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[Squankum]

More screwdrivers I'm buying for semihandy friends who need good tools but don't know it!

Stanley Fat Max, actually made in FRONCE at the FACOM Bost screwdriver factory. Eight sizes -- with Phillips 0, 1, and 2.
$42ish on Amazon, shipped out of TN. (Or, showing $40ish right now for me. You know how prices drift with Spaceman Bezos.)

Black section of grips about as grippy as Wiha screwdriver handles, which is to say, quite grippy. (Sub Snap On pliers grips which are almost sticky.) Big fat shape of the larger ones fits nicely in the hand.






Linky:

Amazon.com

P.S. STANLEY!

 

[Beerhippie]

Do French-made screwdrivers make better prybars than others?

 

[Squankum]

Do French-made screwdrivers make better prybars than others?

The old Craftsman screwdrivers you inherited from your pappy are for prying. Good screwdrivers are for screwing!

(Somehow I only have two surviving such CMan screwdrivers from the 60's/70's.)

 

[msharley]

Do French-made screwdrivers make better prybars than others?

Only dropped once...................??

 

[Beerhippie]

The old Craftsman screwdrivers you inherited from your pappy are for prying. Good screwdrivers are for screwing!

(Somehow I only have two surviving such CMan screwdrivers from the 60's/70's.)

Just thinking what my "semi-handy" friends do with screwdrivers. #1 Philips make great ice picks, by the way!

 

[Squankum]

Just thinking what my "semi-handy" friends do with screwdrivers. #1 Philips make great ice picks, by the way!

Oh, I know. I asked my elderly lady friend the other day how those Wiha screwdrivers worked out for her and she regaled me with her triumphs over two problems, both of which, uh, yeah, that's for your old crappy screwdrivers. Such is gift giving! She used one to pry a cap off of a bottle. I'll get her some HF fake 6" Knipex, that worked very well for another old lady down the street in her war on bottlecaps.

 

[Squankum]

Only dropped once...................??

Last year looked into the month-long battle for France. 1940. Apparently the French killed 30,000 German soldiers! Kinda sad that the Germans went YIPPIE!! when that was over. (OK, the casualty ratio was 10:1 against the French army.)

 

[mikeinri]

Oh, I know. I asked my elderly lady friend the other day how those Wiha screwdrivers worked out for her and she regaled me with her triumphs over two problems, both of which, uh, yeah, that's for your old crappy screwdrivers. Such is gift giving! She used one to pry a cap off of a bottle. I'll get her some HF fake 6" Knipex, that worked very well for another old lady down the street in her war on bottlecaps.

Did you forget already???

Or Kobalt? Less than $3!!!

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-Blue-Manual-Handheld-Bottle-Opener/5000183277?idProductFound=false&idExtracted=false

Mike

Mike

 

[Beerhippie]

I looked into the month-long battle for France last year. Apparently the French killed 30,000 German soldiers! Kinda sad that the Germans went YIPPIE!! when that was over. (OK, the casualty ratio was 10:1 against the French army.)

At least the French had that wall (Maginot line)... gotta build walls!

 

[Squankum]

Did you forget already???




Mike

Heh heh. The frailest old lady is having problems unsrewing white plastic soda bottle caps. I don't think either of them are knocking back brewskis.

I got her something like this, maybe smaller:




It was a wake up call that to me, that push button adjuster is just so much faster than easier than the traditional Channellock style, but to her, it was another minor hurdle to push and hold. Old age can ****! But she still lives independently and paints.

Not sure what kind of lid the other friend was prying on. I'll also give her one of those GATO pocket pry bars, the cheap Chinese version of what everybody's gaga for around here lately (Lisle, SO, etc.)

 

[Shelbylex]

It's been a great while since I bought anything brand new. However, given potential tariffs which might increase prices and the way economy appears to be heading for lower and middle class (it's always great for the top earners!), I decided to treat myself. Wanted to get a Koken Attack Driver for a while - 30% off definitely helped make the decision.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

It's been a great while since I bought anything brand new. However, given potential tariffs which might increase prices and the way economy appears to be heading for lower and middle class (it's always great for the top earners!), I decided to treat myself. Wanted to get a Koken Attack Driver for a while - 30% off definitely helped make the decision.

It's hard to go wrong with Koken, their extensions are my favorite.

 

[Squankum]

It's hard to go wrong with Koken, their extensions are my favorite.

 

[Fedwrench]

It's hard to go wrong with Koken, their extensions are my favorite.

