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Stanley VS Craftsman

cookiemonster

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So I was in Walmart today and looked at the stanley ratchets they sell. I was wondering how would you guys rate the stanley ratchet vs the new craftsman raise panel ratchet?
 
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kythri

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Probably equivalent in quality at this point.

If they were the same price, and my only option, I'd probably go with Craftsman simply because of ease of warranty.
 

DodgeMech

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go to the Mac truck and buy the Stanley version for a shitton more...haha
 

Spudland_Dave

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I'd say the Stanley is a much nicer ratchet....much nicer finish, better ratchet mechanism overall, better price.

Warranty service edge goes to the CMan, but IMO, not too many ratchets available today **** more then the Raised Panel CMan..IMO its the worst ratchet produced....

Split the difference...Kobalt...easy warranty, few bucks more then Stanley, but beautiful ratchets for the money (Pratically free when buying them in sets)
 

cburnscrx

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I would say get the Craftsman. The Stanley ratchet has not done well in my opinion. I have have one sitting in my box that I need to return. That is the replacement of the original. I'll be on my 3rd one when I get it back. If you're looking for a cheap ratchet, get a Titan. They're great for the money! I've actually tried to kill mine, but it hasn't failed me yet.

I would consider a Kobalt, as the warranty is easier than the Stanley. I've had good luck with the warranty on the Stanley, but you might have to mail it in.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200309145_200309145
 

azcactus

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Feb 24, 2011
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245
I've got both. The Stanley 1/4 kind of bites. The 3/8 and 1/2 are pretty nice.

For local standard ratchets, I would say it goes Kobalt, Stanley and then the Craftsman raised panels. I don't have any Husky, Duralast or Titan ratchets... Just my opinion.
 

firebox40dash5

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Coming from someone who swore he'd never buy truck-brand tools... the first tools I bought after sockets, wrenches, and screwdrivers were a pair of 1/4" and 3/8" Snap-On flex ratchets. I swapped those for Matco 88s for the lower profile. You can get the Matcos cheaper as Armstrongs. $60+ sounds like a lot for a ratchet, but don't knock it til you try it, I take mine home when I need them now instead of using my "spare" Craftsmans.
 

toolstools

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Stanely ratchets Blow from Walmart. The professional series the send as the replacement is pretty good. If you get lucky enough they'll send you a socket set (8) with our new ratchet.
 

kunkernator

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My first ratchet was a Stanley that i bought in a set from Walmart. I love that ratchet. Other than ease of warranty, Stanley ratchets are excellent. Just an FYI, if you are debating buying Husky tools, dont, Stanley are the exact same and much cheaper.

Imo get the Stanley. Their sockets are great too (much longer lasting finish than my USA Craftsman).


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Brownsfan

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All things being equal? Like China Craftsman and China Stanley? I would get the Stanley. I would NEVER pay Craftsman prices for cheap china tools. If the Craftsman is USA get those. It really ***** that Sears is charging the same prices for chineese garbage tools. Hell at this point I would buy Harbor Freight before Craftsman china tools. At least the HF sockets and ratchets are Taiwan.
 

sberry

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I cant recall a single bad post about the Kobalt. They would be on my short list if it burned tonight and I had to get some tools to hit the street in the morning I would also seriously have to consider Walmart and that stuff. Warranty wouldn't be much of an issue.

The sockets look good and I have used several of the bit sets, last torx I bought was from there and very good along with a set of metric hex I needed in a pinch, thought maybe I would replace if i need to but never did.
 

cburnscrx

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Stanely ratchets Blow from Walmart. The professional series the send as the replacement is pretty good. If you get lucky enough they'll send you a socket set (8) with our new ratchet.

Sadly, mine IS the professional series. I've had good luck with about everything else from them, so I do truly wonder what the heck is going on.
 

dsimatt

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go to the Mac truck and buy the Stanley version for a shitton more...haha

No kidding, the old Mac guy had a big torx bit set on special for big bucks and all I could think was everything looked oh so cheap, I won't waste money on Mac.
 

Papa Cosmos

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I have a Stanley 3/8 short flex head. It is the second worst ratchet I have used ,only beaten by the Craftsman rp.

I have Husky and Kobalt ratchets also, both work good and reasonably priced.


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cburnscrx

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Coming from someone who swore he'd never buy truck-brand tools... the first tools I bought after sockets, wrenches, and screwdrivers were a pair of 1/4" and 3/8" Snap-On flex ratchets. I swapped those for Matco 88s for the lower profile. You can get the Matcos cheaper as Armstrongs. $60+ sounds like a lot for a ratchet, but don't knock it til you try it, I take mine home when I need them now instead of using my "spare" Craftsmans.

All prices are approximate...

Craftsman $16
Stanley $ 13
Titan $15
Armstrong $60

Why is it people recommend tools that are 3x the price of the intended budget? :dunno:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
 

firebox40dash5

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All prices are approximate...

Craftsman $16
Stanley $ 13
Titan $15
Armstrong $60

Why is it people recommend tools that are 3x the price of the intended budget? :dunno:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

One of these things isn't a piece of **** that you'll be swearing at every time you use it, either. :p It's just money, you can't take it with you. I'm not telling him to buy a socket set with sockets that each cost as much as a cheap set... they're ratchets, you need freakin' 3 of them. Buy good ones, and you can make do with 3 of them for life. Hell, I've bought most of my Matcos on ebay for $50 or less. Besides that, a locking flex ratchet can do everything a regular ratchet can. And it's longer. And it has a flex head.

