Lowe’s not stocking Craftsman?
- Thread starter Jtels85
- Start date
I don’t mind the new 72 tooth pear head Craftsman ratchets. Low profile head, smooth action, not a lot of back drag. Overall, not a bad ratchet. The 120 tooth Gunmetal ratchet feel nice in the hand, but the heads are huge and I don’t know how I feel about the non-serviceable aspect.
For someone like me who works on stuff around the house, Craftsman does what I need it to do. I have my hodgepodge of SK and Tekton mixed in, but Craftsman will have have a place in my toolbox.
Not that long ago Sears had these premium ratchets that were USA made. Then I looked at this review and realized this was almost 10 years ago.
https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-premium-ratchet-review/
https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-premium-ratchet-review/
I feel the same, I don't really like the gunmetal ones but the pear low profile quick release are nice.
Not that long ago Sears had these premium ratchets that were USA made. Then I looked at this review and realized this was almost 10 years ago.
https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-premium-ratchet-review/
They kinda copied the design for their chinese Ultimate Collection ones
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Rick B.
Well-known member
The only Kobalt tools I have are a tire fill/pressure gauge (2nd one) which doesn't measure accurately and a set of pliers with big think rubber grips which I hate. I'll take Craftsman tools any day. Just about all my Craftsman tools are 70's-80's vintage and I doubt I'll need to replace any of them.
Nineeightyone
Well-known member
I've got a similar issue with the tire fill/pressure gauge, seems mine is nearly 10PSI off. I've since bought a Slime branded one that goes up to ~65PSI (I believe?) that measures far more accurately when checked against others.
With that said, I'm a big fan of the Taiwan Kobalt ratchets/sockets. I don't trust the India CoO wrenches they've been stocking lately. For the money, the Tekton ones are a much better buy, and within about $5 of the Kobalt ones. I've got a Taiwan-made 72-tooth Kobalt ratchet that's been good to me for over a decade, and more recently picked up a 90-tooth to try out, alongside the Tekton 90-tooth. The Tekton is by far the best of the three, but none of them are what I would consider awful.
It'd be nice to see Kobalt products improve, one would imagine that it wouldn't be too difficult to have the same supplier Tekton is using for the Taiwanese tools produce them for Kobalt.
As a whole, I'd own more Tekton if it were available in a retail location close to me (central PA), but as my options are limited and I like to be able to hold tools ahead of purchasing them, I've been buying Kobalt and HF for quite a while and not been terribly disappointed for the most part.
The new Craftsman corded power tools are awful. I looked at their top of the line circular saw and it was easily the worst saw in the store. You had to force it to zero bevel and lock it flat quick before it went out of line. No measurement markings, poor magnesium casting and just felt and looked like a toy. They also had a table saw set up. Maximum 12 inch rip capacity and the push bar was like fisher price plastic. The Kobalt next to it was built like a serious table saw for nearly the same price. I have a 15 amp magnesium circular saw from Sears I picked over the DeWalt they had because the Craftsman actually felt like the better quality saw and it was a standard model. You couldn't give me the new Craftsman saw. I'm not understanding how they go from having Industrial & Professional corded options to this. Their top of the line jig saw doesn't even offer a guard plate for the base to keep surfaces from getting scratched.
The V20 line doesn't even compare to the Kobalt stuff. Kobalt has a 24v 7 1/4 miter saw that's brushless, sliding and dual bevel. It's probably nicer than anything out there in the 7 1/4 line right now. The Kobalt brushless circular saw felt nicer than a DeWalt. And the V20 impact wrenches are the worst. Given Craftsman was a pretty good name in the automotive world you'd think SBD would have done something great here. For close to the same money you can buy a Milwaukee impact or literally anything better. This is a problem for Lowe's. SBD has to dumb down Craftsman to protect DeWalt (and Mac). Yet Lowe's needs to compete against HD and Menards house brands. Rigid and Masterforce both have excellent brushless lines. Lowe's can't compete using Craftsman. I can see why they're shifting their focus back to Kobalt. They have to.
Our Lowe's is a great store now. Friendly staff and stocked well. I have no interest in Kobalt hand tools. Never owned one and never will. I'll buy USA Craftsman or just buy SK. If I'm going with China or Taiwan tools I'm going to WalMart and just buying the Stanley tools for cheap. And as good as the Kobalt 24v line is getting I'd rather just stick with a big name that I know will be around for a long time. I figured I was safe with V20 as Stanley paid so much for it I assume it's not going anywhere. I did however think it would be better than what it's turned out to be. Kind of sad really.
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SK-Mike
Well-known member
For a store brand tool, that you can just walk in purchase/exchange, & has good overall quality, it’s hard to beat the NAPA Carlyle IMO.
The problem with NAPA/Carlyle, at least around here... they never have in-stock what I’m looking for. So if it’s a tool I need that day, I have to wait a full day for them to order and receive it. The stores near me act like you’re bothering them and treat walk-in customers as if they’re all thieves. Napa makes it a hassle to buy their tools. I don’t have the time or patience to deal with them. With all of the other options out there, I’m glad I don’t have to deal with them.