Kobalt USA?

[Lobo74]

Found a small Kobalt socket set at Lowes online that was USA made. Then I saw a place called Cripe Distr. on a thread here. They have Kobalt tools made in the USA and they're pretty cheap. I didn't think Kobalt made anything in the USA. Is this old stock? Or do they still have a USA line of tools? Or might the ones at Cripes be used?

 

[bobcatdan]

Old stock. When the kobalt line was launched, it was made by Williams. Production was then switch to danher, so it was basically the same as USA craftsman. Production then switch overseas maybe 5 years ago, not 100% on exact date.

 

[rsanter]

Yup, as far as I know it would all be the old better stuff

Bob

 

[arjun90]

Get them before its gone, haha. How are the prices?

 

[HanShotFirst]

The Taiwan made Kobalt is pretty good stuff. I think the ratchets are better than the Danher made ones.

 

[AmishFury]

The Taiwan made Kobalt is pretty good stuff. I think the ratchets are better than the Danher made ones.

that's not difficult... the danaher kobalts were a weird combination of a cman RP mechanism and an armstrongish handle

 

[AceofSpad3s]

that's not difficult... the danaher kobalts were a weird combination of a cman RP mechanism and an armstrongish handle

Yep, pretty much anything can beat those or the rp's for being better ratchets. With the exception of one napa rat with rp guts in it, actually pretty nice considering it's lineage.

 

[woody 73]

OP if you can still find the USA made kobalt pick them up ASAP.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I have a few of the most recent kobalt USA sockets, got them on clearance. The chrome peeling is getting really bad on the more used sockets, I'm going to have to replace them soon.

IMHO they are not worth seeking out, at least the chrome sockets. The few wrenches I have are fine but they are all in odd sizes that only see occasional use.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Also cripes are great people to deal with, they always have excellent deals on old stock, and it is all new

 

[Lobo74]

Get them before its gone, haha. How are the prices?

The prices seem pretty low that's why I thought them may have been used. $11.00 for a 1/2 inch drive Kobalt ratchet as an example.

 

[hangfirew8]

Williams USA Kobalt, grab it!

Danaher USA Kobalt, pass.

-HF

 

[woody 73]

Williams USA Kobalt, grab it!

Danaher USA Kobalt, pass.

-HF

 

[Lobo74]

Just put some items in the cart to check shipping and it seems a little steep to me. $11.00 ratchet is that much to ship for reg ground. Added a small kolbalt tool set with 3/8 and 1/4 ratchet a few sockets and 5 wrenches. Double the ground shipping to 22 and change. That just seems a bit much to me.

 

[kunkernator]

Williams USA Kobalt, grab it!

Danaher USA Kobalt, pass.

-HF

I have a few impact sets I picked up on the cheap, they are essentially Snap On. Best sockets for the best price.

 

[hangfirew8]

Just put some items in the cart to check shipping and it seems a little steep to me. $11.00 ratchet is that much to ship for reg ground. Added a small kolbalt tool set with 3/8 and 1/4 ratchet a few sockets and 5 wrenches. Double the ground shipping to 22 and change. That just seems a bit much to me.

Ask for combined shipping. I do it all the time on cripes ebay site. They always come thru with a good s&h deal.

-HF

 

[Lobo74]

Ask for combined shipping. I do it all the time on cripes ebay site. They always come thru with a good s&h deal.

-HF

Thanks.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

At the top of your eBay cart, it will say "Request Total From Seller". Commit to buy and include a message asking for actual shipping cost. They'll get back to you ASAP with the actual shipping cost (USPS Flat Rate). I've had almost $50 in shipping drop to around $11 because they could cram it all into a Medium Flat Rate box.

Cripe has a mix of Williams and Danaher era USA Kobalt. The Danaher stuff is re-branded Armstrong from the same era (also re-branded as KD, Allen, Craftsman, NAPA, etc). It's actually really good stuff (although the RP ratchets are as terrible as their Craftsman counterparts).

It cost about $45 for a full set of Metric Kobalt USA wrenches up to 24mm. Mixed in a 6mm Armstrong that is the same, and built a full SAE set with a KD 11/16 wrench that matches the rest.

 

[erty67]

I have a bunch of KD and Kobalt USA wrenches from cripe. The two are almost identical. They blend in nicely with all my craftsman stuff. The ratchets are the crappy sister to craftsman RP ratchets.

 

[arjun90]

How are the Kobalts sold at lowes?

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk

 

[HanShotFirst]

I picked up a full set of metric and SAE wrenches for my portable too box. They're full polish and aesthetically they're very nice looking wrenches. Length wise they compare to my old Craftsman raised panel, perhaps a touch longer. For overall fit and feel, they're very good and I haven't rounded off anything. I rate them as some of the best import wrenches out there. Considering the quality and the fact that I paid under $40.00 for both SAE and metric, they're a damn good value.

Most of my portable wrenching is on motorcycles so I don't know if I've ever used the SAE's. On the metric side there was one missing and right at this moment I can't recall which one it was. But since I seem to have some strange curse where 10mm combination wrenches are concerned, I know I put an extra 10 in there.

