husky vs. craftsman

[lawdawg]

Looking to get a bunch of new tools and was checking out tool sets. The husky at home depot is much cheaper in comparison to the craftsman sets I saw, both have lifetime warranties, is the craftsman worth the extra money? Just got my offer on a 97 LC accepted and need to start building up the 's to work on it.

[94SRUNNER]

I use Kobalt tools from Lowes and love them! They have good prices and the tools are solid, as good it not better than Craftsman IMHO. I have never been a fan of the Husky tools.

Happy shopping.

Oh and check Craigslist and eBay for good deals.

[beav]

Congrats on the '97

You posted this in the wrong Forum

[TX Cruiser]

I have both. When I did a motor swap from a wreck to a good roller with a blown 3FE, I always looked for the craftsman sockets and wrenches. The Husky tools just did not fit as well.

[tehcruiser]

I bought some Husky wrenches with lifetime warranty and they broke within a few months. I took them back and they said they don't carry that model any more therefore can't give me new ones, and wouldn't give me the current model. Since I didn't have a receipt, no money back either. Maybe this model change it's a trick they play, so nobody can cash in on the lifetime warranty. I'm never touching those pooch tools again.

[-Spike-]

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

[Lka1988]

My dad has a large set of Husky tools; I have a large set of Craftsman tools.

He is jealous of me.

[3sacrwd]

I have mostly Craftsman, but do supplement with some Husky. They have some unique tools, such as a ratchet that turns when you twist the handle, or turn it...Maybe Craftsman does as well....I did buy the large stainless steel tool chest from Sams club, and will replace my Craftsman tool chests as I get more tools.

[Proven]

The replacement guarantee is why I keep spending more and driving further to find craftsman tools. Husky let me down, and I think there is a problem with their warranty because I too faced the "We don't carry that anymore...."

I have walked in many a times with pieces...PIECES OF TOOLS...at Sears and had them pieces together the word "Craftsman" then give me a brand new, or updated version of what was destroyed. Usually, they snicker that I must have REALLY been cranking on it to do that. Never have I heard "We don't have that anymore.." I hear "We don't have that, but this is what replaced it...lucky you."

Buy Craftsman, supplement with Husky when needed.

[wearsabrowncoat]

Same experience for me at Sears. Go with the Craftsman.

[lawdawg]

Fair enough, thanks for all the great input. It always amazes me how companies don't realize that customer service drives the bottom line.

[mudking82]

Of the two choices, go with Craftsman. Have never had a problem with replacement. If they don't make it anymore, they will give you the next step up of new model. And never been asked how it broke, what was I doing, how big was the bar on the end of this, were you using it properly, etc. It says Craftsman, its a hand tool, no problem. Here is your new one, have a nice day!

[gotmud]

Neither...Snap-On

[mudking82]

Originally Posted by gotmud

Neither...Snap-On

X2 if you can afford it. I was only going off the two choices. But I second checking ebay for good deals on the Craftsman stuff though, I bought a lot of my sockets from there new at about half what I would of paid at a Sears store on sale even. It is especially worth it in the bigger socket sizes, and specialty sockets. 1/4" drive stuff can be got pretty cheap at the store, along with some of the 3/8" drive. But I got a smoking deal on ebay for my 1/2" drive metric set. Or buy Snap On on ebay, lot cheaper then the truck.

[lx450landcruiser]

just got a set of craftsman, there decent tools with pretty good service if you have to swap out broken tools however there ratchets suck big time. i would recommend getting a set of craftsman tools then buy some nice snap on ratchets

[gotmud]

I became loyal to Snap-On a few years ago. I always heard others say that "brand X has a lifetime warranty just like Snap-On". True, and I know that for a lot of us Sears, Lowes, Home Cheapo, Harbor Freight, et al...are a short trip away, the problem for me was that I was making a lot of trips to get replacements! So its great that other brands have a lifetime warranty, but I don't want to have to use it!

