A few pandemic pickups
Facom punch set and punch/chisel sets in cheap plastic trays.
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I didn’t have a complete punch/chisel set and Zoro/Grainger had good pricing (significantly cheaper than Mister Worker) on these two sets. So far I’ve only used the center punch to recess some nails on hardwood stairs, but they seem like a good quality set. Handguard is smaller than one sees on German punches, but it seems to work fine and takes up much less space in a drawer.
I won’t be surprised if the trays break down in the drawer over time…
Money shot for COO snobs.
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Collection: Knipex PW/Cobra set, Knipex plastic combi pliers, NWS scissors, USAG jeweler’s Philips, Wera ball hex precision, Wera “Easter Egg” with Wiha 1/4" hex to 4mm adapters, Gedore 1/4” drive T-ratchet (previously discussed)
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KC Tool had the Wera Easter Egg as tool of the day, so I picked up two more (one for each of the kids) with Wiha micro bit adapters.
Knipex PW and Cobra are well-known quantities. Knipex’s pouch is nicer than I expected.
USAG jeweler’s set was an NOS find. They seem nice, but they taught me how much prefer larger plastic handled precision screwdrivers.
Knipex plastic combis feel like real tools rather than toys, and have already been useful to grab some soft materials.
Wera Kraftform Micro current vs. previous
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New ones are marginally smoother, and the color coding by type is nice. However, the changes do not strike me as so major that one should scrap older Kraftform Micros and buy the new ones. I won’t be doing so.
NWS “Made in Germany” scissors appear identical to VIM/Matco. I bet they come from the same Taiwanese OEM and were mislabeled by the importer (KC Tool gets COO information from customs paperwork) as German
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Wera Kraftform Kompakt 62; Knipex 00 20 16 precision pliers + tweezer set in carrying case
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Another really outstanding Knipex case! I wish they sold it separately, because I’d buy a couple more to keep all of my precision pliers in them. Pliers are the older style (Schmitz-made?) Knipex precision, not the new ones with swoopy engraved Knipex logo. They are as excellent as one would expect. I’ll probably take out one of the cutters and add a bent nose plier.
I picked up Wera KK62 as a portable set, because Wiha’s System 6 set is a little too bulky in practice and KK62 obviously can be expanded with standard bits. Handle has less play than Oplast (Hazet-branded). The bit complement is fairly comprehensive, but like many European market focused kits omits square. I will add size 1 and 2 square bits to it. I might replace the handle with a Turbo, if amazon.de ever processes the damn order (placed almost a month ago, not shipped yet)…
Phoenix Contact Crimpfox Duo 10 (Pressmaster made, but possibly exclusive to PC) ferrule/end sleeve crimper with trapezoidal crimp.
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The multicomponent handle feels really great. The die can be rotated to three positions: straight ahead or 90 deg in either direction. That feature is helpful to crimp ferrules onto wires that have already been run.
The tool is also quite compact. Here’s a size comparison to two Wezag ferrule crimpers (Gedore-branded hex crimp, Wiha-branded square crimp) crimper size comparison: Wezag (branded Gedore) and Pressmaster Embla (Wiha-branded) for size reference.
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Compared to Pressmaster MCT (Facom-branded):
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Why so many ferrule crimpers? Different terminals work best with different crimp shapes. Here, see the crimps from the four tools above.
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While both MCT die and Crimpfox Duo 10 are trapezoidal, CD10’s crimp is more “3D” than MCT, with dimples on the bottom in addition to the undulations on top of the trapezoid. I expect those dimples are certification marks of some sort. Functionally I doubt there is a difference.
Lastly, an American brand set but made in Asia: Matco SAL38 (Reverse Gear) 11mm outer hex + 1/4" drive all-the-sockets (metric, AF, etorx, etorx plus) set in cheap blow-molded case. I like this format and wish all 1/4" drive sockets were this configuration. I do not like Matco’s pricing and the case is inexcusable at the price. However, Matco is the only supplier I could find who offered AF and etorx bits in the 11mm outer hex+1/4” drive configuration. Swivel bit was replaced with more Tesla-appropriate EP10 bit, also from Matco.
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Typical American “tool truck” quality control, unfortunately
View media item 104193They replaced the dupe socket, but at this stupid high price there is no excuse.
Comparison to Facom/USAG (top) and Würth (bottom); interchangability confirmed
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Bit ratchet head has the standard Reverse Gear ratchet that can turn into a T-handle, not smaller head like Würth. Handle is also straight and not angled like Würth’s version.
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