Ratings Of Tools By Brand

Ratings Of Tools By Brand

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  • 1 Snap-On * 2 Blue-Point * 3 Craftsman * 4 Companion (Sears) * 5 Ace Hardware * 6 Great Neck * 7 Mac * 8 Matco * 9 KD * 10 Harbor Freight * 11 Other Options

Seems to be a decent article.

I would tend to agree with most of it, except from personal experience, I'd place Great Neck tools at the very bottom of the list.

Reply to
Bud
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Seems that the writer does not have much experence with tools. He even left out SK which should rank up near th etop. Now Craftsman tools are not near as good as they used to be 30 or so years ago.

I though Mac was a top rated tool along th elines of Snap-on, but have not used them.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Agree. Left out Proto Tools, also. I'd rank both Proto and S-K before Snap-On

While Snap-On was "da bomb" 50 yrs ago, the last thing I bought from Snap-On was a plunger-style oil can that was made in China and broke the first time I used it. I didn't even bother returning it.

Snap-On's measureing tapes were re-branded Lufkins. I've never bought another Lufkin after I jes got a new job as a carpenter and the 25' Lufkin I'd bought for the job, broke the day after I bought it. I no longer buy Snap-On tools.

Yer assuming they WERE GOOD, 30 yrs ago. Not in my experience. In fact, I broke a 10mm Craftsman combo wrench 55 yrs ago. One side of an open-end wrench jes popped off while working on my Aermachhi Sprint m/c! Seems like a minor thing ....except I was 100 miles from the nearest Sears, so replacing it was a non issue.

I recently bought some Craftsman SAE combo wrenches. I bought 'em after the one's labeled 'Made in USA' went on sale. They're also selling a 'Made in China' set. Both are labeled Craftsman and you can still find both in bubble paks at Sears.

They usta be. Many pro mechanics preferred Mac Tools cuz they had a squarer shank than Snap-On and didn't hurt the fingers when really leaning on 'em.

Also, Snap-On and Mac Tools usta have ALL the tools. When my tool box was stolen outta my car, my insurance wanted at least two estimates. Only Snap-On and Mac Tools had everything I'd lost (steel rules, vernier calipers, speed drivers, etc) in one catalog.

nb

Reply to
notbob

And I'd put MAC and MATCO in 5 and 6

Reply to
clare

I've got some old Mac tools that are good but I don't know how they are today. I've seen a Mac truck around town and have thought about chasing him down. That's the drawback of working in a software shop -- the tool guys don't stop by.

Reply to
rbowman

From what I have heard about Mac and Matco, I agree they should be a lot higher on the list. And yes, they did not include SK and Proto (and a few others).

I dont buy many tools anymore. I have plenty of tools and dont do near as much repair work anymore at my age. However, I have had a few Snap-on, Matco, and SK tools. Not whole sets, but some sockets, ratchets, and so on. They have all dont me well.

I do have a lot of Craftsman tools, which I mostly bought 30 or more years ago. I have been pleased with them. Sure, some ratchets needed repairs, and Sears took good care of me. I also broke a breaker bar in half (putting a 5ft piece of pipe on it for leverage). Sears replaced it without question.

I have also boughten a fair amount of Ace Hardware tools, and for the most part I was satisfied.

I have also gotten quite a few Stanley tools, and although they are not top of the line, they generally hold up under normal use. (except their screwdrivers, which are crappy).

I have no experience with Blue-Point or KD.

The worst tools I have gotten are both Great Neck and Harbor Freight. I wont buy either.

But there are even worse tools. They are no branded, or have some bizarre name, which you only hear once. These are usually sold in kits such as a socket set. Those are often sold for Christmas gifts, and are not worth any price they sell for. I call them "knuckle busters", because they WILL break the moment you apply any pressure, and WILL smash your knuckles in the process. I dont even consider them tools. They're toys at best.

And since someone mentioned "tape measures". I have bought costly ones, cheaper ones, and some that dirt cheap. Regardless, they all end up getting trashed. A board falls on them, dirt and water gets in them, I pull too far and break them off, someome steps on them, and so on.... A year ago, I broke another one. The next day I was at Walmart, and looked at what they had. They mostly had Stanley, and they were sort of pricey. They also had a generic one for $2. Since I was doing some outdoor construction around a lot of mud, I just bought that $2 one. A year later, after a lot of rough use, it's still working well. So, for that price, I bought 3 more of them... One for the house, one for the garage, one for the truck, and a spare. That way I dont have to go hunting for one....

Reply to
Bud

I've got everything from a 2 meter metric to a 100 foot, plus a number of 6" steel rules. I'm lucky if I can find any of them in less than 15 minutes...

Reply to
rbowman

That is the way I am with the free tools form HF. I keep a multimeter in several places and the screwdrivers near the metes.

To keep up with my tools, I have 3 of the roll around type boxes I found for about $ 100. The large hand tools go in one, percision tools in another and my electronic equipment in another. Makes it easy to find what I want when in the basement shop. I do have a small box in the outbuilding for the tools to do basic work on the lawn equipment such as changing spark pugs and oil.

Reply to
Ralph Mowery

Coming from China, the first one was fine 2 years later so you bought

3 more - which all broke within 6 months - while the first one is still going, 3 years later --- That would be "normal"
Reply to
clare

I was doing a bunch of stuff around the house yesterday. At one point I was out in the garage and realized that all 3 tape measures had ended up in the shop.

Later in the day I was down in the shop. Guess where all 3 tape measures were.

Reply to
DerbyDad03

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