What is Apex Tool Group and Crescent doing with the Wiss tool brand?
In 2017, Apex Tool Group (ATG) consolidated many of their brands under Crescent Tools, and Wiss became Crescent Wiss. I think we’re seeing signs that the Wiss brand is in danger of being eliminated entirely.
Home Depot has featured Wiss tin snips in their Black Friday deals center for quite a few years now.
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After not finding any Wiss or Crescent Wiss tools in promotional displays at my local Home Depot stores, I thought to look for them in the main tool aisle.
Here’s what I found when searching for Wiss aviation snip deals at Home Depot.
Crescent redesigned the tools’ retail packaging cards, with the Wiss branding now so small that I initially thought it had already been eliminated.
I then noticed something else.
In this display of Wiss aviation snips at Home Depot’s 2015 holiday tool deals gift center, what do you see?
It had “USA Made” on the packaging, along with a “USA” marking on the pivot bolt.
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Fast forward to 2021, and the Crescent Wiss snips still had a front-facing label that said Made in USA with Global Components.
Also take note of the font size difference between Crescent and Wiss brand names.
The new Crescent packaging at Home Depot doesn’t have this. The tool no longer appears to be labeled as being made in the USA – at least not that I have seen – and there’s no declaration of this on the front of the packaging card.
I checked the back, and it says “Made in USA with Global Components.”
Interestingly, Crescent also updated their advertising claims. The prior packaging said that the Wiss straight-cutting snips deliver “10X cut life,” and the new packaging says they deliver “15X cut life.”
Did Crescent upgrade the tools in some way? What’s responsible for the change from 10X to 15X cut life?
Let’s check this Crescent Wiss 3pc set, which doesn’t have any country of origin information on the front of the packaging card either.
The individual Crescent snips have updated peg cards where 1) the Wiss branding has been greatly minimized, 2) the “made in USA with global components” declaration had been dropped from the front and moved to the back, and 3) the advertised claim went from saying “10X cut life” to “15X cut life.”
The 3pc set of Crescent Wiss aviation snips are marked with: “Designed, Engineered, Tested in the USA,” and “Product of China/Assembled in USA.”
Is there a difference between “Product of China/Assembled in USA” for the Crescent Wiss snips in the 3pc set, and the Crescent snips sold separately that are marked on the back as being “Made in USA with Global Components”?
This all brings me back to the title question: What is Apex Tool Group and Crescent Tools doing to Wiss?
Are they phasing out the brand? What about USA production?
Sometimes a customer-facing retail packaging card is just a piece of card stock. But here, I’m worried we’re seeing signs of deeper implications and further changes.
Read Also: Bain Capital Tried to Sell Apex Tool Group (Gearwrench and Crescent)
IronWood
Midwest is a much better choice for snips. Apex seems to ruin everything they touch from my lowly consumer’s point of view.
CA
This. Midwest all the way.
PW
Thanks for the recommendation. It’s good to know alternatives whenever the kiss of death (Apex) touches a tool brand.
Mxx
x 10 and offset snips make cutting a pleasure.
Peter
Midwest is what every HVAC tech uses. STILL great snips.
Jared
Seems very odd to meet the “Made in USA with Global Components” criteria and not advertise it prominently.
I don’t have a strong emotional attachment to the “Wiss” brand name, but I do associate it more with “pro” use than most Crescent tools. I’m not sure that’s fair though – just generally, Crescent seems to be noticeably improved the last several years (but I have trouble shaking the impression that it’s mostly “homeowner” grade). Maybe that’s all part of it.
Why does Crescent own Wiss at all if they’re going to offshore production and disassociate from the brand name?
Stuart
Consolidated branding seems to be a goal for many brands these days.
Bosch, for example, disappeared from Home Depot’s power tool accessories aisles, and were replaced with Diablo. Diablo is a Bosch company, with the replacement products extremely similar if not identical outside of the color and packaging.
Brad
Technically Crescent doesn’t own anything, Apex Tool Group, LLC who is owned by Bain Capital owns it. Wanxiang backed out of buying Apex from Bain this year … how bad can your finances be if a Chinese branding company won’t buy you?
