the Nepros brand hand tool thread

[cleeny]

Just saying that other tools don't do that, that's all, and that can be a factor for some when comparing brands.

Use your tools and they're going to get scratched. I understand that, and I don't mind it, but when a tool is supposed to be stronger than a bolt (not kryptonite...) I don't think what I mentioned is entirely acceptable. You understand now, Applesauce? I wasn't complaining about a scratch.

 

[leod]

Yep, just use it and put more dents and scratches on it then you wont mind those small dents

 

[cleeny]

Haha we're not on the same page guys...
So you're saying that is normal? For the metal of an open end to "give" like that from fastening a 12mm bolt?! Then why haven't my other wrenches done the same under the same type of use?

I'll explain again using another example:
I don't mind at all that my snap-on chrome finish no longer has its perfect scratchless shiny finish... But I would be curious if the wrench had bent, if dents formed from contact with a bolt under normal use, or anything else unusual, when other wrenches do not do so. This isn't about normal wear and tear.

 

[superautobacs]

Cleeny,

A little bit of compression on the edges is not rare occurence. I believe it's more prone to happen when you're torqueing a fastener at an off angle...meaning, not perpendicular to the fastener. I've seen deformation on the open end of other people's wrenches, but whether those wrenches were at one time or another abused or not, I have no idea.

I have a 15mm KD branded standard combination wrench (in other words, a Craftsman wrench) that's been used no more than half a dozen times and it's looking a lot worse than yours. I use it on tie rods and although it's never been abused by using a cheater pipe or a mallet, I do know that I've operated it at an off angle.

I also looked through my KTC and Nepros, and Ko-ken sockets (regular and Zeal) and I'd say the KTC sockets have the most visible deformation. That said, they are all at the edge, where two faces come to a point. The KTC/Nepros and Zeal sockets are have minimal chamfering machined to the face of the socket (unlike the majority of brands in the market), that means the edges come to a sharper point. A rounded, chamfered edge is less prone to deformation. I'd imagine this would apply to wrenches as well. My KD wrench I mentioned also has a sharp edge on the open end.


I'd say repeat the same thing several times with that same wrench. It should take a set, if it hasn't done so already.
Try out your Nepros combination wrenches as well and tell us what you observe.

 

[Skin]

Snap-On seems to use a higher hardness so they resist that kind of minor deformation without some serious abuse. MAC and Craftsman (Armstrong) wrenches have both exhibited similar deformation/denting. This is just in my experiences. It is definitely made worse by incomplete contact with the fastener but quite often that cannot be helped. Not a deal breaker but it is kind of annoying for someone like myself who likes to take care of their stuff as much as they like using it.

 

[cleeny]

Thanks for the feedback, fellas. I am a tool noob for sure, but even so, it was odd to see the KTC show said deformation after a single use, and it wasn't at an odd angle, Subacs =P.

Like Skin said, not really significant. Besides, subsequent uses show that the wrench still does its job. Still, it may be relevant to a few potential buyers. As a side note, my buddy's a bike mechanic, and although he mainly uses both KTC and SO wrenches, and he has stated both are good, if he had to, he'd choose the SOs since they have not shown deformation. These are just his words after a significant amount of real-world use.

Yep, if such issues occur with a Nepros wrench, I'll post.
But I doubt it'll happen with any Nepros wrench.

 

[cleeny]

Just got my NBR390S!
Whatta fine ratchet it is...
Very heavy little guy.. seems very durable.
Ratcheting feel is stiff compared to the koken zeal but highly precise.
Thing flaunts rock solid build quality.. overall highly recommended.
Only minor gripe would be that the detention ball on the square drive gives a bit even without the quick release being pressed. Itd been nice if they offered a non quick release version.

Used it today with a koken zeal quik spinner and overall highly satisfied.

 

[cleeny]

Just a bit of an update: used my 12mm combination wrench yesterday and also dropped it, not even the tiniest scratch on it... the quality and robustness of the finish is utterly astounding, period. In addition, there are no marks at all on the chrome where the bolt head and open end touched during use... amazing.

The finish on the NBR390S isn't as perfect as the wrench, but functionally or feel-wise, it is absolutely solid, like it was carved out of a block of adamantium.

No brand is perfect, thus I made the minor complaint above, but perhaps KTC will improve future ratchets and make sure the ball stays absolutely put until the QR button is touched. Oh, and also make it a bit easier to fully depress the button since I have to really dig my finger into the head and use my fingernail to fully depress the button.

