Tools of Japan

[MetricTech]

Metric Tech,



In envy of your sweet collection!



Tell me about the tweezer...anything unique or special about it?



What's your opinion of the Keiba compound leverage combi pliers? They have been around for a couple decades, IIRC.



Nice NSK steel ruler.

-Nothing special about the tweezers they are a cheap anex non magnetic, I do use them for a few different tasks.
-I love the keiba power up cutters. I see why they won the good design award a couple times. They cut with such little effort. I tried the keiba high grade pliers first, the type with the “gun metal” pivot. I really wanted to like them but I didn’t find anything special about them. Other then if they rust the pivot action will still be smooth. But I would never allow my tools to rust that badly. I’m too ocd for that. I do love my tools of Japan. There’s just so many great brands that most people don’t know about. Here’s a few more


Metric Tech

 

[1foxracing]

Try Google translate on your phone (assuming you have one). It works with the camera. Even works holding it up to a monitor.

Thanks for that! I own a smart phone but never once used the camera function, I own way to many real cameras and never thought to use it for language translation.

 

[superautobacs]

Hi Mark,

As I mentioned in your video comments, there's no indication of a COO.

Any links for this koken stuff?? I would like to investigate further

Anything in particular?

-Nothing special about the tweezers they are a cheap anex non magnetic, I do use them for a few different tasks.
-I love the keiba power up cutters. I see why they won the good design award a couple times. They cut with such little effort. I tried the keiba high grade pliers first, the type with the “gun metal” pivot. I really wanted to like them but I didn’t find anything special about them. Other then if they rust the pivot action will still be smooth. But I would never allow my tools to rust that badly. I’m too ocd for that. I do love my tools of Japan. There’s just so many great brands that most people don’t know about. Here’s a few more


Metric Tech

Yup, the Good Design award...the fact that you mentioned that means you know your Japanese tools.

Yeah, I got 3 pairs from their "gun metal" series and I agree, they are a no-frills, standard type of pliers. They are finished exceptionally well, and the handles open and close like a quality set of pliers though.

There's still a lot of small tool manufacturers in Japan specializing in their niche, whether it be socketry, files, hex keys, precision instruments, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. It makes it fun discovering and shopping for them.

Was the story with the chisels? I got a few hand forged ones as well.

 

[MetricTech]

Hi Mark,



As I mentioned in your video comments, there's no indication of a COO.





















Anything in particular?



























Yup, the Good Design award...the fact that you mentioned that means you know your Japanese tools.



Yeah, I got 3 pairs from their "gun metal" series and I agree, they are a no-frills, standard type of pliers. They are finished exceptionally well, and the handles open and close like a quality set of pliers though.



There's still a lot of small tool manufacturers in Japan specializing in their niche, whether it be socketry, files, hex keys, precision instruments, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. It makes it fun discovering and shopping for them.



Was the story with the chisels? I got a few hand forged ones as well.

I have a couple pairs of the high grade gun metal pliers. The long nose w/ side cutter and the diagonal cutter both 150mm. I put them in the service truck at work along with some other black handled tools, not as much time to clean up on service calls and the black handles make it easy. A quick wipe with wd40 or citrol and they look good as new.
I love when company’s pick one tool type, focus on that, and manufacture it with precision.
I picked up the chisels from Frankstools, I may eventually pick up the whole line of them that he has available.
I’m glad there are some technicians out there that care about quality and coo from different brands like I do. When I talk to most people about Japanese tools their eyes glaze over and they will be like “but look at this snap on one”
There’s nothing wrong with snap on, I have a ton of it but I have sold quite a bit of my truck brand tools to make way for the new brands


Metric Tech

 

[Reed Prince]

Just received a small order from Amazon Japan. Got a 30 cm ruler, my third Japanese measuring tool. I think I first saw the "Catch UP" bent corner feature in a superautobacs video.

Also decided to check out Anex's ratcheting screwdriver. It has more gripping area for turning the shank than the Vessels do, but that is the only thing I like better. More backdrag than the Vessels too. In my experience Anex seems to be about half a notch below Vessel in quality, but I could be wrong about that.

edit: Photos from a customer review showing how the Vessel works well with other bits. The shank socket on the Anex is 4.5cm deep.

 

[Qualitytools]

EZ-Red offers those hex (& torx) sets as well.

Can one of you that reads Japanese decipher this? I don't know what it says but it's from the Vessel 1/4" metric socket set I purchased, don't know if any of this says "Made In" (Japan, Taiwan, China)

Do you have a part number or link for the metric set, all I come up with is the SAE set, thanks for sharing

 

[1foxracing]

Do you have a part number or link for the metric set, all I come up with is the SAE set, thanks for sharing

EZ Red part# is HM 1000

 

[Jeff]

Need some schooling on Amazon Japan. Is it me or is the shipping cost equal to half the cost of the tools in my cart? I only added amazon.jp items and loaded up about $90. Shipping made me say no.

