Just got new tool chest, now need tools!

EWC88 · Jun 16, 2016

Ok so I finally got a good size tool chest for myself, actually was a gift. Now that I have the storage it's time to buy the equipment for it. I knew years ago everyone would say get Craftsman they are best and have the best warranty. Since then I have heard the opposite. I then heard Kobalt was great and grew at warranty, and now I hear mix on that. Of course I hear snap on is amazing, but for the average guy (not someone working on cars daily) it's not a key brand to stick to. More research I do I hear better things about harbor freight then some of these top known companies.

So I'm coming to you guys, what brands would you recommend? I'm starting fresh and getting all new tools.

sbarron · Jun 16, 2016

For personal wrenching Craftsman is pretty hard to beat. Not overly expensive, tolerances are good and lifetime warranty. Kobalt are ok; tolerances and quality is less than Craftsman but probably well within the requirements of the home user. Warranty is great if you actually take the time to return, (they bank that most people won't).

Personally I have a mix. Snap-on screwdrivers and ratchets (the difference is tangible). craftsman sockets. Proto gear wrenches (I work in the oil industry and got a smoking deal). Channel-lock pliers, and so on. Buy whatever you're comfortable with and like. Having good tools that your comfortable with makes a huge difference when you're working own something.

EDIT: obviously it also makes more sense to buy the tools you use most often in a higher quality.

BlueRT · Jun 17, 2016

I like some of the Harbor Freight tools in their PRO line. I love the 1/2" earthquake red impact. Got it for $100.00 bucks and it has been trouble free. The majority of my tools are a mishmash of a lot of different brands but have accumulated a lot of Craftsman over the years.

RumRunner · Jun 17, 2016

I have mostly Craftsman tool, course I used to work at Sears

But, the warranty and quality of Craftsman has gone down a lot. Not only do they no longer warranty some items (tape measures for example), but many of the items they do warranty are no longer store stock items. So you have to wait for your exchange to be sent to you or come back to the store when it comes in. So I don't buy as many Craftsman tools as I used to. It's a little better with mechanics tools for Craftsman though, as they still stock a lot of them as individual tools to exchange.

I also have a lot of Snap on, Mac, Matco. Years ago the trucks used to come to my house where I had my garage, but I don't do much of my own work anymore since I got old LOL. So I don't break as many tools anymore.

I have no opinion on Husky or Kobalt, have never used them or their warranty.

sbarron · Jun 17, 2016

BlueRT said:
I like some of the Harbor Freight tools in their PRO line. I love the 1/2" earthquake red impact. Got it for $100.00 bucks and it has been trouble free. The majority of my tools are a mishmash of a lot of different brands but have accumulated a lot of Craftsman over the years.

No, no, no... No Harbor Freight ANYTHING. EVER.

RumRunner · Jun 17, 2016

sbarron said:
No, no, no... No Harbor Freight ANYTHING. EVER.

There are a few things I go to HF for. shop towels, gloves, cheap paint brushes, moving blankets. I'm sure there are a few more odds and ends I get there, but very rarely do I get a tool there unless I know it's a throw away.

SilverStreak88 · Jun 17, 2016

sbarron said:
No, no, no... No Harbor Freight ANYTHING. EVER.

I agree to a point, power tools NO, hand tools, some. I was changing my sway bar links and could find a wrench (with 2 full sets) to fit between the sway bar and link to hold while tightening the bottom nut. A neighbor came over with his HF wrenches and slapped it right up on it, the HF were thinner than my Craftsman.

sbarron · Jun 17, 2016

SilverStreak88 said:
I agree to a point, power tools NO, hand tools, some. I was changing my sway bar links and could find a wrench (with 2 full sets) to fit between the sway bar and link to hold while tightening the bottom nut. A neighbor came over with his HF wrenches and slapped it right up on it, the HF were thinner than my Craftsman.

LOL Never thought about the inferiority being an asset.

SilverStreak88 · Jun 17, 2016

sbarron said:
LOL Never thought about the inferiority being an asset.

Had a bunch of HF at one time... threw it all away and replaced with Craftsman.

14hemiexpress · Jun 17, 2016

Sorry I'm out on harbor freight. Never had anything good there and I use to be like 1 time use tools are ok but not even that anymore. My dad uses craftsman and we always had boxes side by side so I use husky from homedepot. Sense I grew up got my own place I picked up a few crafsmtsman tools and one being a 1/2 tq wrench mine broke on the handle and couldn't set tq anymore come to find out the tq wrenches are one of many items they don't guarantee for life. Basicly only sockets and wrenches are about it for the guaranteed items for life. So needless to say I went over to homedepot and picked up a new tq wrench and have been very happy it's much nicer than the craftsman and in all honesty I have only had 1 tool break and it's still useable you just need pliers to make it switch and that's a 1/2 in ratchet the lever to switch tighten and loosen broke and that's it never had a problem out side of that and I use my tools. I have had them for many years, i got my first box and starter kit back in 2002-2003 range and had only 1 took break so far. Needless to say as long as I'm not wrenching daily for a living I will use husky. (i have liked the kobolt tools I have used but never owened any)

Padilen · Jun 18, 2016

Even though there are a lot of "names" there aren't as many "makers".
Stanley makes or made
Owns,
Mac
Proto
Stanley
Dewalt/black & decker
Makes,made,
Husky
They may not "build" to all the same specs but Stanley has/does make many "store" brands.
Craftsman's problem has already been mentioned- not stocking replacements and less warranties for products.
I have some very good tools and some very NOT so good tools.Good ones are in tool cabinets, not so good ones are in tool box's, one rides in bed of pickup.

