Retail Tool Stores

[nikonica]

Sears not being quite what it once was, even 10 years ago, I was pondering how best to spend my hard-earned money on tools. One can find some cool stuff on eBay, and I've gotten some great deals on Proto and Armstrong tools when MSC has their 35% off sales. But I really prefer to support my local brick and mortar tool houses. It's nice to be able to pick up and hold a tool before buying. What brick and mortar stores are left that you like to shop at?

I live in Seattle, and here are some of the places I like:

-Greenshield's Industrial Supply in Everett - has _tons_ of Proto stuff, in stock and available for browsing
-Tool Town - a chain of stores, but the only one I am familiar with is the one in Kirkland. He carries S-K, Urrea, and a huge mix of other stuff including a great selection of Lisle, K-D, Bondhus, Channelock, Irwin, cheap imports, power tools, taps & dies, and plenty of NOS stuff. Been going here since I was a kid.
-L.G. Isaacson in Longview - far from home for me, but I travel a lot within Washington state for work, and I always like to visit Isaacson's when I'm in Longview. Lots of Proto stuff on display in the main showroom.
-Tacoma Screw Products - another chain. I've been to their stores in Ballard, Kirkland, Yakima, and Pasco, and they tend to have great tools as well, including Proto, Allen, Xcelite, Bondhus, etc. And of course, they have hardware of all kinds available and in stock.
-Hardwick's in the University District - a tiny little mom & pop place. I haven't been inside in years, but they had an amazing selection of oddball tools & NOS stuff, things that you probably never will find anywhere else.

I was having fun thinking about this, and wanted to share with y'all.

Cheers,

nikonica

 

[Davefr]

I live in Seattle, and here are some of the places I like ....

Seattle used to have the best tool store in the world. It was called the tool room at the Boeing Surplus Store. I hear it's gone.

There was also McLendons in Renton that was one of the best H/W stores on the west coast.

Unfortunately I can't think of any B&M tools stores left that carry the good stuff. It's either Amazon, MSC or McMaster online.

 

[Rnz520]

Here in VA we have Hanover tool company in Ashland that stocks a LOT of stuff.

 

[Scout Driver]

In northeastern South Dakota....

Menard's sells Allen , Mastercraft and a few Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches. Menard's has the occasional "Bag Sale" that lets you get a certain percentage off all the items you can jam into a bag.

Tool Crib in Fargo ND started selling Wright. They also stock some Craftsman. LOTS of high quality power tools in stock.

Mac's Hardware sells GRIP tools. Some of the GRIP tools are actually pretty decent and are low priced. Some of them are best avoided.

Northern Tool in Fargo ND. Sells the Northern branded tools. They don't look like bad tools for the price. No actual experience with them though. Northern does sell quite a bit of "name brand" items like Torin jacks etc. Pretty good overall.

Harbor Freight in Fargo ND. Entire threads are devoted or have been side-tracked onto HF. To sum it up... some stuff is good, some is bad.

Scott

 

[american lockpicker]

If your disappointed in Sears avoid Harbor Freight.

 

[sk farmer]

In northeastern South Dakota....

Menard's sells Allen , Mastercraft and a few Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches. Menard's has the occasional "Bag Sale" that lets you get a certain percentage off all the items you can jam into a bag.

Tool Crib in Fargo ND started selling Wright. They also stock some Craftsman. LOTS of high quality power tools in stock.

Mac's Hardware sells GRIP tools. Some of the GRIP tools are actually pretty decent and are low priced. Some of them are best avoided.

Northern Tool in Fargo ND. Sells the Northern branded tools. They don't look like bad tools for the price. No actual experience with them though. Northern does sell quite a bit of "name brand" items like Torin jacks etc. Pretty good overall.

Harbor Freight in Fargo ND. Entire threads are devoted or have been side-tracked onto HF. To sum it up... some stuff is good, some is bad.

Scott

hey scott, just up the road from you. west of wahpeton a few miles. i get to sisseton a few times a year. what's up with your list? no good tools in pamida or alco. i rememember that store downtown that had good tools, clothes, guns, you name it. can't remember the name of it off hand. the building is still there with the name on it.

 

[nikonica]

^^
Yeah, Harbor Freight opened a store nearby about two years ago. In fact, it's just down the street from my nearest Sears. I don't shop there. While it's fascinating to browse around in there, I prefer USA-made industrial tools, and most of my chrome is Wright and Proto, with a few Williams and S-K items as well.

 

[mooman]

Here in Chicago, we have Berlands House of tools. Prices are nuts though.

