Tekton tin snips

[kngelv]

I don't understand the attacks on Tekton. They at least try and make some things here. Also they are very upfront on where every item they sell is made as shown at the end of this post. Who else does that? I have a set of the metric crowfoot wrenches and they are very nice. I also have a large Tekton Box that is made in Canada by Rousseau and is miles better than the HF, Craftsman, Tool Vault, Masterforce boxes that are regularly touted on here. The new USA made tool rolls they make in-house look interesting and appear to sell very well. No company is perfect and at least they try to make some things here plus excellent customer service and a 10% rebate bonus on every purchase for more tools. I looked at some past posts by the two main complainers on here and they are regularly suggesting people purchase Chinese made tools so I think it's a bit hypocritical for them to ***** about Tekton. How many USA made tools can you get from, Harbor Freight, Gearwrench, Craftsman and other common brands mentioned on this forum. I also commend them for not selling any Mainland China tools unlike nearly every other brand including Snap-On.

James

About 81.5% of our current product lineup is made in Taiwan, 12% in the United States, 2% in Canada, 4% in Germany, and the remaining .5% consists of 14 items from Sweden, 4 items from Poland, and 1 item from Slovakia. You can find the country of origin for every tool on Tekton.com by referring to the “Specifications” section at the bottom of each product page.

 

[Steve_P]

Funny how so many ***** about Tekton replacing their garbage hard handle USA screwdrivers with superior German made Witte. I guess some people just have to complain and any time a Tekton thread starts here the same made in USA crowd reposts their same bitching.

 

[four.cycle]

I don't understand the attacks on Tekton.

Same as people bashing Harbor Freight. Or ebay. Or Facebook Marketplace.
Hell, I'm sure there's at least one guy here who could write up a respectable rant about Snap-on.

I put in over 25 years on retail parts counters. Out of a hundred people, you'll find at least a few who have to let you know they hate Fram Oil Filters, or Holley Carburetors, or let you know that Mallory is okay, but Accel distributors are "just as good" and less money.
Same ****, different bucket.

Thread was supposed to be about tin snips, but here we are.
It's GarageJournal. What were you expecting?

 

[sparky 1971]

Good for Tekton, but I don't need or want a new set of snips.

Since the thread turned into a screwdriver rant: does anyone know why they stopped selling the hard handles that has led to more than one pair of ******* in a bunch? I don't care, I have a few of them, use them frequently in the shop but they sure aren't anything special and nothing I am upset about being NLA. The screwdrivers that I have and really like are the Channellock that are rebranded Mayhew, those are nice. And my SK cushiongrip that don't have much of a cushioned grip. I use Klein at work because that's what I'm supposed to use and they are what the supply house carries but those aren't anything to brag about either.

 

[four.cycle]

Sparky, to be quite honest I am utterly mystifed by it. I gave my buddy that blow-mold Tekton kit - and it has a "hard handle" 1/4" spinner in it, very similar (if not exactly alike) to those red-handled screwdrivers. I hate that type of handle myself. I do not believe my buddy is particularly fond of them either.
As to the snips, I already have center, left, and right cuts that I haven't pulled out of a box in 20+ years, and 3 pairs of standard tinner's snips, so I'm good.

 

[AJHD]

Well this thread ran straight off the rails...

Where is @Dave.R when you need him?

 

[sparky 1971]

Sparky, to be quite honest I am utterly mystifed by it. I gave my buddy that blow-mold Tekton kit - and it has a "hard handle" 1/4" spinner in it, very similar (if not exactly alike) to those red-handled screwdrivers. I hate that type of handle myself. I do not believe my buddy is particularly fond of them either.
As to the snips, I already have center, left, and right cuts that I haven't pulled out of a box in 20+ years, and 3 pairs of standard tinner's snips, so I'm good.

I understand. I have exactly two pair of snips. Both straight cut: one like new pair in the garage that I bought at Sears in 1994 when I started sparkying. The other pair are Lenox that were on clearance at Menards; I thought those looked neat and the price was right so I bought 'em. They're on my service truck and I don't think I've used 'em. I'm set for life with tin snips.

 

[ecotec]

In snips it's either Midwest or Malco. All else isn't worth mentioning

Malco and Klenk are both better than Midwest.

Also… the rebranded Tekton Witte are better than the USA Tekton screwdrivers.

 

[dnschmidt]

Malco and Klenk are both better than Midwest.

Also… the rebranded Tekton Witte are better than the USA Tekton screwdrivers.

Possibly on the first sentence. No question about it on the second.

 

[tarbellb]

Cheap snips are everywhere, they must have a nice markup on these

Agreed that it would be nice to see either Innovation or US brand snips


After putting on my own standing seam roof I'm acutely aware of quality snips

Malco, Midwest, and my German Bessey are top notch

If you are truly using snips then this style is a life (hand+finger) saver

 

[KnurledNut]

 

[Dave.R]

Dave with Tekton here, from our Manufacturing Center across the parking lot from my usual roost.

A lot of opinions to go through here, and I enjoy getting the feedback.

There are going to be some growing pains as we expand our USA programs; part of that was cutting the US screwdriver program. This frees up bandwidth for us to develop things that will propel our USA production forward.

The percentages are tricky because while our USA options are increasing, we've also greatly expanded our socket program, which is going to push that Taiwan percentage up.

There's always going to be some give and take, but we are actively working to increase our US production where it makes sense for us and our users.

You can view what we make exclusively in-house at the link below.

Made In-House | TEKTON

Shop tools we make in our manufacturing center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

www.tekton.com

 

[lardy1]

Always good to hear from you, Dave. All the reps that participate here are appreciated by the majority of the users from what I observe.

Keep on keepin on. The naysayers in here are a small but vocal crowd. I don't think there's any doubt that Tekton is reaching their target audience and that most of us are pleased to see your new products even when we don't need them personally. I also think most of us know that manufacturing hand tools in this country is a very expensive and risky venture and really don't expect to see Tekton become exclusively or even majority US made.

You're doing fine, regardless the chatter. The lack of substance in the few detractors should speak volumes to you.

 

[four.cycle]

Hi Dave!

 

[NitroExpress]

Dave with Tekton here, from our Manufacturing Center across the parking lot from my usual roost.

You can view what we make exclusively in-house at the link below.

Made In-House | TEKTON

Shop tools we make in our manufacturing center in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

www.tekton.com

what tekton factory in michigan? please tell me and everyone else where it iis.

i will go out on a limb and say tekton does not own one iota of mfg. capacity in michigan or anywhere else. i will gladly retract my statement if proven otherwise.