Over on Instagram, a rep for MichaelPro Tools reached out, and I wanted to see if any ToolGuyd readers have had any experiences with the brand.
I’ve seen their tools a couple of times, mainly on Amazon, but also in Instagram and YouTube reviews and endorsements.
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Speaking candidly, I wrote the brand off as another generic rebranding effort on Amazon. I asked the brand rep if they could convince me otherwise, but haven’t heard back yet.
There are so many new tool brands these days, each with their own schtick. What’s MichaelPro’s?
Quite a few MichaelPro tools look familiar, such as their “twisted” wrenches.
Their T-handle wrench looks to be popular, and so I took a closer look.
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The MichaelPro T-handle wrenches are said to feature a “unique patented design.”
While I can appreciate the appeal of this design, it’s not exactly new – the nearly identical Craftsman Mach Series T-Handle Bit & Socket Driver set came out in November 2014.
Do you see what I mean? Some of this brand’s tools are distinctly familiar.
That’s not exactly a bad thing, if MichaelPro Tools draws upon tried-and-true tool designs. But what’s special about this company? Why should tool users give them their money and business over other brands?
So, I figured now would be a good time to ask for your opinions. Maybe what you’ve seen, heard, or experienced can shed some light on this new tool brand.
Many of MichaelPro’s tools are said to be made in Taiwan.
As to whether the MichaelPro brand is new, this is what it says on their corporate page:
MichaelPro is a brand from Shinnfu Corporation. The Corporation founded by Michael Hung in 1971 is one of the largest manufacturers of professional tools, gear, and equipment, serving the industrial, automotive, construction, mining, and serious DIY markets.
MichaelPro is Michael’s tools collection for professionals. MichaelPro’s products are designed with a long life and great value in mind. Our mission is to be the auto enthusiasts, master mechanics, and industrial users’ trust.
Shinnfu America (SFA) seems to be the North American subsidiary. Shinnfu owns a couple of other automotive tool and equipment brands:
- Omega-Lift
- Pro-Lift
- Hein-Werner
- Porto Power
- Bone (Creepers)
These are not exactly new brands. So while MichaelPro seems to be a new boutique tool brand, their parent company is not exactly new to the industry.
MichaelPro’s marketing approach seems to be geared towards social media, which is a big turn-off for me, but maybe the brand has potential. We’ll see.
Chris
I see ads for them all the time on Instagram. To me, they’re just another company that rebrands products with their own name. I don’t want to say that their tools are bad, because I haven’t had any experience with them. Maybe they are quality tools. Many Taiwanese tools are actually halfway decent.
I just can’t figure out why so many brands are created that just slap their name on other tools. What are they offering thats new, innovative, trustworthy, cost effective, etc?
fred
I sort of agree. If they were offering rebranded items that wee otherwise hard to find or unavailable in the USA – then they would at least have an edge. The mechanics tool maker that has caught my attention for offering something different recently has been Ko-Ken.
They offer ball-bearing stud setter sockets (hand and impact) that offer an alternative for my may of using 2 jam nuts to set sockets. They sell wrenches for threaded rods – much like the ones sold by MCC. They make bits for use in concrete form work like these:
https://palmac.net/koken-bd013e-12-1-4-hex-drive-cement-paste-remover/
and their T-Handle spinner – looks a bit different (pricier too) than the pack:
https://palmac.net/koken-spinner-cross-wrench-4711xz-1-2-square-drive-2-piece-set/
MM
I’ve seen many companies make or rebrand this style of T-handle. The two that come to mind first are Motion Pro, who specializes in tools for motorcycle service, and Snap-On’s sister brand Blue Point. They’re meant as more of a speed handle rather than a high torque tool like a breaker bar or lug wrench.
Jared
I gave a double take when I saw the picture of the guy apparently removing a lug nut with a T-handle – but then there are ratchets on the ground beside him so I presume that can be interpreted as the guy just speeding a lug nut off.
fred
The one from Ko-Ken may be able to exert more torque since the crossbar slides – so might be used with a longer lever arm.
Yeti
As a concrete form guy I am confused. Never seen anyone use a drill doing form work. We use nails .
I understand in USA you do not have snap ties . I assume this is why you have guys using screws ?
John E
They all want a slice of that cheap labor pie.
Raycr
All the Taiwanese tools I have bought have been decent and close in quality to American made Craftsman.
When Sears was first moving production overseas they first used Taiwan and the sockets were very good. I even bought a Full Craftsman 3/4 inch drive Ratchet and socket set with the Taiwan Sears codes which are equal in quality to the American version. Sears leadership wanted to make more money , however, and went even cheaper.
