mudflap
Well-known member
Just read on lowes web site (in the q&a section) the new kobalt tools are made by the same taiwan manufacturer that makes blue point. Does anyone know if that is true, or not true ?
kobalt - blue point
- Thread starter mudflap
- Start date
SpiderGearsMan
Banned
thanks for the info
PSYKO_Inc
Well-known member
I know that they were made by Williams in the past, then Danaher for the past several years...I would not be surprised if the contract was awarded back to Snap-On, Inc. since the Danaher stuff seemed to have spotty quality. I do know that the current production Williams ratchets/sockets are made in Taiwan and are identical to Blue Point, which both look very similar to current Kobalt, so it doesn't seem to be much of a stretch...
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Link to Q&A section? was it Lowes saying it or someone else?
I say no. Blue Point Mechanics hand tools are largely taiwan made Williams tools. The blue point screwdrivers are made in spain.
Does it really matter though? One shouldn't buy one brand thinking it's the same as another brand.
I say no. Blue Point Mechanics hand tools are largely taiwan made Williams tools. The blue point screwdrivers are made in spain.
Does it really matter though? One shouldn't buy one brand thinking it's the same as another brand.
powertrip
Well-known member
Got a link to this?
ishiboo
Well-known member
I wouldn't trust much I read in the Q&A, BUT... JH Williams Taiwan gear looks a LOT like the Kobalt Taiwan, and I did have that feeling before that they may have been made by the same OEM.
kythri
Well-known member
Does it really matter though? One shouldn't buy one brand thinking it's the same as another brand.
I think it can be a valid decision making point, as long as one approaches the decision with the knowledge that the same manufacturer can use different designs, specifications, etc.
If you view the one brand they manufacture as being good/superior quality, you could make a reasonable assumption that, since they've proven they can produce quality product, other product produced by them under a different brand name would be of good quality.
I mean, that's one of the very reason why a lot of people buy Blue Point in the first place, isn't it? It's not Snap-on, but it's got the association with Snap-on, so the purchasers are feeling comforted in the assumption of "yeah, I know it's off-shored, but Snap-on wouldn't sell garbage, only good quality stuff", right?
kythri
Well-known member
While I'm sure that they and most other companies do contract out production to other factories, Snap-on actually does own at least one of their own factories over there, and it wouldn't surprise me to find confirmation that Danaher has at least one of their own, too.
ishiboo
Well-known member
Link to Q&A section? was it Lowes saying it or someone else?
I say no. Blue Point Mechanics hand tools are largely taiwan made Williams tools. The blue point screwdrivers are made in spain.
Does it really matter though? One shouldn't buy one brand thinking it's the same as another brand.
For me it does, part of it is curiosity but the other part is the sets then match in both quality and are visually almost the same.
Kobalt is missing some items that I piece in with Allied Pro-Grade, since its the exact same stuff. The loose sockets are also half the price of the Kobalt stuff, but the Kobalt sets/etc. are far cheaper when on sale.
Hyster Gareth
Well-known member
A lot of Case and Case Ih branded tools are made by Snap On/Jh Williams COO Taiwan. I have some and they are off good quality.
I dont think Case would sell cheap **** with their name on!!!
As far as the last Danaher manufactured Kobalt tools I looked at some in Lowes in Canada and was not that impressed.
I dont think Case would sell cheap **** with their name on!!!
As far as the last Danaher manufactured Kobalt tools I looked at some in Lowes in Canada and was not that impressed.
diesel research
Well-known member
Link to Q&A section? was it Lowes saying it or someone else?
I say no. Blue Point Mechanics hand tools are largely taiwan made Williams tools. The blue point screwdrivers are made in spain.
Does it really matter though? One shouldn't buy one brand thinking it's the same as another brand.
Snap on does not claim any facilities in the country of taiwan.
This means the facility is either under 50,000ft or is produced by a 3rd party and branded snapon/bahco/williams/bluepoint etc.
It could just be that the facility is real small. Or...
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the kobalt adjustable wrenches on the website look very similar to the soft grip wrenches that williams and snapon offer in their catalogues the branded bluepoint ones, the very wrenches that even appear on the wanda snapon website.
JASTECH
Well-known member
I think if we keep buying US made items Snap-On and other companies will get our drift and move mfg back to US made or suffer. We just need to keep at it! I have, been pushing others to do the same.
diesel research
Well-known member
They have no idea WHY you are buying unless you tell them....
They also need to see data indicates that a majority of dollars prefer whatever.
i would rather pay more money for US and European stuff than invest in cheap **** from the far east for me its not only about quality its about supporting domestic manufacturing and not supporting regimes that exercise shocking human rights practices and that ultimately want to engineer our downfall.
