Husky tools ????

[dxdexter]

Husky was an established brand (I think supplied by New Britain - but I'd have to double check). All HD did was buy the rights to the name.

They were sold here in Canada, exclusively by Canadian Tire until the late 1980's. It wasn't until they built a Home Depot here around 2000 that I saw the brand again, but this time in exact same look as Stanley from Walmart or Mastercraft from Canadian tire. They are probably all from the same manufacturer.

I considered them a top notch brand back in the 80's.

 

[Uncle Buck]

husky was started in the 20's. new britain bought them in the 30's.

As Krusty shares, Husky's roots go way back. Unfortunately the quality of the tools like the original brand name changed for the worse and did not stand the test of time.

 

[Homoudont]

Just wanted to let everyone know my experience on trying to warranty a Husky ratchet. My mother’s house caught fire and my brother’s tools were in the house. Most of his stuff was Husky Brand, and I was able to get a hold of the damaged tools. I found a ½ inch ratchet during cleanup and the gears were all locked up. So I took it into our new Home Depot store in town and asked the return counter lady how I go about warranting the ratchet. As expected she didn’t know and called her boss over the radio. Well behind her was what appeared to be a store or district manager. He leaned over and told her, just do an exchange and explained to her that Home Depot warranties Husky tools for life. So I went and got a new ½ ratchet off the shelf and exchanged it.


Now the CSR manager had helped me get the new ratchet, and told me that in the future I will need a receipt in order to do the lifetime exchange. I explained to her that most people will never break one of these ratchets and if they do its probably 10 years after they purchased it. Of course it fell on death ears. So its YMMV when returning a Husky tool. And the one I picked off shelf was made in china.

 

[musgofasta]

My local HD is brand new, local Lowe's is about 18 months old. Minimal ratchet/socket/wrench section in both. Average Screwdriver and plier sections. Huge power tool section, both corded and cordless drills, saws, grinding, etc. I think they're just focusing on the DIY tools for around the house and yard. The HD even has a drill demo area, where you can try each one on a wood board.

My Autozone has more ratchets, sockets, and box wrenches. Quality and price has been going up there, I actually like the feel of some of their ratchets, but no need.

 

[48548]

I have some husky stuff my dad got at napa in the 60's along with the sparta stuff, which seems better to me in terms of quality, I also like the plomb stuff better when i compare equivalent stuff like breaker bars, the Plomb had a ball on the end of the bar to hold the head in place from moving around and the husky, just had nothing and the swivel head on the breaker bar flops around, and that was made in the 60's and in the early 30's-40's plomb was using balls and springs to make tools better, I guess quality went down before I was born, hahahaha.

 

[10sevol]

Too bad Husky's on its way out. They actually had a pretty good warranty program. A friend had a socket set and when he broke one he just called the 1-800 number and they shipped him a new one no questions asked and he got it two days later.

----------------------------------------------------------
The reason I never bought Husky tools was because of the warranty. If I break a tool through misuse, I won't try to warranty it, and I can count the quality tools I have messed up on less than the fingers of one hand. But if I am working on something and a tool messes up, I want to be able to replace it then and not have to buy another because I will have to wait on the replacement two days. That being said, it is more a matter of principle now because like many here I suspect, I have so many hand tools of the same size in so many brands that I would have to have a sort of tool holocaust not to have a replacement on hand, but maybe not in a brand I prefer. Twenty years ago I mostly had one of each size, so Sears selling Craftsman tools individually gave me piece of mind that if I had a problem in the middle of a job, I could get the tool replaced immediately. The better variety of tools you have, the fewer problems you have because you can use the right tool for the job.

When I was growing up, my dad (who had many fine qualities and was smarter than I will ever be) was so frugal (cheap) that instead of buying one lousy set of Craftsman metric wrenches, he would file out a fractional size to fit any metric fasteners we ran across. He wouldn't buy anything unless he thought he was getting a bargain, and I guess when American car makers started switching to metric fasteners, there weren't any bargains to be had in metric tools.

 

[Gregster]

Yeah HD is now asking for bills when exchanging tools. Pretty lame if you ask me.. whats the point? it's a lifetime warranty and you are the only store in town that sells Husky.