Crescent is a brand at this point which comprises a bunch of sold off companies –
Crescent/Gearwrench/Jacobs/
Weller/Cleco/Wiss/etc.
Jared
Fair enough. I assumed it was a Apex-owns-Crescent and Crescent-owns-Wiss type situation given how the brands Crescent and Wiss appeared on the packaging, but I guess Apex can just co-brand without the companies being connected.
ITCD
A bunch of the brands you named are still their own thing without having Crescent tacked on like with Cleco. Gearwrench is focused hard on auto shops while Crescent seems aimed at tradesmen which goes inline with their slogan “tools for the trades.” They tossed stuff like Jobox, Wiss, Lufkin and Nicholson under the Crescent name, brands producing stuff you’d expect to see for someone building a house or something.
What I find strange is they tossed Xcelite under Weller, when Weller is most known for soldering irons and Xcelite wete legendary for their nut drivers.
I’m surprised Apex never kept an industrial branch around (well they have Cleco but I mean hand tools) with the Armstrong name.
Wayne R.
Wiss started in 1848. I’ve got a bunch of “recently old” and pretty new Wiss scissors that’ll be still useful for another century or so. There’s a lot of steel in those things and they’ll take a lot of sharpening for a long time. (Clauss, too.) They’re my go-to.
I’ve got several Fiskars scissors too – I think they began the stamped blades & plastic handles family of scissors. Toolguyd has mentioned the similar Milwaukee scissors over & over. Can’t find much of anything about Wiss scissors in here though.
It seems ridiculous to lament the (potential) loss of a quality tool maker when everyone’s squawking about lesser alternatives.
fred
Branding and brand recognition is something I studied in graduate school at night while trying to run a plumbing business by day in the 1960’s I’m sure we talked about brand positioning and recognition. I’m not sure that the topic of brand consolidation was forefront in the discussion. Anyway – not having been involved with producing or marketing mass -market tools – I’d be loath to criticize Apex or their predecessors (Cooper and Danaher) for the path that they embarked upon. In the tool business – everyone would certainly like to take a leaf out of B&D’s books and turn a moribund one-trick pony (Dewalt) into a flagship brand – with its name applied to all manner of tools – way beyond its RAS heritage. Apparently, there is a thought that the consumer can only process so many brand names – so better stick with a “leader” and abandon the others. On this altar – created by Apex Tools – brands like Allen, Armstrong, Campbell, Cooper, HK Porter, Jacobs, Lufkin, Nicholson, Plumb, Ungar, Utica, Wiss, Weller and Xcellite – may all need to be sacrificed and subsumed under the Cescent name. Then whatever is left can become Gearwrench.
The Wiss name was once a heralded brand known in the US garment business. That business is sadly no longer of much consequence – so a Crescent pattern cutter shears might be equally unprofitable as one branded Wiss.
Tom
Useful insights Fred. To me, I don’t really care about the brand per se. The quality of a tool isn’t in the brand, it’s in the way it’s made, designed and the QC etc.
EG: I know that anything bearing the Knipex name can be relied upon: they design and make almost all their own tools, or put their name on a reliable tool with its own solid background (Jokari wire strippers for example).
But a tool bearing the Crescent name can vary wildly, and has become meaningless as a guide to quality and utility.
The Dewalt example is a good one: mostly steered originally by the exec that now heads up Milwaukee: but the design side of many of their power tools is still done by a knowledgeable core of engineers in Germany. So they have mostly retained the name for quality and design that the name came with when they took over the RAS business.
fred
I guess that B&D acquiring Elu (1994) and Porter Cable (2004) – and their design/manufacturing prowess also helped.
Tom
Yes, I imagine that Elu provided the core group of engineers in Europe.
Porter Cable looks to be a brand that is being swallowed up into the Dewalt brand. The Porter Cable drywall sander has been a staple over here in NZ, recently replaced by a Dewalt version.
fred
The PC #7800 drywall sander was the first of its kind when it was introduced. PC also introduced the first ROS ) – as an adaptation from an angle grinder. Those days of Porter Cable innovation (when they were independent, then owned by Rockwell and finally Pentair) are long gone. Once they were bought by Black & Decker their slide downhill was probably inevitable – or they would have cannibalized Dewalt sales.