Their knurled extensions are outstanding!!! I'm not a fan of their Zeal locking extensions without the knurling though. For sockets, you probably can't get much better than Ko-Ken. I'm not sure about ease of warranty though.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

Their knurled extensions are outstanding!!! I'm not a fan of their Zeal locking extensions without the knurling though. For sockets, you probably can't get much better than Ko-Ken. I'm not sure about ease of warranty though.

Outside of a few special sockets, like the universal nut grips, I feel like their sockets are cheap enough that it’s easier to just buy a new one than worry about a warranty.

 

[Jure]

$75 for unior tool box,bought some new tools that are inside as well. My garage is in small town where my house is,but when i need some basic tools here in my apartment in the city (35 km from my garage). Still have to add some pliers and torque wrench.

 

[neophyte]

At least the French had that wall (Maginot line)... gotta build walls!

Technically, it did work, it just wasn’t long enough.

 

[Beerhippie]

$75 for unior tool box,bought some new tools that are inside as well. My garage is in small town where my house is,but when i need some basic tools here in my apartment in the city (35 km from my garage). Still have to add some pliers and torque wrench.

Nice box!

Technically, it did work, it just wasn’t long enough.

German Staff meeting:

"But they have The Line--it's impenetrable!"

"Can't we just go around it?"

 

[Squankum]

Nice box!



German Staff meeting:

"But they have The Line--it's impenetrable!"

"Can't we just go around it?"

"How about we sneak through the Ardennes forest? They'll never expect that!"

"But we've done that one before!"

"Yes, and they never expect it."

"Good point... hmmm... we'll try it this one last time. But surely we'll never be able to use this trick again."

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

A few Snap-on Wednesday and Matco Friday purchases. The screwdrivers were an impulse buy because the pink ties into my daughter turning 1. I still prefer the Witte screwdriver handle over all the others but the Snappy is nice because I can have my driver swap shanks once I inevitably break them. The mini ratchet and mini pry bars helped bring my tab up so I could get the “free” winter jacket. The half-cut hex bit sockets are to help me access some SHCSs in awkward places on several fixtures i use at work.

 

[Beerhippie]

"How about we sneak through the Ardennes forest? They'll never expect that!"

"But we've done that one before!"

"Yes, and they never expect it."

"Good point... hmmm... we'll try it this one last time. But surely we'll never be able to use this trick again."

"The Maginot line is now finished!"

"Uh, what about this part here?"

"That's the Ardennes. It's impenetrable to armored cavalry."

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Went back and forth between Quincy and Puma air compressor, but none are available for local pick up. I live out in the country and shipping, especially heavy stuff can be a PIA.

On a whim I stopped in the local, family owned Auto parts, shop equipment type store today.

They carry Champions and they are also a warranty service provider.

The guy that helped me happened to be the son of the owner.
He stopped what he was doing and drove me about three miles to their warehouse where they keep the bigger stuff.

They had everything from small portable units to 25Hp, dual headed monster compressors.

After talking with him, I settled on this VRV5-8. 5 Hp, 80 gallon 2-stage. I am having them add a hour meter, auto drain and getting a set of anti-vibration pads. This is lower RPM version and it comes with a magnetic starter.

They will deliver it for free and after him asking about my background, he volunteered a 10% military discount on the entire invoice.

Pretty excited!

 

[belvedere]

 

[SteadyC]

Some sale stuff. The top box from Costco(40), 2 drawer from Ace Hardware(90), Bottom box from somewhere online for (62) 192.

Scan tool from Ebay 300.

 

[canuckian]

 

[66HertzClone]

Heh heh. The frailest old lady is having problems unsrewing white plastic soda bottle caps. I don't think either of them are knocking back brewskis.

I got her something like this, maybe smaller:




It was a wake up call that to me, that push button adjuster is just so much faster than easier than the traditional Channellock style, but to her, it was another minor hurdle to push and hold. Old age can ****! But she still lives independently and paints.

Not sure what kind of lid the other friend was prying on. I'll also give her one of those GATO pocket pry bars, the cheap Chinese version of what everybody's gaga for around here lately (Lisle, SO, etc.)

I had some trouble with caps, particularly the smaller caps for a while after having my carpal tunnels surgery, this proved to be very helpful to me.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Still working on outfitting the new shop.
Took Advantage of HF 40% off torque wrenches and 20% off anything sale for the extended cut-off tool.

 

[Squankum]

I had some trouble with caps, particularly the smaller caps for a while after having my carpal tunnels surgery, this proved to be very helpful to me.

Kinda like that, I learned about the under-cabinet style of opener from Bob Heine's thread. I'm going to get this elderly friend one, after asking for permission and seeing under her kitchen cabinets. Last elderly woman I offered an install of such to, said she had steel kitchen cabinets and it wouldn't mount. (I didn't believe it, but I'll take her word for it.)