My el cheapo track torque wrench locked up on me and I went to HD to return it. I went over the tool section, grabbed another and went to the service desk. I got the run around about the bill thing and how it broke. They called over some 17 year old kid and he said it looked abused... I asked if there was anyone with more tool experience in the store... After about 30 mins of good arguing with the store manager, tool kid and tool section manager I finally got it replaced only to have it lock up after a track weekend....

I haven't brought it back yet.. Then people on here complain about SO service.



Maybe I'll get an SK wrench or something for the track. Last time I brought my SO it got stolen.

 

[Vicegrip]

had a torque wrench fail under heavy but not past full value load and they took it back no problem no paper. Just gave me a new one which has worked well under hard use. I have to say I like the wrenches. Good feel and good bang for the buck. Have yet to brake any Husky tool other than the square off the end of the torque wrench.

 

[eschoendorff]

----------------------------------------------------------
The reason I never bought Husky tools was because of the warranty. If I break a tool through misuse, I won't try to warranty it, and I can count the quality tools I have messed up on less than the fingers of one hand. But if I am working on something and a tool messes up, I want to be able to replace it then and not have to buy another because I will have to wait on the replacement two days. That being said, it is more a matter of principle now because like many here I suspect, I have so many hand tools of the same size in so many brands that I would have to have a sort of tool holocaust not to have a replacement on hand, but maybe not in a brand I prefer. Twenty years ago I mostly had one of each size, so Sears selling Craftsman tools individually gave me piece of mind that if I had a problem in the middle of a job, I could get the tool replaced immediately. The better variety of tools you have, the fewer problems you have because you can use the right tool for the job.

When I was growing up, my dad (who had many fine qualities and was smarter than I will ever be) was so frugal (cheap) that instead of buying one lousy set of Craftsman metric wrenches, he would file out a fractional size to fit any metric fasteners we ran across. He wouldn't buy anything unless he thought he was getting a bargain, and I guess when American car makers started switching to metric fasteners, there weren't any bargains to be had in metric tools.

Did your dad happen to be around right after the Great Depression? My dad was and he is just like your dad apparently.

 

[Gregster]

had a torque wrench fail under heavy but not past full value load and they took it back no problem no paper. Just gave me a new one which has worked well under hard use. I have to say I like the wrenches. Good feel and good bang for the buck. Have yet to brake any Husky tool other than the square off the end of the torque wrench.

From what I can tell the pre 2003 tools were good(higher end taiwan). Around 2004 they started changing over to the made in china stuff. I still use a lot of sockets I bought in 2001-02 and they tough. The same goes for the ratchets that still had metal parts...

I broke one of my ratchets that I bought in 2001 a few months ago. When I went to exchange it I got back some POS ratchet that broke just as faster. Anyways whatever I have in broken Husky now I just replace with SO. I bring back the broken Husky to HD, collect a decent amount of tools then return everything for a store credit at a later date.

When I first started in the trade I used a lot of their tools. However after awhile everything started breaking often.

Yes metric tools were pricey back when the switch was being made. An older tech commented on my tools because I have nothing SAE ( I do at home) it's all metric. He was telling me that it cost him around 2000$ back then to buy all metric tools and that younger guys are lucky because we don't need 2 sets of tools these days.

 

[Gregg33]

I'm thinking of buying some older used Husky sockets. I have yet to look at them in person. Does anyone know when they stopped making sockets in the U.S.? Will the American made sockets be stamped "USA"? Also, I'm in Canada and I have a hunch the sockets might have been from the Canadian Tire days, is it possible they could have been made in Canada?

 

[rebelram]

Yes the older ones are stamped USA. I bought several sets in the mid 90's and they were all stamped USA.

 

[mp23]

I bought a complete set of Husky wrenches probably 10 years ago. They are great. Great design, Nice finish, made in USA and I have never had the slightest problems with any of them. To bad they changed it up. It takes a while to get traction in the tool business, they were on the right track.

 

[noid]

Personally i love my black chrome "pro" socket set. Quality made IMO, made and warrantied by Stanley.

 

[Gregg33]

Thanks for the info guys.

 

[strnjss]

Wait, what's all this about Husky going under? is HD really doing away with them, or is this just speculation?

 

[Wakefield]

Husky screwdriver/bits set that I was given this Christmas was made in China. (Not Taiwan).

