Whatever happened to TopTul?

[Vinko]

TopTul was being discussed on here quite a lot about 3-4 years ago (or maybe even before that?) -- for those who bought from the a couple of vendors, how is the stuff holding up under daily use? Any comments? Feedback? Thoughts?

 

[Mr.Nutcase]

I wonder too...

 

[peterbilr98]

they vanished i bought a few items some ratchets and sockets dont use them much i like my so stuff better to dificult to get eny service or warranty on the top tul no one around eny more for service

 

[Vinko]

they vanished i bought a few items some ratchets and sockets dont use them much i like my so stuff better to dificult to get eny service or warranty on the top tul no one around eny more for service

What kind of service or warranty have you needed on the TopTul stuff?

PS. Noticed that Wren’s site is still up at:

http://wrenhandtools.com

Though not every category indicates tools.

Looks like he changed his site since I last looked. I hope he’s doing well. I was rooting for the guy back in the day.

 

[peterbilr98]

none yet dont use them much dont like the feel of the ratchets i like snap on the guy pulls up to my front door every week we went down town and had lunch today and talked for an hour if i need some top tul i dont think i could find a guy around

 

[alberto]

I like their tools a lot. Great quality for the price. Unfortunately, they are hard to find and hard to order and presumably just as hard (or harder) to warranty.

 

[tibwd]

I have quite a few Toptul brand tools, particularly like their sockets and gear wrenches. The Wrenn site is still active. I sent a warranty request to them a few weeks ago, Mike said he would be getting back to me , and told me he would take care of me . Now that I think about it, I think I emailed them in February! Time to contact again....

 

[worknhard]

I contacted a vendor about a year ago wanting to purchase some TopTul wrenches… I inquired on the price and availability but never heard back. I assumed they didn’t have what I wanted and/or couldn’t get them.

 

[Vinko]

I know this the topic of warranty has been discussed ad nauseam, but how many things are you really going to have a legitimate warranty for? My SnapOn guy will warranty drivers that I’ve abused, and he’s replaced some snap ring pliers and maybe one other thing that broke (that was maybe 20 years old and wasn’t through abuse -- so far as I know!) but the majority of the stuff I have another tool I can use in the meanwhile.

It seems like it’s rather easy still to get TopTul via the internet, but maybe guys don’t like that. It’s cheap enough so you don’t have to make payments like the truck brands. Maybe warranty is difficult. I just wonder how many tools guys are really warranting that really are a result of tool failure because of the inherent problems of a tool rather than they just wear out or are abused or used for other than their intended use?

 

[Vinko]

none yet dont use them much dont like the feel of the ratchets i like snap on the guy pulls up to my front door every week we went down town and had lunch today and talked for an hour if i need some top tul i dont think i could find a guy around

I get it. I wouldn’t think (though I haven’t tried their ratchets) that they’d be anything as good as SnapOn ratchet to begin with. I was curious how they’re sockets would hold up though. When they first came out a lot of guys here bought some -- maybe these guys don’t post anymore. But I always said the test would be to hear about it 5 or so years later and see what problems (if any) were to be found.

 

[scottdc]

Ultimate Garage has some Toptul in stock but other than that I'm not seeing much anymore. Bought a set of offset wrenches a few months back from a place in Canada that has since gone out of business...

Got a couple Toptul wobble extensions I like quite a bit and would love to find somewhere I could buy the rest of the set.

 

[Fedwrench]

There's really nothing wrong with Toptul stuff. They're decent quality Taiwanese tools and offer a wide selection. However, in the US they don't have a large distribution network. Given the wide availability of Gearwrench, King Tony, Genius, and Carlyle here, Toptul would have to play catch up fast to grab a little market share.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I personally wouldn't buy any more of them. Too hard to get for tools that really aren't better than other good quality import tools.

This is my thought as well.

 

[tjpavlov]

Bringing back and old thread rather than creating a new one. Every Toptul thread seems to get closed for one reason or another....

Does anyone have any experience with the Toptul branded locking pliers? I am thinking about buying a few sets of locking pliers (aka vice-grips), and am trying to find a good quality, but not too expensive source.

Does Toptul make theirs, or do they have someone else make them?

 

[Sprintman]

Going great guns here. U.S appears to be a different matter entirely

 

[Wamsutta]

Does anyone have any experience with the Toptul branded locking pliers?

They look to be the same as vise grips. You might want to look at GripOn instead; they'd be a lot easier to use.

 

[dnschmidt]

I sell them and they are identical to THE PETTERSON vise grips. Meaning they are made of Cr-V or Cr-Mo steel and actually work the way The Petterson's did and not **** like the Irwin made ones do. Irwin changed the steel specification after they bought Petterson and Irwin made Vise-Grips **** whether they are the Made in America version or the made in China version. It's not COO it's metallurgy.

 

[Vinko]

I sell them and they are identical to THE PETTERSON vise grips. Meaning they are made of Cr-V or Cr-Mo steel and actually work the way The Petterson's did and not **** like the Irwin made ones do. Irwin changed the steel specification after they bought Petterson and Irwin made Vise-Grips **** whether they are the Made in America version or the made in China version. It's not COO it's metallurgy.

If you have time, can you expand on this with specifics. How does the material help the performance in this case? And how did this alleged compromise make the Irwin makes "****?"

 

[larry4406]

Petersen, one "t"

 

[dnschmidt]

They switched to a lesser quality of steel. So the teeth wear out very quickly. How do I know this? Well it's an interesting story. I took an interview at Honeywell here in Phoenix, the lady that conducted the interview it turns out was the quality manager at Peterson Vise Grip (yes it's one t) and she told me that when Rubbermaid Newell took over they ORDERED her to change the steel specification to a lower quality of steel to cut costs. That's pretty much from the horses mouth.

 

[LB-1911]

I sell them and they are identical to THE PETTERSON vise grips. Meaning they are made of Cr-V or Cr-Mo steel and actually work the way The Petterson's did and not **** like the Irwin made ones do. Irwin changed the steel specification after they bought Petterson and Irwin made Vise-Grips **** whether they are the Made in America version or the made in China version. It's not COO it's metallurgy.

Irwin did not buy Petersen, Newell Rubbermaid purchased American Tool.

1985 - American Tool Companies, Inc. is formed by the Petersen family and acquires Petersen Manufacturing

1993 - American Tool acquires The IRWIN Tool Company, a revered manufacturer of power tool accessories and cutting tools

2002 - Newell Rubbermaid acquires American Tool

2002 - American Tool name officially changes to IRWIN Industrial Tool Company

 

[Vinko]

They switched to a lesser quality of steel. So the teeth wear out very quickly. How do I know this? Well it's an interesting story. I took an interview at Honeywell here in Phoenix, the lady that conducted the interview it turns out was the quality manager at Peterson Vise Grip (yes it's one t) and she told me that when Rubbermaid Newell took over they ORDERED her to change the steel specification to a lower quality of steel to cut costs. That's pretty much from the horses mouth.

Thanks. Interesting info.