 

[Reed Prince]

Need some schooling on Amazon Japan. Is it me or is the shipping cost equal to half the cost of the tools in my cart? I only added amazon.jp items and loaded up about $90. Shipping made me say no.

Shipping costs can reduce or sometimes eliminate the advantage of buying directly from Japan, but I've found that their percentage of the total price can vary widely.

 

[Qualitytools]

EZ Red part# is HM 1000

Thank You

 

[MetricTech]

Has anybody else picked up some of these sweet little vessel drivers?



Metric Tech

 

[MetricTech]

I need to google how those even work. The look unnecessarily complicated in the best possible way.

Lol. They are the same as the regular cheapos but with grips and good tips


Metric Tech

 

[mrspeed]

Finally completed the set of Vessel rebranded Craftsman ball grip screwdrivers with the addition of the black handled Phillips screwdriver.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[MetricTech]

Those ball drivers are comfy in the hand huh. Have you seen the eBay seller Zephyr tools group. They had one or two of those craftsman/vessel ball drivers for less then $7 shipped


Metric Tech

 

[mrspeed]

Those ball drivers are comfy in the hand huh. Have you seen the eBay seller Zephyr tools group. They had one or two of those craftsman/vessel ball drivers for less then $7 shipped


Metric Tech

They are! And yes, that's exactly where I got the most recent addition. I think I paid around $5 each for the first two, then this one was just over $7 shipped from Zephyr Tools. I was a little nervous because there was no picture with this listing, but decided to take the chance anyway.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[Two Speed]

Has anybody else picked up some of these sweet little vessel drivers?

I have that exact set. Nice little drivers.

Alex.

 

[Daddy B]

Finally completed the set of Vessel rebranded Craftsman ball grip screwdrivers with the addition of the black handled Phillips screwdriver.



Sent from my Pixel 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app

Dang! I never knew about the black handle e one. Got the others and love them.

 

[Daddy B]

So I just took a closer look and realized it's the same as the blue one so I guess I'm not kidding anything. Lol

 

[BigBoreFan]

I have made a few orders from Amazon.JP. Shipping to IL has been reasonable, and fast, very fast.

Shipping from Amazon.DE has been pretty slow.

 

[mrspeed]

So I just took a closer look and realized it's the same as the blue one so I guess I'm not kidding anything. Lol

Yeah, the one Craftsman didn't sell as far as I can tell is the pozidrive bit. Instead they sold two different colors with the Phillips bit. I wanted the black handle originally but could never find it, do settled for the blue handle. Now I'm able to swap it out.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Reed Prince]

Has anybody else picked up some of these sweet little vessel drivers?

I've yet to find a Japanese manufacturer that makes precision screwdrivers that rival the best European ones. Out of curiosity I bought a set of these weirdo drivers, and perhaps they will come in handy one day, but I prefer my PB Swiss and old Wiha.

 

[MetricTech]

I've yet to find a Japanese manufacturer that makes precision screwdrivers that rival the best European ones. Out of curiosity I bought a set of these weirdo drivers, and perhaps they will come in handy one day, but I prefer my PB Swiss and old Wiha.

I like my Pb Swiss as well the old style and new Swiss grip electronic. The small vessel drivers are just so nice for the price, I really like them.


Metric Tech

 

[superautobacs]

I picked up the chisels from Frankstools, I may eventually pick up the whole line of them that he has available.
Metric Tech

If Frank decides to do a complete site update to make it more contemporary, and added a broad range of Japanese woodworking tools, I think he'd be a really busy man!

I’m glad there are some technicians out there that care about quality and coo from different brands like I do. When I talk to most people about Japanese tools their eyes glaze over and they will be like “but look at this snap on one”
ThereÂ’s nothing wrong with snap on, I have a ton of it but I have sold quite a bit of my truck brand tools to make way for the new brands


Metric Tech

I hear ya. It's the If it ain't a truck brand, it ain't nothing kind of mind set.
It's never been easier to purchase from across the world, whether it be across the Atlantic or the Pacific ocean. 10 years ago, there were only a handful of people on GJ that had a keen interest in Japanese tools. In the past couple of years the interest seems to have skyrocketed. ....far from the attention that European tools get, but that's understandible since some of the European brands have a huge budget for brand promoting. Japanese companies on the other hand .... crickets chirping

Just received a small order from Amazon Japan. Got a 30 cm ruler, my third Japanese measuring tool. I think I first saw the "Catch UP" bent corner feature in a superautobacs video.

Yup, thanks for watching.

Have you seen the Dickies branded Vessel drivers?

https://ec.f-gear.co.jp/category/DICKIES_TOOL/KM_2088A.html

I need to google how those even work. The look unnecessarily complicated in the best possible way.

Apparently the coloured grip is designed to be adjustable:
-slide the grip away from the knurled portion for quick finger spinning of the fastener.
-keep the grip at the knurled portion for when making fine adjustments with the control of your finger tips (ie. thumb and middle finger).

