I've never owned or used Snap-On, so I won't comment on them. But I have
used a lot of Craftsman stuff, and it isn't nearly as good as it used to be.
Dad has a lot of Craftsman he's bought over the years. The oldest stuff he
has, around 30 years old, is pretty much still around and in very good
shape. One or two broken screwdrivers, but that's about it. But the more
recent stuff, 10-15 years old, is mostly junk. Take their Vice-Grip clones.
You can tell a big difference in quality just by holding them. The older
ones have a better finish, are heavier, just generally appear better built.
They still work like new and almost look it. The newer ones are much lighter
and haven't held up nearly as well. Teeth round off the jaws, release levers
bend rather than release. The screw drivers are even worse, though they
didn't seem to go down until about 10 years ago. Some I got 15 years ago are
still in good shape, at least the ones I can still find.
I'll tell you what has been a surprise to me - Popular Mechanics brand at
Wal-Mart. At least the screwdrivers I have are holding up VERY well. Their
construction reminds me of the old Craftsman. And they are made in the USA.
And while I haven't had need to buy any of their sockets or ratchets, they
do have a good "feel" from what I could tell while looking at them in the
store. By that I mean a good amount of "heft", clean castings with no sharp
flanges, good tight feel to the ratchets - very little play. At least
whoever is the real manufacturer is (the screwdrivers look VERY similar to
some Credos that I had) they took a lot of care to make them LOOK good. One
would like to think that might be an indicator of overall quality.
But remember, YMMV!
Eddie
> <<For the long haul, go for crafstman. I hate the damn snap ons now.
twice
> the
> price, >>
>
> Not necessarly so.
>
> << no warranty >>
>
> Funny, I don't have a prob with my DEaler.
>
> <<and the same quality IMO. >>
>
> There "really" is a reason, Frank C calls them "crapsmen".
>
> Ed
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