Wow – this Nepros wood tool chest looks absolutely amazing. It is made from walnut and features 3 drawers, a removable tray, and a top surface I wouldn’t dare use for any kind of work.
Is this a tool chest, furniture, or a work of art?
The Nepros walnut wood tool chest measures 552 mm wide (21.7″), 325 mm deep (12.8″), and 382 mm tall (15″). It weighs 11 kg (24.3 lbs).
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The top surface can support up to 20 kg (44 lbs), the small drawer 1 kg (2.2 lbs), and the two drawers and removable tray can all support 5kg (11 lbs) each.
The tool box appears to be designed as much for form as for function, with beautiful joinery.
Some of the product photos show the tool box filled with EDC gear, such as watches. I can definitely see this being used for personal gear by very deep-pocketed enthusiasts and collectors.
Nepros offers several bundles that feature custom-made wood inserts that fit inside the tool drawers.
The tool trays also look to be made from walnut. It looks like these custom trays are only available as part of the tool set bundles.
The tool box looks to include a small removable tray for holding smaller tools, parts, and accessories.
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A large tray, which sits above the main drawers and below the top surface, can be removed.
A small tray, located under the top surface at the right, can hold precision instruments or personal items.
Nepros, by the Kyoto Tool Co (KTC), launched in the 1990s, seeking to be provide automotive pro users the “best tools in the world.” Nepros designs their tools to deliver “a level of functionality, performance, quality, and beauty found in no other tools.”
Nepros seems to strive for a balance between functionality and beauty, and this walnut wood tool chest looks to be a great example of this. The tool chest seems fitting for a brand that takes as much pride in aesthetics as they do utility.
Unfortunately, the tool chest comes with a very hefty price tag.
Nepros Walnut Wood Tool Box Pricing
Nepros Walnut Chest: $1,587
There several tool kit bundles:
29pc Tool Set Bundle: $2,238
29pc Artisan Gold Tool Set Bundle: $3,430
Nepros also offers the wood tool chest bundled with an Urushi ratchet set.
The Urushi set comes with (7) ratchets adorned with intricately decorated handles, and a custom-fit wood tray.
Urushi Tool Set Bundle: $20,650
I kid you not – the Urushi ratchets – more works of art than tools meant to be used – are individually priced at $1,980 to $4,230. This makes the walnut tool chest almost look like a bargain.
(Prices are accurate as of the timing of this posting, and in USD.)
Discussion
While way out of my price range – and I’m assuming most of your budgets as well – I thought the tool chest was worth sharing about, at the least in case it could still serve as inspiration for a DIY woodworking project.
To be fair, while the $1500+ pricing is a bit jaw-dropping for just a tool chest, there are quite a few $1000+ wood tool boxes and chests on the market today, by Gerstner and other brands.
The tool chest looks more like a work of art – or perhaps even functional furniture – than a tool chest that’s meant to be used and abused in a workshop setting. It might be better suited for precision tools, fine instruments, collectables, or personal gear.
Harry
It’s not a tool chest, it’s a finely made jewelry box bordering on art. The Nepros tools are just too polished to actually use. The Urushi ratchets are works of art. That the ultimate tool polisher’s kit right there. If I ever won powerball…..
Matt the Hoople
Why?!?!?
Jared
Fits right in with the Nepros ethos. I drool over those tools but I can’t really imagine buying them to use.
Check out just their extensions for example. Nepros is as pretty as tools come.
Dustin
I own a couple of their tools and they feel like you are using something that should be in a museum. It weird to use them to remove rusty caliper bolts when they feel like the should be in a NASA lab or something
Jared
That actually wasn’t as expensive as I expected from Nepros.Yet like you Stuart, I can’t imagine actually working on it.
The environment I imagine it being used is… maybe post-restoration assembly? Something where the bolts and screws are also pristine and clean before the tools ever touch them.
That is beautiful though! I keep thinking I should make a wood case like Felo has – but this is a different level.
Bill
Nice, but I would rather have piano maker H.O. Studley’s tool chest.
chest.https://mymodernmet.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Studley-Toolbox-1.jpg
Jim Felt
Having had that poster for decades all I can say is I can’t even name 90 some percent of those bespoke tools. Nor can I imagine the skill and time he invested in that one piece.
fred
I’ve seen a toolchest made by Duncan Phyffe at the NY Historical Society. It too is awesome. I learned that sometimes the making of a toolchest was the culmination of (and sort of final exam for) a carpenter/casemaker’s apprenticeship. The ones that have ended up in museums attest to a higher level of skill and attention to detail than would be within my capabilities.
