Kobalt Socket/Ratchets again...

[deadguy]

Sorry to flood the board with post, but by searching I really didn't feel like I found the answer I was looking for. I know Cman and Kobalt ratchets/sockets are made by Danaher. However, I was able to a few sets of the old "round" handle ratchet/socket sers in my local Lowes. Are these "round" style ratchets any better than the current Cman raised panels?

Heres what I want them for. I'm just an average DIY wrench, I do most of my own car, motorcycle and bike repair. I have a pre 94' Cman set of sockets/ratchest. But, i'd like a second set to keep around the house. I did note most of the Kobalt sockets are 12-point. All of my Cman are 6-point, so i figure having some 12-points would probably be handy to have around since I have none.

your $.02

 

[64merc]

You know, I don't have any evidence either way, but I'm going to say that they are a little better than the current Cman raised panel ratchets. I would go for the older Kobalt ratchet.

I have been checking out the Kobalt ratchets for a few years and the new style doesn't impress me. I can say with pretty good certainty that the older Kobalts had better fit/finish than the newer ones. I have an older Kobalt 1/4 set (round handle) and a brand new Kobalt 1/4 set. The sockets are pretty much identical but the older ratchet is 10 times nicer than the new one straight out of the box.

 

[kartracer55]

I'd say skip the sockets, and heres why...


A long time ago, Husky Tools sold at home Depot were made in the USA, then, they decided to sell everything as cheap as possible and damn near every husky tool is from china now (with the exception of US made screwdrivers). Its been said that lowes' long term goals are similar, and its very easy to see how quickly the tools at lowes are being shifted from US made to imported. Break a tool later down the road and you may very well get an imported replacement. Just a thought.

On another note, if the ratchets break and they no longer mkae kobalts in the US, you can always just buy a craftsman and use the guts....

 

[davestlouis]

My local Lowe's stores all have the long 3/8 ratchet in the round handle, the other ratchets are all the square Armstrong-style handle. The square-handle ratchets I bought used feel OK, nothing special, but I feel comfortable using them.

My suggestion would be get Craftsman Thin Profile...they go on sale as a 3-pack all the time and they are really nice.

 

[Elroy]

On another note, if the ratchets break and they no longer mkae kobalts in the US, you can always just buy a craftsman and use the guts....

That's good advise up to a point. You see, Elroy was at the local Sears just the other night and inquired about "ratchet repair kits". The associate stated that they no longer carried just the "kits". When Elroy asked what he was supposed to do about a broken ratchet, the Sears guy said "bring it in and I'll give you a new ratchet".

So what do you do? Try and exchange a Kobalt at Sears??

It just gets worse from here.

 

[davestlouis]

Wow, my local Sears Hardware store has goo-gobs of rebuild kits. Thursday afternoon is when they do the rebuilds, but in my case I just bring in the bad guts and they give me good guts and send me on my way. They even stock the gut kits for the fine-tooth Easco-style ratchets.

 

[davestlouis]

MY local Lowe's stores carry so few hand tools that they are of little use to me. I rarely even set foot in a Lowe's anymore unless my wife is buying flowers and potting soil and I get to go along to load it all in the Jeep.