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Milwaukee USA-Made Hand Tools (i.e. Pliers) ****

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dnschmidt

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Oct 3, 2014
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Phoenix, AZ
neophyte said:
The advantage to getting into the game late is that much of the information is available on designs that work, and steels that work, and what designs snd models usually sell.
The disadvantage, is that slight tweaks and tricks developed over long production years, may not be publicly known, and purchasing all new equipment and setting up a new facility can get expensive.
Malco for instance took years to get their Eagle Grip facility up and running.
Milwaukee has the advantage of a well regarded brand amongst tool users which helps.
Milwaukee is also used to computer designing motor housings, and making injection mold dies, which is probably their main advantage other than branding, since they can make fancy multicomponent grips, using knowledge they already posses, to appeal to buyers who shop based on grip material and design.
This is a distinct advantage to many plier manufacturers used to making forging dies, and dimply dipping the handles for grips, and I suspect many plier manufacturers may use outside producers for these multicomponent grips.
Most brands just find a manufacturer that already makes the hand tool, and then rebrands the tool, maybe with custom grips.
This seems yo be mostly what Stanley dies with Dewalt branded hand tools, and what Milwaukee did pre-TTI with basic accessories.
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I don't buy Milwaukee hand tools, except for their wire strippers made in Taiwan, but I have a shitload of their corded and cordless tools. The one point you made about being late to the game being an advantage is particularly true of their track saw. By the time they introduced it they saw the flaws in the other brands and fixed them prior to introduction of their late to arrive track saw. Their track saw is truly great and about half the price of the Festool.
 
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neophyte

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dnschmidt said:
I don't buy Milwaukee hand tools, except for their wire strippers made in Taiwan, but I have a shitload of their corded and cordless tools. The one point you made about being late to the game being an advantage is particularly true of their track saw. By the time they introduced it they saw the flaws in the other brands and fixed them prior to introduction of their late to arrive track saw. Their track saw is truly great and about half the price of the Festool.
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Milwaukee also doesn’t made a corded version, ☹️, even though Milwaukee likely makes far superior corded saw motors than Festool is capable of.
 
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rust in the eye

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winlinmac said:
I wanted to reiterate this - Milwaukee Pliers (USA-Made Pliers) ****! They have a promotion going on right now for a Linesman Pliers and Diagonal Cutters for $49.97 - the jaws on both pliers do not close flush - when I point them at a source of light, light bleeds through, the machining is poorly done (i.e. rough edges), and metal looks soft versus the German (i.e. Knipex) and Japannese brands

This fellow confirms some of my findings, as well as some Reddit users -




Unacceptable

Why are we falling for this Made in USA ****. Even Icon pliers at Harbor Freight have better quality control shockingly.

This fellow confirms the same finding as well -

Milwaukee USA Pliers

Would like to share my recent experience with Milwaukee's USA made pliers. My desire was to support Milwaukee, in that they created jobs in America and built a brand new plant in West Bend, Wisconsin. This comes at a time when Klein appears to be moving jobs offshore, evident at Lowe's where...
www.garagejournal.com www.garagejournal.com
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metal looks soft :cautious:
No shortage of USA manufacturers that will build to price rather than quality, slap a picture of old glory on the package and expect you to think its better than the imports because of that picture.
I don't recall Milwaukee ever having any especially good reputation for pliers. Yeah, Icon makes 'em look like a booger.
 
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zimman

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Mar 2, 2014
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Location
Mark Twain National Forest
I have plyers from everyone. MAC, Matco, Snapoff, ICONic. Depends on where I'm at when I'm needing it. I have never held a pair of plyers up to the light to see if the teeth meet each other with precision.
As long as a pair of plyers can rip off the lid of a kitty litter box I'm good.
Zim
 
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kngelv

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May 25, 2011
Messages
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Location
Detroit, MI
winlinmac said:
The Klein Linesman pliers feel beefy in the hand and the built-in cutter isn't soft metal like the Milwaukee Linesman plier.
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Did you do a Moh test on the pliers or are you merely speculating while you rant? What does "feel beefy" mean exactly? I have the Milwaukee made in USA diagonal cutters, linesman pliers and needle nose. I wanted to try them out as I appreciate any company trying to do any USA sourcing. I have them in my bag along with the equivalent Klein. I don't see much of a difference. As an industrial electrician I actually use my tools daily to unlike the tool influencers. Basing some of your thoughts on what Reddit users say is a complete waste of time. It does not sound like you even used the tools.

James
 
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winlinmac

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USA
kngelv said:
Did you do a Moh test on the pliers or are you merely speculating while you rant? What does "feel beefy" mean exactly? I have the Milwaukee made in USA diagonal cutters, linesman pliers and needle nose. I wanted to try them out as I appreciate any company trying to do any USA sourcing. I have them in my bag along with the equivalent Klein. I don't see much of a difference. As an industrial electrician I actually use my tools daily to unlike the tool influencers. Basing some of your thoughts on what Reddit users say is a complete waste of time. It does not sound like you even used the tools.

