Hello from Calgary Alberta (Canada)!

[soundjunky]

I just figured this might be an appropriate first post;
Hello from Calgary Alberta Canada!

For those who have no clue, this is about a three hour drive north of the USA/Canada border, on what I believe to be known as the "Alaskan Highway" north from Great Falls Montana;
Your interstate #15 becomes our Highway #4, which turns into #3, then connects to #2 going north...

I actually found this site when trying to find more information on a specific brand/generation of tools - and for hte past couple days I have been reading great discussions on vintage Craftsman toolboxes, and many other hand tools.
I love old stuff, and although Snap-On and Mac are generally held in the highest esteem (for good reason) I do believe that for most people the (better; also read as older) store brands, or different lines are just fine.

I look forward to learning more from this group about brands that I know, and some that I wasn't aware of!

 

[22george]

Welcome

 

[nadogail]

Welcome to the Forum from Southwestern California. We are on the Southern end of Interstate 15.
I have always regarded Dawson Creek, BC as the Southern End of the Alaska Highway, formerly known as the ALCAN Highway.
I have not yet been to any of the Canadian Provinces, other than BC and Yukon; I think it was called Yukon Territory when I drove South from Anchorage to Washington, Oregon and Idaho and return in 1961 and 1962.
It looks like I will not get to the Calgary Stampede.
I started out with Sears Craftsman tools because the “Old Timers” i was working with at the time told me they were the best value for the money I had to spend in 1957. They were a little bit “Clubby” but for a kid starting out they were the best value available in Anchorage at the time.
The other brands available at the time were SnapOn, Mac and , Bonney.

 

[lilredex]

Welcome abord! Slight corection......The Alaskan Hwy offically starts at Dawson Creek (B.C.). I grew up in Edmonton and was always amazed at the number of U.S. army compounds that were left behind, full of surplus equipment used in that job. The one that stood out was north of 118th Ave around 156th St.

 

[soundjunky]

Hmm, thanks for the correction guys - I know I've seen signs in the past denoting "Alaskan Highway" - but come to think of it, the one most clear to me was west of Edmonton at a turnoff from the Yellowhead (Hwy 16);
The closest I have been to Dawson Creek is Peace River - I was oversight(?) to a crushing operation up there;
My wife on the other hand worked at the newspaper there.

I have taken I-15 down to LA, and back a couple times;
My mom and step-dad live in Redondo Beach;
Regrettably I haven't been there since 2018;
Life, border closures, and young kids have not permitted me opportunity to be down there since...

I think that Craftsman tools WERE arguably the best value for the dollar for a good long spell;
Our Mastercraft (Canadian Tire) was often in my opinion an obvious step down in quality - for roughly the same price... but that's for another thread...
I was quite remiss when Sears filed for bankruptcy, but to me, the writing was on the wall;
My first hand experience was that they were being chronically run poorly by daft employees who often didn't care for way too long;

One of my last Craftsman purchases (at my closest local Sears) was matching sets of imperial and metric socket holders...
Little did I know what kind of OCD that would lead to from just trying to fill the spots (I am still missing some of the larger 1/2" drive metric sockets).

I was elated to see that Lowes/Rona started carrying the Craftsman brand again - but I have not bought any of the new chinese-ium CM tools - rather I have focused almost entirely on buying older tools found at garage sales or second hand stores (I call them "junk stores").
I will say this, I trust the Craftsman brand name over Mastercraft - or as I call it "Master-****";
Except for their late 1990's through early 2000's 'Professional Series' lines, MC is utter garbage to me.

 

[coldh2o]

Welcome, fellow Canuck!