# Klein's new screwdrivers...



## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Does anyone hate the new Klein screwdrivers as much as i do? Their older style seemed soo much better than the new rubbery grips...they don't stand up to oil as much as the old style did. And they feel "sticky" when your hands are sweaty...Klein seems to be going downhill as far as quality goes i now find myself picking through pliers at the suppliers because they are so poorly machined! The day I see a made in China sticker on a Klein tool will be the day I completely switch to Channellock!


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## cmec (Feb 11, 2008)

The day I see a made in China sticker on a Klein tool will be the day I completely switch to Channellock![/quote]


If you cut the comfort grips off some of kleins tools you will see made in china stamped on them 

Channelocks still made in meadville pa by us citizens


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Hahaha no way...what tool did you see this on? I'm pretty sure that their 10 in 1 and some other drivers and knives are made in China. But I think their pliers are still made in the USA...


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## cmec (Feb 11, 2008)

For sure on their adjustable wrenches found it by accident, slipped with a knife and skinned the grip was stamped verry small china

ps hows work in toronto


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## gatti (Nov 24, 2007)

cdnelectrician said:


> Does anyone hate the new Klein screwdrivers as much as i do? Their older style seemed soo much better than the new rubbery grips...they don't stand up to oil as much as the old style did. And they feel "sticky" when your hands are sweaty...Klein seems to be going downhill as far as quality goes i now find myself picking through pliers at the suppliers because they are so poorly machined! The day I see a made in China sticker on a Klein tool will be the day I completely switch to Channellock!


 
I have a full set of Channellocks Code Blue and has never failed me. I only wish they can make decent screwdrivers.


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## satnut (Mar 8, 2008)

*canadian guy*

what model of lineman you guys are using?in channelock brand? 369 or 349?where can i get 349?Home Depot carry 369 up here, but cutters are no good.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

hahaa that's no good! I'm so tired of made in china stuff, even my conduit is made in china now My friend had his two front teeth knocked out while he was threading together 1" rigid...it snapped in the middle and hit him in the face and guess where it was made! 

Work is good here, our company is pretty busy we do a lot of explosion proof and industrial control work, doing a chiller retrofit job downtown right now. :thumbup:


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## satnut (Mar 8, 2008)

*info*

is 349 channelocks 349 better than 369?im talking linemans.


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## HighWirey (Sep 17, 2007)

cdnelectrician said:


> Does anyone hate the new Klein screwdrivers as much as i do? Their older style seemed soo much better than the new rubbery grips...they don't stand up to oil as much as the old style did. And they feel "sticky" when your hands are sweaty...Klein seems to be going downhill as far as quality goes i now find myself picking through pliers at the suppliers because they are so poorly machined! The day I see a made in China sticker on a Klein tool will be the day I completely switch to Channellock!


Klein hechoed in China?, get used to it brother.

My good friend, who is still working in the government loop, says that our government's "Made In America" clause is out of the window. And he works for a beeg government contractor.

And my brother's company (an Atlanta, Georiga, USA firm), is now not only outsourcing to China, but outsourcing to Vietnam. 
China's labot rate is about $.26per hour USD

Gold just traded at $1002 an ounce Friday on the New York exchange.

Stay tuned.

Best Wishes Everyone


Best Wishes Everyone


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## SteelCitySparky (Mar 13, 2008)

cdnelectrician said:


> Hahaha no way...what tool did you see this on? I'm pretty sure that their 10 in 1 and some other drivers and knives are made in China. But I think their pliers are still made in the USA...


Yeah, no where on my 10 in 1 is it stamped Made in USA, it just has a patent number on the grip unlike my other individual Klein drivers which are stamped Made in USA. My pliers are also marked USA as well. 