 

[1foxracing]

Has anybody else picked up some of these sweet little vessel drivers?

Yep

Got this set as well, great for laptops.

Plus this one.

 

[tanukiboy]

Need some schooling on Amazon Japan. Is it me or is the shipping cost equal to half the cost of the tools in my cart? I only added amazon.jp items and loaded up about $90. Shipping made me say no.

I experience the same thing when ordering from Amazon US from here in Japan. Sometimes the shipping is ridiculously cheap (What! Only $3!), other times it's twice as expensive as the item itself.

Nowadays, I just don't sweat it. I look at the total for the items and the shipping and don't worry what the percentages are. If I would happily buy the same items for the same total price if I saw them at a hardware store, I place the order.

 

[superautobacs]

I enjoyed watching these two episodes and wanted to share it here.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3QaFVmZN59Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>





<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4kiIpeVaMC4" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Does Koken offer any palm or thumb type ratchets? Just came to mind today since I don't have any ratchets of that sort, have the 3/8 thumb spinner, but I imagine a very low back drag palm ratchet would be very useful to have.

 

[tanukiboy]

Does Koken offer any palm or thumb type ratchets? Just came to mind today since I don't have any ratchets of that sort, have the 3/8 thumb spinner, but I imagine a very low back drag palm ratchet would be very useful to have.

The Koken 3757 is a 45-tooth reversible 3/8" palm ratchet.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B004IKOC48/

 

[MetricTech]

I really like my nepros 3/8” dr palm ratchet


Metric Tech

 

[theamcguy]

Anybody found a US seller for the Straight 10-860 from a few ago? I found on amazon Japan but I can't read Japanese and can't figure how to order.

 

[Jeff]

Couldn't find this on Amazon...will our US Prime membership work on Amazon Japan?

 

[tanukiboy]

Anybody found a US seller for the Straight 10-860 from a few ago? I found on amazon Japan but I can't read Japanese and can't figure how to order.

Sorry, but I think Straight won't ship outside Japan from Amazon Japan.

BTW, you can switch the Amazon Japan site to display everything in English by simply clicking on the little "globe" icon under the right end of the search bar and selecting "English". It makes things a heck of a lot easier!

 

[tanukiboy]

Couldn't find this on Amazon...will our US Prime membership work on Amazon Japan?

I pretty sure they're separate. My Amazon Japan Prime membership doesn't work on Amazon US.

 

[Reed Prince]

Have you seen the Dickies branded Vessel drivers?

Yes. I subscribe to Factory Gear's YouTube channel, so I've had my eye on them for a while. I've also watched a number of episodes of Japanology Plus (and Peter Barakan's earlier series Begin Japanology) but by no means all of them, so thanks for posting those too.

 

[RKA]

Do any of you have a good source for Japanese woodworking tools? It looks like Stu from toolsfromjapan has temporarily (or perhaps permanently) closed his doors. His prices, selection and knowledge were really great all around, so I’m looking for a new source. I’ve found 2 possible sources, Suzuki in CA and a Japanese source (iida or something). I’ve ruled out japanwoodworker and Hida due to limited choices or lack of product knowledge. Right now I’m seeking a smoothing plane for NA hardwoods and since it would be my first Japanese plane I might need some help navigating the choices and set up process. A shop like the knife shop in Osaka in the video superautobacs posted would be ideal!!!

And here is some tool pron. Stu helped me with these. The craftsmanship on these is beyond what I hoped for!

 

[Autoguy]

Great tools

 

[ngk22r]

Yes a lot of them are made in China but Japanese owned. Milwaukee is China owned and China made. No electric ratchets is a down side for some I guess. I use air ratchets so it doesn’t matter to me. As far as impact wrenches in every size, drills, grinders, saws, etc they have some really great stuff. None of these are lacking power or durability. Sorry if I struck a nerve for the great milwaukee movement


Metric Tech

@MetricTech

Found something you might be interested in, I think I can eat my words about Makita falling behind since they are finally getting more automotive tools going again that are with the times. Just need to make an electric ratchet.

 

[bigworm85]

Recently picked up a Koken 3/8 long handle flex 3726Z-280 from Franks. Pleased with the ratchet so far. here are some pictures and dimensions compared to a Matco.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Does Koken offer any palm or thumb type ratchets? Just came to mind today since I don't have any ratchets of that sort, have the 3/8 thumb spinner, but I imagine a very low back drag palm ratchet would be very useful to have.

I have the Ko-Ken 3757. I really like the action. I wouldn't rule out a trade though.

 

[MetricTech]

Got some new lug nut sockets, they even have a plastic stop inside for the lug nut to rest against. For chrome and painted purrty lug nuts. I love the pics of the ratchets with the dimensions, I got both of those ratchets, but still that’s awesome!


Metric Tech