Wilde Tools at Menards

[AE2]

I overheard today that Wilde picked up a Menards contract. Be nice to see some more USA tools there. Perhaps new Masterforce pliers?

 

[johndeereman]

Sounds good we will have to see what the product line will include.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Any Wilde products there would be awesome. I've never seen a Wilde product I didn't like. Always high quality. - Paul

 

[Brownsfan]

That would be nice. That would mean their entire hand tool line would be USA made, if this is true. Pliers and pry bars would be the only thing they could make for them?

 

[southalabama]

I wish menards would come to this area.

 

[MagnumForce]

About the only thing USA made masterforce are Sockets and Ratchets and Screwdrivers. Just about anything else is foreign. The Ratchets are pretty awful FWIW.

 

[btbsandman]

And their wrenches are USA.

 

[metaldad]

About the only thing USA made masterforce are Sockets and Ratchets and Screwdrivers. Just about anything else is foreign. The Ratchets are pretty awful FWIW.

and wrenches are USA.
i do have their rats. i dont have an issue with them.
the foreign pliers are low quality
Wilde makes good products.

 

[Askme42]

About the only thing USA made masterforce are Sockets and Ratchets and Screwdrivers. Just about anything else is foreign. The Ratchets are pretty awful FWIW.

They aren't the highest quality tools but they are trying to compete with other big box stores and have American made goods. That has to stand for something.

 

[bobcatdan]

Their ratchets gut wise are craftsman RP. The sockets are same as craftsman. If you take a RP wrench and grind off the RP, you have a masterforce.

 

[Csp203]

Wilde makes stuff for tekton also. It is nice to see them continue to make tools after sears moved away from them and to China. Seems kind of funny that one company moved away from USA made tools and their competitors have moved production to the US with the same oem manufacturer.

 

[MagnumForce]

Craftsman still has far more US made stuff than Master force and just seems better quality to me. Not a very full line either. The more full line Tool Shop stuff is simply re-branded HF.

I am not complaining, I love Menards.

 

[pauls_workshop]

I've been learning a lot more about Menards, as I started the Menard's Hot Deals Permathread this year over in hot deals (all the cool guys hang out in Hot Deals section by the way). Their pliers and adjustable wrenches are all foreign now, different than they used to be. All the Masterforce screwdrivers are USA made by Pratt Reed, and very well received here at GJ in general. Their MF pick set is a favorite for example. The Masterforce socket sets are USA made from Texas and a great deal on sale. Similar to USA modern Craftsman quality there and a good replacement for it (when you can find USA modern Craftsman that is). Many of the Menards hammers are made by Vaughan, similar to Sears Craftsman hammers (ball peens). They also sell the Vaughan pry bars, USA. There are also some Masterforce impact/drill bits USA and very high quality. At least one of their Masterforce 20v cordless tools is made by Bosch. Good stuff. The Masterforce tool boxes are all highly regarded, and the Performax lower tier are also good for the money for the homeowner.

Menards sells dozens and dozens of other things USA made, as well as lots of China/Taiwan coo items or other country items. I'm finding their China/Taiwan items generally improving in quality from years back, but of course, not on par by any means with any of the USA sourced items. I pick up the USA items whenever I need something and on sale, which is frequent at Menards, my favorite home store. Menards is in general a good example of what Sears could become with some effort made. Or what HF could also aspire to. Sell some cheap stuff cheap, but also sell good high quality USA made stuff for higher price. People who know or care about our formerly fine country before it has been systematically and very carefully and deliberately dismantled by our government policies and politicians will buy the USA, and everyone else can buy what they want to. But keep the USA companies in business please so we have jobs in this country and at least OFFER the US made options please. If US is within 25% of the price of the foreign coo, I will personally *always* choose the US and sometimes more. - Paul

 

[bobcatdan]

^ well said.

 

[jrobb316]

Menards is the home team here, I always go there first before HD. Never liked Lowes. They sell more USA products than any other store that I know of. I'm not a big tool shopper at Menards, mostly because I don't need anything more in the way of general tools.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Menards is the home team here, I always go there first before HD. Never liked Lowes. They sell more USA products than any other store that I know of. I'm not a big tool shopper at Menards, mostly because I don't need anything more in the way of general tools.

