Mayhew "Dominator" COO?

[diesel research]

It apparently is not USofA...

I decided to go on a quest today, searching for any tool finds possible. The thing is, I don't do the whole used tool scene, so that limits my choices. I have the same local choices everybody else does. The "big 3" so to speak. Sears, Lowes, and HomeDepot. Add various autoparts stores, northern (atleast 3 of them) harbor freight (atleast 4) and a few hardware stores here and there.

My first stop led me to a carquest. Nothing to impressive there. I was more impressed to find that chain is still in business in the south. Somewhat surprised to see a bunch of OEM volvo, bmw, mercedes, nissan, toyota, and honda fluids on the shelf, but no tools worth mentioning. Junk "powerbuilt".

I took some back road through the woods. To my surprise, I came across 5 miles of non stop logging, excavation, and construction. Seems to the forest is being plowed to make way for a future subdivision. No structures or foundations yet, still cutting through the red clay and pines at this point. To my surprise I find a rather large and new ACE in the middle of this forest. Basically your typical sears with some hardware thrown around. All the usual mundane craftsman RP and plier stuff. Quite surprised to find several pairs of "made in the USA" vise grips. Confirmed by the use of a roll pin instead of rivets. Of course only in the 7" size. Everything else was pretty much chinese danaher, no new news there.

Continuing down the road back into another town, I come across a napa. No tools in stock as far as I can tell. "we can have them here by 430pm" So I snag the hot deals catalog and bounce.

Across the street is an oreillys, so I check it out as well. All the typical lisle/oem/goodwrench ****. I spot a "made in the usa" logo and realize I am seeing mayhew punches/chisels on the shelf. Never saw them before.

I then notice a few items from the dominator line. I immediately notice they look a bit um "cheap". I recall some people here stating they were every bit as good as snappy, so I was a bit shocked. I noticed no COO on the package, and noticed they had sat on the shelf for quite some time. Probably 2 or 3 years. When I flipped the package over it said "assembled in the USA of global components".

I ended up going home empty handed, and a bit surprised. I was under the impression they were a made in the USA product...

 

[Skin]

its the handles and its been that way for awhile. I got a set of their angled scrapers last year from sears [set 60004], and they're fine, but honestly i found the quality of the edges pretty damn poor. They're sharp but a couple were grinded just a little off angle so its not a flat even edge. Not real good if you're trying to scrape gasket from a soft metal since it creates uneven pressure along the scraper.

The presentation in the package was also pretty poor with the blister pack basically falling apart and the shanks soaked in oil.

For the retail price, which is around $70 for the 4pc set, i'd expect damn near perfection. Happily i got them on sale and with coupons for closer to $40 otherwise i'd of returned them in a second. Ironically the best part about them is the import handles.

I'll stick to their prybars and punches/chisels.

 

[Gtamazing]

shanks on the prybars are USA but the handles are Taiwan. The shanks I believe are also used on mac prybars in conjunction with some sort of import handle.

 

[zer0cell]

Those dominator prybars are extremely expensive... way to expensive to not be made 100% in the USA in my opinion... I won't buy any.

 

[diesel research]

Oops, I should have clarified that I was looking at smaller dominator picks and scrapers.

Yes, the handle was what looked "cheap". That and maybe the end cap. Didn't seem to be seated on properly.

The shank itself looked to be of good solid quality at first. Nice hefty weight, thick beams. BUT the scraper was seemingly dull on the edged side and the flat side was not really flat, it was wavy. Not easily seen by eye due to the black coating and thick oil, but could be felt. The hooked pick was a bit dull as well. I suppose for the $9 or so they cost, you cannot expect "top crop"...

Too bad, because I am in the market for some heavy duty hooks, and had just saw them on toolsdelivered for $7 before heading out on my day trip.

_______________________

I know mayhew bought out baltimore or something like that, and am not sure how these "baltimore-mayhew" punches/chisels stack up, but they looked a bit nicer. Seems on most of the cheaper/imported ones you can see a much rougher grain on the business end, where these had a much different appearance up close.

 

[maxreco]

The endcap seats when it is struck the first time.

 

[Altec]

If it helps, I've been looking at the Wilde pry bars. They have 12" to 36". USA made, and awesome prices through Harry Epstein. I don't think they are striking though, if that bothers you.

 

[diesel research]

I think the wilde bars are pretty much the same as normal craftsman bars. Ya, no striking cap, no deal. You'd be surprised to find out how much you use that feature if you have it.

I have this:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=21405&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

But the 18" bar went missing last week. My most prized piece. I did consider an opportunity to try out a few other brands, but the cman red bars are definitely not an option. Some guys have said the cman professional is lesser quality than the dominators, but if the dominator picks and scrapers are indicators of anything, I might just have to replace it with the original.

That said, I will still be keeping on eye out for "extreme duty" picks. (not the dental kind, rather the radiator type)

 

[pipsters]

This is something I've wondered, because the Sears Cman pro prybars made by Mayhew state "USA" but when you look at the Mayhew branded ones they say "US and Global components". I've always wondered if Sears has been lying to us.

If you want some decent heavy duty picks Cman Pro has some that state "Made in USA", I own them, they are beefy. http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10...n+pro+pick+set&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=L1 Made by Mayhew, so who knows if US or "global components".

 

[pipsters]

If it helps, I've been looking at the Wilde pry bars. They have 12" to 36". USA made, and awesome prices through Harry Epstein. I don't think they are striking though, if that bothers you.

The same ones are available, supplied by Wilde, but with "Craftsman" written on them at Sears. If you're going to buy them, might as well but thru Sears to save $$ and get a warranty on them if ever needed.

Wilde also makes the red handled Cman scrapers. I have the 3 pack available in store, they seem fine. All there are are just scrapers...

 

[Skin]

This is something I've wondered, because the Sears Cman pro prybars made by Mayhew state "USA" but when you look at the Mayhew branded ones they say "US and Global components". I've always wondered if Sears has been lying to us.

If you want some decent heavy duty picks Cman Pro has some that state "Made in USA", I own them, they are beefy. http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10...n+pro+pick+set&prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=L1 Made by Mayhew, so who knows if US or "global components".

Mayhew dominator use different handles. The Pro Prybars, picks, and screwdrivers use essentially the same design with the same color, same text, and same inlay so i wouldnt be surprised if they're ordering the handles from an Ideal company and having them tailored to their specifications. My guess is Craftsman ships the handles to Mayhew for assembly.