Tool Brands

The buyer, of course.

The last I heard, Sears has to increase their selling prices to you by 17% to cover the costs of claims/returns on Craftsman tools.

I know for a fact that the heavier duty Armstrong product range with their lifetime guarantee had so few returns that the costs of tool replacements was not calculated into the selling price.

I can state this as my office was alongside of the man at Armstrong who established prices.

I'm not suggesting that you buy either tool, but, please note that you don't get lifetime guarantees for nothing.

Craftsman has an unconditional warranty on their hand tools. No matter what you've done to it, if it breaks or fails to perform, it will be replaced.

Snap-on has a conditional warranty. The tool must fail in normal use, not be modified in any way, and not be considered worn out.

So use a cheater bar, and you voided your Snap-on warranty. Grind it to fit, and the Snap-on warranty is voided. Wear it out, and again the Snap-on warranty is gone. In each of these cases though, the Craftsman warranty will still apply, and you will receive a new wrench.

There is also the ability to enforce the warranty. Sears stores tend to exist in every town. While the on the shelf line up has gone down, the warranty still applies, and they will replace, even if they have to order the replacement. This can be a bit arduous if you've got one of their professional line tools. But if it's one of their generic wrenches, you'll walk out with a replacement in hand.

Snap-on first requires you to find the truck. If you work on a place that is on the drivers route, and you break a tool just before he arrives, this isn't bad. But if you aren't on a service route, it's quite a pain. As is breaking a wrench on Thursday and having to wait until Tuesday for the truck to arrive.

Snap-on also requires the tools to be sent back to corporate headquarters for inspection and warranty determination. Now if the driver knows you, he might take the risk and swap out a tool for you on the spot. But if you're just a person who flagged him down, forget it. He isn't about to gamble by giving you a new tool and hoping the corporate inspection determines that replacement was warranted. Because if the corporate headquarter inspection of the tool says nix on the warranty, that driver is out the cost of the replacement tool he gave you.

I've been through this with both companies a number of times.

Lastly, there is also the matter of how a tool feels to you. The very thing that many people like about Snap-on wrenches is exactly what I don't like about them. They are thin and smooth finished. So they hurt my hand when I'm really cranking on them, and they are slippery as all get out when oily. For my hands, I prefer a thicker webbing and a roughened finish. YMMV.

Danaher dropped the ball big time. I'm sure back when Larry worked for them, the tools were good. Not no more. Take a good look at C-man and Allen tools. The finish is horrible and the quality of the actual design flat out stinks. The dropping quality across the board from Danaher barely makes them any better than the cheapest of the cheap china stuff sold by harbor freight. I shelled out over $100 for a set of Armstrong flare nut wrenches that were not even chromed properly not to mention the gouges and rust and rust pits that were plainly obvious. Hate to say it but the finish on the last set of $10 junk ones from H-F was superior to this junk from armstrong. What tops it off is Danaher sending out a sales flier with promotions that were 2 months out of date. Danaher is now ranked with Stanley since their attitude of "screw the customer" is the same for both companies.

The best bet for price and quality by far is Kobalt. You can buy anything they have on line so there is not even a need to be close to a Lowe's. The line is somewhat limited to common tools but they are constantly expanding their selection.

Task Force is not that bad either. The finish is lacking on some of their stuff but for a cheap off the shelf import tool line, the actual usable quality is much better than C-man.

For specially designed tools for working on trucks and cars, Snap-On is the way to go. You can't beat their designs on specialty tools for doing what they say they do or fitting where they are supposed to fit.

I have just purchased some Wright tools however, I have not had the chance to really put them to the test under abusive conditions. The overall quality is definitely there for both use design and finish at a very reasonable price.

For impact sockets, it's kinda hard to beat the cheap Harbor Freight ones for service life, quality and especially price. While the sizes are somewhat limited, you can hammer away on these things day after day with not a bit of trouble.

I also have a 20" 1/2" drive flex head Bench Top ratchet I picked up at K-Mart. While I did not expect much from this tool, it has taken a good deal of serious abuse and keeps right on cranking without fail. I don't know how the rest of their stuff is but if it is as good as this ratchet, then it's also good quality for the price.

