein item marked China or Taiwan and I have shared my displeasure with the rep at my electrical supply house on more than one occasion.
 
D

Davefr

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OR
A lot of their best pliers have been on closeout at Kleinconnection over the last several months. (including the wonderful D314-8's)

Probably also in preparation for their move to China.
 
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B

Brownsfan

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Apr 16, 2012
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Cleveland Ohio
Holt said:
Wow I really appreciate the way to complement my career choice :mad:
Click to expand...

Yea I commented on it as well. Data guys get low level tools and are called names. Guess we are not worthy enough for the high level tools. Even though I am not in data comm any more I still took exception to it. I ran into it as well on job sites when the union guys were there and we were at the same time.
 
C

Conductor562

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And the moral of this thread is.... If you're going to assume the role of spelling/grammar police, you better know how to spell it yourself. Also, I've learned that "Data ***" is an offensive stereotype.
 
C

Conductor562

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West "By God" Virginia
Brownsfan said:
Yea I commented on it as well. Data guys get low level tools and are called names. Guess we are not worthy enough for the high level tools. Even though I am not in data comm any more I still took exception to it. I ran into it as well on job sites when the union guys were there and we were at the same time.
Click to expand...

I guess everybody has to hate somebody. When I worked Union construction everybody hated the Laborers :dunno:
 
K

kc-steve

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Jun 22, 2010
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Kansas City
I'm kind of worried now. I just bought a couple of Klein diagonal pliers at a low price. They won't arrive for a few days.

Steve
 
H

Holt

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Dec 5, 2008
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Location
Bellevue, Nebraska
kc-steve said:
I'm kind of worried now. I just bought a couple of Klein diagonal pliers at a low price. They won't arrive for a few days.

Steve
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry to much about them. They will be USA made and as long as you stick to cutting copper wire you will be fine. The plus side is they do have a good warranty.

Now if they are Mexico made you may as well return them. I was in a bind and needed some scotchloc pliers and Klien sells 2 versions. USA made which home depot didn't have and a version which is like the basic scotchloc but with a needle nose tip. brand new out of the package they barley cut cat5. I'm not talking about a hole cat5 wire I'm talking about the individual wires within it.
 
B

Biomed

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Mar 19, 2011
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662
Location
Minnesota
Davefr said:
A lot of their best pliers have been on closeout at Kleinconnection over the last several months. (including the wonderful D314-8's)
Click to expand...

Sorry... no D314-8's left at Kleinconnection. In fact, there does not seem to be any D314-8's available anywhere.
 
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