Even the H.F. Made in Taiwan only electrician pliers were a nice surprise. They are fully westernized and use high quality steel. My retired partner’s wife is from there and tells me how different all their products are from the mainland.
Raycr
Their standard of living is equivalent to Eastern Europe countries .
Tom D
I suspect many of these are the actual contract manufacturers for other brands trying to cut out the middleman. Why make tools for Craftsman when you could sell them direct?
Jared
I thought they were just another Amazon exclusive rebrand company – and it seems like they may be. However, I didn’t realize they had some genuine background in the industry. Perhaps that might let them curate their selection.
Tools don’t look bad actually. I have that same T-handle – it’s sold by Mastercraft here in Canada. Actually I think it WAS sold by Mastercraft. Pretty sure it was discontinued a few years ago. It’s kind of nice though. Larger than most T-handles by far, but that can be advantageous.
Nathan
The name alone irks me – I mean uhm where is the JohnPro tools or golly Stanley Pro – oh wait those are called DeWalt.
anyway.
Outside of that all I see there is rebranding of someone elses items – and they might have even been the OE for the other tool. LIke Mountain or EZ Red. There are a set of ratcheting box end wrenches that many people claim were first made by Mountain tool – which doesn’t appear to exist. Today you get the same tool as EZ red – but there are 3 other knock offs sold on Amazon – I wouldn’t be surprised to see one marketed as this new MichaelPro.
SO yes I will pass.
Ball_bearing
I would like to try their precision screwdrivers. The handles look comfortable, but they seem to only offer slotted and Phillips.
Jared
Those screwdrivers in this post look to have handles a lot like Felo’s shape.
Jim Felt
I wasn’t going to comment. But… Long ago the US had literally dozens if not hundreds of hand tool manufacturing plants and brands.
That era has long since consolidated itself into small brand history. So maybe the current manufacturing hotbeds of the world are simply reinventing our North American past?
Yeah. I know: Europe. But even they’re outsourcing to Asia.
Next up sub Saharan Africa? Or just straight to full tilt orbital “printing” foundry platforms?
Arthur C. Clark would be fascinated.
TonyT
More likely, it’s a whole lot of small companies selling re-branded tools from a small set of factories.
BTW, there’s a lot of re-branding in all industries (including mine, industrial automation), not just hand tools and power tools.
Sean
The big question for me centers warranty. It seems like a lot of new brands or new to the north American market have a lot of restrictions on their warranties such as Hart and Sata tools. The lack of a strong warranty turns me away from such vendors. On the other end of spectrum we have Husky forever warranty replacement and Tekton’s awesome customer service. These commitments to warranty and services drives to buy said products.
Rob
Bought them , and they are so far good quality, but the fastener fitment leaves something to be desired. Geoffrey makes a similar tool, without the twist. If a better mfg like wera made these they would be great
Mikedt
As a Michael, I guess I should start buying these.
Skfarmer
Those wrenches are called dolphin wrenches and have been available in the us under the t and e and kobaly brands.
I have a set of the kobalt in sae and they are pretty good wrenches with some interesting features not found onany wrenches much less all on one. The twisted handle fits the hand well. The deep offset on the box end is handy as is the angled open end and are both good for difficult to access fasteners. I would not say the open end is a strong design but it has come in handy.
fred
Similar wrenches are also called “Cross-Torque) and X-Beam. Gearwrench sell ratcheting ones under the X-Beam moniker. Lawson-Partsmaster seel one to the military under the Cross-Torque name. Grainger/Zoro seel ones under their Westward brand that look a lot like the Gearwrench ones.
Matco called theirs “ergonomic”.
Stuart posted about the Kobalt ones – called “cross-form”
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/kobalt-crossform-wrench-sets/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Jon
Cringe worthy name and marketing (who removes lug nuts with a T handle wearing khakis? I guess Ferrari drivers?) Quick browse on Amazon, tools look cheap and gimmicky like they should be in the dollar bin somewhere. Hard pass. If I am not shelling out for US made pro tools, i’m going with Tekton.
OldDominionDIYer
This is a brand that likely made tools for others under a license like the former craftsman in the dark years. Probably building these now that the patent has expired under their own brand which the name sounds ridiculous by the way.
Jared
If they are genuinely a manufacturer, the name doesn’t really do them any favors.
There are so many direct-to-Amazon Chinese tool rebrand companies that use one of two naming conventions: 1) a couple random English words , 2) a few letters, 3) invented words that sound English.
e.g. I’ve seen lots of tools being sold under the brands ABN or PQY. Also RaceGuy, uxcell, jetech, etc.
