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It appears that Ryobi is coming out with more new hand tools, or at least that’s what can be seen in images of their new Link system tool bags.
Ryobi launched new hand tools in late 2022, of the kind you wouldn’t expect for a brand known almost exclusively for cordless power tools and accessories.
The first wave of Ryobi hand tools included hand saws, screwdrivers, small mechanics tool sets, and new layout tools.
I asked Ryobi for more information at the time, and this is all they were able to say:
RYOBI is continuing to expand into the Hand Tool market with incremental categories like fastening, cutting, mechanics, storage, and more. With our commitment to the end user, RYOBI will bring over 30 innovative hand tool products to The Home Depot that will continue to empower all of our users to accomplish their projects big and small. Never get caught empty-handed with RYOBI Hand Tools.
That didn’t really tell us anything.
To be frank, I didn’t take the opening statement at face value. If they planned to “expand into the hand tool market with incremental categories,” surely there would be a bigger announcement. Right?
But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.
I recently posted about new Ryobi Link storage products, which includes two tool bags whose product photos were staged with never-before-seen Ryobi hand tools.
These look like new Ryobi hand tools to me, and real ones that were photographed, as opposed to being digital renderings.
In addition to existing tools, such as Ryobi’s screwdrivers, tape measure, and level in some of the photos, we can see new adjustable wrenches, diagonal cutters, flush cutters, Lineman’s style pliers, and Knipex Cobra-style adjustable water pump pliers.
Brands will sometimes have tool props specially made for product photography purposes. Is that what we’re seeing here?
Or are these early production samples from Home Depot’s next Ryobi hand tools expansion? These look to be photos of factory-produced tools to me.
Ryobi’s sibling company – Hart Tools – has many hand tools that are exclusively available at Walmart. The first wave of Ryobi hand tools at Home Depot were not quite copies of Hart tools, but the resemblances were obvious.
Here, the Ryobi pliers, cutters, and adjustable wrenches look very different from Hart’s. I couldn’t identify a likely OEM either; the Ryobi pliers and adjustable wrenches appear to be distinct.
Will these Ryobi pliers, cutters, and adjustable wrenches make it to Home Depot’s shelves? Or will they be online-only offerings, similar to Ryobi’s screwdrivers, hand saws, knives, and others? It will be interesting to see what happens.