 

[Scout Driver]

SK Farmer, greetings from a South Dakota farm kid. The store in Sisseton that you bring up is Stavig's. Dept. Store. Unfortunately they closed doors about a dozen years ago. Miss having them there. Everything they sold was good quality. Now if I really need to shop, I go to Fargo/Moorehead. As far as Alco or Pamida tools?

Scott

 

[crewchief888]

Here in Chicago, we have Berlands House of tools. Prices are nuts though.

wheres berlands at? that the place out @ I-80 & briggs?

i cant remember the name of the place at 43rd & harlem

 

[Merkava_4]

Sadly, a lot of guys don't know how to use the phone book. You can get a lot of great tools by looking under:

C - for contractor supplies

E - for electrical supplies

I - for industrial supplies

P - for plumbing supplies

 

[geko29]

wheres berlands at? that the place out @ I-80 & briggs?

It's in Lombard on Finley Avenue, about a mile north of Butterfield (IL 56). I used to order my Wiha screwdrivers from there, as they were the only local place that could/would get the ESD-safe ones.

 

[TJ1200c]

wheres berlands at? that the place out @ I-80 & briggs?

i cant remember the name of the place at 43rd & harlem

There are 3 berlands that I know of in the chicago area. One in Joliet, Lombard and Palatine.

 

[trythis]

Harry J Epstein's in Kansas City! http://www.harryepstein.com/
Strasser Hardware in KC has got to be one of the best hardware stores in the country. though, the tools are going more and more el cheapo http://www.strasser-hardware.com/

I haven't found anything worth a damn in St Louis. Although we do have a sears tool and hardware store. Its not a department store, its just tools and appliances. Its pretty nice.

 

[54FordPanel]

Denver has Tool King.
http://www.toolking.com/

Now it's kind of a upgraded Harbor Freight. That's where I bought my first compressor (a Sanborn) my first Viking dual piston straight line sander, my first Detroit DA, etc. You could pick between cheap Chinese and well made American stuff back then. Now, you don't have much of a choice, because everybody picked the cheap Chinese stuff and put the American companies out of business.

 

[rhastings80]

Check out Tool Depot in Sioux Falls:

2715 East 10th Street, Sioux Falls, SD‎ - (605) 334-9700‎

They have Wright/Klien/Xcelite/stiletto hammers

Very nice stuff but retail prices.

http://www.tooldepot247.com

In northeastern South Dakota....

Menard's sells Allen , Mastercraft and a few Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches. Menard's has the occasional "Bag Sale" that lets you get a certain percentage off all the items you can jam into a bag.

Tool Crib in Fargo ND started selling Wright. They also stock some Craftsman. LOTS of high quality power tools in stock.

Mac's Hardware sells GRIP tools. Some of the GRIP tools are actually pretty decent and are low priced. Some of them are best avoided.

Northern Tool in Fargo ND. Sells the Northern branded tools. They don't look like bad tools for the price. No actual experience with them though. Northern does sell quite a bit of "name brand" items like Torin jacks etc. Pretty good overall.

Harbor Freight in Fargo ND. Entire threads are devoted or have been side-tracked onto HF. To sum it up... some stuff is good, some is bad.

Scott

 

[Scout Driver]

Thanks for the heads-up rhastings80. I will check it out next time I am in town.

Scott

 

[MotoDave]

I'm lucky, I have an awesome retail tool store a few miles from my house:

http://www.brtool.com/

They have pretty much the whole like of Proto hand tools in stock, and are now my first stop whenever I need an odd sized socket.

They also have Bosch and Milwaukee power tools, and all sorts of consumables like grinding wheels, etc.

Plus it feels good to support a local guy trying to make a living who has to compete with the big box stores down the road.

 

[mooman]

wheres berlands at? that the place out @ I-80 & briggs?

i cant remember the name of the place at 43rd & harlem

They have three locations.
Palentine, Lombard and Joilet. The one off of 80 is the Joliet store, right by the racetrack.
http://www.berlands.com

 

[superautobacs]

Nikonica,

Thanks for posting those stores up. Next time I drive down south through WA, I'll try to swing by one or more of those stores.

 

[FNFS2000]

Best thing if you want to buy from non internet is small, non franchised stores. They have tools not produced for big box distribution, and will often have higher quality brands anyways.

 

[KEH]

Spartanburg, SC has Mack Fulbright's. They stock SK, Proto,Wright, Klein, Mayhew, and Electric and air tools. Really good people. Do many mechanics use Wright? Judging by the used tools for sale in pawnshops Wright is big locally in impact sockets. Again judging by pawnshop used tools, Craftsman must be selling a LOT of tools.

KEH

 

[T56 Impala]

Here in Chicago, we have Berlands House of tools. Prices are nuts though.