Anyways, an elite brand of tools in today's age...

 

[Skin]

Only minor gripe would be that the detention ball on the square drive gives a bit even without the quick release being pressed.

I haven't found a quick release that doesn't do that if you push hard enough. As long as it functions and the sockets/extensions don't fall off its working. I'll also say the tolerances are tighter than a dual 80 QR in terms of slop in the gear within the ratchet head. Its cosmetic but speaks to the slightly tighter tolerances of the Nepros.

 

[cleeny]

Ah, so that's normal across many brands huh? I guess there's a reason then. Use to own a QR craftsman years ago and couldn't remember, and I currently have no other QRs to compare with... thanks, Skin.

And what exactly is "slop"? Don't quite get what you mean by "slop in the gear within the ratchet head."

 

[Skin]

I'm talking about the amount of, for lack of a better word, tilt the gear exhibits with a socket or extension on it. Stick a socket on the head and wiggle the socket side to side. Bam, new tool related OCD you can now check on all your current and future ratchets. Obviously all ratcheting gears will have some amount of slop to them within the head, or they wouldn't rotate. Just saying compared my dual 80 QRs the main gears of the Nepros have a tighter fit.

 

[cleeny]

Gotcha

 

[red97k1500]

Iv cracked two nepros mid length 3/8s sockets... my 8mm and my 15mm.The 8mm was from if i remember right loosening ford Taurus transmission pan bolt.and the the 15mm was from loosening an exhaust manifold bolt both of these were done by hand.

 

[superautobacs]

Just a bit of an update: used my 12mm combination wrench yesterday and also dropped it, not even the tiniest scratch on it... the quality and robustness of the finish is utterly astounding, period. In addition, there are no marks at all on the chrome where the bolt head and open end touched during use... amazing.

The finish on the NBR390S isn't as perfect as the wrench, but functionally or feel-wise, it is absolutely solid, like it was carved out of a block of adamantium.

No brand is perfect, thus I made the minor complaint above, but perhaps KTC will improve future ratchets and make sure the ball stays absolutely put until the QR button is touched. Oh, and also make it a bit easier to fully depress the button since I have to really dig my finger into the head and use my fingernail to fully depress the button.

Anyways, an elite brand of tools in today's age...

I returned my first nepros ratchet because of that. I really had to depress the button all the way down before the ball would release the socket. It was the 3/8" drive compact flex model (it's a 1/4" drive head with a 3/8" square):

Unlike my model, the one pictured above has bevel shaped around the release button. So, I presumed mine was a NOS....pre-bevel.

I have no issues with operating the new NBR390 quick release though. ...but it might be due to the fact that the button is larger in diameter compared to the 1/4" drive....

Iv cracked two nepros mid length 3/8s sockets... my 8mm and my 15mm.The 8mm was from if i remember right loosening ford Taurus transmission pan bolt.and the the 15mm was from loosening an exhaust manifold bolt both of these were done by hand.

***** to hear that. It split along the length of the socket right? Were you able to continue using them and finish the job or did they end up becoming utterly useless? Are you going to pursue with warranty?

 

[cleeny]

Man... I actually just noticed two faint little rust spots i think forming on the NMS2-12...
Theyre little brown rings but im not even going to claim any warranty or anything. I want to see how bad they get as my little experiment haha.

 

[superautobacs]

Cleeny,

Have a picture of it?

My guess is that it's the two spots where the wrench is hung up during the surface finish production, when it undergoes a series of baths on a large hanger. Wrench and sockets that go through a chrome plating process will have such spots.

 

[cleeny]

I've attached an image. There are two spots. One on the open end (as attached) and a brown blob in the ring end.

At first, the faint brown spots were much clearer brown rings before I used meguiar's NXT metal polish to stop further rusting (if even possible). The polish actually made the spots much less visible... wish I would have seen your post before, superautobacs!

But yeah, all in all, a bit disheartening after what I've read about Nepros in general. I can live with the browning, just dont want rust to seep into the core metal and weaken the wrench itself. Is that what usually happens?

 

[amitchell]

I've attached an image. There are two spots. One on the open end (as attached) and a brown blob in the ring end.

At first, the faint brown spots were much clearer brown rings before I used meguiar's NXT metal polish to stop further rusting (if even possible). The polish actually made the spots much less visible... wish I would have seen your post before, superautobacs!

But yeah, all in all, a bit disheartening after what I've read about Nepros in general. I can live with the browning, just dont want rust to seep into the core metal and weaken the wrench itself. Is that what usually happens?