[chibo]

Go with husky, just get supplemental ratchets from Craftsman or something. I've killed 6 Husky ratchets within a day of owning them.... at least they're free.

Originally Posted by gotmud

Neither...Snap-On

Waste of money, get a decent Craftsman set and supplement with various tools from Mac/Matco/Snapon/Whatever as you try them and see what works best. Every tool manufacturer has some tools that are just plain awesome as well as some that plain suck.

I work at a collision shop and my socket collection consists of husky 6pt deep/regular sockets with craftsman/snapon supplements for various odd sizes, as well as matco ball sockets, and a bunch of other crap. Either way what I'm trying to say is don't be loyal to one brand, everyone has something to offer and you're wasting your money to drop it all for a name.

Originally Posted by lx450landcruiser

just got a set of craftsman, there decent tools with pretty good service if you have to swap out broken tools however there ratchets suck big time. i would recommend getting a set of craftsman tools then buy some nice snap on ratchets

Meh, personal preference. I hate the way Snapon ratches feel, the handle bothers me and I hate the direction change switch - too small. My Craftsman ratchets feel just perfect, especially after I disassembled them and packed them with grease.

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.

Torx... get craftsman stuff - much easier to get replaced because the damn things break a lot and they're really expensive from snapon/whatever.

[2ndGenToyotaFan]

There are Sears stores everywhere.... I live about 1.5 miles from a sears, and about 60 miles from a home depot... Snap on is great, unless you break the tool while abusing it.... in which case you have no warranty. Craftsman is the easy choice for us normal back yard wrenchers. Do whatever the h*#(@ you want to a craftsman tool, and the pimply faced teenager at the store will give you a new one.

[dclee]

Originally Posted by gotmud

Neither...Snap-On

x2

But for decent tools that can be easily replaced in any city with a Sears store, Craftsman are a good bet. For most "regular duty" tools I use Craftsman, but for the heavy duty stuff I go with Snap-On or equivalent (S&K, MAC, Proto if money is no object... no I don't own any Proto tools, but aspire to ).

edit: This view comes from breaking a whole lotta Craftsman tools, sometimes multiple times. Lifetime warranty is great, but as someone else said, I don't have time to waste driving to Sears when I'm under the truck and all greasy and I have to leave the truck in an undriveable condition. For me, for certain tools, the extra money is worth it. I have also learned from hard experience that for those tools on which my life might depend (e.g. torque wrenches), Craftsman just doesn't cut it. I dropped $500 on two Snap-On torque wrenches (different torque ranges) after a bad experience, and haven't regretted that decision one bit. Those wrenches will go in my will for my kids to have when I'm gone (until then I guess they can borrow them...).

[chitown40]

As far as Husky vs. Craftsman goes, the sockets are of equal quality, however Craftsman ratchets are just plain garbage. I swear by my Husky ratchet handles -- as solid as the day I bought them 7 years ago, with medium-heavy duty use. Craftsman ratchets develop lots of play almost immediately out of the box. The rest of the tools are about similar quality. It's more finish and feel which makes it personal preference. There are different grades of both sets, so get what feels good in your hand. The replacement policy at Home Depot is fine, but you have to deal with morons and lead them through the whole process. Example, I had to replace some allen wrenches and HD repackaged the SAE sizes as Standard. I had to give a tool lesson to the moron cashier who kept stating they were different from each other. You could have the same problem at a Sears store if you go on the right day.

[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]

Originally Posted by chibo

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]

Originally Posted by fj40charles

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.

As an aside, I occassionally stop and take a look on Matco and SnapOn trucks when I need something special. I was missing a 17mm crows foot and followed the Matco truck a few miles before he made his next stop. I am a narc and when he stopped I kinda scared him when I had to catch him before he ran into the plant he stopped at. We talked about what I did and had a good laugh as he said he had never been pulled over by an undercover officer before and was relieved it was for business!