 

[LordPsychon]

Most of the Taiwanese Kobalt is good stuff and much of the Chinese Kobalt for mechanics is decent stuff - their pliers are generally junk (rust when you look at them funny) though.

 

[Bierisch]

Most of the Taiwanese Kobalt is good stuff and much of the Chinese Kobalt for mechanics is decent stuff - their pliers are generally junk (rust when you look at them funny) though.

I have a full set of China Kobalt pliers and I haven't had any rust start yet, but I am missing some teeth on the linemans pliers that came with the set....

 

[asm154]

In case anyone is looking,

I ordered several Williams Kobalt NOS sockets from this store on EBay:

They have all been flawless. Looked as good as NNS.

http://m.ebay.com/sch/i.html?isRefine=true&sid=centurysalesstore

 

[prine]

How do you know if it's:
Williams USA Kobalt?
or
Danaher USA Kobalt?
I found an old set in my garage but the markings are small and un clear?

 

[Fedwrench]

How do you know if it's:
Williams USA Kobalt?
or
Danaher USA Kobalt?
I found an old set in my garage but the markings are small and un clear?

The Danaher made Kobalt sockets look just like Craftsman sockets of that time period.
Whereas, the williams made Kobalt is beefier and has better size/brand markings.

 

[Lesserstore]

How do you know if it's:
Williams USA Kobalt?
or
Danaher USA Kobalt?
I found an old set in my garage but the markings are small and un clear?

A second way to tell is by model number. Danaher starts with 2 followed by 4 digits, Williams starts with 0 followed by 4 digits.

 

[prine]

A second way to tell is by model number. Danaher starts with 2 followed by 4 digits, Williams starts with 0 followed by 4 digits.

Thanks for the clarification, all the numbers start with 0, and does look like a nicer set. Originally a 39 piece shallow socket 6pt set with a few 1/4" ASE deeps. A few of the ASE's are missing along with the extension. But ratchet is intact, set is incased in a plastic blow mold.

The only thing that looks really odd to me is the ratchet switch looks very cheap and out of place.

 

[Fedwrench]

Thanks for the clarification, all the numbers start with 0, and does look like a nicer set. Originally a 39 piece shallow socket 6pt set with a few 1/4" ASE deeps. A few of the ASE's are missing along with the extension. But ratchet is intact, set is incased in a plastic blow mold.

The only thing that looks really odd to me is the ratchet switch looks very cheap and out of place.

does the ratchet look like this one?
https://www.toolsdelivered.com/williams-31011-3.8-inch-drive-7-3.4-inch-ratcheting-60t

 

[mikebaker1129]

How do you know if it's:
Williams USA Kobalt?
or
Danaher USA Kobalt?
I found an old set in my garage but the markings are small and un clear?

You selling it ?
I am interested if you are.

 

[prine]

The rare 10mm, 3/8" is intact. But looks like a few of the 1/4" mm have some fill in's.

 

[Fedwrench]

The rare 10mm, 3/8" is intact. But looks like a few of the 1/4" mm have some fill in's.

Old School Williams made Kobalt. Not in Kenosha though. Back then, there was a Williams plant in Columbus, Georgia cranking out those Kobalt tools.

 

[prine]

Old School Williams made Kobalt. Not in Kenosha though. Back then, there was a Williams plant in Columbus, Georgia cranking out those Kobalt tools.

Not sure what that means? Kenosha > Columbus?

How do you even figure this stuff out?

 

[Fedwrench]

Not sure what that means? Kenosha > Columbus?

How do you even figure this stuff out?

It's a curse.

The modern conspiracy folks here will say that Williams tools roll off the exact same assembly line as snap on tools and therefore williams are exactly the same as snap on. I don't subscribe to this theory but, who knows.

I had/have old school kobalt and when new, the packaging read Columbus Georgia on it. Since I spent much of my youth attending various schools at Fort Beginning (Fort Benning) Georgia, which Columbus is right outside of, it's just something that I didn't forget despite the passing of a lot of time.

 

[prine]

It's a curse.

The modern conspiracy folks .....

That's some inside stuff! The only way it gets better is to find someone that worked at the tool making factories at that time to explain exactly what was going on. But doubtful to find them in a tool forum.

I guess the real question is what makes them less?

Hard for me to tell, as everything in this set looks very good with no flaking or imperfections. That being said I don't think it was used much. Last night I turned the ratchet on a few of the kids skateboard bolts just to see how it does. The only thing I really noticed is the, on off switch, was a bit stiff. Doubtful it would ever be bumped the wrong direction accidentally. (This is compared to my main Craftsman ratchet 44995)

 

[AJHD]

I'm assuming they are the Danaher variety, but I've got some of the old stock USA wrenches. My set is mostly Allen branded, but I've got a few Kobalt and KD branded as well. I bought the Allen set locally, I think 10mm-19mm, and found the rest on Cripe. I still need to pick up a 24mm, but Cripe has expensive shipping for small orders.

Anyway, no complaints with them. They remind me of the USA Craftsman because of the satin finish, but without the annoying (to me) raised panels.