Even as a “rebrand” company, there COULD be a brand identity built up – like if you only sold good tools or offered a better warranty and waiting for your reputation to grow. Doesn’t seem like many take that path though. A name that sounds like any of those rebrand companies and doesn’t sell anything substantially different can’t ever get there.
Mike (the other one)
Some of their tools appear to be rebranded SATA tools, which are likely contract-manufactured to begin with, so they are probably rolling off the same assembly lines in Taiwan and/or China.
X Lu
In the end what matters is what we never know-the recipe of the alloy, the cooking time and the consistency of the tolerances. Add to that function and design utility.
So you decide to buy brands where you get highly consistent quality (eg Snap-on) or you make the leap of faith on quality that the tool won’t kill you or your knuckles.
So many market channels and far too many brands with little differentiation. Absent cordless systems, tools are substantially commoditized with limited differentiation. The good news is many of these mystery brands are good enough and much better than a generation earlier’s no name.
Hon Cho
Yes, many tools from China, Vietnam, India and other lower cost manufacturing locations can be very usable. Not every job requires Snap-On. That said, many professionals (and non-pros too) want to be confident that their tools won’t let them down and they pack their kits with well-known brands that they believe will handle whatever task they’re thrown at. I’d prefer to always have the top tier makers’ tools available but the tool that’s available is better than any tool that is not available to you at the time you need to finish a job. I probably wouldn’t choose a MichaelPro tool over some other better known company’s products but I’d darn sure buy and use them if it’s all that is available.
fred
Their lug-nut torque wrench looks a bit different
https://www.amazon.com/MichaelPro-MP001002-Through-Sockets-17-19-21/dp/B0833V88KB?ref_=ast_sto_dp
IronWood
Never heard of them before, but first impressions: tools look very cheap; name is terrible (Michaels craft store house brand?); ads are terrible; their “innovations” are not new to them, cross-handle-style wrenches and T-handles have been around quite a while. It just doesn’t give the feel of a real tool company no matter what else the parent company owns. I’ll definitely pass and stick with my tried and true brands.
Julian Tracy
All this talk of Taiwanese tool quality being equal to Craftsman USA tools… the crappiest ratchets I own are all my older Craftsmsn USA versions.
1/4”, 3/8”, 1/2”, all them have less than smooth action and are the opposite of a joy to use.
Whereas most Taiwanese ratchets I have are nicely finished and very smooth in operation.
MM
My situation was exactly the same as yours until I donated the last of my Craftsmans several months back: they were the worst ratchets in the shop. But I’m not sure how fair it is to compare a Craftsman design that’s decades old with relatively modern Taiwanese designs. I remember when I bought my first Craftsman ratchets in the 90’s there was no real competition unless you took the big $$$ step up for industrial brands like SK or Proto or tool truck brands like Snap-On or Mac.
I also feel that the quality of some of the Taiwanese makers is slipping as well. I have a gearwrench metric ratcheting wrench set that’s about 17 years old at this point and it’s performed flawlessly with frequent use. I recently picked up a current production SAE set. The older ones seem to be higher quality just comparing them side-by-side. I also have a couple of older Gearwrench ratchets from around that same age. They’ve performed great. I had one that was about three years old that needed to be warranteed twice already, the ratchet failed once and the flex hinge broke as well, all just with hand pressure (no cheater pipes). It also had a nasty habit of switching direction or “popping out of gear” while in use even when nothing is touching the lever while my older ones never do that. When it came time to finally put it and the last of my Craftsmans to bed I just went straight to Snap-On for their replacements.
Brandon
Are you referring to the raised-panel, standard 36-tooth models? Those are good for breaking stubborn fasteners loose and aren’t smooth, but are reliable and put up with lots of abuse. Asian made 36s are just awful no matter where they’re made and I give just them away. The 72 & 96 tooth models of any origin do not feel rough like that at all.
Julian Tracy
Even taking into account their relative lack of smoothness due to the tooth count, they are still pretty much crap. “Made in the USA” means crap in that case scenario.
Raycr
Years ago I fell in love with the Craftsman thumb wheel double pawl (Sears best) 3/8 ratchets. I was delighted to find a seller recently who had new old USA stock and bought half a dozen to put in every tool box and car trunk. I still have a couple of the 1/2 drives also.
In the old days I never used a breaker bar and put pipes on them for leverage and bent a couple but never broke the pawls. I even used the 1/2 with a pipe-to change a car tire in a pinch.
Joseph Elsbernd
I’ve seen their ads on Instagram, but my feelings are “‘meh”.
Robert Casey
I bought their 1/2 breaker bar on Amazon and so far seems to be good quality.. I would definitely recommend it