Pittsburgh Pro now better than Craftsman sockets?

[iroc409]

This last week I tore apart an old ('51-52) truck for parts. I was out of town and used my junk yard tools, but wanted a better ratchet. So, not wanting to spend some money on stuff I might just lose, I picked up one of the 3/8" Pittsburgh composite ratchet. A lot of the stuff was pretty rusted and thought my 12-pt sockets might be detrimental, so I picked up a set of 6-pt deep chrome sockets and a 17" 3/8" breaker bar to go with.

I was impressed by the sockets' appearance. The chrome looked nice, fully covered. The sockets were well-formed with no defects that I could see. I tore that whole truck apart using those sockets on some very rusted fasteners (it wasn't a running, maintained truck--it was out of a junk yard). The sockets fit everything well, the composite ratchet body shows quite a bit of wear but it never skipped on some pretty froze up stuff. I thought I was going to break the breaker bar on some of the lug nuts, but it held up just fine. I do think I scratched a couple of the sockets through the chrome, so it might be a little thin.

Today I stopped by Sears, and I noticed that a lot of their chrome sockets were actually made in China now. One of the "set builder" kits with the thin profiles and I could see inside the sockets. They honestly looked piss poor. They were not shaped properly at all, and some looked like they wouldn't fit on the ratchet or the fastener (I saw a couple wrenches like that as well).

I don't get super hung up on COO (but try to buy USA when it is good quality), just because I buy a few things that are built well over seas--some Chinese-built power tools, German hand tools, etc. I've always liked the Craftsman name, but these honestly looked worse. I have enough sockets and stuff that I probably won't be buying much more, but until Craftsman starts getting their QC back up I will probably find something else.

Cool story and all that. I didn't think I would start one of these, but they were far worse than any of the Chinese-made wrenches and the like. They actually looked worse than my old Companion $30 tool set I kept in my Jeep several years ago.

 

[softailgarage]

Where do you think Pittsburg tools come from....(a little hint, it aint from Pittsburg)

 

[iroc409]

Where do you think Pittsburg tools come from....(a little hint, it aint from Pittsburg)

I fully understand that. I won't be replacing the stuff in my main box at home with them, and that's mostly Craftsman (and Channellock, Snap-On, Wiha, Knipex, etc). Craftsman and HF both have most of their stuff in China now, and HF appears to be putting out a nicer product.

 

[rusty65]

I had a Pittsburg 12 point socket set and the 7/8 socket rounded out and destroyed the lug nut on the car I was rotating tires on. I bought the set for the reason to test it out but as you can probably tell they didn't work to well for me.

 

[iroc409]

I had a Pittsburg 12 point socket set and the 7/8 socket rounded out and destroyed the lug nut on the car I was rotating tires on. I bought the set for the reason to test it out but as you can probably tell they didn't work to well for me.

They have a TON of stuff that is still total ****, but it appears they have a few gems.

I looked at some of their cheap wrenches, and I wouldn't buy them even for my junk yard set.

 

[CWP1616L]

The Pittsburgh Pro sockets are good, but the HF pliers and screwdrivers are still junk.

 

[SiGmA_X]

I am definitely not a fan of Craftsman sockets. I have a complete set (4 I suppose) of 1/4 and 3/8 shallow and deep, and use to have 1/2 but someone broke into my old garage and stole 7/8 of them (forgot 2 that were in use on cars and not on the rail..ha..thankfully the whole rail of 3/8 was all over the garage so they couldn't steal them easily!). I have Ingersoll Rand impacts and SnapOn ratchets, and the freaking 3/8" Craftsman sockets get stuck on them all the time!! It drives me insane. These are laser etched USA made sockets that were purchased in fall 2005.

At my old shop, before getting disabled, I used my bosses SnapOn sockets daily. With my SnapOn ratchets and IR impact. Never ever once did they get stuck. And, my co-shop-mate has a set of HF 3/8" sockets and they never get stuck on the drives of my IR or SO stuff! Grr. Quality control is not something Sears has been doing for a long time now...

 

[bseant]

some pittsburgh stuff is made in taiwan and not china.

 

[DrivewayDave]

The Pittsburgh Pro line is made in Taiwan, China & the Pittsburgh line is made in somewhere else in China I understand. Taiwan puts out a better product IMHO. Cheers.

 

[FriendOfYours]

Been using 6pt Pros for the last two years 7 days a week, haven't broke one yet

 

[monster1]

Been using 6pt Pros for the last two years 7 days a week, haven't broke one yet

Did you buy those in a box set or just the individual socket sets? I've looked at my hf and all I find are the color coded sets in 12 point. At least in just 1/4" drive.

