New Channellock USA nut drivers have rust in the packaging

[dwasifar]

I bought this set of USA-made Channellock nut drivers:



Sharp eyes will already have spotted what I'm talking about, but here's a closeup:



All the drivers that are pointing downwards in the package have shed what appears to be rust into the packaging. There is no rust evident on the chromed exterior of the tools, so I swabbed the inside of one of the hollow shafts, and that is indeed where the rust is coming from:



I'm not particularly concerned by this. I'm just going to give them each a shot of WD-40 up the shaft and swab them out, and they should be fine. But I do wonder how this happened. Surely Channellock wouldn't display them this way if they were expected to shed rust into the pretty package. Do you think they were stored in a damp and humid environment?

 

[neophyte]

The internal “broached” or formed area of sockets is routinely not plated, because plating the inside might add enough dimension to make the socket inside to tight or small.
Some companies paint the inside of sockets with silver paint.
Others plate the inside, but with a very thin plating that will not affect dimension, which subsequently also does not protect against corrosion well.
Some manufacturers likely just dip the sockets in some sort of rust preventative coating like oil.

As for the Channellock, I doubt they make those themselves, and have no clue who makes those for them.
The Cellulose handles may off gas, making uncoated areas more probe to rust.
I’ve seen Swiss made Wiha pliers that were chrome plated with rust around the rivet,
and Knipex pliers with the same issue,
And mild corrosion on the broached internal jaw surfaces of chrome plated wrenches, such as Armstrong, and all were new in packaging.

Sometimes the mild corrosion just happens, especially with chrome plated tools, and it’s nothing to worry about.
I’ve owned older German made nut drivers that pail in comparison to that Channellock type.
Don’t worry about it.

 

[subroc]

Where did you buy them? Directly from Channel Lock or some 3rd party? Was it some dollar store where they get fire sale, close out or damaged goods to sell?

Maybe Channel Lock is selling rusty stuff, maybe not. The few things I have bought recently have been fine. I expect it was the seller or some wholesaler that had a water soaked package and sold it as new.

Anyway, are they all good?

 

[Grokew]

Where did you buy them? Directly from Channel Lock or some 3rd party? Was it some dollar store where they get fire sale, close out or damaged goods to sell?

Maybe Channel Lock is selling rusty stuff, maybe not. The few things I have bought recently have been fine. I expect it was the seller or some wholesaler that had a water soaked package and sold it as new.

Anyway, are they all good?

Most likely humidity at the place it was stored. Most Channellock stuff rusts quite fast (I live close to the coast) coat them with oil and they will be fine.

 

[dogdog]

pos customer service

 

[Ton ton]

Don't worry about it.

 

[dogdog]

Not me, I stopped buying channel lock stuff.

 

[sparky 1971]

Wouldn't bother me. Most of my stuff has at least a little bit of surface rust on it just from the humidity in my shop.

 

[neophyte]

If you gave some evaporust, use that to clean the inside.
Rinse and dry the nutsrivers, and get some Boeshield T9, or one of the other thin spray on rust inhibitors, and spray it inside and let it dry.
And then don’t worry about it, unless the tools get soaked with water.
Most of the time the “rust” found in areas like that on chromed tools will just wipe off.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I got some Masterforce nutdrivers that had a bit of rust while still in the package. Made in the same factory as these (Pratt-Read/Ideal). I figured it was the humidity.

Clean 'em up, and apply a little bit of oil in the broach, and you'll be back in business.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Subscribing for later updates.

 

[dwasifar]

Where did you buy them? Directly from Channel Lock or some 3rd party? Was it some dollar store where they get fire sale, close out or damaged goods to sell?

Maybe Channel Lock is selling rusty stuff, maybe not. The few things I have bought recently have been fine. I expect it was the seller or some wholesaler that had a water soaked package and sold it as new.

Anyway, are they all good?

Bought them from Amazon. (Amazon proper, not a marketplace seller.)

If the package had been water soaked, the paper insert would show water damage.

They seem fine other than the rust up inside the hollow shafts. The chrome extends inside the driver area, just apparently not all the way up the recess.

As I stated, I'm not worried about them, I think they'll be fine; I'm just wondering how it came to be that way. I had hoped someone who bought the same set and did or didn't see the same thing might chime in.

 

[dwasifar]

I also bought a set of Klein (actually Vaco) metric nut drivers. I like the Channellock handles better but they didn't have metric, just SAE (which makes me think Channellock is not particularly interested in being in this line of business). So I bought the Klein set that turned out to be Vaco, and just for fun I swabbed the inside of a couple of them. No rust, just oil.

 

[Ton ton]

.

 

[Bubba Fett]

I also bought a set of Klein (actually Vaco) metric nut drivers. I like the Channellock handles better but they didn't have metric, just SAE (which makes me think Channellock is not particularly interested in being in this line of business). So I bought the Klein set that turned out to be Vaco, and just for fun I swabbed the inside of a couple of them. No rust, just oil.

Master Mechanic only had SAE drivers as well. The Masterforce metric nut drivers were a bit of a disappointment to me. The shanks didn't all match, some had deeper recesses, some had different finishes, and the 11mm shank was not inserted into the handle as far. The 10mm was perfect, though. This makes me think that Pratt-Read/Ideal was sourcing some of the metric shanks from another supplier.

IMO, Klein/Vaco nut drivers are the best you can get, since the quality is consistent, and the recesses go all the way to the handle.

 

[dwasifar]

I returned both the Channellock and the Vaco drivers and ordered Klein (actual Klein, black rubber over yellow acetate) in both metric and SAE. Now everything matches, which appeals to my sense of order.

I do like the benchtop stand the Vaco came with, though. I'll probably make something like that for the Kleins.

 

[Iridium rand]

Gotta make sure you say it doesn’t bother you, everyone will jump down your throat if it bothers you lmao

I’d say it’s gotta be humidity, climate control is very difficult in large warehouses like amazon uses and like you said the insert would show signs of it if anything infiltrated the packaging and very slight rust like that is common in humid environments