Tools of Japan

[YesIHaveAHammer]

can you recommend me japanese pliers for electrical installation?
maybe something similar to Knipex 13 96 200

I did come across these while looking through the Fujiya website previously.

However, if I had a need for such a specialist plier, I think I'd take the Knipex. The flat nose is more useful. Fewer stripping holes are easier/quicker to use. It can be locked half open enabling use of the stripper. The Fujiya does have the bolt cutting holes for face plate screws without ruining the threads.

330-200

Mechanic Pliers Straight – Fujiya Co., Ltd. – Development and manufacturing of pliers, nippers, work tools, and automation/labor-saving equipment

このさきの未来に残すべき、日本の伝統的なモノづくりを維持し世界に発信していく責任より工具製造のプロフェッショナルの力を集結。職人をささえ業界を変える工具ブランドを展開しています。

www.fujiya-kk.com

330E-200

Mechanical Pliers Ergo-Grip – Fujiya Co., Ltd. – Development and manufacturing of pliers, nippers, work tools, and automation/labor-saving equipment

このさきの未来に残すべき、日本の伝統的なモノづくりを維持し世界に発信していく責任より工具製造のプロフェッショナルの力を集結。職人をささえ業界を変える工具ブランドを展開しています。

www.fujiya-kk.com

 

[Reed Prince]

I needed to fasten a bunch of machine screws recently and the Koken 2768P Hinge Handle was great for quickly spinning the nuts and then tightening them.

 

[Etchase]

Bit holder with a bolster. I wonder what they are trying to patent? I almost never use a bolster, but for some reason I needed one of these of my own.

 

[svtride]

Koken USA Memorial Day Weekend Sale…25% off + free shipping over 25$
https://kokenusa.com/

 

[Qualitytools]

Koken USA Memorial Day Weekend Sale…25% off + free shipping over 25$
https://kokenusa.com/

I needed to upgrade my rubber insert Craftsman spark plug sockets, 5/8 and 13/16. So I placed an order for the clip type

 

[rick carpenter]

Is this old news? Japanese regular (non screw-extracting) jaw vise grips are available [again?].



I searched a while back for small Japanese regular (non screw-extracting) jaw vise grips. At the time, all I could (fortunately) find were 5" NOS Aigo pliers as the only Japanese made option available. Now Lobster/Lobtex are offering some in 175mm and 250mm. Amazon's Alexa says they're made in Japan. Looks like Daitool has the best unit prices but I dunno about their shipping, Amazon has free shipping. If I didn't have plenty of old Petersens I'd pop for some of these. I still might tho...

 

[Steel_Rain]

Is this old news? Japanese regular (non screw-extracting) jaw vise grips are available [again?].



I searched a while back for small Japanese regular (non screw-extracting) jaw vise grips. At the time, all I could (fortunately) find were 5" NOS Aigo pliers as the only Japanese made option available. Now Lobster/Lobtex are offering some in 175mm and 250mm. Amazon's Alexa says they're made in Japan. Looks like Daitool has the best unit prices but I dunno about their shipping, Amazon has free shipping. If I didn't have plenty of old Petersens I'd pop for some of these. I still might tho...

Nice find! I have all three pairs of 3peaks (3P), but these are all screw extraction type.

Do you have the Amazon link?

 

[rick carpenter]

Nice find! I have all three pairs of 3peaks (3P), but these are all screw extraction type.

Do you have the Amazon link?

I'm sure these are not all of Amazon's Lobtex vise grip pliers. You'll need to search for Lobster, Lobtex, Robtex, even Shrimp for the brand name.

Lobtex (LOBSTER) Vise plier [Model: VM175] (Japan Import) - Amazon.com

Lobtex (LOBSTER) Vise plier [Model: VM175] (Japan Import) - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Lobtex (LOBSTER) Vise plier [Model: VL-150] (Japan Import) - Amazon.com

Lobtex (LOBSTER) Vise plier [Model: VL-150] (Japan Import) - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

Lobtex VM250 Vice Plier - Amazon.com

Lobtex VM250 Vice Plier - Amazon.com

www.amazon.com

These are the 5" Aigo vise grips I bought for my grandkids' toolboxes a while back, they're out of production tho. Aigo no longer manufactures tools.

