Tape Measures - Lufkin vs Komelon vs ?

[CGarage]

Who makes the best tape measure in terms of quality, durability AND accuracy?

Lufkin or Komelon or Tajima or ???

Currently using a Lufkin “easy read” for Imperial and a Facom for Metric and happy with both.

Will not be used in a hard use environment and I never carry a tape measure clipped to my belt.

 

[matt_i]

99.9% of my life has been attached to the Stanley Powerlock 25'. A solid workhorse that will get you thru many projects.

 

[LeeG]

When in the shop, I almost exclusively use a 16’ Komelon auto lock. I replaced the belt clip with one the ones from a Fastcap Old Standby, which was my prior shop tape. when doing construction, I use a 25’ Milwaukee or classic Stanley Powerlock. I’ve never had a tape measure fail except from extreme neglect.

 

[CGarage]

When in the shop, I almost exclusively use a 16’ Komelon auto lock. I replaced the belt clip with one the ones from a Fastcap Old Standby, which was my prior shop tape. when doing construction, I use a 25’ Milwaukee or classic Stanley Powerlock. I’ve never had a tape measure fail except from extreme neglect.

What sort of shop and do you find it accurate?

Thank you.

 

[Dave455]

Lufkin are good. Have one maybe 20 years old thst’s been fine.

The big players here in the U.K. are probably Fisco and BMI.

Fisco offer a huge range - everything from 10’ tapes to surveyors tapes. Quality is good and prices fair. Made in England.

BMI offer some innovative products. I have the “stripped down” tape shown. Good product. German made,

If you want accuracy then you need to specify a “Class I” Fisco offer these without loading the price. Stanley don’t even offer them at all now.

 

[CGarage]

I ordered a Fisco yesterday that says Hultafors on the outer case.....any idea what the deal is with that?
I bought it because it had dual scales....Imperial and Communist both.

First time I have heard about Class I before as well. Good info as always.

 

[matthew]

I use a Stanley 33-272 in the shop - which has decimal / fractional inch scales. It’s a smaller / narrower tape, not really a construction tape, but ideal for shop use, and decimal is very very handy. I’d say it’s easier to read accurately than fraction.

 

[Dave455]

I ordered a Fisco yesterday that says Hultafors on the outer case.....any idea what the deal is with that?
I bought it because it had dual scales....Imperial and Communist both.

First time I have heard about Class I before as well. Good info as always.

Hultafors bought them out I think.

Other than the change of ownership I think everything stays the same. Some tapes are available with either branding. Some just as ”Fisco”, some (down to a price) just as “Hultafors”.

Seem to recall “Class I” is guaranteed to within 1.1mm at 10m. Class II is over double that!

If I’m doing smaller woodworking projects (as I was today) I prefer a steel rule. I have a Japanese Fisher that’s great to use!

 

[Bockscar]

The tapes I use.....a majority of the time I use the 12' Stanley with the 3/4" tape.....as far as accuracy I hope you are not building rockets with a tape measure but as long as you are using the same tape for whatever project it shouldn't matter .....everyone reads a tape differently so as long as you are measuring for fit and finish should be good.....I would say most brands are reasonably accurate

 

[Rinspeed]

I like the newer Milwaukee, not really sure why but they work good and hold up well.

 

[Rinspeed]

The tapes I use.....a majority of the time I use the 12' Stanley with the 3/4" tape.....

I have two of the older plastic ones and I take good care of them. The newer ones are metal and quite a bit heavier.

 

[ive]

I ordered a Fisco yesterday that says Hultafors on the outer case.....any idea what the deal is with that?
I bought it because it had dual scales....Imperial and Communist both.

First time I have heard about Class I before as well. Good info as always.

Lmao! Imperial and communist. Love that.

 

[ive]

I like the newer Milwaukee, not really sure why but they work good and hold up well.

Using Milwaukee here too. Never tried one of the European ones though.

 

[southernfriedcj]

Stanley Fatmax for me. I have a half dozen in the truck.
25', 30', 35' and 40'. I may have a 15' and 20' as well.

I use 25' for trim, 35' for framing and 40' for layout. I don't know where the 30' came from.

I try to use the smallest tape for the job to cut down the weight of my apron. Every little bit helps when you have a jacked up back.

