husky vs. craftsman (1 Viewer)

[Prophecy]

Craftsman, thats all I own and everytime something breaks they don't question. There rachets do leave a little bit to be desired, but hey, I just carry 2 of each size so I don't have to worry about popping one during a project.

Jeremy

 

[Koffer]

owning all of them their are pros and cons to them everyone . Since Im not a regular with any of the tool trucks (read as I don't owe them money every week) getting replacements is somewhat of a PITA.
Craftsman non pro unit ratchets suck the finish and shape is just hard on the hands and hard to clean with just a rag .
The Home Depot stuff is great for the price but have not broken anything yet so returns havent been a issue yet .
The set I like the most is from Sam's Club. Its one of those sets in the blown plastic case made by Channel Lock for under $50. It everything I need for tossing in the truck for "just in case" or to take to the local "pick and pull" I can see if I put everything back quickly and a nice feel .
HF is great for the junk I know I'll loose 99% of them before I can break it and if I do break it, I had it too long
I do have a couple of air tools from them HF (air saw , nibbler and a right angle grinder for the 3M surface prep cookies ) They all get a bunch of tool oil to keep them going since they were bought when I was poorer then I am now. They just wont die and have about 10years under the belt so far.

 

[phatairman]

I note that gearwrenches are awesome - just make sure you get the kind WITHOUT the little flat side so you can't slide over bolts and WITHOUT the switch to change direction. They're much weaker.

What about the flex heads on those Gear Wrenches? Good or stay away from them?

 

[fj40charles]

The old crapsman sockets were much better quality. Better fit and finish than what you can buy currently.

Kobalt (lowes brand) and craftsman are made by Danaher tool company. Danaher also makes:
Napa, KD tools, Allen, Matco and others.

 

[gotmud]

The old crapsman sockets were much better quality. Better fit and finish than what you can buy currently.

X2...My dad has some Craftsman tools and tool storage that he bought back in the 60's. -Probablly better than anything you can buy today, including the tool truck brands!

 

[Hugh Heifer]

I have mostly Craftsman. Funny that my Metric combo wrenches are some off brand and I have had them for years and never broken one. I think the items I have broken most are the 1/2 breaker bar, 1/2 ratchet and deep well sockets. All Craftsman. Last time I broke my 1/2 ratchet they gave me a very beat up remanufactured one. I was not to happy but it has served me well.

 

[Corbet]

My local Sears store will not warranty any tools. They tell me to goto Denver (hour+ drive) to get a warranty.

So, I have not bought any more Craftsman tools since moving here in 2003. I don't own any Husky automotive tools, so I can not comment on them.

All my stuff comes off Ebay or the tool truck (snap-on, cornwell or Mac) now.

 

[e9999]

I don't know what you guys all do to break so many tools...

I don't recall that I ever broke any mechanics tool, ever

c'mon folks, it only takes either Kroil or some finesse....















(and my memory is probably gone, too...)

 

[webelk6]

I owned a large set of screwdrivers(craftsmen) and tweaked the ends over the years. Brought em back and I got new ones free. I believe they have a higher end line of tools, vs. the ones from the store. A little more money but same warranty.

S&K is also another brand between a craftsmen and maybe a corwell or snap on. I believe snap on makes these.

 

[kabota19]

SK tools are nice, I have rebuilt my grandfathers 1/2 ratchet a couple times in the last 15 years and it is still the best ratchet I can find (occasionally use it as a hammer when one is not handy). I seem to break the new craftsman sockets and wrenches, the best metric stuff I have found that just won't seem to break and fits really well is from Japan don’t know the name or where they came from, other than that they are maybe 20 years old now.

Brandon

 

[Cube Dweller]

The Husky tools are all right, but replacing them is a PITA. I bought them because at the time I thought I'd be able to get them easily replaced, but they keep changing styles and discontinuing stuff, and their selection sucks. If I were re-tooling I'd probably go Craftsman.