I threw my Craftsman ratchets in my bottom drawer without ever using them. I swapped guts from the 3/8" into my boss' flex-head when he stripped the gear, and got a Chinese one to replace mine for warranty. I won't even let that one in my toolbox, for fear that its horrible quality will contaminate the rest of my tools. :lol:
 

Spudland_Dave

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Why is it people recommend tools that are 3x the price of the intended budget? :dunno:

LOL. thats why I didnt mention any of the tool truck brands...In terms of 3/8" drive which is my daily driver for lack of better terms, my SO GF936 is my go to, everyday use piece...got a FL80 on the way...If I like it, I may retire the GF936 and go with a F80. When the Kobalt sets come back on sale, I plan on getting one so I can have one of their 72 tooth ratchets for the time being...who knows, I may not get a F80 at all.
As for the MAC haters...you can feel however you want. Personally I love my MAC Guy, and the tools on his truck.
 

stricht8

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I have a set of Stanley Professional tools that I was given as a gift. The sockets and wrenches are of very high quality. The ratchets are truly junk. The set came in a large plastic case which says something like contractor series on the box. It came with three ratchets, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 inch drive. The 1/4 and 3/8 never worked from new. They jam up unless the selector is held in place. The 1/2 originally did the same but started working later. It's nothing special however. I took the other two apart to look for obvious defects but could find none. I lubed them and put them back together to no avail. I really cannot recommend Stanley ratchets based upon this experience. I would like to have the two non-working ones replaced. How do I go about going this?
 

07travis

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Watertown, SD
One of my first ratchet's was an "extendable" stanley flex head ratchet, 3/8" drive. Bought it at walmart about 8 years ago, and I still have it. I haven't been very nice to it either! I've had 2' cheater bars on it while it was extended all the way out, and she still works like a charm! I haven't ever counted the teeth in it, but I'm pretty sure it's got at least double what a Cman raised pannel has. I even have a tendancy to grab it before me snappy, when I know a bolt's tight :D
 

byoungblood

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Berryville, VA
All prices are approximate...

Craftsman $16
Stanley $ 13
Titan $15
Armstrong $60

Why is it people recommend tools that are 3x the price of the intended budget? :dunno:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Well, you can buy something once, and know you have something that will work well and last a lifetime, or cheap out and buy something that may get the job done for the time being but turns into a lifetime of hassle and frustration.

But, that does not mean one has to jump all the way to truck brand tools to get a good tool.

http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/Ratchets/3426.html
 

dirtydogintex

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Sep 28, 2012
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inner looper-3rd Div Houston w & n
One of my first ratchet's was an "extendable" stanley flex head ratchet, 3/8" drive. Bought it at walmart about 8 years ago, and I still have it. I haven't been very nice to it either! I've had 2' cheater bars on it while it was extended all the way out, and she still works like a charm!
...
I even have a tendancy to grab it before me snappy, when I know a bolt's tight :D
on that note I think I'll grab another cup of smoke and smoke another coffee
 

cburnscrx

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Well, you can buy something once, and know you have something that will work well and last a lifetime, or cheap out and buy something that may get the job done for the time being but turns into a lifetime of hassle and frustration.

But, that does not mean one has to jump all the way to truck brand tools to get a good tool.

http://store.harryepstein.com/cp/Ratchets/3426.html

If we're bumping the budget just a bit, go to Lowes, get the Kobalt, call it a day. Tough to beat that ratchet, and you don't have to pay shipping or mail in a warranty.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_337308-22328-85860_4294707904__?productId=3381168&Ns=p_product_price|0

That said, I am more than pleased with my Titan ratchet (72 tooth) and I activly tried to kill it for awhile. It was so cheap I was going to use it as a beater throw away. It held up instead. I would recommend it to anybody.
 

Gmonkee

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May 9, 2010
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I have a pair of new in 2007 Stanley 60t pear head ratchets. The 1/4 and the 3/8". They used to be daily drivers in a full time shop and worked great to say the least. They set in semi-retirement but still work great. I'd recommend those in a second.
The RH Stanley offerings have been spotty in my opinion. I've not found one worth owning yet.

Stanley still uses the same part numbers but has drastically changed the product it is stamped on a few times. Some were not too good and others are very good tools. This question is moot without pics of what Stanley ratchets we are talking about, and even more crazy which CM ratchets.

I have a few 80's to early 90's CM RH and pear type ratchets and they are good users.
The new versions, low profile, Chinese and late USA RP are all over the quality map hitting new highs and lows.

We need to define better which model we are talking about on both brands.
 

sberry

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The 1/4 and 3/8 never worked from new.
I got some Cman the same, traded them, same story, just dont bother. Use the rest of the sockets, get a couple ratchets. Its one thing to get junk you have a few dollars in, if I would have paid 75 a piece it would have been a different matter.
 

mmack66

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Dec 5, 2011
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Kansas City, MO
All prices are approximate...

Craftsman $16
Stanley $ 13
Titan $15
Armstrong $60

Why is it people recommend tools that are 3x the price of the intended budget? :dunno:

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

No one asked for recommendations, and there is no budget.
 

cburnscrx

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Indianapolis
No one asked for recommendations, and there is no budget.

In fairness the direct question was Stanley or Craftsman. So I guess this was an A or B question.

I took to to mean if you have x number of $, which would you buy. That's where I came up with my recommendations.

*Actually I just wanted an excuse to work in that Sesame Street song to a poster named "cookiemonster". Seemed appropriate :bounce:
 

toolstools

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Cambridge ohii
Actually it seems to ask which one ***** worse. Some people won't buy either, And recommended something worth buying. So, its not one or they other. Its a comparison of both. Without a budget or asking which one would you rather have

Nice song though lol
 
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