I am buying them because they are budget
After all this is the tool deals thread. Haha. I don’t think they are as bad as the Kobalt set posted.
@JimC you are correct with one qualification.
A lot of the Proxxon power tools are made in Luxembourg (this is from the COO) and some things made in Germany (same). I presume this is like other lines where the higher end stuff is made in Europe, but the cheaper stuff in China, However, a lot of the power tools with what I thought were reasonable prices had a Luxembourg COO. Proxxon sells power tools directly in the US, most notably their version of a dremel.
I actually like the green, but I am a sucker for colors. I spent considerably more getting my GT3 in paint to sample Auratium green than I have on all the tools I have purchased. Just the paint option was more than I paid for my red NAS D90!
The hand tools are made in Taiwan (most of them anyway, I can’t find a COO on the ratchets). I am hoping they are of a quality similar to Gedore Red which I was really impressed with. German company, Taiwan made. Even Wera sockets are made in Taiwan and they are very nice. (The Wera ratchets are made in Czech.)
Honestly, I was just looking for some beater/loaner/gift ratchets to replace the ones I had to throw out and for the castle set. I could not bring myself to buy tekton, or Chinese craftsman, or similar off Amazon and I did not want to shuck out Stalhlwille/Hazet/Gedore/Wera money. While doing my .de browsing, at $20-25 each on sale (minus VAT plus shipping which in a bulk buy ends up being about a wash on small items), the Proxxon looked like a good value for 72 teeth ratchets and I liked the design of the baton ones. The baton ones were only a couple dollars more than the round head (the rotating handle ones were almost 2x the money which is getting close to the good stuff price and funny enough Facom is the only other rotating handle ratchet I know of).
I think for less expensive ratchets, 72 teeth is the sweet spot (and honestly the Hazet 90 tooth have more backdrag than I would like, but I have not used them enough to see if that frees up .. the Stahlwille are finest even though they are 80 tooth). I will do a comparison at some point between all the brands. I am planning some videos for my instagram.
Proxxon ratchet options:
But then I saw they do what everyone in europe does and sell a 1/2 and 1/4 set at an attractive price, but I have enough of those ... then I saw they had SAE options so I was like, that works. As far as budget, they have other 1/4 and 1/2 sets with the standard ratchets and fewer sockets. Those are like $66
Proxxon 23020 Socket Spanner Set with 1/2 Inch and 1/4 Inch Ratchet 27-Piece Set : Amazon.de: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.de
You can get them with fuller socket sets for $85
Proxxon 23040 Complete Socket Spanner Set 1/4-Inch and 1/2-Inch 56-Part Set : Amazon.de: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.de
And the Baton sets were $112. Metric (note the description is wrong as it has sockets in 1/2in from 10mm-34mm)
Proxxon 23286 Socket Spanner Set with Baton Ratchet 1/4 Inch and 1/2 Inch 65-Piece : Amazon.de: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.de
And the one I got, the SAE set with baton ratchets (they have the mirrors of the smaller sets with standard ratchets in SAE too):
Proxxon 23294 Socket Spanner Set 65 Pieces : Amazon.de: DIY & Tools
www.amazon.de
They also have the most well thought out trunk set the 23650 I have seen, but it is $156 plus shipping (it does come with two Knipex pliers, but the one is alligator not cobra).
I almost bought both the SAE and Metric sets because #matchymatchy but I could not find a way to add the metric without adding another $40 in shipping and for that I would get a second Gedore Red set for $130 off regular amazon (I really like that set and it is in my top five value deals with the Felo wood screwdrivers for $20, the 13 euro Hazet screwdrivers, the $15 Gedore red SAE wrench set, and the Gedore blue 1/2in set for $90).
If I don’t like them I can always give them away to one of my young car friends ... or
@WreckITFrank
In other news, I picked up some superlube to try on ratchet heads and the $30 yost vise is as bad as $30 implies, it did not even come with mounting bolts, but it will work as a second set of hands in a second tool set. I have a piece of 1/4 plate I may drill and weld to a spare tow ball mount and see if my welding or the vise fails first.