A little Williams Kobalt love

lowendrider · Apr 9, 2012

Really like the old Kobalt tools..thought I'd share my modest collection. I have two gaps in my combo wrenchs, recently picked up the 11/16 and hope to find a 7/8 soon. Most, but not all, were purchased for me by my parents as gifts for me.

capnrob97 · Apr 9, 2012

I have some of those thin Kobalt wrenches, I wish the continued making them, bought them on clearance when Kobalt switched manufacturers for their tools.

lowendrider · Apr 9, 2012

One more thing..does anyone know why the 15/16 faces the "wrong" way? lol Also my 3/4 is a replacement that I found after I lost the original from the smaller wrenches on the right and I could swear the one I had before faced the other way.

strutaeng · Apr 9, 2012

capnrob97 said:
I have some of those thin Kobalt wrenches, I wish the continued making them, bought them on clearance when Kobalt switched manufacturers for their tools.

I second that. I worked at Lowes when I was in school. Unfortunately I was a power tools snob then, and never used my employee discount/sales offers to buy any mechanics tools. I do remember the tools were beautifully machined with that polished feel. The stuff they sell now looks and feels like ****...

4x4gearhead · Apr 9, 2012

I wish there were lowes stores around here back then...as far as I know all the lowes popped up around after the switch. Sure puts anything in the husky line to shame. (new or old)

Pro-Painter · Apr 9, 2012

Man I would LOVE to have them. Williams made Kobalt kicks ***

PinkLinc · Apr 9, 2012

I have some SAE Kobalt crowfoot wrenches that I think are Williams made. The font for the stampings looks like Williams, but there isn't a Snap-On date code which is a dead giveaway on the sockets. Does anyone know if Williams made crowfoot wrenches for Kobalt?

Edit: I also have some sockets and love them. Much love for Williams Kobalt!

capnrob97 · Apr 9, 2012

Here are mine, unfortunately they only had some individual sizes left when I saw they were on clearance.

I would love to have complete sets of these. I will have to scour eBay I guess for the missing sizes.

BTG · Apr 9, 2012

Here's my Kobalt Williams wrench contribution. The SAE set I bought new way back when, but the Metric set I scored a few weeks ago at a swap meet along with another SAE set (soon to be for sale). I have a couple sets of their sockets as well that I picked up on Fleabay and Cripe.

Kev442 · Apr 9, 2012

I too wish there had been a Lowes anywhere near me when Williams Kobalt was king. I have never forgotten the Nascar commercial where Jimmies car drives across the wrenches on the lift.

Packard V8 · Apr 10, 2012

Really like the old Kobalt tools.

I bought new way back when

Old Kobalt tools? I got t-shirts older than any Kobalt.

Seriously, when Williams made them, Kobalt were great tools for the money. Just not old tools by old tool guy standards. :>)

jack vines

geologist · Apr 10, 2012

Kev442 said:
I too wish there had been a Lowes anywhere near me when Williams Kobalt was king. I have never forgotten the Nascar commercial where Jimmies car drives across the wrenches on the lift.

Very memorable commercial. I had a socket and wrench set that ended up getting stolen from my truck. Great tools.

dragoocoda · Apr 10, 2012

WOW!! Those are amazing looking.. I too did not have a Lowes nearby when they sold Williams made Kobalt tools. They had just bought the Eagle Hardware Chain when they came into the LA market, by then they had changed suppliers. Those wrenches would give some Truck tools a run for their money.

idoitproject · Apr 10, 2012

Nice wrenches, wish I had picked some up when they had those, too bad I never noticed the quality.

lowendrider · Apr 10, 2012

Packard V8 said:
Old Kobalt tools? I got t-shirts older than any Kobalt.

Seriously, when Williams made them, Kobalt were great tools for the money. Just not old tools by old tool guy standards. :>)

jack vines

I didn't say old tools, I said old Kobalt tools...and these are old compared to the import stuff now and the danaher stuff that preceeded it.

bwillis · Apr 10, 2012

just found the last missing wrench i needed to complete both the sae and metric sets,thanks again olde tool ,these are very nice wrench sets the quality in which williams used to manufacture was some of the finest non tool truck stuff ever produced i.m.h.o.

Packard V8 · Apr 10, 2012

JFS&G, anyone have the span of dates of production for the Williams Kobalts?

jack vines

billymade · Apr 10, 2012

This wikipedia link; seems to indicate: from 1998-2003:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobalt_(tools)

barcalo · Apr 11, 2012

Dumb question. How does one ID these if I see them in the wild? I see Kobalt and run the other way, maybe that was a mistake.