Linky:

Amazon.com

Drawback to the under-cabinet ones: I installed one for Ms. Squankum a year or two ago; she still asks me to open jars. The opener is not visible.

 

[Blt2Lst]

Took Advantage of HF 40% off torque wrenches

Guess where I'm headed after work today.

 

[Kasal]

Stihl MS 194 T pruning chainsaw. (I don't really need a bigger chainsaw just for gardening).

 

[Squankum]

(crossposted from Frenchytown the FACOM tools thread)


Another set of screwdrivers purchased for a friend for Christmas. I actually started with this one, later realized it had no Phillips 0. It has Ph. 1 & 2, the rest are slot head screwdrivers.

Amazon, $31ish.

Amazon.com

Made in France by a bitter old Bost employee who refuses to sit with the new FACOM employees in the break room and don't get him started on those Stanley kids.








A nice guide to the different sets of drivers available from USAG. Good marketing!



A comparison to the fattest Euro handles in my fleet. FACOM/Craftsman V series, USAG, Wiha. Again, the red part of the USAG grip is just as grippy as the black Wiha handles. I've used the FACOM/CMan Torx driver on one job now and love the skinny/fat/skinny contouring for different needs during a job. Just wish it was soft/sticky/grippy.

 

[Beerhippie]

Stihl MS 194 T pruning chainsaw. (I don't really need a bigger chainsaw just for gardening).

Sweet top-handle!

Are those still in the $500+ price range?

I've been trying to talk the boss into a top-handle Stihl electric to go with our other cordless landscape tools.

 

[Kasal]

Sweet top-handle!

Are those still in the $500+ price range?

I've been trying to talk the boss into a top-handle Stihl electric to go with our other cordless landscape tools.

Please note that I am on the other side of the ocean, the price here is about 370€ ($388). But it is not electric, it is gasoline.

 

[Beerhippie]

Please note that I am on the other side of the ocean, the price here is about 370€ ($388). But it is not electric, it is gasoline.

Not bad for a professional chainsaw. I used the Husky equivalent years ago when working for a landscape company. Really nice when you have to single-hand it--not that you should, but they're actually made to balance one-handed.

 

[will335i]

Damnit Knipex! There's different sized twin grips now? I am never going to financially recover from this.

 

[Fedwrench]

A few things from recent sales/recommendations; First pic is from Vim Tools. Gecko grip phillips screwdriver set with a striking cap flat tip, their first generation knife that was on closeout for like $19.99. Their new pocket pry bars, and their nail clippers. The middle pic is a few recommendations from the tool box tour dude. LTI 993 brake line/master rethreading kit, Lisle 32150 power/ground outlet. plug it into a dash power outlet and you a power/ground for diag tools or test light. PZ70 engineer long nose screw removal pliers. Next to the engineer pliers are a few things from KC Tool. first up, the large 82 01 250 Knipex twin grip pliers. Stout & beefy. Then a pair of NWS gripping pliers 147-82-205, and NWS 142-62-205 angled long nose to replace my missing old VBW pair. Next to the NWS pliers is a new Tekton bit ratchet . It's the 4.5 inch long model. Its handle seems about half of the thickness of their regular 1/4 drive ratchet. It uses a spring clip to retain the bit instead of a magnet followed by the new 9 inch wide jaw adjustable wrench. rarely use these but, this one has a square drive hanging hole and I might feel the urge to wreck something Last Pic is of an ICON 1/2 drive split beam torque wrench. 40% off today 12/13/24. 90 tooth head. Hard to beat at $84 before tax. The Icon long reach diagonal cutters were 10 or 20% off this weekend, and a Braun puck light that was 40% off last week or so. That's probably it for awhile unless I stumble upon something.

 

[canuckian]

Damnit Knipex! There's different sized twin grips now? I am never going to financially recover from this.

lol yeah i said the same thing when i saw it on Amazon but i use them quite a bit and figured there was no harm in having 2 of the middle sized ones. Or at least that’s what I’m telling myself lol

 

[Etchase]

I expected buying plastic tweezers from Knipex would be a bad idea. These are great, and surprisingly stiff. Excellent for electronics, and when you need something non-magnetic.

Knipex 92 69 84 Tweezers 3,5mm of... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024QUYQS?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[jeffmoss26]

Picked up a couple things at Lowe’s today

 

[Squankum]

I expected buying plastic tweezers from Knipex would be a bad idea. These are great, and surprisingly stiff. Excellent for electronics, and when you need something non-magnetic.

Knipex 92 69 84 Tweezers 3,5mm of... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0024QUYQS?tag=atomicindus08-20

This is the lowest-priced thing Knipex has ever sold.