The march of progress has brought us much in the way of convenience, utility and even precision at a modest cost. But we have mostly lost the beauty of the older age when a small number of handmade or hand finished goods excelled in both beauty and functionality. Sure – you can still purchase handmade Swiss watches and pay accordingly. But a made in China Casio might tell time as well as a Patek Phillipe – at a fraction of the cost. Studley’s tool chest – beautiful and functional as it is – was still locked in time to a set of tools that could not much change. If tool technology had gone through a pardigm shift in his lifetime – he would have had to craft an altogether different box.
Meanwhile – I’m not sure that my grandchildren will even want the gold watches that were passed down to me or things like my Leica M4 that represent a different age.
TonyT
Then again, maybe one of them might….some of my younger relatives have appreciation for heirlooms.
Partly in reaction to digitization/cheapening, there’s been a bit of a craft movement, e.g. there are a number of people making a good living making hand-crafted pens.
Phil H.
Not so different from a Gerstner. Wanted a set for years, to be my table beside my chair in my living room with my best tools in it. Kind of like a trophy case from years of learning to do things myself.
https://gerstnerusa.com/shop/
William Adams
The aesthetic is interesting — I could see a Waterman Sérénité nestled in it as part of a high-end fountain pen collection.
An equivalent Gerstner might be:
https://www.duluthtrading.com/best-made-gerstner-field-chest-B1152.html
(though for that price, I’d expect nicer wood, better joinery, and slotted screws which are clocked)
I pretty much have all the tools I need, so buying or finding or making something along these lines to supplement/replace things such as:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/379709812305098767/
and the Kennedy 526 (Craftsman-badged) and various other lesser tool storage options is something I’m hoping to work on in the near future.
Diego
Nothing preteriré than Japanese joinery. That belongs in a museum.
TonyT
If I want Urushi, I’d rather have a Nakaya pen – at least you can actually use it without damaging it! Or maybe a Pelikan maki-e pen. (And, yes, that tool box is beautiful, but I can’t imagine it really used as a mechanic’s toolbox).
https://www.nibs.com/brand/nakaya
https://thepelikansperch.com/2020/07/20/pelikan-makie-kingfisher/
Saulac
Material and craftsmanship aside, is it even a good design? The drawers and the shelf look like after thought added in. Because it’s art?
Chris S
Well boys, I’m tooling up the CNC machine to make drawers. As soon as you buy your tool chest, just hit me up and I’ll make you some k̶n̶o̶c̶k̶o̶f̶f̶ custom wood drawers for the lowly sum of $499.
William Adams
I’ve been working on that sort of thing for a while — it’s downright hard, esp. if one tries for more than a single layer.
Wish there was a site where folks could share tool outlines and layouts and 3D models.
Aram
I suppose you could sorta do it on Thingiverse, although I suppose it might be done better as an independent, more focused, site.
…which I would like to encourage you to pursue, because it seems to me like a reasonably nifty idea. Even if you hosted the files on Thingiverse, you could index them on a separate site and use tool/trade/craft specific indexing methods.
William Adams
I was working on this on the Shapeoko wiki, which unfortunately, has gone off-line, but is still on the Wayback Machine:
https://web.archive.org/web/20210412000519/https://wiki.shapeoko.com/index.php/List_of_Tools
Thingiverse would be workable, except for the brokenness of the search, and the inconsistency of the indexing.
I suppose a GitHub project would work, but that’s kind of complex for most folks to contribute.
atomic
Sort of adjacent to Benjamen’s site, he (used to?) Write articles here and has a site full of 3d printable tool organization stuff, you can’t upload to it though. https://3dprints.electronsmith.com/
Saulac
Can be the center piece for someone’s walk-in closet, to sit down and put on shoe…good place for EDC like Stuart said.
Martin
Can’t sit on it. The top only takes 44 pounds.
Saulac
I thought you were kidding. So it is a stool that can not be sit on. All those fancy joinery and that all it can. I appreciate “show” stuffs, but my first test is they have to be able to perform their basic functions. Please don’t tell me all those ratchets can stand 2 ft-lbs.
Charlie
This is the kind of thing we are supposed to be making with our tools.
Hoser
Yes
Jim Felt
Stuart.
Glad you posted this. I’ve never been in the market for either a bespoke tool “box” or the inlaid level of tools but it’s fun to see. Wait. No jewels?
