The New SK Tools...

[Busted_Knuckles]

I was in town today (Sycamore/Dekalb, IL), and having a conversation with a gentleman I know, who I had not seen since last spring.

Hes involved with Ideal / SK Tools, I learned the following.

At no time will the SK tools be made overseas. There has been some key management changes made, and the powers that be, understand, and have based their business plans on the SK Tools being an All-American made tool company. Sorry Jay50 !....

SK did buy/negotiate, and receive tooling from the old SK. Not presses, pretty much hand picked tooling.

The new tools will be different from the old tools, at least from a visual standpoint.

As previously discussed, Western Forge is involved, as well Pratt Reed.

Price point will be between craftsman and the pro tools.

Thats all I remember. Keep in mind this is all second hand info, but the source is well tied in to the operation, and I find very credible.

I thought some of you guys might find this up-lifting !

 

[tw33k2514]

I'm pretty excited to see what happens, but then again I am an SK junkie...

 

[Joe B.]

Sounds good. I might become their best customer if they can pull this off. I just hope they find an outlet to sell the tools through. Amazon & Sears.com won't keep them afloat!

 

[TDITS]

Did you ask about where they plan on selling tools or how they plan on distributing them?

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Sounds good. I might become their best customer if they can pull this off. I just hope they find an outlet to sell the tools through. Amazon & Sears.com won't keep them afloat!

That is something I should have asked, I will see if I can find out what lanes of distribution they have planned...

 

[Davefr]

Thanks for the update!! It is uplifting to hear that SK is not going to be a famous USA brand on a Chinese tool. (like Thorsen has become)

All SK has to do is:
1. Proudly display made in the USA
2. Produce quality on par with the truck brands
3. Price between truck brands and Craftsman
4. Use the latest manufacturing technology to keep quality high and costs low
5. Develop a viable distribution strategy
5. Keep the unions out

 

[Kirbot]

I can't wait to see what happens!
I'm still disappointed about the screwdrivers, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the stuff.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Just curious, what is to be disappointed about the screw drivers ?

I can't wait to see what happens!
I'm still disappointed about the screwdrivers, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the stuff.

 

[rt dak]

Just curious, what is to be disappointed about the screw drivers ?

They're just re-branded Craftsmans.

 

[Kirbot]

Just curious, what is to be disappointed about the screw drivers ?

From what was discussed in another topic, they appear to be rebranded Craftsman Pro. Not that there bad screwdrivers, I was just hoping for something different.

 

[Davefr]

Let's cut them some slack. They can't re-design 100's of tools and retool a factory in the short period of time from when old SK went bankrupt to when Ideal planned the relaunch. Let's not forget it took Sears 3 years to redesign the 3 SKU ratchet lineup.

There are worse things in life then the SK brand on slighlty modified Craftsman Professional screwdrivers.

Let's see if they're commited to quality and innovation over time. There's no way I'm going to rag on a company committed to saving a US brand and making it in the USA when they're barely out of the shute.

 

[Joe B.]

That is something I should have asked, I will see if I can find out what lanes of distribution they have planned...

Yeah, I really hope they do well because I like the market position that they plan to fill. I just worry that they won't have anywhere to sell their products. Hopefully they can pick up a major auto parts store or something similar.

I really like my SK stubby wrenches and my roto-head ratchet. I would not love having some more SK in my box.

They way SK does business but seems to survive kind of reminds me of Chrysler.

 

[american lockpicker]

I want made in France tools.

 

[Wrenches of Death]

There's no way I'm going to rag on a company committed to saving a US brand and making it in the USA when they're barely out of the shute.

Agreed. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that they succeed.

WoD

 

[jk47]

I was in town today (Sycamore/Dekalb, IL), and having a conversation with a gentleman I know, who I had not seen since last spring.

Hes involved with Ideal / SK Tools, I learned the following.

At no time will the SK tools be made overseas. There has been some key management changes made, and the powers that be, understand, and have based their business plans on the SK Tools being an All-American made tool company. Sorry Jay50 !....

SK did buy/negotiate, and receive tooling from the old SK. Not presses, pretty much hand picked tooling.

The new tools will be different from the old tools, at least from a visual standpoint.

As previously discussed, Western Forge is involved, as well Pratt Reed.

Price point will be between craftsman and the pro tools.

Thats all I remember. Keep in mind this is all second hand info, but the source is well tied in to the operation, and I find very credible.

I thought some of you guys might find this up-lifting !

That sounds awesome... Any word on product release dates?

 

[Flash21]

Let's cut them some slack. They can't re-design 100's of tools and retool a factory in the short period of time from when old SK went bankrupt to when Ideal planned the relaunch. Let's not forget it took Sears 3 years to redesign the 3 SKU ratchet lineup.

There are worse things in life then the SK brand on slighlty modified Craftsman Professional screwdrivers.

Let's see if they're commited to quality and innovation over time. There's no way I'm going to rag on a company committed to saving a US brand and making it in the USA when they're barely out of the shute.

