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craftsmen vs wera vs wiha screwdrivers?

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brit road garage

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I recently bought a set of rolson shammer through screwdriver and they are made of toffee so they are now back ups, so I need a new set, whats better wiha soft finish wera or usa made hard handle craftsmen srewdrivers?
 
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Stuey

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I have all three and prefer the Weras. Wiha comes close, and the Craftsman aren't too far behind except in handle comfort.
 
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Pumpman1968

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My Craftsman Professional black hard handles were getting pretty worn and I couldn't find replacements so I bought a full set of the Craftsman cushion grip screwdrivers from Epsteins and I wasn't impressed. Set was USA made and the same as new S-K from Western Forge. Handles not very comfortable and the set included redundant drivers (common with Craftsman).

Went back to the old tried and true Craftsman hard handles. I know the Philips are kind of soft, but hey, when it wears out........toss it and buy another one.....they are cheap and everywhere!

I have been looking at Williams' labeled standard Snap-On black hard handles and may bite the bullet on those.
 
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DTB

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I just recently bought a set of the Napa Carlyle brand about 3 months ago. So far no complaints. They were in addition to the newer C-man Pro's that I had. However, Snap On has the SGDX60B sets on "Sale" for $101 so I might have to try them.
 
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Stuey

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Pumpman1968 said:
My Craftsman Professional black hard handles were getting pretty worn and I couldn't find replacements so I bought a full set of the Craftsman cushion grip screwdrivers from Epsteins and I wasn't impressed. Set was USA made and the same as new S-K from Western Forge. Handles not very comfortable and the set included redundant drivers (common with Craftsman).

Went back to the old tried and true Craftsman hard handles. I know the Philips are kind of soft, but hey, when it wears out........toss it and buy another one.....they are cheap and everywhere!

I have been looking at Williams' labeled standard Snap-On black hard handles and may bite the bullet on those.
Click to expand...
My Craftsman Pro red and black tips are kind of soft too. I would not recommend them.

Williams' hard handle drivers are pretty darned good, though.
 
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jjjrmx5

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brit road garage said:
are the craftsmen hard handles any good?
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AFAIK C'man does no longer produce the hard handles.

I think somethere in the 90's or earlier they stopped. At least the Black Pro series, as I have a few in my box and sent one off to jeffmoss26. :). Haven't seen the orange and green C'man HH new since about 2000.

If you are Euro based, then I;d suggest the Wiha's or Wera's. Or Felos.

I personally own the Wiha's, current C'man Pro offerings, a small set of Wera's and Facoms' among many many others.

I like the Wihas and Facom ErgoTwists the best for Euro made screwdrivers. Weras are not ergonomic for me, sadly
My Snap-On Instincts beat the C'man Pros hands down and the C'mans are to me not anything worthy of buying and shipping overseas. Price to warranty issues is not set up for non North American users.

Good luck.
 
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zkling

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How about PB swiss, swissgrips?

Pumpman1968 said:
My Craftsman Professional black hard handles were getting pretty worn and I couldn't find replacements so I bought a full set of the Craftsman cushion grip screwdrivers from Epsteins and I wasn't impressed. Set was USA made and the same as new S-K from Western Forge. Handles not very comfortable and the set included redundant drivers (common with Craftsman).

Went back to the old tried and true Craftsman hard handles. I know the Philips are kind of soft, but hey, when it wears out........toss it and buy another one.....they are cheap and everywhere!

I have been looking at Williams' labeled standard Snap-On black hard handles and may bite the bullet on those.
Click to expand...

I too love my cman pro black handle drivers. Sadly they changed the style. Someone on here recommended that the PB swiss are very similar in ergonomics, and of higher tip quality. :dunno: Maybe one of these days.
 
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Brownsfan

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I know Williams hard handles are not one of the choices but they are the best bang for the buck pro quality screwdriver. I bought the 6pc Phillips and 6pc slotted sets and have about $90 invested in it. Not bad for a very complete set of very good quality drivers. The snap on equivalent would be double or more for the EXACT same drivers. Only differance is they say Williams on the handle and they only come in black.
 