RumRunner · Jun 18, 2016

Not sure who makes craftsman anymore. When I worked there they were made by a USA company named Western Forge. Of course this is hand tools only. If you look at any Craftsman power tool and see the model number, the first 3 digits will be the manufacturer who made it. For instance 917.xxxxxxx would be made by Dewalt/Black&Decker. 315.xxxx would be made by Ryobi. Like many companies, Sears does not manufacture anything, but gives out contracts to makers to make them, sometimes to their specs, sometimes they just want something that maker already manufactures just as is.

cyclepuck · Jun 18, 2016

I like craftsman. Good quality and great warranty, walk in and walk out with new tool. Plus since Ace Hardware carries craftsman I can drive a mile down the road and get it warranted if they have it in stock.

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averageguy · Jun 18, 2016

Craftsman overall, HF for 1 time stuff like 02 sensor socket, coil spring compressors, gloves, zip ties. I have a set of Snap-on screw drivers and love them. No twisted off tips, no chipped chrome, and they have the hex thing below the handle to put a wrench on to help turn it. If they strip a screw head it was F'ed to begin with or I used the wrong size. Gear wrench brand rachet wrenches over craftsman. They have tighter tolerences and have to move a lot less distance to click a tooth which helps in a tight spot and are smoother.

Rustycowl69 · Jun 18, 2016

Over 50 years I've accumulated a wide assortment of tools. Strap-On are excellent, but you could buy 10 Craftsman wrenches for the price of one Strap-On. S- K's are OK, but they can get a little expensive, too. Harbor Freight can be acceptable, I use some of them for my wrecking yard tool box. If I lose one, no big deal. Kobalt are medium grade, quite acceptable, especially if you can get them on sale. Craftsman is one of the few who make 6pt end wrenches, which are great for breaking bolts loose without rounding the hexes. I have a couple of Stanley sets I bought at Costco, in form-fitted cases for road trips.I wouldn't commit to any particular brand, If you look at enough tools, you get a feel for what will work for you, and just buy what you need right now, or know you will need in the near future. I've found cool used tools at yard sales, and swap meets.

clownprince · Jun 18, 2016

For all the people knocking Harbor Freight tools, you must not know about metal compounds and the strengths and weaknesses of certain grades of steel. If you purchase the Pittsburgh PRO tools from Harbor Freight you will be surprised. All of your major tool brands are pretty much made in Taiwan now and are just designed slightly different for each brand. Look at the markings on your sockets, if you get the higher quality metals you will be find no matter what.

Sure Harbor Freight has some **** tools, but learn which ones are good and you'll pay 1/5 of the price you would for a Snap-On or the like. Read reviews and you will find that many of their tools are great, if not better than some more expensive ones.

For the professional wrench turner, i can see why you wouldn't want HF tools. You depends on yours for a living so paying more might make sense. However, for the shade tree mechanic, the HF tools are perfect, as long as you know what to look for.

05christj · Jun 18, 2016

I know alot of people may disagree with me but I have been loyal to Craftsman hand tools and Dewalt power tools and have never had an issue.

Lately I have been doing my fair share of wood working and have grown to prefer skill saws

Padilen · Jun 20, 2016

05christj said:
I know alot of people may disagree with me but I have been loyal to Craftsman hand tools and Dewalt power tools and have never had an issue.

Lately I have been doing my fair share of wood working and have grown to prefer skill saws

I'm not!
I still buy them. But I do know that many aren't made in USA anymore and availability of replacements has been an issue. My post was just to let OP and others that "names" don't really matter. Many names are made by one company.
I think it's more important to have the right tool then the tool with the right name.

big_red06 · Jun 21, 2016

to be completely honest here I'm no where near a mechanic but i do try to do my own maintenance oils changes ,diffs ,transfer case fluids I will do bolt on mods if it fits into my comfort level brakes etc so my tools don't have to be professional grade I bought a 300 piece set of husky tools on sale for 100 dollars and for the most part it gets me by and i like them . I also have quite a few hand tool s and items that I have purchased from Harbor freight that have not let me down ratchets ,torque wrenches ,sockets as well as my tool box their warranty is not bad and I have gotten stuff replaced by them without issue .I do my own tire rotations with my oil changes so i recently purchased a porter cable electric impact tool off of amazon since I have no real need for a compressor and air tools it makes the job easier zips the lug nuts off on my truck with out issue

Tryin · Jun 21, 2016

You're certainly going to pay more for quality tools. But, one thing that I found is, with quality you get comfort. Quality tools are usually more comfortable in your hand. I haven't bought many tools in the past 10 years because I'm no longer turning wrench daily. I have Snap-On, Mac, Craftsman, and no name junk. Snap-On screwdrivers are by far the best I've used and comfortable in the hand. Their wrenches aren't bad either. The raised panel design of a Craftsman wrench tears my hands up. I believe the Craftsman Pro series (if they still have it) has a smoothed out raised panel design and are better in the hand. My suggestion would be this, buy quality tools that feel good in your hands that have a lifetime warranty. You might be able to get by with HF tools for pieces that see infrequent use, otherwise get something of better quality.

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Just got new tool chest, now need tools!

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