 

[matthew]

I'm thinking of buying some older used Husky sockets. I have yet to look at them in person. Does anyone know when they stopped making sockets in the U.S.? Will the American made sockets be stamped "USA"? Also, I'm in Canada and I have a hunch the sockets might have been from the Canadian Tire days, is it possible they could have been made in Canada?

I don't believe any New Britain ever made any of the old Husky stuff in Canada. If you want old made-in-Canada tools, you can find Gray, and some older Snap-On, Proto, and Challenger, among others. Check out this thread for some others.



I've noticed some labels at Home Depot state the vendor they get the item from. On many Husky items you'll see Stanley Mechanics Tools. I have noticed some, particularly the 'special purchase' items coming from places with names like XYZ Trading Co. or such, items marked China, India, etc. Those look far more scary than the Taiwan stuff by Stanley, but I guess the bargain price should be a tipoff...

 

[zer0cell]

Overall I'm not terribly pleased with the husky brand but I do think that some of their tool storage items are pretty nice for the price. I bought one of these for $20 and have had nothing but good things to say about it. Home depot has a much better selection of these types of items than lowes does if you ask me.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053

 

[nato]

I would also take HF tools over most any Husky ****. I had some gift cards a couple years back and decided to pick up a metric 1/4" drive set w/ ratchet. Sockets are decent but the ratchet, yikes
It feels likes it a 20 tooth setup with pebbles and sand installed in the mechanism. Decent $ waste spent there. I, on the other hand, also have their orange-gripped multiple plier set and it's actualy pretty okay.
Halfway hit or terrible, complete miss with Husky brand

 

[strnjss]

I would also take HF tools over most any Husky ****. I had some gift cards a couple years back and decided to pick up a metric 1/4" drive set w/ ratchet. Sockets are decent but the ratchet, yikes
It feels likes it a 20 tooth setup with pebbles and sand installed in the mechanism. Decent $ waste spent there. I, on the other hand, also have their orange-gripped multiple plier set and it's actualy pretty okay.
Halfway hit or terrible, complete miss with Husky brand

I have the complete opposite experience. My $50 Husky ratchet set is as nice as my $300 Blue Point ratchet set. Everything is smooth and feels really nice.

When I look at the HF stuff, they always seem to be dirty, feel rough and have oil all over them (and coming out of them).

 

[nato]

I have the complete opposite experience. My $50 Husky ratchet set is as nice as my $300 Blue Point ratchet set. Everything is smooth and feels really nice.

When I look at the HF stuff, they always seem to be dirty, feel rough and have oil all over them (and coming out of them).

Which size drive set do you have??? This ratchet I HAD looks like an old school New Brittain/SK round head. It's quite terrible, actually lol

 

[wallythacker]

My Dad has Husky sockets bought 45 years ago from a place called Canadian Tire.

I found a mid 90's 25pc. metric 3/8 socket set in my shed still shrinkwrapped. TOP notch finish and quality. I had many full polish wrenches from that era but they got stolen.

Does anyone remember when HD would warranty ANY other brand name tool with a Husky? I should have loaded up.

I bought the Husky $20 10pc. mm and sae spline wrench sets this week because Sears Canada wants 3x more for their black oxide 7pc. set. The Husky stuff looks/feels way better than the Sears stuff but is still cheap feeling compared to their pre China stuff.

Come to think of it, I stopped buying from HD for years because they stopped carrying singles and the China stuff bugged me.

 

[ishiboo]

My Dad has Husky sockets bought 45 years ago from a place called Canadian Tire.

I found a mid 90's 25pc. metric 3/8 socket set in my shed still shrinkwrapped. TOP notch finish and quality. I had many full polish wrenches from that era but they got stolen.

Does anyone remember when HD would warranty ANY other brand name tool with a Husky? I should have loaded up.

I bought the Husky $20 10pc. mm and sae spline wrench sets this week because Sears Canada wants 3x more for their black oxide 7pc. set. The Husky stuff looks/feels way better than the Sears stuff but is still cheap feeling compared to their pre China stuff.

Come to think of it, I stopped buying from HD for years because they stopped carrying singles and the China stuff bugged me.

You dug up a thread that hasn't been posted to in a year

I know there was quality Husky stuff made at one time, I'm just not familiar with it. The China stuff they sell now is exactly like all the other China stuff... mediocre to bad.