Yes, really happy to see Wilde going to be offered at Menards. I'm an equal opportunity shopper. I 'll buy things from anyplace with a good deal having what I may need. I also don't buy much at Lowes, but I have picked up the occasional clearance item as those are good deals. HD too sometimes I'll find something on a good clearance price. I use the hot deals threads to identify those items. Even Sears, gasp!, sometimes has a good deal on a still USA made item, but I hate their current websites and marketing! HF too I do shop at for some great deals there, but prefer the Taiwan COO over the China COO there by far. If a better USA item isn't available, might as well buy the Taiwan or China at HF vs. say Sears or HD or Lowes and get the best price on it. - Paul

 

[allinon72]

Please let this be true.

 

[metaldad]

still not on their website

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

I've been learning a lot more about Menards, as I started the Menard's Hot Deals Permathread this year over in hot deals (all the cool guys hang out in Hot Deals section by the way). Their pliers and adjustable wrenches are all foreign now, different than they used to be. All the Masterforce screwdrivers are USA made by Pratt Reed, and very well received here at GJ in general. Their MF pick set is a favorite for example. The Masterforce socket sets are USA made from Texas and a great deal on sale. Similar to USA modern Craftsman quality there and a good replacement for it (when you can find USA modern Craftsman that is). Many of the Menards hammers are made by Vaughan, similar to Sears Craftsman hammers (ball peens). They also sell the Vaughan pry bars, USA. There are also some Masterforce impact/drill bits USA and very high quality. At least one of their Masterforce 20v cordless tools is made by Bosch. Good stuff. The Masterforce tool boxes are all highly regarded, and the Performax lower tier are also good for the money for the homeowner.

Menards sells dozens and dozens of other things USA made, as well as lots of China/Taiwan coo items or other country items. I'm finding their China/Taiwan items generally improving in quality from years back, but of course, not on par by any means with any of the USA sourced items. I pick up the USA items whenever I need something and on sale, which is frequent at Menards, my favorite home store. Menards is in general a good example of what Sears could become with some effort made. Or what HF could also aspire to. Sell some cheap stuff cheap, but also sell good high quality USA made stuff for higher price. People who know or care about our formerly fine country before it has been systematically and very carefully and deliberately dismantled by our government policies and politicians will buy the USA, and everyone else can buy what they want to. But keep the USA companies in business please so we have jobs in this country and at least OFFER the US made options please. If US is within 25% of the price of the foreign coo, I will personally *always* choose the US and sometimes more. - Paul

I am with you. Very well said.


I am aToolaholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the Toolman won't give me no credit

 

[Askme42]

I think you mean. Toolwoman

 

[joejeep92]

Wilde has been picking up a lot in my area. It seems like every local hardware store around has a rack of various designs of Wilde pliers. No complaining...I really like the feel of them.

 

[monomach]

Many of the Menards hammers are made by Vaughan, similar to Sears Craftsman hammers (ball peens).

They sell Vaughn hammers (and a bunch of other brands) like everyone else, but every model of Menard's/Masterforce hammer is made by some Chinese manufacterer, not Vaughn.

 

[pauls_workshop]

They sell Vaughn hammers (and a bunch of other brands) like everyone else, but every model of Menard's/Masterforce hammer is made by some Chinese manufacterer, not Vaughn.

Hmmm, I was pretty sure the one Masterforce hammer I have was USA but let me check that again when I get a moment. I got it some time back Many of the Craftsman ones are Vaughan. I really like Vaughan hammers - high quality and US source. - Paul

 

[monomach]

I don't know who made them in the past, but I went out there and checked all of them last night. I was going to drop a bundle on some Masterforce hammers after reading your post saying they were made in the US.

 

[MagnumForce]

The only thing Master force USA at my Menards is Combos, Sockets and Ratchets. The sockets are nice but the ratchets seem really awful.

It's like the exact opposite of Sears where most Craftsman metal stuff is USA except ratchets, sockets and Combos.

 

[Under_Pressure]

The only thing Master force USA at my Menards is Combos, Sockets and Ratchets. The sockets are nice but the ratchets seem really awful.

It's like the exact opposite of Sears where most Craftsman metal stuff is USA except ratchets, sockets and Combos.

Not screwdrivers? As far as I know all drivers (screw/hex/torx) are Pratt-Read USA made. Really, the big thing in terms of hand tools that stands out to me as NOT being USA made in the Masterforce line are the pliers, though perhaps change is in the works there based on this thread. Of course the levels are German made, but I think we are all OK with that. I've never really paid attention to MF hammers.

I generally like MF as a readily available alternative when I need something. It fills the role (for me) that Craftsman used to. High quality, often USA made, almost everything available open stock. Of course the sockets/ratchets/wrenches seem to be simply a rebrand of the Allen line that Menards previously sold as their upper tier hand tools. In fact, once in a while I come across a socket that is stamped Allen but labeled (on the packaging) Masterforce.

