Tekton - brief initial impression...

[Tallpilot]

I hope we’re all still friends after this. Sheesh.

 

[Tallpilot]

or Cornwell....man that website is disgraceful. A kid in high school could improve on that with 2 weeks effort.

Snap-on has the best website of the truck brands and that is saying very little. I usually do a Google search to figure out a part number then use it to search. It’s nearly impossible to find anything any other way.

 

[toddmorr]

ha...maybe that's the truck brand strategy....force all info to come from the route salesman.

 

[visionguru]

Gentlemen, can we be civil to each other?
People can have different opinions on much more important things, this is only about tools.

I recently bought a Gearwrench 1/2" master set to complete my Gearwrench 1/4,3/8,1/2 socket collection. Total a little over $200, unbeatable value.

I examined my newly acquired sockets under a 10x magnifying glass. Here is what I noticed:

The Gearwrench has 3 features that are not often seen from regular store brands (correct me if I'm wrong) :
(1) the knurling. Yeah, not a big deal, but one extra step means it's more costly to make.

(2) the big, double size marking seems engraved not stamped AFTER chrome plating, otherwise, they can't be this sharp.

(3) The inside of this 19mm has obvious silver colored coating. You can notice the the spills on the edge. In comparison, the inside of store brand socket has very light brownish hue, likely residues of rust inhibitor.

This explains why gearwrench sockets don't have perfect chrome comparing with store brands: they might have gone through two extra steps after chrome plating.

Again, I think Tekton is doing good things by catering to their customers. They offer good quality tools. Their sockets seem more similar to other store brands than Gearwrench, not quite same quality level yet.

 

[M6erfan]

I 100% prefer the GW sockets over Tekton's. That said, I don't own either brands sockets.

 

[Mr_B]

nbeatable value.

I examined my newly acquired sockets under a 10x magnifying glass. Here is what I noticed:

The Gearwrench has 3 features that are not often seen from regular store brands (correct me if I'm wrong) :
(1) the knurling. Yeah, not a big deal, but one extra step means it's more costly to make.

(2) the big, double size marking seems engraved not stamped AFTER chrome plating, otherwise, they can't be this sharp.

only marking process done after plating is laser etching .
both roll stamping or engraving is done pre plating.
Good crisp print indicates good tooling and pretty decent/consistent material .
older gearwrench sockets was even better in terms of plating quality and stepped shouldering done full length rather than current trend of a 3rd of length (was a sales bullet point too but cost cutting wins over good design and manufacture).
premier, carlyle, jubilee tools, infar and even oem tools have nice socket designs and not expensive .
Biggest issue with tekton is when brand goes under that warranty you paid for gone and you left with just the tool which middle tier at best .
No idea why people feel warranty worth having on low cost basic tools .
Is a usa thing mainly ...

 

[pstemari]

.... First, their trilobal screwdrivers & nut drivers. I could be wrong but, i don't think that handle is sold by anyone else...

Stanley screwdrivers in the late 70's and into the 80's used a very similar three-lobed design. Consumer Reports in their screwdriver tests at the time stated that the handles allowed you to deliver enough torque by hand to strip off the screw head. I still have there of those drivers on my tool box.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk

 

[Handyandy23]

only marking process done after plating is laser etching .
both roll stamping or engraving is done pre plating.
Good crisp print indicates good tooling and pretty decent/consistent material .
older gearwrench sockets was even better in terms of plating quality and stepped shouldering done full length rather than current trend of a 3rd of length (was a sales bullet point too but cost cutting wins over good design and manufacture).
premier, carlyle, jubilee tools, infar and even oem tools have nice socket designs and not expensive .
Biggest issue with tekton is when brand goes under that warranty you paid for gone and you left with just the tool which middle tier at best .
No idea why people feel warranty worth having on low cost basic tools .
Is a usa thing mainly ...

I wouldn't exactly say you've paid for the warranty, since these are pretty low cost tools. But I mostly agree that warranty is overrated on cheaper tools.

I do believe though that tools should have a warranty that covers manufacturers defects. This to me means something that breaks prematurely or too easily, rather than expecting a lifetime of replacing every little socket I break decades from now.

We've seen some recent reviews where GearWrench gave people a hard time over tools they recieved defective right out of the box. That to me is unacceptable. The ease of warranty with Tekton is a plus to me just so I know if I receive something defective I won't be made to feel like a criminal for trying to exchange it.

It's not a top priority on my list when buying tools, but in a very competitive market with quality being similar, it is something to consider to tip the scales.

 

[Mr_B]

^
They in business so for sure you paying a premium for the warranty .
Yes it is nice to have confidence a defective item easy exchange in 30 days or even a year.
Hell of a lot good taiwan hand tools out there if look and prices are really competitive even on the real quality lines .

 

[ChrisLS8]

Well you can say whatever you want but you seem to be entrenched in you opinion of tekton. No matter what. Just because an answer is good enough for you i dont have to agree. The exa.ples i gave were just examples of tbings he could have said, specifics. Instrad he offered nothng specific.i could have searched those things out and many i did.

Maybe you guys should form a committee and come with a set or rules that tell us what questions are ok and which ones not allowed or maybe you should just do it yourself so noone asks a questjon you dont aapprove of.

The role of CS on a forum and being a rep for a company is a narrow field. You can only release certain info for the company in many cases. The COO is available and they don't hide that.

I was a formulator and rep for a sports nutrition company and there were a lot of questions that we could not answer even though I knew exactly where the raws came from, the COAs, the manufacturers etc etc. They leave certain things up for management or Legal to answer

 

[Git]

I don't have a dog in this fight - but I will say that to me, Tekton appears to be very honest/open about where their tools are actually being made. It's not like they are trying to hide it

 

[Rabid Badger]

Let's ask the resident Snap-On, Mac, Matco and SK reps where they get all their third party tools.

What's that? They don't exist? And even if they did they wouldn't tell you because OF COURSE THEY AREN'T GOING TO TELL YOU THAT. THEY WANT YOU TO BUY THE TOOLS FROM THEM. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?

 

[Rabid Badger]

I examined my newly acquired sockets under a 10x magnifying glass.

I was wondering what you do with your tools after you posted a picture of 15 year old sockets that look like they just came off the shelf. I guess now I know.

 

[KBigg]

Let's ask the resident Snap-On, Mac, Matco and SK reps where they get all their third party tools.

What's that? They don't exist? And even if they did they wouldn't tell you because OF COURSE THEY AREN'T GOING TO TELL YOU THAT. THEY WANT YOU TO BUY THE TOOLS FROM THEM. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?

Actually snap on reps will tell you exactly what tools were made where. Except the 14.4 line, the most they seem to know is theyre made in Taiwan because something about lithium isnt legal here.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Actually snap on reps will tell you exactly what tools were made where.

There are Snap-On reps on this forum? Kindly point them out.

Except the 14.4 line, the most they seem to know is theyre made in Taiwan because something about lithium isnt legal here.

Oooookay.

 

[buckwheat_la]

Let's ask the resident Snap-On, Mac, Matco and SK reps where they get all their third party tools.

What's that? They don't exist? And even if they did they wouldn't tell you because OF COURSE THEY AREN'T GOING TO TELL YOU THAT. THEY WANT YOU TO BUY THE TOOLS FROM THEM. ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND?

How dare you use logic and common sense in this discussion?!

 

[KBigg]

There are Snap-On reps on this forum? Kindly point them out.



Oooookay.

When did I say there was?

 

[Ryan]

Some of you fellas need to put your heads down and get back to work.