Just finished an RMA request for a D275-5 diagonal cutter (broken tip), and received the RMA authorization within an hour. On a Saturday.

I’ve replaced several screwdrivers over the years, not a single issue.

About 6 years ago I replaced a pair of D502-6 pump pliers. The original tool was bought in 1986 when I was an electrical trainee.

I like Klein. I think I have almost a hundred individual Klein tools.

What do you do to the screwdrivers to get an exchange?

I've got several Klein tools and bags. Plumbing supply houses do not include hollow-shaft nut drivers but they seem to be a standard electrician tool.

Seems like the only Klein tool I have is a wire stripping tool that includes a machine screw cutter and a wire connector crimper. Can’t imagine a better tool, unless it would be some sort of automatic stripper function.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
What do you do to the screwdrivers to get an exchange?

I've got several Klein tools and bags. Plumbing supply houses do not include hollow-shaft nut drivers but they seem to be a standard electrician tool.

If you mean, how to exchange: Go here and put in the tool number.

If you mean, what did I do to the tool to need warranty service: I had a Phillips screwdriver that seemed to suffer tip wear prematurely. Had a cabinet screwdriver that chipped. Had one or two others, can’t recall the exact issue.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
What do you do to the screwdrivers to get an exchange?

I've got several Klein tools and bags. Plumbing supply houses do not include hollow-shaft nut drivers but they seem to be a standard electrician tool.

I wear out or break my klein 601-6 flathead usually twice a year, sometimes more. They are $10 each not worth it. Plus I have been known to use it as a chisel, pry bar, and more. If I do need to exchange pliers or recently a pair of tin snips, I just bring them back to electrical supply house I bought from and they swap it out.

EDIT 605-6. Wrong part number, it's the 1/4" one.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Skins2881,

Thanks. I was wondering what the line was between normal wear-and-tear. I've exchanged a number of Craftsman and Channellock tools over the years but not my Kleins.

Usually I wear down the pliers so far they are non-exchangable.

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:

quote:

Originally posted by Woodman:
What do you do to the screwdrivers to get an exchange?

I've got several Klein tools and bags. Plumbing supply houses do not include hollow-shaft nut drivers but they seem to be a standard electrician tool.

I wear out or break my klein 601-6 flathead usually twice a year, sometimes more. They are $10 each not worth it. Plus I have been known to use it as a chisel, pry bar, and more.

Yep, I always thought a 600-4 was a combination chisel-screwdriver.

quote:

If I do need to exchange pliers or recently a pair of tin snips, I just bring them back to electrical supply house I bought from and they swap it out.

I’ve swapped linesman and diagonal pliers at places like Graybar and Grainger. I’m pretty thrifty, so I do like to exchange the screwdrivers too.

Klein is what most of my work hand tools are now.

Last year a bought a new set of Klein screwdrivers and a high leverage diagonal cutter. Unfortunately I lost the diagonals. Given the quality of those diagonals I still feel sore about losing them.

I have a fair number of Kleins as well, and like them fine. But in the last few years I stumbled upon some Knipex pliers on sale at Lowe's. Couldn't pass them up. They're very nice, too.

I still have a lot of Klein tools, but I have been changing over to Wiha screwdrivers over the last few years. I’m not breaking them nearly as often as the Klein’s when I use the screwdrivers as chisels, etc.

Have y'all considered investing in a chisel instead of returning broken screwdrivers?

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Have y'all considered investing in a chisel instead of returning broken screwdrivers?

I’ve never returned a screwdriver (or any tool for that matter) that I’ve broken through abuse. I always just buy new.

Besides, when you’re standing on a 12 foot ladder and need to chisel something, you’re not gonna go down the ladder to get a chisel and hammer out of the tool box when you already have a pair of Klein’s and a screwdriver in your tool pouch/pocket.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I’ve never returned a screwdriver (or any tool for that matter) that I’ve broken through abuse. I always just buy new.

That is how I am as well

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
Besides, when you’re standing on a 12 foot ladder and need to chisel something, you’re not gonna go down the ladder to get a chisel and hammer out of the tool box when you already have a pair of Klein’s and a screwdriver in your tool pouch/pocket.