Well put Davefr, well put...I completely agree. I think they are making all the right moves and I can't wait to see their line up.

 

[Rickntenn]

Does the new SK plan to honor the lifetime warranty on all the product out there now? I am afraid they will not be able to and this will forever damage their reputation.

 

[blue dog]

These are positive things to hear, i for one will support them.

 

[BigK600]

With Craftsman going to China, I will support SK.

 

[Even 11]

I'll support them, Western forge is about 10 minutes from me.

-Dane

 

[cnc-me]

At no time will the SK tools be made overseas. There has been some key management changes made, and the powers that be, understand, and have based their business plans on the SK Tools being an All-American made tool company.

My hat is off, and I wish them the best of luck.
Go SK!

 

[catfish]

good news

 

[otis66]

I can't wait to start buying new SK tools.

 

[Fedwrench]

Just curious, what is to be disappointed about the screw drivers ?

it"s not just the screwdrivers, add the pliers in too. What made SK a viable brand in the past was that they were unique. Better than some and close to tool truck quality at a more reasonable price. I have a lot of SK tools ranging from my youth when every parts house sold them to recently made stuff.
I don't expect them to redesign their whole line up. I understand they must take advantage of other Ideal companies to produce common items the same way that Danaher does. However, SK needs to be mindful of their target customer and rebadged craftsman screwdrivers and pliers won't cut it for the long haul. SK would be much better off taking the western forge pro style blade and wrapping a SK green rectangular handle around it than either cloning the the pro driver in green and black colors or making those soggy cornflake tough regular western forge screwdrivers (clear handled Craftsmans) in green. Now, let's see the ratchets, sockets, wrenches, and impact sockets. The new SK needs to concentrate on the basics and avoid things like Air Tools.
You guys can wrap yourselve in patriotism and say how great it is that SK is going to be US made but, unless SK produces a quality product, they will not survive on country of origin alone. The Edsel was US made too.

 

[airbuff101]

I see SK's biggest hurdle in distribution and point of sale.

The reason that old SK tools (as well as Blackhawk,Proto,Fleet etc.) are so prevalent from the 60's-70's is that at the time every auto parts store had a display wall behind the counter. Wrench and socket sets were heavily promo'd and hard line draped that wall display.
Along with many discount dept. stores of the day, That is how these quality tool brands were sold.

Now of course, there are fewer professional auto parts/farm stores/small dept. store chains and the Mega-parts stores have taken over the market.
SK has been rarely seen in the last decade as these outlets have switched to offshore tools for the most part. That stuff is decent usable quality, easily warrantied and in front of customers Everywhere.
In the 60's-70's SK was there instead.
Industrial hardware companies and independent tool trucks have been the major providers of SK in the last decade. It ain't nearly enough.
I'm confident that Ideal has got their eye on private branding for big chains, Sears etc but I can't see it being a major brand again without merchandising that gets that logo in front of a lot more eyes in a lot more places.
I applaud them in this day and age. I hope we see promotion in car mags/TV/racing etc as that is what it will take.
Rob

 

[lowbucktruck]

I see SK's biggest hurdle in distribution and point of sale.

The reason that old SK tools (as well as Blackhawk,Proto,Fleet etc.) are so prevalent from the 60's-70's is that at the time every auto parts store had a display wall behind the counter. Wrench and socket sets were heavily promo'd and hard line draped that wall display.
Along with many discount dept. stores of the day, That is how these quality tool brands were sold.

Now of course, there are fewer professional auto parts/farm stores/small dept. store chains and the Mega-parts stores have taken over the market.
SK has been rarely seen in the last decade as these outlets have switched to offshore tools for the most part. That stuff is decent usable quality, easily warrantied and in front of customers Everywhere.
In the 60's-70's SK was there instead.
Industrial hardware companies and independent tool trucks have been the major providers of SK in the last decade. It ain't nearly enough.
I'm confident that Ideal has got their eye on private branding for big chains, Sears etc but I can't see it being a major brand again without merchandising that gets that logo in front of a lot more eyes in a lot more places.
I applaud them in this day and age. I hope we see promotion in car mags/TV/racing etc as that is what it will take.
Rob

I agree airbuff... the times have changed. I remember going into the local hardware store with my old man as a kid and seeing S-K tools on the racks. S-K will have to be aggressive in their marketing and distribution (fortunately they have name recognition going for them). Online sales via the internet with big-box store tie-in might make the difference for S-K. More people shop online these days. S-K could make it easy for a guy to order a custom tool kit and have it shipped right to his doorstep. The timing might be right, with consumers unhappy with Sears Craftsman quality (and let's face it, Sears has the retail distribution!). Well-placed ads in car magazines for the gearhead crowd like RODZ, Deluxe Car Kulture would get to the younger crowd as well as the older die-hards; also selling S-K tools via resellers/distributers like Summit Racing would get the S-K brand out there.