When you mentioned Gerstner I’ve only a couple of the US Made models and what always kinda bothered me was the simple fact they’re not fitted or finished as well as any pieces I’ve locally commissioned, mostly way bigger, over the years. A few of which have even appeared in Taunton Fine Furniture compilation books.
The more readily available International Gerstner boxes are certainly no better.
Maybe there’s a calling for something beyond Griot’s Garage import boxes? Hmmm.
Mr. Certainly
It used to be a measure of a craftsman to build your own toolbox – its quality reflected one’s workmanship.
Mikedt
Now that is a gift for the man who has everything.
Rog
They did not have to flex on us like that.
Gordon
Finally tools I can leave around the house without the wife getting mad.
garrett
I love this and I hope someone buys it and rewards their efforts. Unfortunately, that ain’t me. Maybe a cool museum-piece? I would much rather see this in a museum than some modern (and even some classic) artwork displays.
Hon Cho
Price is high but, in my estimation, not unreasonable.
AlexK
A friend’s husband who was raised in Hungary and apprenticed as a woodworker said that making his tool chest with hand tools was what every apprentice had to do if they wanted to finish their apprenticeship and become a journeyman. I don’t remember exactly what it looked like, but it was very nice looking, beautiful joinery and practical. Well used on job sites, so it didn’t have a showroom finish. I was impressed. My Japanese style tool chest is just a box made of plywood with a removable shelf and a cover. It would be mistaken for a crate, but it holds my hand planes- and I can also sit on top of it.
Stuart, thanks for posting this. It might encourage some of us to make this (or in my case, a simpler version). This is done extremely well, but breaking it down, it’s basically a stool with some drawers between the legs. Okay, it seems doable sitting in my chair typing this, but it ain’t gonna happen. I don’t have the focus and drive unless I have a real need for something.
Nathan
neat but I wonder who it’s for. Or if it was made for catalog jewelry?
If it was holding some chisels, saws and bits like a fine furniture kit I’d be more impressed.
Koko The Talking Ape
Poor design.
It’s too small.
It’s also wasteful of the limited space it occupies. The legs are pointless and take up space. The space under the tray is wasted (unless you store your sandpaper sheets there or something.)
The tray doesn’t have glides, so it just sits on supports on the legs like a shelf. If there’s stuff in it when you pull it out, the tray’s back end will drop down and hit whatever’s under the tray. Clumsy and primitive.
The design is also visually confusing. It looks like a stepstool with storage. Why are the legs there at all? Why not make it a plain drawer cabinet like regular tool chests? I bet you could get double the storage space from the same outside dimensions.
So like others say, this isn’t about function, it’s just a display object. But even then, people would ask why the nice stool is sitting on the cabinet.
JoeM
Honestly… I don’t mean to invoke his name too often, but this looks more like something fred would have among his Plane collection, on display. Not to use, and I’m not saying he has the wealth to justify any of these sets, but to demonstrate the beauty of tools being as valuable as what one makes with them.
That furniture design looks to be right out of the Craftsman movement of Architecture in, I think it’s the 1930’s? 1940’s? Where you built everything to serve a purpose, be easily replaced, and yet still maximise the hand-built feel of having customized every element yourself. There are “Craftsman Style” houses all over California and the West Coast of the US, and they go for absolute fortunes. They’re truly loved because there’s no “Wrong” way to build onto them, rennovate them, or restore them. As long as everything matches like it was always meant to be there, it’s grown-up LEGO for house rennovators.
This tool box seems to follow that same idea. You put in the trays for the tools you want in there, representing “you” and you keep it like a night stand, or a lamp stand in a living room somewhere. I share the sentiment that this doesn’t look like it’s meant to be used, but rather shared like a teaching aide. As a Master craftsman takes on an Apprentice, and tutors them over many years, that Young Craftsman knows he has become their own Tradesman in this field when his Master says it’s time to take this chest home with them, as a token of graduation. It represents the true beauty in the kinds of tool use that we do.
Sorry if I waxed a little nostalgic there… Always been a major fan of the Craftsman movement, and the passing of knowledge and skill down from Master to Apprentice, generation after generation.
Nathan
yall do know it’s not hand carved right? it’s box jointed from the looks of it – and I’m sure it was milled on CNC.
Looks neat sure.
Stuart
As long as it looks good and the joints are tight, does it really matter?
Leo B.
It’s a beautiful piece, and I’d be equally proud and scared to have it in a shop. I see a lot of Mid-Cenutry Modern influences in it, and some very elegant lines. I’d put planes and chisels in it, I think, since few other tools could justify this kind of storage. The Nepros mechanics tools are gorgeous, though, and fully deserve this kind of home. Thanks for sharing!