I had almost forgotten about this place! I went in there to buy a replacement knob for my Router. I was absolutely amazed with the stuff they had. If you are ever in the Downers Grover area, this is a great place to take a look around. Its off of Finely IIRC.

Posted before I read the whole thread! Sorry.

I seem to remember a used tool store somewhere around Rockford too. I can't remember the name of the place right now. Kind of a pawn shop feel, but only tools. I'll think of it at some point.

 

[skeletonizer]

West Branch, MI

Rated 1=bad through 10=good, for stock and quality.

With a big major city Harbor freight being a 10 for stock and 1 for quality and a nearly empty Snap-on truck of 15 years ago being a 1 for stock and 10 for quality as the relative guide.

Stock & Quality
Napa 7 & 6
Auto Zone 6 & 3
Auto Value 5 & 5
Tractor Supply 6 & 3
Sears dealership 4 & 4
Home Depot 5 & 4
Ace Hardware 7 & 4
Wal-Mart 4 & 2
K-Mart 2 & 3


The Auto Value was a pretty good stocking dealer of S-K but we all know where that has been headed recently.

 

[BigK600]

In northeastern South Dakota....

Menard's sells Allen , Mastercraft and a few Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches. Menard's has the occasional "Bag Sale" that lets you get a certain percentage off all the items you can jam into a bag.

Tool Crib in Fargo ND started selling Wright. They also stock some Craftsman. LOTS of high quality power tools in stock.

Mac's Hardware sells GRIP tools. Some of the GRIP tools are actually pretty decent and are low priced. Some of them are best avoided.

Northern Tool in Fargo ND. Sells the Northern branded tools. They don't look like bad tools for the price. No actual experience with them though. Northern does sell quite a bit of "name brand" items like Torin jacks etc. Pretty good overall.

Harbor Freight in Fargo ND. Entire threads are devoted or have been side-tracked onto HF. To sum it up... some stuff is good, some is bad.

Scott

Hey I live near Fargo and go to these stores all the time.

Menards is OK, Allen tools is just rebagged craftsman, sometimes cheaper than Sears, sometimes not. I like there Gearwrench section however it could be expaned.

Macs Hardware kinda *****, its pretty much rebagged Harbor Freight and more expensive. However Macs does get some unsual stuff in once and awhile. Such as SK x-beam pilers and a really nice 72" Tactixs tools box that I've ever seen before.

Northern Tool has gotten alot better, pretty good stuff for the price, but some stuff it way out of line for price.

Harbor Freight is Harbor Freight.

Tool Crib's selection ***** for mechanics tools. But they do have some SK and Wright, Wright stuff looks nice.

One place that is pretty nice is L & M fleet supply in Detirot Lakes they have the biggest selection of SK stuff I've ever seen and Master Mechanic is the cheaper line.

Still the best place to shop in Fargo for tools IMO is Sears, best price, quality and selection.

Another place I just thought of is Titan Machinery has alot of Case IH wrenchs, sockets and ratchets that are rebagged Blue-Point.

 

[Aberdale]

It's been a while since I've been in a Sears. My Cman set is over 20 years old and still going strong so I haven't really needed to add to my collection. With all of the Sears bashing on this site, I decided to check it out for myself a few months ago to see how bad my local Sears had become.

Actually I was impressed. The store was clean, was well stocked, and I had two associates that were knowledgeable and willing to help me. I ended up buying several hundred dollars of polished ratcheting wrenches and the new low profile ratchets. (on sale). I realize that Sears is Sears, and not all stores are alike. But I thought it might be useful to share my recent experience.

Dale

 

[boiler7904]

wheres berlands at? that the place out @ I-80 & briggs?

i cant remember the name of the place at 43rd & harlem

I-80 and Briggs St is the Joliet branch of Berland's. They reorganized the store a few months ago and started stocking items from the Rockler Woodworking catalog.

Don't know about the place at 43rd and Harlem

 

[boiler7904]

For anyone in or going to the twin cities, 7 Corners Hardware in St. Paul is a must see. Narrow aisles, multiple buildings, and multiple floors - it's a tool guys dream come true. Well stocked local hardware and tool store that you can also shop online. I was in Minneapolis on another project last fall and had a chance to head over there for an hour - wish I had more time and was driving instead of flying.

I'm in Omaha for work for the next few months so I'm thinking a roadtrip some Saturday to Harry Epstien's in KC is in order once the weather breaks.

Anyone know of any local tool stores in Omaha that are good places to get lost in for a couple of hours?

And yes I have my truck this trip - no flying except every few weeks when I get a couple of days at home.