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Thread: OK, Who makes REALLY GOOD screwdrivers? Or, Apparently Craftsman is the new HF.

  1. #46
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    screwdrivers are not all of that hard to made to suit yourselves, so if your job demand a good driver, visit a machine shop and pay them to make a set of screwdrivers to your specs.

  2. #47
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    Slightly off the topic, but what are good pry bars to buy? Is there really any difference between pry bars? I like to buy American made when possible, but a good USA made set is like $80 from what I see so far.

    I have a nice Klien screwdriver my friend bent and broke the blade by using it as a pry bar.

  3. #48
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    Wera and Felo are both good. The Felo ones have somewhat softer plastic on the handles and are slightly less expensive than Wera.

    http://chadstoolbox.com/felo.aspx
    http://chadstoolbox.com/kraftformplus.aspx

  4. #49
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    Well, here's what I did. For larger general purpose/mechanical work I bought an 8-piece Matco set off EBay for about $80. I then bought a 7 piece set of Wiha precision screwdrivers for the small sizes like 0 and smaller Phillips and comparable flat blade which will allow me to toss an odd assortment of no-name junk in those sizes.

    All Craftsman showing signs of wear were exchanged at Sears after a hassle from the clerk about a made up ten piece per day limit. I've got a call into the hotline set up by their VP of Hardware about that issue since the store management representative I spoke with declined my request to apologize in writing and state that there are no limits on the warranty ( I wanted that for next time since I've been hassled a number of times in recent years.). The NIB/LN screwdrivers are going up for sale for $2.50 each.


  5. #50
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brian Elfert View Post
    Slightly off the topic, but what are good pry bars to buy? Is there really any difference between pry bars? I like to buy American made when possible, but a good USA made set is like $80 from what I see so far.

    I have a nice Klien screwdriver my friend bent and broke the blade by using it as a pry bar.
    Wilde makes good prybars. Craftsman rebrands Wilde ones but with how Sears is becoming lately, I would more likely shop Harry Epstein's.

  6. #51
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    Circus Circus in Vegas makes great screwdrivers and bloody Mary's as well.
    They make the screwdrivers by filling a glass with vodka and showing the glass of vodka a picture of an orange.
    They do the same with the bloody Marys except they show the glass a picture of a can of tomato juice.
    Their screwdrivers and bloody Marys taste exactly alike....no mystery there...


  7. #52
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    Quote Originally Posted by Randal Stevenson View Post
    Wilde makes good prybars. Craftsman rebrands Wilde ones but with how Sears is becoming lately, I would more likely shop Harry Epstein's.
    Thanks for the info. These Wilde pry bars are a lot cheaper than other made in USA ones I can find.

  8. #53
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    What about prybars, I would imagine they would have to be good
    J Load

  9. #54
    I was at Auto Advantage the other day, and noticed they appeared to have tools of a higher quality than I had just purchased at Lowes and HD. When my son turned 20 I bought him a set of tools and a tool box. He could not have been less thrilled. He uses them almost every day on his paint ball team's guns and fixing XBox 360's, so these are smaller tools, and mine are mostly where they belong. Although my square showed up in his room the other day - I have no idea why he needed that, but he may get one for his 21st birthday. Any way, I had been disappointed by the tools at the big boxes, and saw those later at the auto store.
    Every morning I seize the day - but I lose my grip when I grab my coffee. <*//><

  10. #55
    I don't really understand why all the bashing of craftsman screw drivers. I have some that have to be over 20 years old and they seem fine. There's even a set of craftsman screwdrivers at my local IKEA that people abuse daily to assemble their flat pack particle board furniture, and to my surprise, the tips were still functional though they look the tools look like they were tossed in a rock tumbler.

    Maybe the newer batch of steel and hardening process has undergone some changes, but for the nit picky there's craftsman professional screw drivers...

    Anyway, I have Klein screw drivers that are pretty good, but I can always rely on the old craftsman ones. I've found that screwdrivers are becoming a thing of the past in my garage for I can grab a 10.8V driver, add an extension if I want, and use any bit insert to do most jobs faster.

    What interests me is the yankee style spiral ratchet driver. I'll wait till the price drops though.

    BTW, I've had one instance of craftsman cream cheese and that was like a T-25 socket bit that appears that it wasn't hardened at all. One small hand twist on a Chrysler ignition coil bolt and the torx bit resembled a twisted finial.

  11. #56
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chris Tsutsui View Post
    I don't really understand why all the bashing of craftsman screw drivers. I have some that have to be over 20 years old and they seem fine.
    Quality has changed significantly since you purchased your set. I have old (30+ yrs) and new Craftsman tools and there is no comparison in terms of fit & durability. I have a small set of Wiha drivers that are great. I use Wera BiTorsion bits for my impact driver (the Wiha stuff is too hard / prone to breakage IMO for impact use).

  12. #57
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryan Morgan View Post
    USA made Stanley stuff is ok. I haven't had any issues with them. I have twisted the tips off my Craftsman stuff. Other than that if you want to turn your own handles the Lee Valley shanks are pretty good.
    I bought a set of Stanley "Contractor Grade" screwdrivers and bent the tip with the first screw I drove. I don't know of any Stanley screwdrivers being made in the USA anymore.

  13. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roy Turbett View Post
    I bought a set of Stanley "Contractor Grade" screwdrivers and bent the tip with the first screw I drove. I don't know of any Stanley screwdrivers being made in the USA anymore.

    Well Stanley actually has some marked as made in the USA, but they lost multiple lawsuits to the government for marking tools Made in the USA, when they were finished here. (Mac, Husky, etc. can be found out about online)
    So I tend to be leary about what they say.

  14. #59
    One of the Lees (of Lee Valley) has said that they've been approached by Chinese manufacturers who said they could stamp whatever country of origin was wanted on tools. I doubt Lee Valley's integrity is common with the other large North American brands.

  15. #60
    Quote Originally Posted by harry hood View Post
    One of the Lees (of Lee Valley) has said that they've been approached by Chinese manufacturers who said they could stamp whatever country of origin was wanted on tools. I doubt Lee Valley's integrity is common with the other large North American brands.
    There are fairly serious penalties for misrepresenting the country of origin. But sometimes it's difficult to figure out what country gets to claim a product because the parts are made in many countries - example: automobiles. There's a set of rules that determine what country is the country of origin in those cases.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

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