Oh well, not really thrilled with my 10 in 1 anyways, sick of bits sticking to screws and coming out of the handle


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Haha...I've freaked on a guy for sticking that 10 in 1 thing into a live panel for exactly that reason imagine that bit across two phases Only reason it's in my pouch is because sometimes my screwdrivers are a bit long to fit into places and its great when you're working on HVAC stuff to get those 5/16 and 1/4 cover screws off. My pouch is getting way too heavy to warrant sticking another 2 seperate drivers i barely ever use into it


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## Mackie (Mar 16, 2008)

What made me go 'hmmmm...' is that I have a pair of BluePoint and a pair of Klein multi-tool stripper / crimpers - you know the ones. They look exactly alike and just like the multi-tools of every other company on the market.

http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/imagemagic.php?img=images/485435.jpg&w=75&h=224&page=


What I absolutely hate the most is that the nut / bolt joint always comes loose on that style of tool and you can never get it just right - it's either too tight to use or too loose which makes stripping / crimping a chore.

Any advice on good tools for crimping and stripping that don't have that bogus joint?

Thanx (1st post here)


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## Wireless (Jan 22, 2007)

cdnelectrician said:


> Does anyone hate the new Klein screwdrivers as much as i do? Their older style seemed soo much better than the new rubbery grips...they don't stand up to oil as much as the old style did. And they feel "sticky" when your hands are sweaty...Klein seems to be going downhill as far as quality goes i now find myself picking through pliers at the suppliers because they are so poorly machined! The day I see a made in China sticker on a Klein tool will be the day I completely switch to Channellock!


I don't know, I bought the Channelock 369CRFT pliers they are totally worn out in about three months. My Kliens have been around for years.


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

Klein crimpers for me...but CSA won't let ya use them to build new control panels. They need to be ratchet crimpers with a die that marks the sta-kon with a dot in the centre of the crimp. You may laugh...but the GB strippers (red/black handles) are amazing! only tool I will ever buy from GB. P.S...they are made in Taiwan NOT China haha


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## gatti (Nov 24, 2007)

satnut said:


> what model of lineman you guys are using?in channelock brand? 369 or 349?where can i get 349?Home Depot carry 369 up here, but cutters are no good.


 
Not sure if my linemans are 369 or 349's ...... I use Channelock Code Blues, my strippers are Klein. I'm very happy with the quality of Code Blues and wish they can make decent screwdrivers and strippers.


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## Mackie (Mar 16, 2008)

cdnelectrician said:


> You may laugh...but the *GB strippers* (red/black handles) are amazing! only tool I will ever buy from GB. P.S...they are made in Taiwan NOT China haha


The 'Circuit Alert' ones?

I have a pair and they're a little big and unwieldy for my taste. The crimp part is just too tough to use - as is anything that's on the back side of the joint. 

I got a pair of cheap-o Commercial Electric that I love! But I'm just waiting for the joint to come all unhinged and give me a reason to just spend the money on the Kleins.

Do you have a link to those crimpers you described with the dies?


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

cdnelectrician said:


> Hahaha no way...what tool did you see this on? I'm pretty sure that their 10 in 1 and some other drivers and knives are made in China. But I think their pliers are still made in the USA...


I see Japan on several of their knife blades but no China as of yet.


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## simmo (Dec 12, 2007)

Not sure if you guys can get Cabac tools in America, but I thoroughly recommend them.

http://www.cabac.com.au/catalog/1050.html


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## cdnelectrician (Mar 14, 2008)

simmo...any ideas where their pliers are made?


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## simmo (Dec 12, 2007)

cdnelectrician said:


> simmo...any ideas where their pliers are made?


 
I know they are sold here in Australia under the Cabac name brand, but was sure someone told me they were under the Crescent Tools group of companies, which is American I do believe.


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## toolguy (Mar 24, 2009)

*Made in USA*



cmec said:


> The day I see a made in China sticker on a Klein tool will be the day I completely switch to Channellock!