 

[d.mcfarland]

EPA is only putting American manufacturers at a disadvantage. SK chrome is nice though.

I won't use Chinese tools but I'll consider Taiwanese because of the higher quality.

 

[03protege]

I have Ingersoll Rand impacts and SnapOn ratchets, and the freaking 3/8" Craftsman sockets get stuck on them all the time!! It drives me insane. These are laser etched USA made sockets that were purchased in fall 2005.

At my old shop, before getting disabled, I used my bosses SnapOn sockets daily. With my SnapOn ratchets and IR impact. Never ever once did they get stuck. And, my co-shop-mate has a set of HF 3/8" sockets and they never get stuck on the drives of my IR or SO stuff! Grr. Quality control is not something Sears has been doing for a long time now...

I wouldn't call that a quality control issue as long as it worked on a Craftsman ratchet. As far as I know there is no standard for the inside of a socket.

 

[03protege]

I'll take Gearwrench any day over Chinese Craftsman and Harbor freight hand tools.

 

[SMKS]

A lot of the newer HF tools sold under the "Pittsburgh Pro" brand are made in Taiwan, not China.

The majority of the sockets, ratchets and bits I've looked at recently are made in Taiwan and actually appear pretty good quality.

I have the Taiwanese Pittsburgh Pro impact sockets. They're Cro-mo and they've been working great for me.

 

[larryq]

I have the Taiwanese Pittsburgh Pro impact sockets. They're Cro-mo and they've been working great for me.

Agreed, the PP pro impact sockets are very nice for the money. HF's big problem right now is convincing (X) percent of the population that they actually have some good stuff, not all mainland China garbage. Still plenty of that, certainly, but the Taiwan impact sockets and the large tool chests are gold nuggets.

 

[absolutelybillsmood]

A lot of the Taiwanese Pittsburgh Pro stuff is decent but, the really cheap no name stuff they sell is still junk.

 

[allinon72]

If you're going to buy Chinese or Taiwan, you might as well buy it as cheap as possible

 

[Jsf721]

Pre the flood I had basically a full set of Craftsman Stuff USA, post the flood I purchased complete sets Pittsburgh Pro Deep and Shallow, metric and SAE in 1/2, 3/8 and 1/4 (Nothing worse than not having what you need-LOL.

I never broke a craftsman tool and to date never broke a Pittsburgh Pro tool. My living is not earned with my tools and honestly I don't work them too hard.

I loose them but that is another issue. Now that I have a 100% complete matched set, I will no longer loan tools (gotta keep saying that to myself) because people mess stuff up or dont return it and I forget to ask for it back.

 

[1982fxr]

I have some of the chrome hf sockets and they are junk...

 

[RocketTR]

The Pittsburgh Pro line is made in Taiwan, China & the Pittsburgh line is made in somewhere else in China I understand. Taiwan puts out a better product IMHO. Cheers.

I don't own any Pittsburgh toos, but they do have a lot in the boxes at work. Today I was looking at a set of Pittsburgh combination wrenches and they were made in India. Go figure.

 

[4x4gearhead]

I don't own any Pittsburgh toos, but they do have a lot in the boxes at work. Today I was looking at a set of Pittsburgh combination wrenches and they were made in India. Go figure.

You would also find that those India COO Pittsburgh wrenches will perform much worse than those made in china/taiwan -_-

 

[ATC]

If you're going to buy Chinese or Taiwan, you might as well buy it as cheap as possible

No. Just like with any tool, there can be some very big differences in quality from the same country. I will pick GearWrench over Pittsburg Pro stuff any day. Both from Taiwan.

Same with USA stuff. With your way of thinking, why the hell would you buy Snap-On when you can buy Craftsman?

 

[SMKS]

I have some of the chrome hf sockets and they are junk...

How old are they and what's the COO? In what way are they "junk"?

As noted in this thread, the better tools have been released recently and the better HF tools are usually made in Taiwan.

 

[fourtythree]

I picked up a set of pittsburgh pro deep sockets a few weeks back to keep as back ups. They are made in taiwan and have actually surprised me with how decent they are. I've found most of the made in taiwan HF hand tools to be pretty good.

 

[norry]

Where do you think Pittsburg tools come from....(a little hint, it aint from Pittsburg)

Drives me absolutely nuts. I wish they'd call them Beijing or Shanghai or something.

 

[air]

Blue Point Sockets are a good bargain...I personally think they are better than Craftsman...at least the newer Craftsman.


I hate the double detent deal on the Craftsman sockets, they are irritating.

