Favorite Brand

[fishjack1]

Mix of Crasftman and SK for me - prefer the SKs but they are hard to find locally.



NOT ON THE LIST - but one of my favorites is the GearWrench ratcheting open-end wrenches. They are really handy in tight spots. I have had several friends use them here at my house and then go buy their own sets.

 

[Loghead]

I usually make a brand/quality selection based on how often I anticipate using a particular tool. To answer the specific question; Most of my tools are Craftsman (okay) some are S-K (best for the $ IMO). Recently, I bought a few Kobalt and Husky tools (both okay). The best set of wrenches I've ever owned are some no-names I bought as a teenager. They're made of Indian steel and I've never broken a single one.

 

[Morphious]

I voted SK, grew up using Dad's in his garage, can't hardly find them now, and when you do, you need to crap gold bricks to afford them, just like snap-on and the other pricier brands. I've got Craftsman wrenches and socket sets up to 3/4". I did have some nice snap-on torque wrenches and other specialty tools until my house was robbed a couple of years ago, now just buying tools as I need them, and mostly craftsman or other American made tools.



Morph.

 

[Dl5treez]

Lately I've been ordering a lot of hand tools from McMaster-Carr (great prices). So far, every one has turned out to be US-made: either Armstrong or Williams (can't find their website). The local tool shop also introduced me to Wright ($$$$). This got me to thinking, what are some others that I don't know about?



It appears to me (from ownership and some light reading at various online tool-oriented sites) that Armstrong, Wright, and Williams are at least as good as Snap-On, Mac, and Matco and in some cases superior.



What are some other brands? What about Proto? Just got a couple sockets from McMaster that turned out to be Proto's. They seem all right (not great, but all right).



I must admit, I'm really impressed with the Armstrong stuff.



Ryan

Ryan, in other tool threads in the Shop Forum are the answers you're looking for. But, in a nutshell, here's a quick list:



Armstrong Tools is a division of Danaher Group, which also owns Matco, Allen, K-D, Sata, Fluke, Raytek, Iseli, Jacobs, and a host of others. Many of the tools you buy off the Matco tool truck are Armstrong--in fact Matco does not make large tools under the Matco name, and their tool dealers sell the big stuff under the Armstrong label. Armstrong was a private, family-owned company until bought by Danaher in 1994.



Wright Tool Company is a private, family-owned company making tools in Barberton, Ohio.



Williams has been around nearly forever. Founded by James Harvey Williams in 1882, the J. H. Williams company is now owned by Snap-on Tools and is ran as a division of Bahco Tool North America.



(Bahco is a Swedish tool maker that was purchased by Snap-on in 1999. )



Williams tools share many traits with the Snap-on line--in fact, many of the J. H. Williams wrench part numbers are identical to Snap-on; eg. OEX20, OEX24, etc.....



Proto is a division of the Stanley Works, who also owns Mac Tools. The Proto line and the Mac line are nearly identical, with a few variations. Proto is marketed towards heavy industrial and heavy mechanical; factories, diesel/heavy equipment mechanics, etc.



I'm kind of a tool ***** and own stuff from all the manufacturers above, and host of others as well. You can't go wrong with any of them.



Hope this helps,



Dan-

 

[rbattelle]

Thanks for the education, Dan!



Ryan

 

[Dl5treez]

No problemo... .





If you have pawn shops and the like around your area, check them for the Williams, Armstrong, Proto, Wright, etc brands.



I bought a set of Armstrong wrenches awhile back from 3/8 - 1 1/4 for 30 bucks.



It's funny to see Snap-on, Mac, Matco, and Cornwell in the glass case and Armstrong, Proto, Williams, and Wright just sitting out in the bargain bin.



99 cents for Proto slip joint pliers..... 5 bucks for a Wright 1/2" drive ratchet..... it can be fun.

 

[rbattelle]

This was a good thread, and I thought I'd bring it back up.

I was reminded of it today at work when I was talking about how much I like the few Armstrong tools I have.

Ryan

 

[Breed]

I really like GearWrench wrenchs, work great, lifetime guarentee, easy to use, I have several sets both SAE and Metric, and Stubby.

 

[SethA]

i really like my snapon ratchets but at about 100 bucks a pop kinda hard to justify unless you use em for a living

 

[Grizzly]

I'm starting to buy Husky from HomeDepot. I like them so far.

 

['strokeThis_'07]

Im partial to Craftsman... thats what my grandpa had, thats what my dad and uncles have, and thats what I have. If I ever have a son (hopefully!!) Im sure he'll have 'em too!!

 

[BHunter]

Mostly Craftsman tools for me but I treasure the few Mac, Snap on, Cornwell tools I've bought at auctions and garage sales .

 

[CNeubauer]

I have mostly Craftsman but as I need to upgrade tools I'm buying mostly Snap On and find that it doesn't take long to forget how expensive they are when they last.

 

[rumblefish]

I really like GearWrench wrenchs, work great, lifetime guarentee, easy to use, I have several sets both SAE and Metric, and Stubby.

i can't live without my gearwrenches

 

[tgordon]

A mis match of about everything. I prefer the cheap forein junk for on tractors, they cost less to replace after being planted, and never seem to grow as well as other crops:{



I also tend to steer clear of the Craftsman ratchets as the ratcheting mechanisms in them do not tend to last very long for me and I get sick of going to visit the store.

 

[rbattelle]

I also tend to steer clear of the Craftsman ratchets

I HATE Craftsman ratchets. Who in the world thought it was a good idea to make semi-rectangular handles on ratchets!? And breaker bars!



I only buy round handled ratchets and breaker bars. Don't own a single Craftsman model.



One of my pet-peeves, I guess.



Ryan

 

[JGoss]

I also dislike craftsman ratchets. I have snap on ratchets and sockets, but everything else is mis matched.

 

[PGAdams]

other tools - for example

Im partial to Craftsman... thats what my grandpa had, thats what my dad and uncles have, and thats what I have. If I ever have a son (hopefully!!) Im sure he'll have 'em too!!

My grandfather used "globemaster" i think they broke on the way home or when they were placed into the paper shopping bag, no plastic shopping bags back then.

After Globe or FedMart went out of business, (pre-Wal-Mart days)

the tools quit working too,,,,LOL.

 

[KevinSmith]

Proto (other) gets my vote. I know they are made by stanley but they are well priced and high quality.

 

[HOT0124valve]

I use 75% snap-on and 20% mac 5% matco just my three bay tool box with top box. all my ratchets are snap-on,pliers are mac with my storks are snap's, my computer is a modis with hd,and my other

tool box is a snap-on krl1001, i keep all my hand tools in my snapon box and all my specialty kits in my matco box.