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Kyle.B

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I just got a felo set and I'm very pleased with them. I can grip them much better than any hard handled ones I've used. The tips are holding up well thus far.
 
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Piles

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If you like the Wera grips they are what I would go for. And from what I have read Wera vs. Wiha basically comes down to what fits your hand better, so if you can't hold either before buying I would just get whichever is a better deal at the moment.

I haven't used a craftsmen driver thats been made in the last 20 years so I couldn't tell you the quality.
 
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gagreen

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craftsman is not on par with the big euro brand drivers. Witte with the rubberized cork handles are my favorite screwdrivers. I also really like my facom's and wiha's. I'm not a huge fan of my felo's and retired them to home use. The maxxpro natures wittes are so so nice. I only wish I could get more of them (long shanks, stubbies, etc...) Craftsman drivers I keep to cut, bend, and mod for special occasions.
 
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Exceller8

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gagreen said:
craftsman is not on par with the big euro brand drivers. Witte with the rubberized cork handles are my favorite screwdrivers. I also really like my facom's and wiha's. I'm not a huge fan of my felo's and retired them to home use. The maxxpro natures wittes are so so nice. I only wish I could get more of them (long shanks, stubbies, etc...) Craftsman drivers I keep to cut, bend, and mod for special occasions.
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I would agree. :thumbup: The Craftsman Pro's are a step below any of the choices that are listed, but still a pretty good value and not bad for the $$$.
 
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Steve_P

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My experience is that Cman drivers have soft tips and wear out too quickly; my Taiwan HF sets lasted much longer. And if you look at the new Cman drivers they have a hard time properly machining the phillips tips. My experience with Williams is the same- tips were terribly machined, sent them back.

Wihas are very durable and the tips are beautifully machined.
 
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jvitez

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Wera have the coolest looking handles by far, but I prefer the feel of Wiha's. I've got both Wiha Soft Finish and 3K, and prefer the 3K for my medium sized hands. The Soft Finish is best if my hands are oily. No experience with Craftsman though.
 
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nicksnothereman

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brit road garage said:
I recently bought a set of rolson shammer through screwdriver and they are made of toffee so they are now back ups, so I need a new set, whats better wiha soft finish wera or usa made hard handle craftsmen srewdrivers?
Click to expand...

For you? (based on where you live)

Facom or wera. More available bro. Check out the sk by facom for screwdrivers with the octopus head handles if you can find them. Of the euro stuff I've come across...wera handles (at least the modern ones) are kind of odd and some people probably won't like the feel on them despite the fact that they're excellent quality.

Importing the other stuff can (probably) get pretty pricey in europe even with the cheap craftsman stuff.
 
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brit road garage

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gunna go for wiha watch a few vids on them, was going to go for the felo wooden handled screwdriver but I thought it wouldn't work the well with oily hands
 
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Scout Driver

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The Felo Ergonic screwdrivers are excellent. The hard-handled Felo drivers are good too, but like the wood handles you mention, can get slippery. The Ergonic are much easier to grip.

Scott
 
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Aberdale

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I don't buy many new tools, but I recently bought a set of Wihas to replace my Snap Ons. I've sharpened the tips on the Snap Ons many times as a refresh, and they served me well, but they are now worn out. I didn't want to pay the price for new Snap Ons, and had heard good things about the Wihas.

The Wihas were a Christmas present to myself, and although I've only used them a few times, they are pretty nice. The grips feel pretty good, but I know the soft grips will get dirty quickly. I haven't really had a chance to test the tips on anything tough yet.

I bought the following 3 sets:

Wiha 30299 Pro Tool Set with SoftFinish Grip, 20 Piece
Wiha 53099 Soft Finish Heavy Duty Screwdriver Set, Slotted/Phillips, 10-Piece
Wiha 31191 Stubby Slotted Screwdriver Set with 1/4 by 1-Inch and Stubby Phillips #2 by 1-Inch with SoftFinish Handle

32 drivers in all. I bought them on Amazon.

'dale
 
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