-Spike

Agreed. I was stoked a few years ago with Husky. I snapped a breaker bar a couple years ago and it was a frickin ordeal to replace it. I'm back to either Craftsman or Lowes for hand tools.

Home Depot sucks.

 

[BooKilla]

No question about it....craftsman is the lowest quality anyone should be using. Snap-on, mac and matco are usually the way to go. I have a lot of craftsman tools, but I like the professional series they put out. Much higher quality and you can fit in tighter places and they won't strip bolts. Buy the nicest tools you can afford, because they will pay for themselves.

 

[Rattler]

I have been using Stanley metric sockets I got at WallyWorld fairly cheap several years ago. I have used them with my IR201(?) impact gun that boasts 650 lbs. in reverse and haven't croke one yet.

I thought Husky and Craftsman were made by the same company. I know Ryobi makes Sears cordless tools for them.

 

[koop]

I like Craftsman between the two although I don't think that they are manufactured by Danaher anymore. The Kobalt line looks OK but a lot of it is Chinese/Taiwan made.

 

[-Spike-]

I have been using Stanley metric sockets I got at WallyWorld fairly cheap several years ago. I have used them with my IR201(?) impact gun that boasts 650 lbs. in reverse and haven't croke one yet.

I thought Husky and Craftsman were made by the same company. I know Ryobi makes Sears cordless tools for them.

Stanley used to make Husky tools, but I heard that relationship ended (might be wrong). Ryobi makes many of the cordless RIDGID tools for Home Depot. I absolutely HATE Ryobi, but I bought a 6 piece set of the Husky cordless stuff. I do like some of the features, and some stuff annoys me, but all in all I can't complain. Can't beat the warrantee- guaranteed for life, including batteries? Wow.

-Spike

 

[Tools R Us]

Stanley used to make Husky tools, but I heard that relationship ended (might be wrong). Ryobi makes many of the cordless RIDGID tools for Home Depot. I absolutely HATE Ryobi, but I bought a 6 piece set of the Husky cordless stuff. I do like some of the features, and some stuff annoys me, but all in all I can't complain. Can't beat the warrantee- guaranteed for life, including batteries? Wow.

-Spike

The last I heard, the RIDGID stuff was made by Emerson Electric.

Ryobi is owned by Techtronic Industries, a Hong Kong company that has been busy screwing up some previously good brands like; Milwaukee, AEG, Homelite, Hoover, etc.

 

[-Spike-]

The last I heard, the RIDGID stuff was made by Emerson Electric.

Some is, some by Ryobi. If you go to the spec sheets online at homedepot.com they often list the manufacturer. Many if not most of the cordless tools were manufactured by Ryobi when I researched it a year ago or so. Sometimes they didn't list a manufacturer, and I did see Emerson on some stuff, like vacuums, and corded tools IIRC.

Edit to add- It might have been Techtronic they listed, or some by them and some by Ryobi, I do remember having to trace through some companies' ownership to figure out who exactly made the stuff.

-Spike

 

[Rattler]

I got a bunch of the +One Ryobi stuff and have never had any problems with their products. Even the stapler/brad shooter (changed to just a stapler) that they no longer sell works fine for me. I love the hedge trimmer.

My Ryobi gas trimmer is kinda getting hard to start but the most I have done to it is clean the filter and change the plug in 7 years.

 

[reffug]

craftsmen

its what I grew up with and the guarantee is solid gold.

 

[paranoid56]

for all you guys that are having issues with your husky tools and replacements. head to the HD, if they wont exchange it for for one (even the newer model) call up the customer service, they will call the HD you are at, and basically bitch slap them on the phone and you will get what you want. they will get yelled at for not being customer driven and you will just laugh at the ass hat that wouldn't help you (i used to work for HD corp and they are very very customer centric) I have broken many ratchets that are no longer made, they are supposed to just replace them with a model that is simmular.

Shane