Less dumb question, if I do find them piece by piece what is the price range I should be paying.

lowendrider · Apr 11, 2012

I have the Snap On date code chart printed out. These older Kobalts have the date code stamped on them.

PinkLinc · Apr 11, 2012

barcalo said:
Dumb question. How does one ID these if I see them in the wild? I see Kobalt and run the other way, maybe that was a mistake.

Less dumb question, if I do find them piece by piece what is the price range I should be paying.

Snap on date codes like lowendrider said and the wrenches can be spotted from a mile away. Nothing else looks like them.

cderalow · Apr 11, 2012

I've got a bunch of the williams kobalt ratchets & sockets.

eventually figure I'll upgrade them to Armstrong.

Pro-Painter · Apr 11, 2012

cderalow said:
I've got a bunch of the williams kobalt ratchets & sockets.

eventually figure I'll upgrade them to Armstrong.

If you have any of the old Kobalt sockets like whats in the photo, I will trade you some Armstrong tools for them

lowendrider · Apr 12, 2012

Pro-Painter said:
If you have any of the old Kobalt sockets like whats in the photo, I will trade you some Armstrong tools for them

No kidding...Armstrongs would be an upgrade? :dunno:

barcalo · Apr 12, 2012

lowendrider said:
I have the Snap On date code chart printed out. These older Kobalts have the date code stamped on them.

Sorry for another dumb question but where would one find the proper chart?

reptilezs · Apr 12, 2012

barcalo said:
Sorry for another dumb question but where would one find the proper chart?

same as snap on date code

bornagainst · Apr 12, 2012

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14884

lowendrider · Apr 13, 2012

billymade said:
This wikipedia link; seems to indicate: from 1998-2003:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobalt_(tools)

Very interesting. I was looking at my large combos today and they have the date code for 1997.

Also noticed that Capnrob's Sae combos are six point..mine are twelve. Can't recall seeing the six point before.

rebelram · Apr 13, 2012

I have never seen 6 point Kobalt wrenches either. My Williams Kobalt set is metric and 12 pt. It also has a mix of 2001 and 2002 date codes. It was bought as a new set from Lowes probably in 2002 or 2003 timeframe. The metric set does skip a few sizes but I later filled it in with Danaher Kobalt singles. There is some variation in the Danaher Kobalt wrenches. The early ones were pretty good, but the latest USA made ones right before they switched over to Taiwan are rough and have some really sharp edges.

capnrob97 · Apr 13, 2012

I got those 6 point Kobalts when most of the store was cleaned out of the Williams Kobalt on clearance. Those were the only ones left in the store.

Steevo · Apr 13, 2012

Your 15/16" is left-handed.
Now, you have to start a whole new collection . . .

lowendrider · Apr 14, 2012

Steevo said:
Your 15/16" is left-handed.
Now, you have to start a whole new collection . . .

I'll just have to learn to be ambidextrous

SCscoutguy · May 27, 2012

I picked up a Williams made Kobalt 1/2" ratchet with a 2002 date code the other day and I must say this is an extremely well built tool! I would honestly put its quality up against any Snap On ratchet I own and the handle is extremely comfortable. I took it apart and cleaned it and then reassembled it with super lube and it is very smooth now. I wish I could find more of these Williams made Kobalt tools now.

ShadowRuleZ · May 27, 2012

I had started with a Williams Kobalt set, then busted the ratchet and got a Danaher replacement, and got foreign 12 point replacements for my US 6 point sockets. That was before I knew about this forum and known I could have rebuilt the ratchet myself.

ImportTuner · May 27, 2012

Mine are still brand new ...

Cobra6 · May 27, 2012

capnrob97 said:
I got those 6 point Kobalts when most of the store was cleaned out of the Williams Kobalt on clearance. Those were the only ones left in the store.

I did the same - I got all the combo wrenches I could - I also got a set of double-boxed wrenches, a set of line wrenches, and one of the blue upper and lower tool chests combos while they were on clearance.

The only problem is if you break something it will get replaced with the new stuff.

barcalo · May 28, 2012

I have recently picked up a few of these and I really do think they are well made but I have to say they do not feel great in the hand. The edges are not smooth like Snap On (I am not a Snap-On fan boy) which does has a great feel when you pick them up.

sselander · Jun 2, 2012

I was cleaning up some stuff and found an original Kobalt volume one catalog from 1999 showing the Williams made tools in it. Let me know if you want me to scan a page or two for you.

The pic shows the stock numbers for the Kobalt combination wrenches.

sselander · Jun 2, 2012

more retro Williams Kobalt wrenches from the 1999 catalog:

franzdom · Jun 2, 2012

I'll play, these are nice. I wouldn't mind a set of metric and the 1":

A little Williams Kobalt love

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