I am an occasional poster here, and I haven't kept up, apologies in advance.
I see that even Sears long-time suppliers are bailing on them now, and I know that their tools have changed a lot in the last 5 years too, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the cheaper.
I still have a fond spot for them, I spent my first post-college paycheck buying a toolbox and enough metric tools to work on bicycles (and I still have that box, and I've fixed and built lots of bikes). Along the way it's always been my go-to spot for new hand tools, but obviously that's coming to an end real soon.
It used to be that Sears sort of lived in this sweet spot. The pro-tool "truck brands" lived above them: Snap-On, Mac, Matco and a few less known or archaic brands.
Then there was Sears.
And then there were other department stores and Ace hardware and some auto-parts stores. For a few items they had well known brands, like Stanley or Vice Grip, but the wrenches tended to be a bit obscure.
Obviously Home Depot and Lowes with their house brands seem like they are seeking to replace Sears in that sweet spot of good quality retail tools, not sold off trucks.
I've tried to keep track of them but it seems they change a lot. I bought a few wrenches a couple years ago at Home Depot, branded Husky, went back to get some others and they were no longer carrying the whole line. The last time I went all most all the wrenches in sets were an industrial black finish.
So, what is the new Go-To for people when they want to buy some basic tools, which I am in the habit of giving for Christmas to people. Husky, Cobalt, some other stuff I don't know? Harbor Freight no names?
I see that even Sears long-time suppliers are bailing on them now, and I know that their tools have changed a lot in the last 5 years too, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the cheaper.
I still have a fond spot for them, I spent my first post-college paycheck buying a toolbox and enough metric tools to work on bicycles (and I still have that box, and I've fixed and built lots of bikes). Along the way it's always been my go-to spot for new hand tools, but obviously that's coming to an end real soon.
It used to be that Sears sort of lived in this sweet spot. The pro-tool "truck brands" lived above them: Snap-On, Mac, Matco and a few less known or archaic brands.
Then there was Sears.
And then there were other department stores and Ace hardware and some auto-parts stores. For a few items they had well known brands, like Stanley or Vice Grip, but the wrenches tended to be a bit obscure.
Obviously Home Depot and Lowes with their house brands seem like they are seeking to replace Sears in that sweet spot of good quality retail tools, not sold off trucks.
I've tried to keep track of them but it seems they change a lot. I bought a few wrenches a couple years ago at Home Depot, branded Husky, went back to get some others and they were no longer carrying the whole line. The last time I went all most all the wrenches in sets were an industrial black finish.
So, what is the new Go-To for people when they want to buy some basic tools, which I am in the habit of giving for Christmas to people. Husky, Cobalt, some other stuff I don't know? Harbor Freight no names?
