The only thing I dislike about my Proto set are the square shanks on some of the screwdrivers. They make them look cheap, sorta like a Craftsman set. I prefer the round shanks with bolsters like the MAC’s have.
They didn’t even give the DeWalt’s a fair chance. That’s highly disappointing. DeWalt is a more of a well known brand than Proto. I’d imagine they could have sold the hell out of these things. They shot themselves in the foot on that one, IMHO.
Stanley Black & Decker owns Proto, DeWalt, and Mac (which I'm guessing you knew). What's the point in having the same screwdriver marketed under 3 different brand names, when the money all goes back to the same pocket?
I guess this is all personal preference, but I'm personally not happy that SB&D has been using the DeWalt name to sell their big box store level hand tools. Those screwdrivers you linked are a "premium" Made in US offering, and that's why I think they are marketing them only under the Proto and MAC names now (premium industrial tools and premium auto mechanic branding).
If you look at the DeWalt branded hand tools in Home Depot or any big box store, you can see they are almost all lower end imported tools. The target audience going into HD for screwdrivers is far different than the tool snobs of GJ - they probably aren't going to use them much, want something cheap, and I'm guessing they've realized people will grab a brand they recognize like DeWalt, even if they're known for power tools.
I'm not sure why they branded these screwdrivers DeWalt in the first place, but it seems clear they are trying to keep 'tiers' between their brands. In an idealistic world they could only sell high quality tools, but of course sales these days tend 95% towards low cost over high quality.