James
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I used it to cut some 12 gauge solid copper Romex cable - it cut about the same as the equivalent Kleins. I know a cut is a cut, but I could tell that the Klein Linesman plier produced a cleaner cut, I will admit that I am too picky, nobody cares about clean cuts as long as it cuts. I just feel that in the long term, the Milwaukee pliers are going to wear off quicker than the Kleins; the coating came off immediately after the first cut. The pair of Milwaukee's I had clearly had rough edges (looked gouged after first use) along the cutters (both on the Linesman and Diagonal pliers) where they did not meet flush. Literally feels like cutting corners. My Kleins still hold shape even though the black outer coating has come off over the years.
 
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Dakotadadv8

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If you have the $ and willing to spend I like the Snap On pliers and cutters. Need to buy a Knipex curious about the quality.
 
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ecotec

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I prefer the D-2000 series Klein Linesman’s and diagonals to Knipex, NWS, Snap-on…

A few Keiwit jobs provide tethered Snap-on Linesman’s, and they are not as good as Klein.
 
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winlinmac

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four.cycle said:
Knipex makes nothing equivalent to the large Klein 9-inch lineman's pliers.
Not even comparable.
Knipex does make some nice products, but traditional "linemans pliers" is not one of them.
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Despite owning Klein's 9" inch Linesman pliers as well, I prefer the lighter Knipex pliers, but that's just me, lol.
I use the Klein Linesman pliers to twist drop ceiling, and for much heavier duty work. Knipex is better for light-duty.
 
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neophyte

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four.cycle said:
Knipex makes nothing equivalent to the large Klein 9-inch lineman's pliers.
Not even comparable.
Knipex does make some nice products, but traditional "linemans pliers" is not one of them.
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Knipex literally manufactures 9-1/2” linesman pliers nowadays, based on what I usually see labelled as “New England Style” linesman pliers.

kniiex also manufactures 225mm “Combination Pliers” which are fairly similar to other types of pliers sold as “Linesman Pliers” by US manufacturers in the past, and probably still.
 

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Hakeem

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Chicago
Steel_Rain said:
Does anyone know if the Milwaukee USA made screwdrivers are also shite?

www.homedepot.com

Milwaukee Multi-Bit Screwdriver Set with Cushion Grip (6 Piece) MT200-6 - The Home Depot

Obtain an excellent and upscaled addition to complete your fastening tasks in the jobsite with Milwaukee Cushion Grip Screwdriver Kit.
www.homedepot.com
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I like them a lot, I think they’re better than Klein screwdrivers. The tips have better fitment, the knurling on the shank is a nice touch, and the metal seems more durable. I prefer Klein grips, though.

I may be biased though, as I think the Milwaukee USA pliers are pretty much as good as any others on the market.
 
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Ohio Andy

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Jul 31, 2024
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Columbus, Ohio
Hakeem said:
I like them a lot, I think they’re better than Klein screwdrivers. The tips have better fitment, the knurling on the shank is a nice touch, and the metal seems more durable. I prefer Klein grips, though.

I may be biased though, as I think the Milwaukee USA pliers are pretty much as good as any others on the market.
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I'm in the same boat, I like them... I like them enough. In fact, that I have a full set of screwdrivers including the ones you have to buy individually cuz they don't package them in a set.

The Klein handles are certainly larger, so that's just how you prefer. You like the larger handles you might like the Klein better. For sure. I liked how the USA Milwaukee handles feel in my hand better than the non-usa Milwaukee.

I really like the fit on the now discontinued Craftsman Chinese made diamond tip screwdrivers... They beat out pretty much everything else when project farm reviewed them.

I definitely love you. My USA made Milwaukee drivers more than my Klein.
 
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Rinspeed

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NY
W

willf650

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Mar 10, 2010
Messages
828
Hakeem said:
I like them a lot, I think they’re better than Klein screwdrivers. The tips have better fitment, the knurling on the shank is a nice touch, and the metal seems more durable. I prefer Klein grips, though.

I may be biased though, as I think the Milwaukee USA pliers are pretty much as good as any others on the market.
Click to expand...
I assume the Milwaukee pliers may be as good as others. My only bias is I will not spend the money on them when they are as much and in many cases more than Klein. I know they are made in the “USA” but they are a Chinese company.

I have two of the USA screwdrivers and will say they are nice to grip and the laser etched tips are nice. I have screwdrivers coming out of my ears so I will not buy a set of them. I just needed a hex bolstered driver to use a wrench on a seized lug. Home Depot was around the corner so I grabbed one.
 
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