Usually have several broken tapes too. I have a lumber salesman who swaps out broken for new.

For foundation layout I use a 100' steel Staney.

Have a couple 200' tapes. They may be Lufkins.

 

[redwrench60]

I prefer a classic Stanley 25’ or 30’ Powerlock. I’ve really tried to like Milwaukee, Dewalt, Komlon, Lufkin bla bla bla but always go back to the classic 1”wide yellow Stanley tape with clear, uncluttered markings that stand out. They are cheap enough to have one everywhere and are perfectly accurate.

I only acknowledge tape measures that use simple uncluttered feet and inches by 1/16ths. I absolutely HATE tape measures with printed fractions or 32nds scale.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I’ve used both of those and both work fine for me. They used to be my go to’s because we had them in school and they worked well. Have some at home now. Unfortunately not USA made anymore but oh well. For work I bought a Kobalt on sale at Lowe’s for $10 on sale because you don’t use it enough in the automotive industry to have a fancy one.

 

[CGarage]

Hultafors bought them out I think.

Other than the change of ownership I think everything stays the same. Some tapes are available with either branding. Some just as ”Fisco”, some (down to a price) just as “Hultafors”.

Seem to recall “Class I” is guaranteed to within 1.1mm at 10m. Class II is over double that!

If I’m doing smaller woodworking projects (as I was today) I prefer a steel rule. I have a Japanese Fisher that’s great to use!

Great info.
I too, use Japanese rules from Shinwa and I think Mitutoyo. They are fantastic.

 

[Lassen Forge]

I have fatmax stanleys both in Imperial and Metric (and a couple combination)... Great tape measures. Haven't failed yet.

Not a fan of the new "faux chrome" cases... but progress, I guess.

I also have a 145 year old weight scale that measures in Pood - little pre communist, but being Russian, it's the only thing you could call "communist" scale. Kind of like measuring weight in Stone - you can, but why?

 

[CGarage]

I’ve used both of those and both work fine for me. They used to be my go to’s because we had them in school and they worked well. Have some at home now. Unfortunately not USA made anymore but oh well. For work I bought a Kobalt on sale at Lowe’s for $10 on sale because you don’t use it enough in the automotive industry to have a fancy one.

Kobalt tapes are apparently made by Komelon....Which is Korean.....South Korean. It is a giant company that makes these things and the Koreans are pretty no-nonsense.....Eating lots of Kimchi has a tendency to do that to you. You’d be pretty serious if your diet mostly consisted of fermented cabbage and vegetables.

 

[KnurledNut]

Ive used Fatmax’s for so long nothing else feels or reads right.
If I need precise accuracy, I have a Lufkin thats been verified by a calibration lab.
I also have a Stabila that I would highly recommend, but not for rugged use.

 

[Dagny]

Klien inside read 6 ft. ruler. Think the stanley is the best buy bought one yesterday for 7.99 at farm and fleet .

 

[d.mcfarland]

I'd suggest buy 2 of whatever you decide. The best tape measure is the closest one you can find!

 

[Bockscar]

I have two of the older plastic ones and I take good care of them. The newer ones are metal and quite a bit heavier.

Funny thing about those.....my dad had several plastic 12 footers and preferred those....I always liked the steel cased ones.....he would always lose one and later would realize it was in his pocket.....I like the weight of the steel cased ones over the plastic

 

[1320stang]

So in my line of work, I needed a long tape with a long standout and a magnet on the tip. Started with a 35' Husky, it held up a couple years, not heavy use, mainly raising the tip to an overhead pipe or pipe shield or hanger to measure the distance to the bottom of pipe. Went to a Milwaukee 40' after Home Depot stopped carrying Husky tapes and the warranty. Now we use laser tapes pretty much exclusively. Personally I like the old chrome plastic cased Stanleys. I think I have a 20' & a 25', I remember when you used to be able to get refills for them. I have a similar looking Lufkin that I don't care for, I've thought about the FatMax a couple times but they're so bulky (as are the 35' Husky and the 40' Milwaukee, but those are company provided) and I was afraid I'd always be knocking them into something.

 

[ace10]

Fat Max

I keep the cheapie model Komelons laying around, and don't get too upset when they walk off.

 

[Tinner]

I have two of the older plastic ones and I take good care of them. The newer ones are metal and quite a bit heavier.