I recently purchased a NOS S-K 42470 ratchet (1/2 inch drive) from Alex71 (ASMC.NET, shameless plug here) and I can't tell you how happy it made me to see that beautiful, untouched chrome! That ratchet is the smoothest 1/2 drive that I own now. S-K needs to get displays of their tools into a big box store so that the average guy can put hands on them and feel the difference in a quality-made tool. A good price point won't hurt either. If I had to choose between Husky, Stanley, Kobalt ratchets and an S-K ratchet from a big-box store, I can tell you that the S-K would definitely win that contest.

 

[mrholeshot]

I hope SK gets really aggressive in online markets as well as local points. Keep pumping them through ebay, amazon and online tool distributors. Knowing they will be pitted agaist the likes of gearwrench they really need to push hard. It would be nice to see tool truck dealers but they wouldn't be able to do that with online sales. The dealers would just end up being rolling warranty vehicles.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

I will see if I can get a 411 on intended lanes of distribution..also when they are scheduled to be "open". Knowing what little I know about Ideal, its my opinion they have better than a 50% of not screwing this up. My S/O has done corporate business with them in the past, and she has a good friend that still does business with them. They both speak highly of the "organization". Not knowing the electrical parts and tools market, I don't know how successful they are in their own market, but I think that would have some bearing on how well they might do in a new, somewhat related market.

I'm told as far as "businesses" go, they have all their **** in "one pile", and they are flush. I too hope they make it, not from a local economy sense, but Ive always liked their tools, and price point, being a Quality Driven/Cheap SOB. I like my SO, but don't like paying for it. I also error-ed, and dumped most of my SK tools a year ago, when I thought they where going down...I should say I gave them away on ebay, I didn't want to own tools from a defunct company. I like to be able to replace missing tools, and with no warranty support... it was an easy decision for me at the time, yes, now with regret,...

 

[W650Mike]

I hope the nay-sayers are wrong. No company can please everyone and some people will look for the negative no matter what you do.

A good online sales site will be paramount to their success – especially for those of us who live in rural areas. Our town rarely sees a tool truck of any color; closest Sears is 65mi.

If the new SK builds a good tool line at a good price, I will stand in line to support them.

 

[chevydriver37]

Maybe their R&D people will do the SMART thing, and read what all us folks are saying about them in HERE. I'm sure that they've gotten their marketing plan all worked out, and will make adjustments as they go. The warranty issue is indeed a concern. There's so much "old" SK out there selling online, etc., that they almost have to do something to warranty it, just to keep their customers satisfied. Let's hope they're a huge success.

 

[Goldboattail455]

This is good news, I'm looking forward to buying some SK tools. Specifically the big tools!

 

[SMKS]

Does the new SK plan to honor the lifetime warranty on all the product out there now? I am afraid they will not be able to and this will forever damage their reputation.

They have already said they will honor the warranty on old SK hand tools.

http://www.skhandtool.com/warranty.html

 

[W650Mike]

I sent a link to this thread to Ideal. Hopefully they will take interest.

 

[William Payne]

Anyone know whether they are going to distribute internationaly?

 

[2oolhound]

I purchased a set of 1/2" sockets + ratchet in the early 70's here in Canada from a second hand store. I hadn't heard of them at the time but I liked the look of them with the rounded outer profile on the sockets. They are SK Wayne. I take it this is the same company as SK that is being discussed. I also bought a 3/8 deep socket set, SK Wayne in a green box. I've managed to crack 4 or 5 of my 1/2" sockets though.

 

[jvitez]

Fabulous news! Anything still made in USA or Canada gets my vote, and my dollars.

They really do need an excellent online presence. Snap-On's Canadian website actually recommends buying online for Canadians unless you have a SO dealer you already deal with. Web is first, dealer second. I've ordered a couple of things from SO Canada, and they arrived in a few days right to my door. Love it.

Professional mechanics need "to the shop" service and warranty replacements, but there's a whole segment of other semi-pro's and weekend warriors that SK could capture if they made their tools easy to purchase, excellent quality, and priced less than tool trucks. I really hope they succeed.

PS: I hope they remember Canada exists too. We have a bigger economy than California, and are in better shape financially than the US. We didn't fly as high in the good times, but have crashed far gentler because of it. Our respective dollars are now at par.

Hello SK. It's Canada here. Sell to us.

 

[steelespeed]

great news from this thread.

here's to echoing the sentiment of others and hoping they don't just slap green handles on a western forge produced craftsman product and charging an extra 25% over sears pricing.

any word on when they will be shipping? i need some tools...

 

[zer0cell]

Seriously.... even if they kept the blades the same, it can't cost that much just to make a basic hard handle... maybe similar to the type snap-on offers. I'm mostly interested in the quality of their sockets and ratchets however...

 

[davidj]

Seriously.... even if they kept the blades the same, it can't cost that much just to make a basic hard handle... maybe similar to the type snap-on offers.

x2 I liked the hard handle screwdrivers that SK had out before they closed down. I hope they will remake some of the tools they had out. no need to change what already works right?

 

[William Payne]

They should do a special release of the old green and white clear handle screwdrivers they made years ago my dad has a socket driver with that handle and they sure were nice.