What? Proto is a division on Stanley Tools and should be available almost anywhere. Proto is decent stuff but they dont make specialty stuff that I think Begle is looking for.

Grainger should carry Proto.

 

These guys make good professional tools - Home: Wera

 

Wera is also a german brand. the screwdrivers with selectable blades are very good and often used by mechanics that have to work out in the fields.
I had them with selectable blades and had a funny experience: Some tubes are shielded with strong magnets. A magnet pulled out the changable screwdriver blade!!
Thats not funny if you know there is some dangerous voltage applied.
But who thinks about that?

We use those carts to transport our tools- ok, they are not made by "crappyman". But do look similar. Just with some bigger wheels for uneven terrain. And, of course, with an olive apperance.
But they do work great, if you have to fly or to travel with your tools.

 

The only Snap On pliers that really suck are their slip-joint models. They are horrid, and I agree that Knipex are better. Their other pliers are top of the class, however, and will give more gripping power than a lot of other models.

Snap On vice-grips suck also, BTW. The real Vice Grip company holds a patent and everyone else tries to dance around it, but no one else's tools compare in that category.

Note that when you say "pliers" and Snap On in the same sentence, you're talking about close to 200 models... That's a lot of pliers to try out to find out if they really suck or not. I've tried almost all of them and most are the best there are.

They just released a new wire stripper/crimper pliers that is FLYING off the truck. The second you hold one in your hand, you want one.

These were the best until the new model showed up.

PWCS9, Wire Stripper/Cutter/Crimper/Bolt Cutter, (AWG 20 to 10 Stranded), 8 3/4"

The new ones are not even on the web site yet. They are made like the ones above -- real forged and ground steel -- but about hald the size, with a nice narrow crimper nose out on the end, where it belongs. Good sized handles let you apply leverage, but overall. The new stripper is the best I've ever seen in a non-automatic version. The new set is about the size of the smallish stamped steel models lie the one below:

PWC6, Wire Stripper/Cutter, (AWG 10 to 20), 6"

when I was still selling, a lot of my industrial accounts used Proto because they are in the Grainger's catalog. I save those companies a ton of money after they finally agreed to let me test my products against the standard Protos that they had been using. Things like Torx, Allen socket drivers, impact sockets, etc., from Snappy lasted from double to as much as 100 times as long in a production line setting than did the Proto versions. They look the same, but the steel is far superior in the Snappy line.

 

Okay, I'll get more detailed.

Snap-On slip-joints: These have huge jaws that don't fit anywhere or line up right and they don't seem to close tight enough to grasp anything. They're just bulky and awkward. I don't think my pair has ever been above-average on a job.

Snap-On locking pliers. The jaws are shaped so that they don't fit on anything and the teeth are milled so that they slip off if they do fit on anything. For some reason they have a nut on the adjusting screw that gets in the way constantly and is no good for anything. The release levers aren't particularly easy to reach. I have a roll of four that I carried in my bag just because they came in a roll and I have a tool-roll fetish; on one occasion all four completely failed to turn a broken 1/4" stud sticking out of a boat engine block. Not one of four can grip a 1/4" stud? Unbelievably below average.

Snap-On tongue-and-groove pliers. These are actually okay, only problem I can think with them is that they rusted really quick. Most of my Snap-On tools with the flat-black finish rusted quicker-than-average in the marina. I really only have a negative view of the tongue-and-groove pliers because I usually used them on the frequent occasion that I was in a bad mood because the locking pliers completely failed to work where they should have.

Snap-On diagonal cutters. I've had them in my bag for a year and the hinge joint is still so stiff that I can't get them to open without using both hands. The jaws are bulky and the knives are angled funny, which makes it even harder than normal to get a flush cut on anything (although at work we grind the jaws of all makes of diagonal cutters down so that we can flush-cut tie wraps; nobody's figured that one out yet). Anyways, I only use these pliers anymore for cutting bolts, screws and stainless things that I don't want to risk messing my Klein's up on.

Blue-Point strippers/ crimpers/ cutters/ bolt cutter multi-tools: For some reason they are constantly stealing a strand or two of whatever wire I'm stripping. I think that the holes are metric or some crap. My stand-by electrical multi-tool is a pair of Kleins with 40 year patina. Occasionally I come across a wire that the Klein's steal a strand off of, and the Blue-Points work there. The only negative regarding the construction of these is that, like all of Snap-Ons black-finished pliers, they surface rusted like crazy near salt water. I also much prefer having the stripper holes below the the hinge, although I imagine that people have different opinions on that and sometimes I have to reach into a bulkhead to strip wires and have to have the stripper holes above the hinge. The length of these things help in those situations.

Snap-On snap-ring pliers: I have a set of 12 or something in a box. It's a real good kit to have, because they all come in the box. Until I broke the tip off one pair, which I can't fault Snap-On for because all snap-ring pliers break tips off, but the Snap-On guy could only replace it with a pair that was twice as thick as the old pair and therefore didn't fit in the box. Argh. So now I have a set of 11 or something with one pair rubber-banded on top of the case.

Blue-Point interchangeable-tip reversible snap-ring pliers: I don't have any problem with these; they're handy enough that I carry them in my bag along with the set of tips.

I can't think of anything negative regarding the Knipex and Klein pliers that I own, other than Klein snap-ring pliers that are hilariously weak and the difficulty to warranty anything that says Klein and isn't sold in Home Depot.

 

Youre complicated...

 

I would say special...

just being selective is difficult sometimes.
Check out Knipex new lockable plier. It has a good holding force.
Also you might have a look here:
Wiha Professional Quality Tools Home Page

 

Are those German Designed or German made?

 

Thats a good question- even the high dollar companies start to buy stuff from other brands and relabel them-and of course the label doubles the price.

 

Begle -- I'm not even trying to make this a Snappy war, but there are so many multiple models of pliers of the types you mentioned that another set might be just what you are looking for. The diagonal cutters have about 10 different designs for different purposes. Most guys just know about one or two that they see on the truck, but there are a ton more -- some for sensitive electronic gear, others for large cable, others still that work better for pulling cotter pins than for cutting wire.

Most of the other stuff has been redesigned in the past year or so. The regular pliers now have a 3 way head -- open wide! There are also double-jointed pliers with HIGH grip strength. Size wise, they run all the way from micro 4" models to big x huge models that are over a foot long.

Oh, the part number on the new wire stripper is PWCS7. Just about perfect in my eyes (and I have Kleins, and a ton of others). The picture on the site below is about half size of the actual model. That is a smallish wire stripper. The head is less than an inch across (more like 3/4"). Lots of leverage and two cutters -- inside and outside the handles.

PWCS7, Wire Stripper/Crimper/Cutter, 7"