You will be fine as long as you don't store it in salt water.

 

[Applesauce]

But yeah, all in all, a bit disheartening after what I've read about Nepros in general.

You seem to say something along these lines about every Nepros tool you own... Why do you keep buying (insert tool brand here) if you're so consistently disappointed?! I have a hard time believing any of the things you tend to mention about pretty much all the tools you own would be noticeable in actual use.

 

[daparrothead]

I'm considering buying a set of their SAE combination wrenches, anyone have the link to them and how the ordering process works for USA orders ? I tried using some of the links in this thread and they are all in Japanese, even tried the google translation tool bar and all the pricing is still in Japanese.

 

[Wakefield]

I'm considering buying a set of their SAE combination wrenches, anyone have the link to them and how the ordering process works for USA orders ? I tried using some of the links in this thread and they are all in Japanese, even tried the google translation tool bar and all the pricing is still in Japanese.

Try

nepros.net/?p=2&s=0&tt=Tool

 

[daparrothead]

^^^ Thanks Wakefield, That link works for me. I see my wife kicking my **** in the near future. lmao

 

[cleeny]

Applesauce, I post relevantly. Stop misinterpreting me. You either need to read more carefully or you have horrible inference skills. And simple rule of life (tools or not)ㅡdon't be a ****.

daparrothead, people in the U.S. buy a lot from nepros.net whose prices are unbeatable.
I order via from mutsuura honten, a seller on rakuten:
http://global.rakuten.com/en/store/mutsuura/
You're probably better off with nepros.net, but you could note the link for future reference.

 

[rbailey1]

Anyone else having trouble getting to the nepros.net website?

 

[cleeny]

I'm not having any problems at all. Site seems to be working fine.

 

[Dave455]

Well I'm getting a message saying that nepros.net "expired" on 22 Feb!

Being essentially a wrench turner rather than a keyboard hitter I'm not sure what that means, but I'm certainly not able to access the site or order! Hopefully they get that sorted out!

 

[north]

I'm getting a blank page in Firefox and "nepros.net expired on 02/22/2014 and is pending renewal or deletion." in Opera.

 

[BK13]

Yeah, on safari on my iPad I'm getting an ad for a Brazillian cut bikini company. Kinda makes me wonder what the girlfriend has been looking at with this thing?

 

[cleeny]

Weird, I just tried again, and the site is indeed up.
By the way, to be fair to the members here and to KTC, I must say that superautobacs was correct. A Nepros rep confirmed via email that my issue with the finish is normal.
The brown spots on both the open and box ends are not rust. They are spots where the chromium plating is either thin or absent. Or the nickel underneath is showing.
KTC uses two layers of nickel plating followed by a thin layer of chromium.
When the wrench is hung for chromium plating, hooks or whatever they're called touch the wrench and can cause the faint spots (or the more pronounced brown rings they were before I used NXT polysh).

I have Stahlwille open box 13 wrenches that have brown spots although they are not chrome plated. I didn't take what superautobacs said "seriously" since the Nepros wrench didn't have the spots in the same location as the Stahlwilles.

Anyway, the KTC rep was very helpful and I hope this helps.

 

[dede2897234]

The Nepros website comes up in Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. I get a blank page in Mozilla Firefox.


Update: To resolve the blank page in Firefox, clear the cache by going to the "Firefox" menu, select "Options", "Options", "Advanced" on the far right", "Network" tab, click on "Clear Now" button under "Cached Web Content" section. Once Firefox finishes with clearing the cache, exit Firefox, and restart it. Then, go to nepros.net and the website should appear.


Dave

 

[superautobacs]

snip*

I have Stahlwille open box 13 wrenches that have brown spots although they are not chrome plated. I didn't take what superautobacs said "seriously" since the Nepros wrench didn't have the spots in the same location as the Stahlwilles.
*snip

Where are the spots located on the Stahlwilles?
BTW, the finish on the German brands are still chrome plated. They just undergo a different process to achieve that rough, textured finish....as the Japanese like to call it, 'pear-skin finish'.
AFAIK, it's more costly to achieve that surface finish.

 

[cleeny]

Ah ok. I should have said that they don't have the shiny polished finish. ^_^
The Stahlwille finish is awesome too though. I've actually grown to love it due to its more natural quality and it really has character and is a pleasure to handle.

As a side note, some wrenches though pass Stahlwille QC with chips in the finish which I don't think is acceptable for a wrench of their caliber. Stains and little imperfections are fine, but not actual chips... This is what Stahlwille told me anyway.

