Lowe's is selling Klein tools.
- Thread starter 930dreamer
- Start date
captain14
Well-known member
I was in my local Lowes yesterday and they had a corner in the tool area filled with Klein along with the cardboard display boxes in the aisle.
On a side note, in The electrical section they had some Ideal tools marked down from $2-3 off and some were marked at 50% off. Remember at Lowes YMMV.
On a side note, in The electrical section they had some Ideal tools marked down from $2-3 off and some were marked at 50% off. Remember at Lowes YMMV.
Local Depot has most of their Klein tools marked down or empty shelves/pegs. No sign yet as to what they are being replaced with or how they're going to reset the electrical tools bay(s). I haven't looked at other stores, only the one near my apartment.
Lowes shows like 100+ Klein tools in-store online, but I was there on Thursday and saw nothing Klein. I also only saw a hand full of their electrical tools marked down. But again, I haven't checked other stores.
Major resets like this take time. I'm most curious about how Lowes will compare in terms of price and what Depot has planned to replace Klein. I'm also curious about warranty, it ***** when a company stops selling products with a lifetime warranty.
Lowes shows like 100+ Klein tools in-store online, but I was there on Thursday and saw nothing Klein. I also only saw a hand full of their electrical tools marked down. But again, I haven't checked other stores.
Major resets like this take time. I'm most curious about how Lowes will compare in terms of price and what Depot has planned to replace Klein. I'm also curious about warranty, it ***** when a company stops selling products with a lifetime warranty.
neophyte
Well-known member
Milwaukee ?
OP
This pic was next the Pro help counter, they had the stackable storage boxes, coolers, pouches etc. Not sure of the final resting place.
bluedog225
Well-known member
Klein. A proud American company selling a bunch of Chinese tools. Go USA!
Their core product offering is still pretty made in USA heavy (pliers/etc.). Outside of hand tools yeah... most stuff is going to be imported.
Nobody is truly making multimeters in the USA anymore... even Fluke.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
This has been talked about for months. Klein will still have a small presence at Home Depot (according to Toolguyd), but a much wider range of tools will be sold at Lowe's. Klein realized that being exclusive to one store was limiting their market.
Lowe's has Ideal tools on clearance, so I imagine Klein will end up in the electrical section.
For HD, I was assuming they would be getting the new USA-made Milwaukee hand tools, but I haven't heard anything about that. I'm not sure if they will be getting Ideal tools. Ideal is struggling, and most of their tools are made in China now, except for their cushion grip screwdrivers, and some wire strippers. The USA-made strippers, I believe, are made by Stride/Imperial. The screwdrivers are produced in-house, but for how long, I'm not sure. They do have some USA-made needle nose pliers, but I'm betting this is old stock, since they sold off a lot of their tooling to Great Star in the SK deal.
Lowe's has Ideal tools on clearance, so I imagine Klein will end up in the electrical section.
For HD, I was assuming they would be getting the new USA-made Milwaukee hand tools, but I haven't heard anything about that. I'm not sure if they will be getting Ideal tools. Ideal is struggling, and most of their tools are made in China now, except for their cushion grip screwdrivers, and some wire strippers. The USA-made strippers, I believe, are made by Stride/Imperial. The screwdrivers are produced in-house, but for how long, I'm not sure. They do have some USA-made needle nose pliers, but I'm betting this is old stock, since they sold off a lot of their tooling to Great Star in the SK deal.
HD already has USA made Milwaukee Tools in the Electrical section in some stores
jonesg
Well-known member
bluedog225
Well-known member
I wish.
Crimpers-china; multimeter-china; fish tape-china; etc.
seems like every Klein tool is Chinese.
Even the link above-China
I wouldn’t mind as much if they didn’t keep promoting the American company bs. Below is from the amazon link above. It’s worse on the Klein website.
Just a shady lie.
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They have some made in Mexico stuff too. Their lineman and diagonal pliers are still USA, but some of their needle nose are Mexico now. Some of their screwdrivers are also China or Mexico now. Their less popular tools not generally carried in store like wrenches are all (or mostly) offshore.
Ultimately I'm going to guess they will continue to move/offer more offshore and only produce a few USA items.
It's easy to criticize others. If you become the boss of Klein, you might make the same decision. In Home Depot, Klein is the easiest place to find USA tools, I think they have done enough. All the screwdrivers, if not made in USA, are made in Taiwan. The pliers, cutters etc are all USA. Never looked at other tools closely
bluedog225
Well-known member
The packaging said these were made in China.
I understand the decision. But misleading people bugs me.
I understand the decision. But misleading people bugs me.
Low Class Yuppie
Member
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- Aug 17, 2023
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My Lowe's had a pretty good-sized section devoted to Klein tools, including many special buy bundles like a set of screwdrivers for $30. Too bad the black/transparent yellow screwdrivers aren't insulated like the ones my Dad used when I was a kid. Most of the hand tools I checked were US-made, but the electronics like the multimeter and outlet tester were Chinese.
neophyte
Well-known member
I don’t know how easy they would be to purchase locally, but Klein style insulated (1000V) screwdrivers are still available.
Klein makes their own series with plastic insulated blades. ( also listed as US made)
Crmentex has a dip insulated version of the Klein screwdrivers. Generally, Cementex buys tools, insulated the tools, and then tests the tools, and Klein is one source of the tools they insulate, so the “Cementex” screwdrivers are likely just Klein drivers.
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Just the natural progression of things. The last batch of made in USA Proto pliers I bought was atrocious. I questioned why I paid a premium.
As much as I'd like to buy USA tools the most consistent and quality stuff I'm seeing comes from Taiwan & Japan.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Keep in mind that Klein has a much wider range of tools than they used to. They are still running all of their USA factories but their product range is more than what those factories can make. Plus there are some things that they simply can't make here, like testers and meters. Pretty much nobody makes them here now. Also, raw material availability is just not what it used to be.
Now
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