Your scenario doesn't preclude you from already having a chisel in your pouch/pocket and banging on it with whatever you're using to bang on your screwdriver with.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I’ve never returned a screwdriver (or any tool for that matter) that I’ve broken through abuse. I always just buy new.

That is how I am as well

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
Besides, when you’re standing on a 12 foot ladder and need to chisel something, you’re not gonna go down the ladder to get a chisel and hammer out of the tool box when you already have a pair of Klein’s and a screwdriver in your tool pouch/pocket.

Your scenario doesn't preclude you from already having a chisel in your pouch/pocket and banging on it with whatever you're using to bang on your screwdriver with.

In the real world of construction/electrical, you don’t always have everything you need on you. If you did, you’d have 40 pounds of tools on you at all times and a worn out back and/or hips by the age of 40. Couple that with having to meet deadlines and you make do with what you have on you at
the time. Ask anyone that has been in the trades for years and years and they’ll tell you the exact same thing.

Not in the trades but I've managed hundreds of millions of dollars of oil & gas construction so I work with the trades. It comes down to the 7 Ps (Piss Poor Planning Promotes Piss Poor Performance) and a safety mindset:

people using the wrong tool for the job because it was the most convenient or it's what they've always done are the ones who rise to getting my attention on safety reports.

instead of speed, the lack of planning (what do I need to do the job and what can go wrong) typically manifests itself everywhere and results in schedule delays and cost increases. It becomes amplified when you work on remote projects like I have that are 50 miles from the nearest road (e.g. off-shore platforms and remote arctic projects).

In this scenario, a $5 half inch cold chisel prevents a $10 screwdriver from being broken, saves a trip to the store, and eliminates a potential safety incident (depending on how the screwdriver broke).

That's why the o&g industry has spent so much time and money promoting culture change in the trades.

---

Ego is the anesthesia that deadens the pain of stupidity

DISCLAIMER: These are the author's own personal views and do not represent the views of the author's employer.

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:
Not in the trades but I've managed.....

Ok then.

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:

quote:

Originally posted by tatortodd:

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
I’ve never returned a screwdriver (or any tool for that matter) that I’ve broken through abuse. I always just buy new.

That is how I am as well

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
Besides, when you’re standing on a 12 foot ladder and need to chisel something, you’re not gonna go down the ladder to get a chisel and hammer out of the tool box when you already have a pair of Klein’s and a screwdriver in your tool pouch/pocket.

Your scenario doesn't preclude you from already having a chisel in your pouch/pocket and banging on it with whatever you're using to bang on your screwdriver with.

In the real world of construction/electrical, you don’t always have everything you need on you. If you did, you’d have 40 pounds of tools on you at all times and a worn out back and/or hips by the age of 40. Couple that with having to meet deadlines and you make do with what you have on you at
the time. Ask anyone that has been in the trades for years and years and they’ll tell you the exact same thing.

Give an electrician a pair of kliens and a flat head and he can disassemble a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.

As a side note, I once told my wife that a pair of Kliens were also called an electricians hammer. A year or two later I came home with a busted nose as blood on my face. Told her I hit myself in the face with my kliens, She remembered what I told her and instantly spit out that electricians hammers are not for hammering electricians. We both laughed pretty hard.

It's all about your personal tool "payload".

A chisel doesn't work any better than a good screwdriver and lineman's pliers(hammer) for knocking out slugs or tightening conduit lock nuts, and I have nearly no use for a chisel to be used as an actual chisel. If that means I carry less weight and sacrifice a screwdriver every year or so, well, it is what it is.

In the long run, a couple trashed tools over the course of a year adds up to pretty much nothing, dollar wise, in the grand scheme of things compared to labor cost. I always have spares of tools, they're a consumable to me.

My favorite Klein screwdriver is the 605-6. I never use it to tap a locknut or pry anything. It seems to be the perfect size and length for a lot of electrical applications.

That said I've beat on and beat the hell out of a hell of a lot of 600-6 screwdrivers. I always keep a good one for bigger screws and lugs on hand though.

I never use my Klein 8" linemans for a hammer and the set I carry are probably more than 25 years old. My Dad always did though. I have an actual hammer that I prefer. Most handy Klein tool in my pouch is a pair of 10" slip joint pliers.