 

[Vegaman_Dan]

I had a Pittsburg 12 point socket set and the 7/8 socket rounded out and destroyed the lug nut on the car I was rotating tires on. I bought the set for the reason to test it out but as you can probably tell they didn't work to well for me.

I'd say that was more due to using a 12 point socket for what was clearly a 6 point socket's job.

 

[oldtools]

Drives me absolutely nuts. I wish they'd call them Beijing or Shanghai or something.

You don't want to sell tools with names the customer can't pronounce.

 

[Farmall450]

I'd say that was more due to using a 12 point socket for what was clearly a 6 point socket's job.

+1

 

[1982fxr]

How old are they and what's the COO? In what way are they "junk"?

As noted in this thread, the better tools have been released recently and the better HF tools are usually made in Taiwan.

about a year old. The sockets are...just cheap--not much else I can say. Don't get me wrong, for $10 a set or whatever, they're good in a jam but they are about the chinciest sockets I've used. Not with them so i don't know coo.

The adapters I bought were useless. Didn't fit on ratchets and the sockets didn't want to go on them either.

hf does have some decent stuff, but imo these ain't it.

 

[NC-Fordguy]

about a year old. The sockets are...just cheap--not much else I can say. Don't get me wrong, for $10 a set or whatever, they're good in a jam but they are about the chinciest sockets I've used. Not with them so i don't know coo.

The adapters I bought were useless. Didn't fit on ratchets and the sockets didn't want to go on them either.

hf does have some decent stuff, but imo these ain't it.

I have to agree with this.

I try to keep inexpensive tools in my bronco for trail repair use. Since this rig has only a soft top half of the year and the other half of the year no top, it's just to easy to break into. For this reason I don't want to have lots of $ ******* in tools in the event they get stolen. I actually had a bunch of easco tools in it and they were stolen when I was deployed for Operation Desert Storm in a "secured" parking lot at Fort Bragg.

There are some HF stuff in my Bronco, and some of it are good buys. I trust the HF tools in my bronco for trail repair use, just not chrome sockets. To many failures for my liking for rough country use. YMMV

 

[thebeekeeper1]

As long as you stick with the Pittsburgh PRO line you will likely be happy. I'm just a weekend piddler, but I use them hard (old rusty farm equipment) when I do, and they have given me GREAT service. So far I haven't been able to break one.

 

[CWP1616L]

I hate the double detent deal on the Craftsman sockets, they are irritating.

What's sad is most guys won't know what you're talking about or even what a detent is.

 

[Brownsfan]

Drives me absolutely nuts. I wish they'd call them Beijing or Shanghai or something.

Being from Cleveland I'm ok with it. Now if they called them Cleveland tools I would be pissed. Crappy tools crappy city. Seems fitting to me. Just kidding around guys from PA. I actually think its kinda ****** that they are able to use city's name that's synonymous with steel and put it on tools that will bend and break when looked at wrong(I know some are ok but ask anyone who has used HF pliers or wrenches and they will agree). I think the bigger travesty is the cheap **** being passed off as Craftsman these days

 

[oldtools]

Being from Cleveland I'm ok with it. Now if they called them Cleveland tools I would be pissed. Crappy tools crappy city. Seems fitting to me. Just kidding around guys from PA. I actually think its kinda ****** that they are able to use city's name that's synonymous with steel and put it on tools that will bend and break when looked at wrong(I know some are ok but ask anyone who has used HF pliers or wrenches and they will agree). I think the bigger travesty is the cheap **** being passed off as Craftsman these days

American brands deserve American city name. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[ajchien]

about a year old. The sockets are...just cheap--not much else I can say. Don't get me wrong, for $10 a set or whatever, they're good in a jam but they are about the chinciest sockets I've used. Not with them so i don't know coo.

The adapters I bought were useless. Didn't fit on ratchets and the sockets didn't want to go on them either.

hf does have some decent stuff, but imo these ain't it.

Do you have a link to the ones you have? I'd be nice to know what exactly to avoid.

 

[Cryptic1911]

The Pittsburgh Pro (taiwan) sockets are actually pretty damn nice. They are nicer than the Chinese Craftsman stuff, and cheaper too. I don't have a lot of PPro sockets, only a few that I bought with the intent of abusing with an impact (couldn't get the impact socket that I needed), and it took it like a champ. I was very impressed for a $2 socket. I'd never do that normally, but that sold me right there

 

[DekeT]

EPA is only putting American manufacturers at a disadvantage. SK chrome is nice though.

I won't use Chinese tools but I'll consider Taiwanese because of the higher quality.

Do you want cheap tools or clean air to breathe?