Kobalt 1st gen wrenches

[guzziee]

I've either been lucky or have had more time on my hands than usual. Went from never finding 1st gen kobal stuff to finding a 1/2" socket set 1-2 weeks ago and today I found these wrenches for $70 bucks .

 

[Hakeem]

Very nice! Who’s the OEM on these - Armstrong?

 

[bonneyman]

Good deal! I love it when guys find stuff they've been searching for.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Very nice! Who’s the OEM on these - Armstrong?

I think Armstrong for Kobalt and Snap On for Husky if I remember correctly.

 

[guzziee]

Very nice! Who’s the OEM on these - Armstrong?

J.H. Williams is my understanding

 

[Schurkey]

Kobalt started-out using Williams, then cut costs and moved to Danaher/Armstrong, then I think they cheaped-out again and went overseas, and now they're pretty-much a dead brand.

It's like the whole downfall of the USA Tool Industry, in a neat, orderly, compacted time-line.

 

[neophyte]

Kobalt started-out using Williams, then cut costs and moved to Danaher/Armstrong, then I think they cheaped-out again and went overseas, and now they're pretty-much a dead brand.

It's like the whole downfall of the USA Tool Industry, in a neat, orderly, compacted time-line.

Some of the Kobalt tools are still good.
Kobalt is still a store brand though, and there are price expectations for store brands.
Danaher madd nice stuff, but got combined with Copper tools, rebranded to Apex, (which was originally a sub-brand), then got mostly sold to Baine Capital, which then tried to combine facilities, resulting in a clusterf@ck similar to what happened decades ago when Stanley trued to combine MAC Tools production facilities.
Baine/Apex then offshored production of a number of items, which still seem in many cases to be well made.
Lowes presumably could have gone with a different US manufacturer like SK, but probably wanted better profit margins, since the Kobalt brand us owned by Lowes, meaning Lowes has to eat potential problems with the tools, and returns.
JH Williams, (owned by Snap-On), also started selling imported tools under The Williams brand, so Lowes probably figured going to the sources overseas was a cheaper and better alternative, with higher profit margins.

 

[FrankC]

The first gen Kobalt tools were very expensive for the time. I remember buying some. Then when they were changing out for the next line they went on clearance. I bought as much as I could afford. I still have them and use them to this day very regularly. I even bought the 1/2" torque wrench. I believe it was over $200 in 99/200

 

[woody 73]

1st gen was Williams and it lasted only for a few short years, then Lowes who were "NOTORIOUS" for changing suppliers at the drop of a hat dumped them asap. The wrenches are indeed Williams.

 

[KnurledNut]

Long gone, but still a personal favorite...