 

[GeoBruin]

Is this old news? Japanese regular (non screw-extracting) jaw vise grips are available [again?].



I searched a while back for small Japanese regular (non screw-extracting) jaw vise grips. At the time, all I could (fortunately) find were 5" NOS Aigo pliers as the only Japanese made option available. Now Lobster/Lobtex are offering some in 175mm and 250mm. Amazon's Alexa says they're made in Japan. Looks like Daitool has the best unit prices but I dunno about their shipping, Amazon has free shipping. If I didn't have plenty of old Petersens I'd pop for some of these. I still might tho...

Good find. Like you I was looking for some Japan made locking pliers for my little Japanese toolbox project and all I could find were the small pair of Aigo's.

Now who's going to order the Lobtex and let us know how they look?

 

[Hannahranga]

can you recommend me japanese pliers for electrical installation?
maybe something similar to Knipex 13 96 200

Do you need the strippers? The Aussie favourite is Marvel or Fujiya crosscuts

 

[bongkar_YES_pasang_NO]

Do you need the strippers? The Aussie favourite is Marvel or Fujiya crosscuts

part numbers or links, please?
yeah basically a needle nose with a cutter and stripper.

 

[Steel_Rain]

Good find. Like you I was looking for some Japan made locking pliers for my little Japanese toolbox project and all I could find were the small pair of Aigo's.

Now who's going to order the Lobtex and let us know how they look?

Ugh, more in-depth searching shows COO Taiwan:

Buy Lobster (Lobtex) Vice Plier 40 mm Maximum Jaw Opening, VM175 Online at Best Prices - Industrybuying.

Buy Lobster (Lobtex) Vice Plier 40 mm Maximum Jaw Opening, VM175 Online in India on Industrybuying.com. All Genuine Products ✔ Lowest Prices ✔ Free Shipping ✔ EMI & COD

www.industrybuying.com

 

[Hannahranga]

part numbers or links, please?
yeah basically a needle nose with a cutter and stripper.

They're not what you're after then but Marvel MVF-200S and Fujiya Kurokin 6050-200BG. For a variety of reasons Aussie's spark's don't tend to use strippers unless they're doing control work (and at which point it's auto strippers of some flavour)

 

[bongkar_YES_pasang_NO]

Do you need the strippers? The Aussie favourite is Marvel or Fujiya crosscuts

just learn about crosscut after you mentioned it.
I assume it's superior to side cutting pliers on cable cutting.
but how is it compared to curved jaw plier such as Tsunoda CA-22 ?

 

[shibertus]

Tone extra long zero offset wrenches from Amazon Japan. After some use I am really happy with the extra capability from this wrench pattern. The satin finish is on the coarser side and quite grippy. The finishing is not as flawless as you get from Koken or KTC, but KTC skips more sizes.

 

[Hannahranga]

just learn about crosscut after you mentioned it.
I assume it's superior to side cutting pliers on cable cutting.
but how is it compared to curved jaw plier such as Tsunoda CA-22 ?

Better cutting in my opinion but I do think some of it is personal preference. Haven't tried those (I mean kinda, I've used the Milwaukee cable cutters but would consider them a size or two up)

 

[rick carpenter]

Latest saws...

Top, Zetsaw H-250 rip kataba; middle, Zetsaw 7105 dozuki; bottom, Zetsaw H-265 crosscut kataba


Zetsaw H-250 rip kataba 9.84"
Variable tpi; plate .019"/.5mm, kerf .027"/.7mm

Zetsaw H-265 crosscut kataba 10.43"
15 tpi; plate .023"/.6mm, kerf .036"/.92mm

Zetsaw 7105 dozuki 5.9"/150mm
21 tpi; plate .011"/.3mm, kerf .015"/.4mm


These will live with my other saws...

Kakuri ryoba 8.25"
18.5 tpi crosscut, 8-12 tpi rip; plate .024"/.6mm, kerf .039"/1.0mm

Kakuri ryoba 9.5"
15.5 tpi crosscut, 8.5-10 tpi rip; plate .024"/.6mm, kerf .031"/.8mm

Kakuri universal kataba 10.5"
13 tpi; plate .024"/.6mm, kerf .037"/.95mm


Cutting...