Scott K
It’s interesting that there such a focus on consolidation – I can’t imagine it’s that difficult to maintain various brand names especially if they offer legitimacy to consumers. I bought a pair of Wiss straight tin snips close to 8 years ago and they’re excellent. It’s a shame that whoever makes these decisions doesn’t see the value in a brand’s innovations.
Stuart
A few years ago, when I first put together this post – toolguyd.com/tool-brands-corporate-affiliations/ , Apex had 31 different brands.
Now they have 6 featured brands and 8 total brands, plus a couple of child brands such as Wiss.
I’m thinking it’s easier for a private investment company – which owns Apex – to potentially sell a group of just a couple of brands than a group of 31 independent brands.
kman
I tried wiss, midwest and malco snips over the past few years. The Malco snips are much better. Not even a close contest!
Ciccio
Recently i purchased a set of this snips.
My friends has one set he purchased 3 years ago.
Same brand, Wiss
The dip plastic handles are different.
Mine are made of hard plastic and have a slippery feel.
Promise myself to get a new pair soon to replace them.
Yesterday at Lowe’s picked up a pair of Lenox, very comfortable grip, not sure about strength and quality. Also they look very similar to the one sold by Craftman, same family i assume.
I’ll probably go back to Midwest.
Never tried Malco, maybe i should.
NoahG
I stopped buying Wiss when I encountered Midwest snips at Menards and discovered that they’re far superior and still made right here in Michigan.
Stuart
I also went with Midwest – I was sold on their updated grip when they launched around 9 years ago – https://toolguyd.com/midwest-snips-kushn-power-handles/ .
Wiss is decent, and more affordable. Competition is always better for tool users.
Mike (the other one)
Wiss, Plumb, Armstrong, Allen, Xcelite – all once respected brands that have been pissed away by a bunch of hedge fund executives who don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground.
JR Ramos
Wiss (label) quality went down some years back, pre-pandemic a bit. I bought a pair of bulldogs to replace a very well used and worn pair from the 90s and it was just night and day. Malco is fantastic and I may replace my old Wiss and Midwest with Malco as needed. The little mini AV-series Malco snips are the bee’s knees – quickly became my favorite for so many things. Midwest is still solid as ever.
Makes me sad about Wiss really. And Fred’s mention of Campbell and HK Porter, too. Maybe a rose is a rose but many of these names were icons and to see them forcefully withered like this with diminished recognition, lower quality, and the eventual annals of history just hits a sore spot. It’s great that some few companies can fill the niche with the same or better quality but we’ve lost a lot to mediocrity.
JoeM
I came into this article, looking to see if there was something I should be concerned about. I own two Wiss tools, both of them are… Metal Brakes? Flat surfaces for bending thin metal, usually used in HVAC? I use them when salvaging steel or aluminum from computer cases to make other things. They are an important brand to me, because of their usefulness.
Now… I already have them, I have no urgent need to replace them… and I’m torn about whether I need aviation snips at all, because I do have an Impact-Driver Powered attachment for snips on metal. The 3 pack there looks very tempting as a “Rather Have It and Not Need It, than Need It And Not Have It” basis…
I gotta ask… What else does Wiss make, that is affected by what Apex is doing to them? Is it just metal sheet tools, or do they do something iconic to them, that I should care about with the brand changeover? I mean… ToughBuilt makes these tools as well… And I already have an addiction to ToughBuilt through their Saw Horses and Utility Knives… So… Is it truly a loss if Wiss goes away?
(P.S. Saw a video online of the upcoming ToughBuilt storage system in action… They do something no other system does… They Self-Lock Together! Drop one box of the system on the other, it locks in place without touching it! You just unlatch them with one hand to release the box you want! If I didn’t already want the ToughBuilt storage system before? I want it now!!)
Stuart
Several storage systems have auto-latching connectors.
As for the “metal brakes”, Malco and other brands have similar. You’re talking about seamers right?
JoeM
I believe they are seamers, yes… They were an Adam Savage/Tested recommendation when he was making his custom Leatherman Sheath. I have since used them to maintain the correct tension on the two that I made for my Wave and Surge.