For the non-professional, there are 3 "best buys" in my opinion.

Craftsman may not be what it once was a half century ago, but it is reasonable and Sear's is convenient for many people if the tool breaks as it often does.

Husky from Home Depot is made by Stanley and I especially like the high polish range of wrenches.
The basic design is similar to Stanley Proto which is a very good professional and industrial range of hand tools.

We don't have a Lowe's near us so I do not know much about their Kobalt range except that it is made by either Snap-On or its wholly owned subsidiary, J.H. Williams.

Industry insiders agree that Snap-On is the highest quality range of hand tools made anywhere. Maybe overpriced, maybe distributed in an expensive manner, but, unquestionably high quality.

Based on Snap-On's knowledge of what a hand tool can be, I suspect that the Kobalt range might be your quality leader.

Second for me would be Husky as I like their appearance and heritage.

Probably 95% of the wrenches, sockets, ratchets and similar mechanic's hand tools under the Craftsman brand are made by Danaher who also produces Armstrong, KD, Allen, MATCO and others. Danaher knows how to produce decent tools and their Armstrong range is excellent for industry or professional use.

Biggest problem might be Sears who sometimes mixes lesser quality tools under the Craftsman brand. Thus, you might think you are getting Danaher quality but you actually are getting less without there being any way of knowing what you are buying. Sure you have a guarantee, but, that doesn't help you to finish the job quickly when a tool breaks.

I would stay away from many imports except for tools that you might throw in the tool box in you boat for emergencies.

However,most Japanese tools are very good. This incudes Kal, TOP, Koken, KTC, Aigo, Lobster, Daido and a couple of others.

Taiwan tools can be good or almost unacceptable and there is no easy way of telling which tool is which without a destruction test.

Chinese tools are usually made from sub-standard steel and might look good but are not consistenly reliable.

There is a Mexican tool company called Urrea who make excellent wrenches and sockets. Only problem is that they are hard to find.

The Europeans make tools ranging from acceptable to excellent and beyond. Trying to unravel which European tool is worth considering would take quite a while but a relative waste of time as they are difficult to find and hard to get service on warranty claims due to there being few dealers in the U.S.

I know tools, good and bad, and I can tell you that any tools made in the last 20 years, regardless of brand, will not outlast an old Proto, Plomb, Craftsman, Herbrand, Armstrong, Bonney, Lectrolite, Durochrome, or Snap-On. It's the steel, gentlemen!

I have a 3/4" Bonney breaker bar, made around 1938, that will twist any new adapter or extension into a pretzel. If it doesn't bust your new Snap-On $28.00 socket, it'll turn your tractor on it's side!

God bless you all and watch your knuckles!
phil

For most of us, the cost of Snap-On, MAC, MATCO, Cornwall and other van delivery services can be hard to justify. First, the van dealer needs to pay for his visit to you by selling you tools.

Second, he has to spend his gas to visit you, and third, these brands sometimes are a little expensive to begin with as they are met for serious professionals or industrial people who have deep pockets.

If you can afford to pay for and need this service, by all means support you local van operator. He has to make a living too.

For me, it seems more logical for me to buy my tools at a store when shopping for other things. I know the store has to make a profit too, but, I believe it is less per tool.

For most of us, the cost of Snap-On, MAC, MATCO, Cornwall and other van delivery services can be hard to justify as the dealer needs to make a living, he has to spend his gas to visit you, and these brands are a little expensive in the first place.

If you can afford to pay for and need this service, by all means support you local van operator. He has to make a living too.

For me, it seems more logical for me to buy my tools at a store when shopping for other things. I know the store has to make a profit too, but, I believe it is less per tool than the van operator who is trying to make a living by the profits he earns from visiting you.

Don't know if they are "Made in the USA", but don't miss looking at Home Depot's Husky line. Like most others they are guaranteed for life - your's not the tools. No questions asked return policy!

Also, look on Ebay for auctions with lots of positive feedback selling all kinds of name brand tools - including Snap on, etc, etc! I've bought a bunch of stuff like that at a huge discounts!