Black K-D and other sockets

[coolmercury]

Bought a toolbox recently for contents and among the nearly 50 sockets were a half dozen that were black.  Included K-D as in the picture as well as Craftsman.  Were these in a fire??  They are not impact sockets.

[lauver]

coolmerc,

Those appear to be a finish known as black chrome.  I have a lot of sockets with the black chrome finish... this finish holds up pretty well to regular use.

This finish seems to be most prominent in consumer grade tools... i.e. Stanley, Husky, Pittsburgh, Great Neck, etc.  But, I have seen it on major brands like Matco,  Cornwell, and GP on their lower priced socketry.

[J.A.F.E.]

One of the truck brands (Matco?) made a set of cheapie tools with that finish and they were all marked with the Jesse James name. As if they weren't undesirable enough on their own.

[fatfillup]

As if they weren't undesirable enough on their own.

Now that is funny




And I concur,,,,,,,,,,,,,,black chrome

[coolmercury]

Okay---thanks, first ones I have come across.

[lauver]

Okay---thanks, first ones I have come across.

Coolmerc,

If you hang out at garage sales, pawn shops, and flea markets you'll find lot's of them.  I personally like the Stanley, Stanley Pro, Husky, and Husky Pro black chrome socketry for every day use.  I've seen them in 6pt, 12pt, spline, shorts & deeps. 

I'm a black chrome snob... only buy the 6pts 

[bmwrd0]

One of the truck brands (Matco?) made a set of cheapie tools with that finish and they were all marked with the Jesse James name. As if they weren't undesirable enough on their own.

I used to see those at swap meets all the time, left to rust by pretty much everyone.

[DeadNutz]

Just don't make the mistake of thinking black chrome sockets are impact sockets.
You can usually tell by how light in weight those are compared to impacts.