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military general issue tool sets

jd_1138

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http://www.ebay.com/itm/Military-TK101-G-Electrical-General-Tool-Kit-Stanley-Proto-SK-New-/352058744261?hash=item51f8561dc5:g:DsEAAOSwCQZZGh1R

These aren't my listings. I just came across this last night on eBay and thought it was interesting. The person has 6 new sets at $169 a set. I saw on a gov't surplus site that these cost $1,800 (I guess what the military pays for each set).

You military/ex-military guys would probably know the nomenclature of these military issued sets way more than me. I guess TK stands for "tool kit" and the 101 probably means it's the most basic set possible for basic electrical work. It'd be a cool little set to get as a backup set, though it seems hardly complete for that.

Anyway, it has some great brands like Proto and SK. And those Stanley screwdrivers look really cool. I never saw any like that before. I take it they're the premium ones?

My quick research shows that there are other TK101's available with different toolboxes and brands. I guess any co. is able to put together a kit and put in a bid to supply the military.
 

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jd_1138

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$1800 lol

It is the gubment. :)

I read a news story about a hardware store owner who submitted an application to be a military supplier to the DOD. He heard nothing back, but like a year later he got a PO over his fax machine for 4 small screws/washers/nuts or like $2 worth of hardware. He thought "wow what a joke" so he sort of jokingly put down $2,000. And the DOD approved it. So he and his relatives (who owned the store) made about $2 million supplying maybe $500 worth of hardware to the DOD before auditors caught onto the fraud.

By then one of them was dead and the other had dementia, but they did get some of the money back. Wow, a person could really clean up if they had no morals/ethics.
 
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earlthegoat2

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I have a set of Pratt-Read drivers I bought from M-C that look like they could have been imported. Nah. Says made in USA. At a glance they look the same but they have some of the nicest extruded plastic handles I have ever used. Usually I hate those handles. Chinese ones are quite awful.
 

firebox40dash5

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It is the gubment. :)

And yet for all that... the replacement cost on an M16A2 is <$800. I wanna say it was like $760 when I had an arms room in '07.

I was thinking this was gonna be something like a GMTK... that piddling bit of tools for $200 doesn't look that impressive honestly. I guess it's better than the rat-fawked older GMTKs that were selling surplus toward the end of OIF, where most any tool that got lost, broken, or "lost" had been replaced with whatever Walmart or the nearest auto parts store was selling.
 

Gmonkee

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The units were held accountable for those kits and kept them up until minutes after handing them back to the depot.
And then one or two filled in all the holes in the kits they kept.

Seen it first hand and nobody cared. What goes to surplus is usually the remains of what the folks at the depot do.
 
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honcho

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TK-101--brings back many memories of my military career. This was the basic toolkit of a unit communications equipment maintainer. Back in the 80s it was MOS 31V although you might have a 31K or 31C doing the work. Wasn't much actual repair with these tools. Mostly installing mounts, cables, etc.... A multimeter and a radio frequency test device (most commonly a PRM-34 for VHF gear) was the day to day issue equipment for these guys.

$200 shipped for what's pictured isn't a steal but it's not horrible either. The stealing was by the companies that lucked into the contracts putting together the sets and selling them to the government. Nice work if you can get it.
 

MShaw

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What the government is really buying for the inflated price is the documentation, certifications, supplier audits and all the other overhead demands the government imposes.
 

Bacon Man

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The standard GMKT is now mainly Armstrong, every once in awhile you will find a proto set. They come in a Pelican case with about 8 drawers and pre-cut foam so it is easy to identify if a tool is missing. Here's the link.
http://www.armstrongtools.com/master-sets/general-mechanics-tool-kits-gmtks

Funny story, sitting around at the Battery and our new platoon sergeant comes over and says to clean out these lockers that we have. Most are full of random stuff, cots, safety cones but has one of the kits. I ask what should we do with the stuff and he says I don't care just get it out of my sight, so I grab the kit, mostly proto stuff and head out and throw it in my truck. Two weeks later our lieutenant ask if I had seen a GMKT because we are missing one and he needs it for inventory, I tell him Sergeant so and so wanted me to get it out of his sight so its at my house, he laughs and tells me to he will write it up as a loss.
 

Finky198

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Feb 25, 2014
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The standard GMKT is now mainly Armstrong, every once in awhile you will find a proto set. They come in a Pelican case with about 8 drawers and pre-cut foam so it is easy to identify if a tool is missing. Here's the link.
http://www.armstrongtools.com/master-sets/general-mechanics-tool-kits-gmtks

Funny story, sitting around at the Battery and our new platoon sergeant comes over and says to clean out these lockers that we have. Most are full of random stuff, cots, safety cones but has one of the kits. I ask what should we do with the stuff and he says I don't care just get it out of my sight, so I grab the kit, mostly proto stuff and head out and throw it in my truck. Two weeks later our lieutenant ask if I had seen a GMKT because we are missing one and he needs it for inventory, I tell him Sergeant so and so wanted me to get it out of his sight so its at my house, he laughs and tells me to he will write it up as a loss.

That deserves a You **** :thumbup: I have the same box but not the tools.
 

HanShotFirst

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Jun 29, 2015
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NW Nevada
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Military-TK101-G-Electrical-General-Tool-Kit-Stanley-Proto-SK-New-/352058744261?hash=item51f8561dc5:g:DsEAAOSwCQZZGh1R

These aren't my listings. I just came across this last night on eBay and thought it was interesting. The person has 6 new sets at $169 a set. I saw on a gov't surplus site that these cost $1,800 (I guess what the military pays for each set).

You military/ex-military guys would probably know the nomenclature of these military issued sets way more than me. I guess TK stands for "tool kit" and the 101 probably means it's the most basic set possible for basic electrical work. It'd be a cool little set to get as a backup set, though it seems hardly complete for that.

Anyway, it has some great brands like Proto and SK. And those Stanley screwdrivers look really cool. I never saw any like that before. I take it they're the premium ones?

My quick research shows that there are other TK101's available with different toolboxes and brands. I guess any co. is able to put together a kit and put in a bid to supply the military.
It's rare to see the military kits at reasonable prices. The general mechanics kit often goes for over $2k, and with what little tools are in that kit, you can almost buy all brand new SnapOn for that price. I guess it's the novelty of having a USGI kit.

$169.00 with the tool box seems downright reasonable to me.
 

PureLeaf

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I wouldn't pay 169 dollars for that, but thats probably about the right value for what it is, whats included and the tool box.
 
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jd_1138

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It's rare to see the military kits at reasonable prices. The general mechanics kit often goes for over $2k, and with what little tools are in that kit, you can almost buy all brand new SnapOn for that price. I guess it's the novelty of having a USGI kit.

$169.00 with the tool box seems downright reasonable to me.

Yep, and plus he's open to offers. Though I rarely have any luck with ebay offers. Usually the discount is only 1 or 2 percent. This would be even more of a bargain for a local Illinois buyer who could pick it up in person and not have to pay shipping.
 
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