Swiss Made Duratool Cutters & Pliers (rebranded Ideal-Tek)

[nanofrog]

MCM Electronics is currently selling Duratool label at decent prices (US, possibly CAN).  Even better pricing if you get a discount code, which they offer frequently.

Seems they're actually rebranded Ideal-Tek (rebranded as Lindstrom's EX line for example), so at these prices, quite a deal.

Duratool Photos:





Ideal-Tek Photos:





Look the same to me, but you be the judge. 

Hope this helps. 

[nanofrog]

Aren't Duratool an MCM brand?

Sort of....

MCM Electronics is owned by Farnell, and it's Farnell that own the private label of Duratool.

FWIW, they also own Tenma, Defender Security, Stellar Labs, MCM Audio Select, and MCM Custom Audio, according to Wiki.

But Farnell doesn't keep it to themselves, as it's available from other sources such as Amazon and MicroCenter. Neither of which are owned by Farnell.

I thought they mostly just re-branded products made in China. We have a few at work, like some digital callipers that are identical to my Chinese clone of a Japanese model, only with a "Duratool" logo stuck on.

COO & quality seems to be all over the place. But if you look carefully, there are some gems amongst the crap (there's also some normal sized cutters & pliers from Germany).

As per electronic pliers and cutters made in Switzerland, it's either Erem or Ideal-Tek, and both will do ODM. And they're not hard to differentiate, as Erem's springs are internal.   

[nanofrog]

I really hate re-branding. It's so hard to know if you are getting crap or not. Thanks for the heads-up.

Definitely a PITA as a general rule (incl. on cost; I hate over-paying, especially so when it's crap), but on rare occasion, it can lead to quality tools, gear, ... at a very good price due to obscurity of a particular make/model. 

These seem to be one of those, as street prices seem to fall in the ~$50 - 52 range for cutters & ~$41 - 47 for pliers (from Stuller). Worst case, you'll only save $9.76 if you go for the most expensive cutter of these MCM has in stock. But it's more like ~$15+ per though, and that adds up quick. 

Amazon has prices in excess of $100 per (here).    Definitely been drinking some of Steve's special Kool Aid.