Another nosedive for Craftsman tools.

[John Lanciani]

So, as far as handtools go, what is the brand to go for these days?

Yard sales and flea markets. Lots of top quality vintage tools available for pennies on the dollar.

[Eric Keller]

I'm pretty sure Sears made money off of their warranty, because you'd go into the store, get the broken tool replaced, and buy more. Although I think the only people that ever used it were those of us that had their crummy ratchet handle fail. They also had the breakaway screwdriver tip design. Thank goodness we can get Wiha and Wera screwdrivers now.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I moved away from home in 1989 to attend University. My Father gave me a socket set purchased by my Grandfather, a tool and die maker. Sadly, when he was older, he was buying junk for as cheap as he could get it. The first time I tried to use it, and I think I was the first to use it, the wrench let go and I scraped up my knuckles. I went promptly to Sears and purchased a nice socket set.

If the Craftsman socket sets are now junk, I would not even know what to look at if I wanted or needed another set. I always heard that SnapOn was a good brand, but they are really pricey (or so I am told).

[Greg R Bradley]

You might be shocked at the price of new Snap-On tools. One of the businesses that I own is an auto restoration business. I have a large Snap-On tool box full of mostly Snap-On tools. Most of these were purchased LONG ago and even the upper and lower box was purchased in the 1970s. I doubt I've bought a single item in the last 20 years. Replacement cost for the box and contents is listed on the insurance at $68,000 and it all fits in one box. A large set of combination wrenches is $1000. A single Snap-On 1/2" ratchet is $250. I can't imagine who is buying these items today.

I recently wanted a 1/4" drive socket set for personal use. I bought a Wera set in a case for $200, which is less than half what that would be in Snap-On. I would take it over the Snap-On if the price was the same but the Snap-On would hold up better if being used by employees in an industrial setting.

[Mike Henderson]

You might be shocked at the price of new Snap-On tools. One of the businesses that I own is an auto restoration business. I have a large Snap-On tool box full of mostly Snap-On tools. Most of these were purchased LONG ago and even the upper and lower box was purchased in the 1970s. I doubt I've bought a single item in the last 20 years. Replacement cost for the box and contents is listed on the insurance at $68,000 and it all fits in one box. A large set of combination wrenches is $1000. A single Snap-On 1/2" ratchet is $250. I can't imagine who is buying these items today.

I recently wanted a 1/4" drive socket set for personal use. I bought a Wera set in a case for $200, which is less than half what that would be in Snap-On. I would take it over the Snap-On if the price was the same but the Snap-On would hold up better if being used by employees in an industrial setting.

Wow, I had no idea that Snap-On was that expensive. I haven't bought any Snap-On in a long time. I know they used to come by in a truck and maybe their price reflects the cost of doing that.

Mike

[Jerome Stanek]

I have ha good luck with Wright tools I got mine free from where I used to work

[Matt Meiser]

Wright and Proto have good reputations still. Gearwrench has a decent reputation akin to the Craftsman of years past but not as easy a warranty process. Even Harbor Freight is starting to get a decent reputation, especially the Pittsburgh Pro line of hand tools. I would definitely buy Pittsburgh Pro over Craftsman today. Michigan Industrial Tools (MIT) relaunched as Tekton and they too are getting a pretty good reputation and stellar warranty support--basically email them a pic of the bad tool and you get a replacement a few days later.

Related, Sears Canada filed for the rough equivalent of Chapter 11 this morning. Rumor has it that will end up in liquidation very shortly. Sears Holdings owns 12% so that's probably a pretty big hit on their books too.

[Matt Meiser]

Wow, I had no idea that Snap-On was that expensive. I haven't bought any Snap-On in a long time. I know they used to come by in a truck and maybe their price reflects the cost of doing that.

Mike

They aren't cheap, but the most expensive 1/2" ratchet is $259. That's a "1/2" Drive Soft Grip Long Locking Flex-Head Ratchet". Your run-of-the-mill 1/2" chrome ratchet lists at $160. There's some wrench sets north of $2K but a pretty decent set of metric combination wrench set (10-22 if I recall) is just over $500. You can find all this stuff used in excellent condition at roughly 1/2 list and if you don't mind a version old, some scratches, or *gasp* engraving, you can find it for much less. That said, I don't have any. I wouldn't mind getting a top-notch set of metric combination wrenches though--something I can implicitly trust in a tight spot with my knuckles on the line.

[paul cottingham]

I have my grandfathers set of Grey tools. They are pretty old (at least 60, as I'm 55 and he sold his farm well before I was born) and the only tool that has failed is a ratchet driver. All the rest are still pretty much perfect. Since they were used on a 600 some odd acre wheat farm, I assume they saw hard use before my dad acquired them.