It's good to see Blackhawk get some love here, in the "new combination wrench set" thread. I see a lot of comments elsewhere on this board that suggest "Blackhawk is all imported ****," which simply isn't true. I have quite a bit of Blackhawk, including sockets, ratchets, extensions, pliers, and screwdrivers, all purchased within the last year or so from places like Grainger, MSC/Enco, and at a local industrial supply house. All of it was brand new, not new-old-stock, and all of it is made in the USA with the exception of a small set of mini pliers which have no COO marking on them anywhere. They are very nice tools, on par with S-K in my opinion. The ratchets (the ubiquitous Stanley round-head design, same as Challenger, Craftsman tri-wing, Stanley, etc.) are quite strong, albeit of a dated design. Everything else is absolutely excellent, especially the sockets, which are slim, tough, well-finished, and exhibit excellent quality control. Warranty is available at any Grainger or MSC branch, or over the phone with Proto (800-800-TOOL) where the folks who answer the phone are very nice and helpful.
Really, just considering street prices for brand new tools, besides S-K and some Craftsman stuff, Blackhawk is the only reasonably inexpensive USA-produced tool brand left. And, their items that are imported are also very good, especially their ratcheting combination wrenches. Yes, I know you can get great deals in the classifieds here or on eBay for used Proto, Snap-On, Williams, Martin, Wright, Armstrong, etc., but sometimes it saves a lot of time not to have to sniff out a bargain, and you can order Blackhawk from any number of industrial suppliers and online tool vendors and still receive domestically-produced tools. It's a bummer to see so many people write off Blackhawk when we could be sending Stanley a message that we still want the option to buy USA-made (besides Proto, which is considerably more expensive).
That all being said, I'm sure Stanley-Black&Decker is still going forward with their race to ship all their production offshore in the interest of lower costs in the short term to please their shareholders. If country of origin is important to you, Grainger's website is a good place to double-check before ordering a specific item.
Really, just considering street prices for brand new tools, besides S-K and some Craftsman stuff, Blackhawk is the only reasonably inexpensive USA-produced tool brand left. And, their items that are imported are also very good, especially their ratcheting combination wrenches. Yes, I know you can get great deals in the classifieds here or on eBay for used Proto, Snap-On, Williams, Martin, Wright, Armstrong, etc., but sometimes it saves a lot of time not to have to sniff out a bargain, and you can order Blackhawk from any number of industrial suppliers and online tool vendors and still receive domestically-produced tools. It's a bummer to see so many people write off Blackhawk when we could be sending Stanley a message that we still want the option to buy USA-made (besides Proto, which is considerably more expensive).
That all being said, I'm sure Stanley-Black&Decker is still going forward with their race to ship all their production offshore in the interest of lower costs in the short term to please their shareholders. If country of origin is important to you, Grainger's website is a good place to double-check before ordering a specific item.