JASTECH
Well-known member
Agree, tell them why via e-mail. I take items back when COO is covered/hidden ect. I make sure the HD service person inputs the reason.
the realy sad thing is that we that want domesticly made products are in the minority 95% of joe public couldnt care less where anything comes from and that attitude suites big companies down to the ground because it gives them even more reason to withhold COO information. if i want COO on any product i always call the manufacturer for information, one good example of this was a call i made to King **** tools about six months ago about COO info on their new line of pliers, the women in customer services said they were made in Europe but wasnt allowed to divulge where exactly, the sad thing was that i was about to place an order for the complete metric open end wrench set worth a few hundered pounds and because of their actively withholding the truth from me i spent my money with Williams Super Slim instead who were completely forthcoming with the truth, and the cherry on the cake is the wrenches are great quality and made in England.
ishiboo
Well-known member
I'd say Taiwan was closer to western Europe than China, it's a stark contrast between the two entities, which is why Taiwan doesn't want to be part of China.
diesel research
Well-known member
Europe is kind of a blanket statement too. Lots of eastern europe closer resembling mainland china...
Taiwan is a great success story in the far east in that they have employed a successful democratic political system since 1949 and built up a hugely successful manufacturing infrastructure that is on its way to rivaling that of japans, this must stick in the throats of their red cousins over the water who have been trying to bully and cajole them into submission since the end of the red uprising. i completely agree that the west is on the side of Taiwan, China steam rolled their way into Tibet with no resistance its about time they realized that outward aggression is unacceptable the problem the west has is how to deal tensions in that region as China now bankrolls most western economies.
when i say Europe i mean western Europe as in England, France, Germany, Spain and so on i still think of eastern Europe as "eastern bloc".
kythri
Well-known member
But see, this doesn't necessarily hold - in another thread, it's identified that Wera does production in the Czech Republic - formerly part of Czechoslovakia that was considered "Eastern Bloc", and, with a few exceptions, Wera is commonly touted as a prestige brand of prestige quality.
It's going to be amusing in a decade or two when we fall over ourselves for Chinese tools, complain about the exorbitantly high prices of Japanese and Taiwanese tools all the while turning our nose up at Indian or Pakistani and lamenting that there's no US or Western European production left.
Then another decade or after that, everyone shifts a couple columns to the left, and the African manufacturing era begins.
"I'd rather support Chinese workers in a democratic nation than African despots and warlords funding their latest revolution with Blood Ratchets!"
your right Kythri, my Wera pound thru screwdrivers were made in Czech republic and they are my most used screwdrivers, the tips have been to hell and back and are still relatively good. when you say Chinese workers in a democratic nation do you mean The Republic of China? (Taiwan).
SNAPON is already gone, same as MAC / MATCO, and after the 1st of the year you will see even more ching-chong stuff on the truck .Our snappy driver has been talking about it, saying things like "its a world economy now" and "yea, its made overseas, but to snap on standards" I say harbor freight is going to have to really raise their prices if they intend to compete with snap on LOL.....
As far as i know all S-K tools are still 100% made in USA since 1921. If you want to come together as a group and save something, we might want to look there, thats where we might make our final stand. I have been critical of them in the past for their warranty issues, but the truth is, unless you do something stupid, (like use a screwdriver for a jackstand pin) you may need a rebuild kit for a ratchet once in a while, but thats about it. They produce very high quality professional tools, and i intend to trade my American dollars for their American tools, in an attempt to keep them around.------ WHO'S WITH ME ?
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i own quite a few wright tools and rate them very highly, they are a reletivley small company but all their tools are USA made. i placed an order with a UK supplier of wright tools when it arrived the 10" adjustable was a USA western forge wrench and the 12 and 15" wrenches were Spanish made irega wrenches i sent them back and received the USA ones two weeks later, dont get me wrong irega make arguebly makes some of the best wrenches but wrights website stated made in USA so thats what i wanted.
diesel research
Well-known member
Are you offering to become a distributor? that's how they give discounts. Whole sale prices to distributors.
JMorrison4371
Well-known member
Up until about 5 years ago, Snap On owned Kobalt. They sold they Kobalt line to tiawan. According to my Snap On dealer.
PSYKO_Inc
Well-known member
Their screwdrivers and a few other items were made in France by Facom for a while...
PSYKO_Inc
Well-known member
The Kobalt line has always been owned by Lowe's, produced under contract by Williams initially. When the contract with Williams expired, it was then awarded to Danaher. Danaher's contract has since expired and it has been awarded to some other company which has not yet been publicly stated.
98TJ
Well-known member
...and the Taiwan Kobalt ratchets are much smoother and more precise than Craftsman offerings. The only possible exception being the 80-some-odd tooth Pro ratchets.
The plastic selector switch needs to go, though.
kythri
Well-known member
No, I was being facetious, and referring to the inevitable collapse of communism in China and it's reformation into a more democratic nation (similar to the collapse of the Soviet Union, etc.).
It's just a matter of time before it happens - the China of today is nothing at all like the China of 20-30 years ago.
When it comes to contract manufacturing, there can be substantial quality differences between production runs of different lines, even from the same factory.
So even if it's true, you can't necessarily construe that they'll be identical quality, or even from the same factory in all honesty.
So even if it's true, you can't necessarily construe that they'll be identical quality, or even from the same factory in all honesty.
ishiboo
Well-known member
True, and even given the exact same production, the perceived quality can significantly vary based on the extent of quality control done after the fact. Companies like Snap-on let very few products through with issues, it's not that they don't make crappy products from time to time - dies move around, alignment goes off, processes fail.
But, being from the same line can surely indicate products are similar.