You will find the tiny brown spots on SOME of their wrenches. If you hold the wrench so the open end is facing the sky, you will see them right above the "12mm" stamping. Just going by logic though, I say they're harmless and just like the Nepros, it is not corrosion but simply a consequence of the plating process.

That said, I own Facom 440, Nepros, Snap-on, and Stahlwille wrenches. Each has its pros and cons, but all show great quality overall.

 

[rbailey1]

Cleeny,

I'm considering getting a nice quality 3/8 inch ratchet for bicycle/motorcycle work. I'm very frustrated with the sloppy fit and action of my Craftsman ratchet and sockets. I have a nice older 30 tooth Cornwell ratchet that feels great, but a little sloppy in action also. I want to feel what's going on with the fasteners, not the tools. Have some Snapon and Nepros sockets and hex bits that I really like fit and material wise (absolutely love the Nepros cross head screwdrivers fit/feel for Japanese motorcycle stuff). Can you elaborate on the different ratchets strengths/weaknesses you mentioned?

Anybody have an opinion on Snapon/Facom/Stahlwille/Havet sockets for small size applications? I'm seeing fit and hardness as my most important variables. Wonder if one socket maker is better in these terms.

Thanks.

 

[ricleh]

I have Snapon, Stahlwille, Hazet, Nepros, KTC, Koken, Felo, Grey Pneumatic, Wera & Gedore small sockets. They are all very good quality.

 

[rbailey1]

ricleh, would you say one brand of these fits ratchets and fasteners tighter?

 

[cleeny]

I cannot comment on other ratchets, but I have Ko-ken z-series ratchets that are very smooth and just a pleasure to use. They only have 36 teeth but that is enough for me. Something about the lightness and the smoothness of the Ko-ken z-eals really do it for me.

The NBR390 feels more solid and has 90 teeth, but it is relatively heavy. I don't have a stubby 3/8 Z-eal to compare it to, so I can't tell you which of the three I own is best. Honestly, they're all great. But you may want to note that Nepros tools seem to show the best fit and tolerance according to many comments posted in this thread.

Ricleh seems to own many many tools from all different brands, and I'm sure he can help you much better than I did.

 

[ricleh]

ricleh, would you say one brand of these fits ratchets and fasteners tighter?

Nepros has the tightest tolerances of all the brands that I own. All of the brands I listed are very good though. My experience has been that fasteners themselves have much worse tolerances than any of my tools.

 

[Dave455]

Hi guys!

Has anybody noticed that Nepros are updating their website!

It's not up and running yet, but there's some extra stuff on there! 3/8 drive 90 tooth ratchets in long, short and flex, and 1/2 inch drive 90 tooth ratchets too!

Unfortunately, it looks like they are updating their prices too! Presumably this is due to the yen/dollar rate, but it's a bit of a hit if you are paying in $!

 

[north]

Much more pleasing to watch and manouver. Although one almost need a welding helmet to look at the pic on the front page.

Thanks for the heads up.

 

[mmcnutt]

Hey guys. Just wanted to write and share my experiences with Nepros stuff. I was turned on to the brand from a friend and have referenced this site for most of my tool purchases from them.

I have thousands of dollars of Nepros tools and the majority of my tools are Snap On. I have some Koken stuff mixed in there too. These tools are used every day and for their intended purposes. However, despite being happy with the majority of my Nepros stuff, I have now broken the sidewalls on two 14mm Nepros universal sockets. One on a bellhousing bolt on a Subaru a few months ago and one today on an A/C compressor bracket bolt on another Subaru.

Nepros gave me grief on the first one, but did end up replacing it, but I'm not even going to try on this one. I usually use a 1/4" Snap On universal 14mm socket for the back A/C compressor bracket bolt on Subarus, but my 3/8" Nepros one fit squeezed in on this particular model, so I chose that over the 1/4" Snap On for fear of breaking it. My Snap On guy rules, so I should have risked breaking the other socket, but the 3/8" seemed more appropriate for the job.

I will be buying more Nepros stuff in the future, but I will not be purchasing this tool again. On Friday I plan on buying 14 and 17mm Snap On 3/8" universal socket and be done with it.

That's my two cents and thanks for all the help you all have provided me. I hope this adds to the wealth of knowledge here. I love all the rest of my Nepros stuff, especially all of my 90T ratchets, but I cannot rely on these particular sockets anymore.