Will
It looks like a stool with a box attached to it.
Franco Calcagni
I have a Nepros 3/8 ratchet, I don’t recall what I paid for it….it was more than the average ratchet, but not a fortune. It does not have wood handles or anything fancy other than super polished finish and very fine tooth movement….works very nice.
I also have a 1/4″ set with ratchet, sockets and screwdriver type handle. Again, I do not recall what I paid. Did some quick Google searches and saw some on eBay for $499 & $599 that look similar to mine! There is no way I would have paid that kind of money for a 1/4″ set, or close to those prices. It was, like the 3/8″ ratchet, more than most middle of the road, good quality sets, but for sure less than what a Snap On or MAC or any truck brand would have cost.
I also have the wrench https://www.nepros.net/?cat=3&grp=17 . I am not a big fan of adjustable wrenches but got his because it looked to nice to not get! If I remember correctly, it might have been in the $80-$90 range (about 10 years ago). It works well, possibly better than most other adjustable I have, but for me, it is still an adjustable wrench, which I have never loved and use when it is the only tool that will work in that situation. Although, it is a heck of a nice looking adjustable!
If I had the [disposable] money for this wood tool chest/cabinet, I would love to have one. It is a real work of art.
The $20K ratchet set doesn’t excite me, wouldn’t get it. Wood handled inlays on a ratchet doesn’t have a place in my tools.
My 3/8″ ratchet is both beautiful and super nice function, I would by it again because it is that good. The 1/4″ set is very nice, but over the past many years, I do not use 1/4 ratchet often enough to say it is worth buying or not (definitely not worth $500-$600, if I recall, I got them from someone on Garage Journal selling Nepros and other Japanese brands for good prices).
For me, the wrench is strictly for the look. I have known some people who sware by adjustable wrenches and to those I would say it has a very fine and smooth adjustable movement as well as very little play on the mouth, all good. Maybe some would fine that handle so-so comfortable, could be a bit bigger to feel really nice.
This wood chest is absolutely beautiful and I envy anyone who buys one.
William Adams
The thing which kills me on the screwdrivers is that the slotted tips are wedge/chisel shaped, not parallel ground.
Yes, there are too many sizes of slotted screws for anyone to have a full set of screwdrivers (though I keep trying — need to go back to picking up old Craftsman screwdrivers to regrind), but I’d almost rather not have a wedge shaped screwdriver than damage a screw using such.
Need for the Brownell’s master set to come back in stock.
Kurt
I suppose if you are rich and have a car collection in a fancy garage this would be a nice display piece. Ultimately, it would be a shame to use it and have it marred.
My mother got me a gorgeous walnut Gerstener’s machinist’s chest for my 30th birthday that I treasure (and use) to this day, which is, um, many years later. I am proud to have it in my shop, holding fine instruments. I take care of it of course, but it is a working toolbox, which is it’s function.
Rob
Ironically much better and cheaper than the Lorenzo Milano one I saw.
Brian M
Nepros is absolutely my favorite brand that I’ll never own anything they sell.
Graham Howe
I’m actually a little surprised at the positive comments about the apparent quality of this piece. Of course it is produced on a CNC, but I don’t have any real prejudice there.
My problem is that most of the joints are simple butt joints. There are finger/box joints on the tray and the main case but nowhere else, certainly no dovetails. The fact that it can only support 44 lbs, does this mean there are no mortise and tenons for the legs and apron? Are the splayed legs not connected to the drawer box? It looks like a 3/4″ solid walnut top, so that could certainly support more weight, it has to be the legs that are weak. The reveals around the drawers look to be pretty big, certainly not a piston fit! In fact many of the components appear to have a very rounded appearance, this could just be the style, but it also allows for a lack of precision.
I’m not detracting from the aesthetic as that is personal choice, but I would expect a $1600 drawer/stool unit to have a more impressive level of craftsmanship. I am by no means a master woodworker, but I’m pretty confident I could build this to at least the same level of quality, without a CNC. The one thing I might struggle on is the cutouts for the individual tools, but of course unless you were buying their specific tools, you might find the cutouts didn’t meet your own requirements anyway.
Franco Calcagni
As much as I love the look of it and would probably already have ordered one if I had money burning holes in my pockets, I have to agree with your assessment. When I can, I will spend extra for something “special”, but it has to have quality to back up a premium price otherwise it is a real burn.