 
Klein's pliers, cushion grip screwdrivers, strippers, adjustable wrenches, construction/erection wrenches, hammers, tool bags/pouches, climbers, grips and most other tools are made in the USA, mostly in the Chicago area. No Klein pliers, strippers or adjustable wrenches come from China.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i think as soon as klein tools changed to klein tools from m.klein and son the quality dropped. i found a m klein and sons nutdriver and it looks like a tank compared to the new klein nut drivers. i wish klein would go back to make them like they used too.


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## CFine (May 20, 2008)

Yea my Girlfriend dads tool is are tanks comparied to mine. i take them out so we can work on his garage, and he always makes the comment of so you gonna put those woman tools away and bring out the man tools?


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

CFine said:


> Yea my Girlfriend dads tool is are tanks comparied to mine. i take them out so we can work on his garage, and he always makes the comment of so you gonna put those woman tools away and bring out the man tools?


 is he talking about new klein vs old m klein and sons?


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## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

I think this thread is about the new Journeyman series screwdrivers. If so, I think they are great. I bought 4 sets of them at HD on clearance. I just put the first set into service and I'm liking them a lot.


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## electro916 (Jan 16, 2009)

Peter D said:


> I think this thread is about the new Journeyman series screwdrivers. If so, I think they are great. I bought 4 sets of them at HD on clearance. I just put the first set into service and I'm liking them a lot.


They are very nice to use, I have one set but I keep misplacing them, they keep vanishing one at a time. 

As far as the original Klein screwdrivers, I just got a new 602-6 and used it to tighten lugs in a panel and the tip of the screwdriver blade twisted, i need to get a pic and upload it.


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## CFine (May 20, 2008)

electricalperson said:


> is he talking about new klein vs old m klein and sons?



sorry i was multi-tasking. yea i'm talking about the new klein vs the old kleins


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## paulcanada (Feb 6, 2009)

i really like the new klein screwdrivers. just based on the handles at least. i havent been around long enough to know how good the old ones used to be. i would buy some more if they had a few different sizes. not enough 6" shafts for me.


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## CFine (May 20, 2008)

i keep my 10 in 1 on me plus 1 slotted and 1 phillips. past that i don't really keep that many screw drivers in my tool belt. mostly just in my bag and if i need a diff one i'll grab one.


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

CFine said:


> Yea my Girlfriend dads tool is are tanks comparied to mine. i take them out so we can work on his garage, and he always makes the comment of so you gonna put those woman tools away and bring out the man tools?


 
As strange as it would be to compare tools with a GF's father out in the garage having him call mine a woman's tool would be pretty harsh.


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## Mr. Sparkle (Jan 27, 2009)

Peter D said:


> I think this thread is about the new Journeyman series screwdrivers. If so, I think they are great. I bought 4 sets of them at HD on clearance. I just put the first set into service and I'm liking them a lot.


Hehe......I got a set I picked up still sitting in the packaging in a drawer in my van.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

Peter D said:


> I think this thread is about the new Journeyman series screwdrivers. If so, I think they are great. I bought 4 sets of them at HD on clearance. I just put the first set into service and I'm liking them a lot.


 the HD near my house doesnt sell the journeyman screwdrivers


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

electricalperson said:


> the HD near my house doesnt sell the journeyman screwdrivers


They had them in most stores the end of last year and they didn't move so they discounted/discontinued them.


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

Just got a new set of nice terminal screwdrivers today. They are C-K, made in Germany and very top quality.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

randomkiller said:


> They had them in most stores the end of last year and they didn't move so they discounted/discontinued them.


 i dont think they ever had them in MA. i go to home depot every weekend. lowes is the one that had the huge sale on klein tools


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## jfwfmt (Jul 5, 2008)

Klein ratchet cable cutters Gemacht in Germany


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## Buddha In Babylon (Mar 23, 2009)

NNNNOOOOOOOOooooooo
Did anyone watch that Wal-Mart expose' ....."the high cost of low prices" or something like that? It really friggin bothered me man. I would hate to see that Klein would outsource to China...in fact...i think i would cry...


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