Mac Pliers = Sunex?

[SKAutomotive]

Was going to buy a set of Mac long needle nose and hose pliers for home (half SO set at work) and was looking over them on the truck. A guy at the fleet shop I work with has Sunex ones and they are absolutely identical to the Mac in finish, handle grips and shape.

I know Mac is mostly offshored these days, but my suspicions are now that Mac pliers are nothing but rebranded Sunex. Anyone know if this is true before I drop a few hundred on Mac for rebrands?

 

[Fedwrench]

If the MAC long pliers have USA on them, they are rebadged Kal made pliers. If the MAC long pliers have taiwan or China on the packaging, they're Sunex.
They don't have china or taiwan laser etched on them only MAC.

The only reason to buy Mac would be those weekly payments, ease of warranty (depending on dealer), and truck to shop service. Otherwise, save your hard earned money and get them off of the internet.

 

[Snapped-off]

MAC pliers with dark red handles are USA, the light red ones are not, at least in my experience.

 

[Midman914]

Last year I bought a pair of like new MAC needle nose pliers from a garage sale for $3, and they were laser etched MAC, but stamped Knipex made in Germany.

 

[SKAutomotive]

I thought KAL was bought out by Stanley who then offshored it?

I can promise you the set I looked at was not Knipex quality. I would have bought them in a heartbeat. No COO stamped on them and they definitely looked like twins of the Sunex with Mac etched on instead.

 

[joedodge]

I bought a set of Mac of shore branded pliers that were on sale a few years ago they've been great but ***** to pay good money for cheap tools. I've got some astro and sunnex pliers.....they've been great though for what they cost

 

[SKAutomotive]

Here is one of the sets I am comparing:

Mac: http://www.mactools.com/shoponline/product/tabid/120/p-320115-3-pc-11-long-reach-gripper-set.aspx

Sunex: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RLMRIU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[joedodge]

Yep those are sunnex to me. Same thing happened to me got that set by blue point I'm pretty sure there made by astro

 

[SKAutomotive]

Yeah just going to order the Sunex ones then. For 67.00 shipped (Amazone Prime member), I get the set of 3 hose pliers and a 4 piece set of long needle nose. Compared to 91.00 just for the hose pliers at Mac.

 

[genevabuck]

I suspect that Harbor Freight sells these same Sunex diagonal cutters and hose pliers. They just have orange grips on them instead. Otherwise, the look to be mirror images.

 

[SKAutomotive]

I suspect that Harbor Freight sells these same Sunex diagonal cutters and hose pliers. They just have orange grips on them instead. Otherwise, the look to be mirror images.

I looked at the HF ones, I am pretty sure they are not the same. You can see around the joint on the Sunexs is relief cuts in the metal and on the HF it is solid metal and when you open and close them it creates little metal ridges around the joint that can snag and cut things.

 

[joedodge]

Deffinatly not the same sunnex or astro are much better qaulity

 

[CWP1616L]

There's one of them that Sunex does not make and that's the MAC P92S. Awesome nose pliers.

 

[woody 73]

I don't think the HF are made by sunex just a guess.

I bought a used Mac set thinking they were made in the USA and I paid dearly for that set, turns out they were made in Taiwan and they came with a light colored red color plastic handle; I use them a lot so far no problems.

 

[neophyte]

I don't know whether Stanley actually manufactures their long reach Proto pliers themselves, but they're usually listed as USA COO on the Grainger website, and they have the same style of handles.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/PROTO-Long-Reach-Needle-Nose-Pliers-1C042?Pid=search