The Kakuri universal kataba is the most aggressive and has the widest kerf in crosscut and rip cuts with medium clean cuts in both. I'm going to use it for rough cutting and construction plywood. Both of the Zetsaw katabas have the next narrower kerfs with medium+ clean cuts. They'll be for general woodworking. The Zetsaw dozuki has the narrowest kerf and finest cut, sawdust from the cut can fill the kerf. This saw is for cutting tenon shoulders and dovetails in hardwood, but it works well enough in softwood.

The smaller Kakuri ryoba has a medium+ clean cut. I could use it instead of the Zetsaw katabas for woodworking, but I'll reserve it and the larger Kakuri ryoba for carpentry.

Don't get me wrong about the cut rankings. They don't go from poor to fair to good, they start at damn fine and get better.

 

[F-22]

Really impressed with these. Solid alloy handles and the blade is stereotypically Japanese-sharp. Feels really cheap for what they are, the Gardena equivalent here costs 2x as much for flimsy tube handles (although they probably are a little lighter). The ARS is definitely made to last. Got them with a spare set of blades.

 

[Outahere]

Really impressed with these. Solid alloy handles and the blade is stereotypically Japanese-sharp. Feels really cheap for what they are, the Gardena equivalent here costs 2x as much for flimsy tube handles (although they probably are a little lighter). The ARS is definitely made to last. Got them with a spare set of blades.

I have the ARS shears and find them to be almost "effortless" to use when compared to my aluminum Corona Professional shears.

 

[00 Scrub]

My buddy got these for me in Japan a while back. Anyone have any info about them?
Also looking for recommendations for what socket clips to use. I already use the Ernst ones in my toolbox so I might just order more of those, but not sure what else is out there.

 

[_gear2]

Really impressed with these. Solid alloy handles and the blade is stereotypically Japanese-sharp. Feels really cheap for what they are, the Gardena equivalent here costs 2x as much for flimsy tube handles (although they probably are a little lighter). The ARS is definitely made to last. Got them with a spare set of blades.

are ARS the OEM of the corona brand?

 

[F-22]

Interesting. They definitely seem too similar for it to just be a copy? Never heard of the corona brand here in Europe. But I'm surprised they do not advertise them as made in Japan (would think would help sell them better?).

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Never heard of the corona brand here in Europe.

Only as a model name - Stahlwille Corona 23

But I'm surprised they do not advertise them as made in Japan (would think would help sell them better?).

There's a sizeable market of customers (aged 55- 70?) whose opinions about tools were formed back when, as I understand it, Japanese tools were generally the cheap poor quality option.

 

[Dave455]

Corona are a garden tool brand - particularly fruit shears.

I don’t think they have one “OEM” but rather rebrand and supply tools from several manufacturers

 

[Hannahranga]

New koken 3/8 ratchets arrived, baby 1/4 body 3/8 drive and the long (280) 3/8 non flex. Didn't realise quite how short (114) the 1/4 body is so considering getting the 1/4 160mm to swap the mechanisms around. Will give it a bit to see how I go with the non flex first tho.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Doing my first one, I had plenty of a backlog of things I'd seen but previously thought would be unobtainable.

Mostly I learnt about tools and brands on this forum and "BZEUG" on YouTube, then explored other items from those brands on their own websites.

List of sources for discovering Japanese tools:

1. This thread. I've read it back 10 years a bit at a time over the past couple of months.
2. BZEUG on YouTube - unboxings, not exclusively Japan.
3. chriscas-ToolAficionado on YouTube aka @superautobacs - insightful.
4. Tetsuya Sawayama from Factory Gear on YouTube - not exclusively Japan. In Japanese; use subtitles.
5. Brands list on Factory Gear website is good for wider exploring - use browser's translate feature.
6. Amazon Japan (it's in English) - find an item, click brand name, then view featured items in order or change to sort by best sellers

Unfortunately, some of these being videos rather than text and photos, they aren't time efficient to browse back over the years. But there is value in video format for closer looks and demonstration.