TOOLS AND THE SHOP > GENERAL TOOL AND MACHINE DISCUSSION

Anybody heard of Southwire tools?

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bonneyman:
Supposedly American-made with American steel. No wrenches, but drivers, pliers, meters, and power cords. Their stuff looks pretty good.

Anybody have any experience with them?

http://www.southwiretools.com/tools/home.do

slip knot:
Wasn't Lowes peddling these things?? IIRC they were made in china then. I may be mistaken tho.

J.A.F.E.:
I seem to recall Lowes hawking something like that. The stuff was brown.

hickory n Steel:
I was going to ask this recently because I saw that they have some US made pliers and wire strippers, but didn't bother because they're probably produced by Channellock so there's no point to buy their version instead of just going to the local hardware store.

four.cycle:
If you click on the URL that bonneyman posted in the first post, and click the tab that says "TOOLS", and then click on "Made in USA" on the drop-down menu, the first six items (pliers) pictured look exactly like Proamerica product. (see HERE: https://www.proamericatools.com/ )
Proamerica is a primary manufacturer and a sister company of "KAL". Their product selection is pretty much limited to pliers.
While they have a very amateurish looking website, their product does not appear to be all that bad. I have a lot of it.
The best prices on it are through Bowers Tool on Ebay. Mr. Bowers was able to get several items made to order, which are exclusively available from him (i.e., their ring-nose pliers for removing hoses as well as a few other items.) (Search Ebay for "Pro America KAL" - Mr. Bowers has it listed with a space in the name.)

Proamerica is OE for a number of other brands, among them Tekton and Proto. I was unable to get any of their staff people to divulge any more information than that. They are little concerned with the consumer trade, as their primary focus is supplying their private-label accounts. (The "KAL" side of the company now caters exclusively to military/government contracts.)

A couple close-up examples. My opinion is that the fit and finish is excellent. Reviews of the ring-nose pliers from a Toyota service technician were favorable. (search Garagejournal.com for "ring nose pliers")

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