HF K-Body Clamps

[TheRic]

Was at HF on Sunday. Had parallel clamps on sale, they called them K-Body clamps. They were 24" -36" in length (sorry I forget & didn't write it down ), for about $20. I know very little about the K-Body / parallel clamps to say what kind/brand they were like. Has anyone seen these? Does anyone have any experience with them?? Any good?? Waste of money??

[LCHIEN]

Was at HF on Sunday. Had parallel clamps on sale, they called them K-Body clamps. They were 24" -36" in length (sorry I forget & didn't write it down ), for about $20. I know very little about the K-Body / parallel clamps to say what kind/brand they were like. Has anyone seen these? Does anyone have any experience with them?? Any good?? Waste of money??

Real "K-body" clamps I think are the trademark of Bessey, they are parallel jaw clamps with red plastic covered mechanisms. Normally they run $30-50 in those sizes. (pretty expensive). Kind of the Cadillac (or Hummer?) of the industry. I'd be surprised to see them at a HF store. and would make sure they are truly Besseys and not some Chinese knock offs.

HF does have some rare reconditioned name brand tools but not too often. I think I have seen recon dewalt stuff and it was not a bargain.

[TheRic]

I didn't get a chance to look at them that close, was very limited to time. These were NOT Bessy, they were black. The sign called them "K-Body style parallel clamps" or something like that. I don't know anything about the differences in the different brands of parallel clamps to say they were more like one brand or another.

They were a lot beefier than the other clamps. Weighed about 2-4 times more than F-Style clamps. Since I hadn't heard anything about them here one way or another, I didn't buy any.

I couldn't find anything on their website about them. They are probably a cheap knockoff but they still may be a decent clamp.

[LCHIEN]

The key word is "style" meaning they're copies.

There are similar clamps with similar prices - like
Jet, Jorgenson, and Gros-Stabil, all brand name and quite good. Each are a little different and have good features.
I don't know if HF have the Gros Stabil ones, they are black i think, but at those prices, I think not. Probably just knock offs, e.g. House brand (Pittsburgh).

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Harbor Freight introduced a parallel jaw clamps a few months ago under the Pittsburgh Professional line. They appear to be pretty much identical to Bessey, except that they have different handles (metal versus wood) and are black in color.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93875

They are more expensive than Bessey on sale at Amazon. Regular retail 12" = $20, 24" = $29.99 and 36" = $34.99. I think they would be a great deal at half off (or other HF rock bottom sale event + 10 - 15% off coupon), especially the 12" which are hard to find in another name at a sale price.

As noted Woodcraft has a parallel jaw clamp which is identical to the Bessey as it is made by BEssey. Woodcrafts is green thus by alternating Bessey and Woodcraft you can get a real nice Christmas theme going! Woodcraft clamps are more expensive than Bessey on sale at Amazon.

[LarryG]

The new HF parallel jaw clamps have been discussed here once or twice in the past. I'm not sure if anyone had previously spotted one in the wild yet. Looking at the picture and specs on the HF website, they appear to be a VERY close knock-off of the Bessey design:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=93875

Or since Woodcraft is now selling green versions of the K-Body clamps, made by Bessey, maybe these HF clamps are made by Bessey too (although I tend to doubt it). They also cost about like Besseys, although there's always the possibility of the usual half-price sale pricing, I suppose.

[LarryG]

Looks like Jeffrey and I were typing almost exactly the same thing, at almost exactly the same time.

I may have to reconsider my "although I tend to doubt it" statement. I was just looking at the green Woodcraft clamps, and they and the HFs share the same rounded-off nose on the end of the fixed jaw (on an original K-Body, all the corners come to a sharp point). The handles of the Woodcraft and HF clamps also appear to be the same (fluted, apparently metal, whereas the originals have smooth wooden handles).

So, given the uncharacteristically high prices (for HF) of these Pittsburgh branded clamps, I'm now wondering if they are not, in fact, black versions of the same slightly modified versions of the Bessey K-Body that Woodcraft offers in green. After all, if these were Chinese knockoffs, one would expect them to cost maybe half what the originals do -- but these are priced virtually the same.

[Jeffrey Schronce]

Looks like Jeffrey and I were typing almost exactly the same thing, at almost exactly the same time.

I may have to reconsider my "although I tend to doubt it" statement. I was just looking at the green Woodcraft clamps, and they and the HFs share the same rounded-off nose on the end of the fixed jaw (on an original K-Body, all the corners come to a sharp point). The handles of the Woodcraft and HF clamps also appear to be the same (fluted, apparently metal, whereas the originals have smooth wooden handles).

So, given the uncharacteristically high prices (for HF) of these Pittsburgh branded clamps, I'm now wondering if they are not, in fact, black versions of the same slightly modified versions of the Bessey K-Body that Woodcraft offers in green. After all, if these were Chinese knockoffs, one would expect them to cost maybe half what the originals do -- but these are priced virtually the same.

Great minds think a like!

Next time I am in the store I will check to see where they are made. I played around with one in the store and it seemed of equal quality to the Bessey K-Bod.

[phrog]

India?

Great minds think a like!

Next time I am in the store I will check to see where they are made. I played around with one in the store and it seemed of equal quality to the Bessey K-Bod.

I looked at these last week. They were made in India if my memory serves me correctly (but often it doesn't).
Richard