 

[Kev442]

MasterForce bounces around with sockets and ratchets too. I have a MF import socket set that has 1/4-3/8 & 1/2 ratchets and shallow sockets. It was a steal at $39.99 and is the same as all the other import tool sellers like Northern Tool or Carlyle. The shallows in this set are considerably deeper than Cman, which has been handy. I rarely need a deep using this set.
So, they have lots of Allen, but will do Black Friday and Christmas specials with just about anything.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Yes, Menards has been moving COO sources on a number of their hand tool lines in recent years. So what once was may not be any more. Pliers/cutters/adjustables are all China COO now. Didn't use to be. The screwdrivers are all USA, pratt reed. Some of their impact bits are also usa and those are real nice! Still have to look at my older hammer.... They do still sell the Vaughan hammers there though and those are all USA. They are nearly identical to the Craftsman ones made by Vaughan, those are fine too. I like Vaughan as a cheaper alternative to Estwing with similar quality/function levels and USA. Some Estwing aren't USA now but many still are. - Paul

 

[MagnumForce]

Not screwdrivers? As far as I know all drivers (screw/hex/torx) are Pratt-Read USA made. Really, the big thing in terms of hand tools that stands out to me as NOT being USA made in the Masterforce line are the pliers, though perhaps change is in the works there based on this thread. Of course the levels are German made, but I think we are all OK with that. I've never really paid attention to MF hammers.

I generally like MF as a readily available alternative when I need something. It fills the role (for me) that Craftsman used to. High quality, often USA made, almost everything available open stock. Of course the sockets/ratchets/wrenches seem to be simply a rebrand of the Allen line that Menards previously sold as their upper tier hand tools. In fact, once in a while I come across a socket that is stamped Allen but labeled (on the packaging) Masterforce.

Yes, forgot about screwdrivers. I have a set but prefer my Craftsman's. I have Craftsman in my mobile box at work and Masterforce at my Bench box. Everything at my bench is my "second string" stuff that I only use if my Cart is at one end of the plant and I am working at my bench. When the plant you cover is a quarter of a mile from end to end it's nice to have doubles of most stuff.

 

[Brownsfan]

I have s set of precision screwdrivers and a small pick set from Menards and its USA made. If pliers become USA made then all the common Masterforce hand tools will be USA made. Right now I really don't buy many tools but I would choose Menards out of all the box stores. Except for pliers. I still prefer Klein from Home Depot. They are my go to for most pliers.

 

[MagnumForce]

I don't believe the adjustable wrenches, any hammers, punches/chisels are USA made, basically the opposite of Craftsman. I would not waste my money on the Masterforce ratchets if I personally made them, they are really awful.

 

[metaldad]

nothing wrong with masterforce ratchets
i use them every day

 

[pauls_workshop]

So I looked at my MF hammer but could not find a mark on it. So I can't say if that one used to be US or not. Sorry for that confusion. Vaughan is great though! - Paul

 

[Farmall450]

About the only thing USA made masterforce are Sockets and Ratchets and Screwdrivers. Just about anything else is foreign. The Ratchets are pretty awful FWIW.

Not really
US made. Danaher of course.

US made masterforce pliers would be great, especially at those prices w/ 11% off. I'd buy a whole set for my truck.

 

[monomach]

nothing wrong with masterforce ratchets
i use them every day

I have to side with the guy who says they're terrible. They're the same internals as Craftsman raised panels...which are probably the worst ratchets ever to have "Made in the USA" on them.

99% of foreign ratchets are better.

 

[pauls_workshop]

I noticed at least some of the MasterForce wrenches are US coo, not just the rachet/socket set. Also noticed those MF bits are not US coo anymore. Stuff keeps changing. I think we are down to MF ratchet/socket sets and screwdrivers and at least some wrenches. Menard's sells lots of other US coo stuff though if you look for it. It is all over the store. When I was over at mine today, there were like 150 people in the store shopping. When at Sears today getting my free trade in wrench (very nice by the way and US made), about 25 for the whole store. Not good for Sears. - Paul

 

[MagnumForce]

Aside from tools and lawn equipment Sears and Menards hardly equate to each other.

 

[kornjulio]

Old thread, but worthy of a bump: just got back from Menards where I picked up a 5-piece set of Wilde punches. Can never have too many punches!

 

[Empty Pockets]

I wish menards would come to this area.

I've been wishing they would come to New York State for some time..... wait in line, my firend

 

[Empty Pockets]

Maybe someone could get John Menard to join GJ. There's a lot of good consumer research going on here.