How's it going for your S-K tools searches?

[bonneyman]

Since S-K got bought out by the Chinese I started trying to assemble a second set of all the sockets and drive tools I already have. Just to have a spare set of everything. Within a year and a half all my local sources ran dry. Even my faithful pawn shop in Phoenix came up fairly empty (though I did find a good used 45170 3/8" drive ratchet).

Haven't looked at all for about a year, but I don't expect much of anything. Though we may visit up there this fall and I'll give that pawnie a whirl. Who knows? Maybe I'll find a complete deep metric socket set for $10. lol

Are you guys finding any such stuff in your area?

[Highland512]

Honestly the amount of SK I find out in the wild dropped off steeply after the last time they sold to Ideal. Most of the industrial suppliers switched to Proto or Wright and thats most of what I find now.

I have alot of SK but Im not buying anymore...As I find good deals on other brands, I have been replacing it. Most of what I have bought new is CAT hand tools available at your local Caterpillar dealers. Smoking deals on tools can be found a couple times a year (last year on black friday was 40% off). Awesome tools with lifetime warranty, Snap-On is the OEM on most of them.   

[skfarmer]

i haven't hit a pawn shop in long time. sk was never a top find for some reason. i would pick up decent old usa made stuff...... especially wrenches if i found some.

[Uncle Buck]

It's been years since I hit a hock shop.I buy tools weekly, but I am never looking for a particular brand. Most of my purchases these days are from my local Habitat store. I have made some killer hauls there. During summer weekly i hit a local open air flea mkt. Equally good luck there. CL is virtually dead, but I did score a 20 Ton press and I dont recall the tonnage of a HF porta pwr largest set they sell. Both purchases older but in like new condition, no visible wear on either item, $70 each. On marketplace now too. Made a couple good scores there at first, but not lately. Not a huge fan of marketplace. I don't like the platform as well as CL either. When I am looking for a particular brand or item, ebay is king. I am too old to think I will just encounter in the wild specific brands and items so I use ebay and aside from the shipping cost which kills many deals I very much like the convenience. Fortunately, lately I have been avoiding  ebay, way too addictive.

[Highland512]

The pawn shop scene is pathetic anymore. I used to be able to find quality tool brands at decent prices. Shop staff would wheel and deal to make a sale happen. Now I see mostly hobo freight tools at hobo freight prices and shop staff that are only interested in selling items for what they are priced at. Which makes me ask myself why am I even in here? If the item tag is almost unreadable since it's been on the shelf so long it's faded, I would think the shop owner would want to move it along.......guess not.     

I have been helping my son in finding decent tools for his new (my old) box. I was shocked how much extra I had in boxes squirreled away. We found an antique store with a vendor that's selling good USA made stuff, we take lists of what is needed and dig through the piles (and I mean piles) of wrenches, sockets, and pliers etc. The only way I find to get the good stuff now is to keep a list of what is needed and find it piece by piece.

[bonneyman]

Yeah, the local pawn shops have kinda dried up when it comes to quality tools. I've found a few new venues - seems to be fairly good at finding little tid-bits here and there.
I gave my nephew the S-K sets that I had put together for him. Short and deep SAE sockets, shallow metrics but only one deep metric. He'll have to finish the rest on his own.

[Uncle Buck]

I scored an i think 1960's vintage mostly complete 1/2" drive SK socket set in its fair condition box a few months back dirt cheap at my local restore. The sockets were all there.The only drive tool in the box was the break bar. No ratchet, wobble joint, extensions or ratchet. I will piece together those to complete the set.

It still had the decently preserved plastic tray as well. The bonus surprise was a bunch of the original paperwork and promo stuff I found under the tray when I removed it.

With Rustoleum discontinuing production  of the well known green hammertone color that was ideal I decided to use the Rustoleum color Seaweed (I think that was the name) I restored the box several months ago to explain. I also decided to  paint the tray and used Krylon black textured paint for that.

A familiar fight from decades ago resurfaced during the restoration.The color I chose is only made in a satin finish so I decided to follow the color coat with a coat of Rustoleum gloss clear. I sprayed, sanded, then resprayed  the box three times. Every time the paint wrinkled. I finally chose to accept the wrinkled finish which ironically closely resembled the wrinkle finish on brown Kennedy machinist boxes.  It does shine and oddly, the wrinkling only seemed to be on the top of the lid. I bought a sizable SK decal, approximately 5" wide and applied it on the center of the top of the lid. The decal is quite attractive and immediately draws the eye sort of distracting attention from the wrinkled finish. At this point I have maybe $25 in the set. I will likely have $50 in it if I buy the missing pieces on eBay instead of waiting to find them used.

The lesson i learned through AI research  is this. When you are going to cover a color coat with a clear coat, don't use Rustoleum because success will be a coin toss. This is due to the chemical makeup of Rustoleum paint. Instead you will have greater success using Krylon.