As to other systems auto-locking together… I apologize for my incorrect statement. But it doesn’t change how much more appealing the ToughBuilt system is to me now. I don’t want to jinx anything, but… My TSTAK has serious competition now… Just don’t let that be heard in their presence… I have one of the rolling XL Toolboxes to hold my vacuum! I don’t want them to suddenly fall apart or anything like that! Really good boxes!
Michael M.
For what it’s worth, the newest 3 pack packaging (the one with Wiss in small letters) goes back to stating that it is Made in the USA with Global Materials just like the new single packaging.
fred
Jacob Wiss (a Swiss-born immigrant) started making scissors and surgical instruments in New Jersey – before the Civil War. That war saw a big increase in his business as the NYCity garment trade geared up to make uniforms (requiring shears to cut fabric) and army surgeons needed his instruments. Wiss inlaid scissors (cloth shears) became a staple in the garment business. Thanks to the invention of the sewing machine, the garment business had grown faster than any other with NYCity at its center. Fueled by the arrival (1880-1920) of waves of cheap immigrant labor from Europe – I suppose that lots of Wiss scissors were sold to cut the fabric used to clothe most of the nation.
JoeM
So… Does Wiss still make Scissors in the Fabric and Thread avenue? I think I’ve ranted about “You can never have too many scissors” before… Knowing I was buying an industry best would genuinely make me interested in what is going on with Apex Tool Group. And having backup fabric shears or thread snips would be handy in any fabric work I do…
fred
Here’s one example:
https://www.amazon.com/Upholstery-Carpet-Drapery-Fabric-Shears/dp/B005LBQSJ0
I’m not sure how they would compare to the several pairs (probably 80 years old) that I inherited from an uncle who was a cutter,
Stuart
In my opinion, skip Wiss and look at Heritage. (Heritage is now a Klein Tools brand.)
fred
I think that some of the Japanese brands are also worth a look. Allex (Hayashi Cutlery Co.) and Canary (Hasegawa Cutlery) make some useful scissors and snips.
This is one of my favorites from Allex:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001M0E5YO
This one from Canary is a bit similar:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0091GW6X
Mike (the other one)
Check out Clauss, too.
fred
Clauss – is part of Acme United. An old inventory said we had some of these:
https://www.knifecenter.com/item/AU10850/clauss-12-inch-hot-forged-bent-trimmer-knife-edge-adjustable
We also had these Everhard ones – also USA-made
https://www.wallpapertoolstore.com/product/17339/
From how we had them listed – I think we used them for roofing – not cutting garments.
MM
In my opinion Wiss is like many other brands that once stood for high quality and innovation but did not keep up with the times and now are a shadow of what they once were. When I first worked in an Ace Hardware as a teenager in the 90’s Wiss was under the “Cooper Tools” umbrella along with other brands like H. K. Porter, Plumb, Weller, Crescent, Xcelite, Erem, and others. We sold many of those tools in our store, and we also had much older examples of the same brands which were for “store use”, like the Wiss snips we’d use to cut hardware cloth and chicken wire which we sold by the foot. Even back then the current production examples of those tools were not as nice as the older ones–quality had started to slip. Furthermore, their designs were essentially unchanged from decades before. They didn’t keep up innovation with modern designs and modern materials the way their competitors did. They basically sat on their laurels and got passed up.
Michael F
I’ve never had a chance to own Wiss Snips. I only actually own a single pair of Snips and I bought NWS that were made in Germany. I’ve used them a whopping single time to cut drywall corner bead at an angle.
It’s not surprising that companies are consolidating brands in this financial environment. I’m in cybersecurity/software and not manufacturing but regardless the financial environment is brutal and unforgiving on companies right now. Bailouts from private equity or Chinese capital is harder to come by if you find yourself in a bind as well.
DC
Midwest snips are my go to.
fred
When Sears had Craftsman, the Craftsman snips were made by Midwest. We had a bunch of Midwest tools (nibblers) for cutting notches and recesses in Aluminum and Vinyl fencing. Here is an example:
https://www.amazon.com/MIDWEST-Fence-Notcher-Assembling-Replaceable/dp/B003USZTUK?th=1
Other brands to look at are Malco and Klenk:
https://www.amazon.com/Klenk-10-12-Aviation-Cutting-MA70570/dp/B004HL7RPY