You can get them either way.

Stanley PowerLocks are all I've used for decades. The 12 foot 3/4" is my go to, but I have several others including metric.

 

[Rinspeed]

You can get them either way.

Stanley PowerLocks are all I've used for decades. The 12 foot 3/4" is my go to, but I have several others including metric.

I didn't know they still made them with a plastic case.

 

[Tinner]

I didn't know they still made them with a plastic case.

I was wrong, they don't show up on the Stanley website. For years, they had both.

 

[ive]

What ever happened to the starett tape measures?

When I first started work that was the Cadillac of tape measures.

 

[ldg397]

I like the old Stanley power locks but don’t like they are not made in us anymore.
I was building a deck last summer and bought several Milwaukee, dewalt, powerlock, etc just couldn’t find one I liked. The standout just makes it wider and working outside the wind catches it and flips it over. Can’t tell you how many I threw.
Finally found my favorite tape measure and it is a Lufkin black widow they are almost $30 but I was desperate, with black blade neon green numbers printed top and bottom. I just love this thing. I search everywhere for it before I will use one of the others I have laying around.

 

[oldmachinenut]

What ever happened to the starett tape measures?

When I first started work that was the Cadillac of tape measures.

I have 2 Starrett 25 foot tapes that I use in my shop. I bought them around 10 years ago at Carlisle(swap meet) the guy had a table full of them. It seemed like they were close outs. They are very nice tapes, I wish I would have bought more of them.

 

[dnschmidt]

I like Fisco. Bought a bunch of them fairly cheap when somebody was trying to wedge them into the crowded American marketplace, which ultimately failed, but the quality is excellent.

 

[lardy1]

Tape measures are like ratchets. Personal preference reigns. All of them are only as accurate as the user.

 

[redwrench60]

Can we all at least agree that fractions printed on a tape ****?

also, let’s see some pictures of these less common tapes. Black widows, Starretts ect.

 

[jonshonda]

I have used the Stanley Fatmax since I was a union carpenter apprentice prior to 9/11. But I have seen some newer tape measures with dual hooks and markings on both sides of the tape, which I thought would be useful at times.

 

[MAD]

I have 2 Starrett 25 foot tapes that I use in my shop. I bought them around 10 years ago at Carlisle(swap meet) the guy had a table full of them. It seemed like they were close outs. They are very nice tapes, I wish I would have bought more of them.

The U.S. made Starrett tape measures were made by Evans Rule, which Starrett acquired in the mid-1980s. Around a dozen years ago Starrett closed down the Evans plant in S.C. and moved tape measure production to the Dominican Republic. The reviews on Amazon indicate that at least some current Starrett tapes are made in China now.

Evans Rule also made the Craftsman tape measures for Sears going back long before Starrett bought them. Around 2007, I bought a few of the "Sears Best" chrome case Craftsman tapes from a closeout table Starrett had at the Orange MA gas engine and tractor show. This was when the Craftsman lifetime warranty on tape measures was dropped and the case color changed to differentiate the new non-lifetime tapes. At that time, tape measure production made Sears Starrett's largest customer. A couple years later I noticed Dominican made Craftsman tape measures, but stopped paying attention during the rapid decline of Sears/Craftsman.

 

[Walkers]

Another FatMax user. I have two of the Milwaukee tapes with a magnet on the end. The magnet is always full of metal shavings, and the tape flips way too easy.

 

[rlitman]

...I only acknowledge tape measures that use simple uncluttered feet and inches by 1/16ths. I absolutely HATE tape measures with printed fractions or 32nds scale.

I agree that the printed fractions are annoying. I prefer markings that include both feet and inches as well as running inches.

As for the 1/32" scale, sometimes you want that extra set of lines. If it were up to me, I'd print 1/32" on the upper half only, and from 6" to 12" only. 1/32" beyond a foot is quite annoying.

 

[CGarage]

I like printed fractions personally. And some that do decimals I like equally. Makes it harder to screw up with the visual ID so you know exactly what you got. The visual RE-enforcement makes it easier when doing multiple measurements I find as well.

 

[CGarage]

My Lufkin Quick Read (with decimals and fractions) and my Facom in Communist (ehm....Metric). I use the Facom the most but not everyone loves my metrology in Metric.....