Thoughts on husky USA screwdrivers?

[kctyphoon]

Some of the new husky screwdrivers in HD are made in the USA.. Any thoughts or reviews??

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Are they the acetate ones that look like craftsman acetate ones and are something like $7 for six? If so they are garbage, made by WF and no better quality than the cman acetate. If not then they I haven't seen the set you are talking about.
Better off going to Harbor fright and buying the 8 piece pitts pro set than use those acetate ones.

 

[ScottsGT]

Lowes still has some of the Kobalt Made in USA screwdrivers in some stores.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Lowes still has some of the Kobalt Made in USA screwdrivers in some stores.

Those are made by great neck, I can't say for sure but I doubt they are much better.

 

[lilcraigford]

Are they the acetate ones that look like craftsman acetate ones and are something like $7 for six?...

There are two styles of acetate Husky drivers (USA) I'm ware of. The first are these, with a tapered handle. This is the style that Home Depot currently carries. I'm not sure if Western Forge is responsible for these or not:

The second style drivers (which I believe you're referring to) have straight handles. These are nearly identical to the common Craftsman drivers (one difference being the ball end on larger sizes) and share the Western Forge origins. The image came from the Home Depot website, however this style has been discontinued. You can still find them secondhand or new old stock at places like Harry J Epstein.

Note: In the set show above the clear/striped drivers are USA made. The miniature red and blue drivers are Taiwan. I'm not sure about the offset driver, bit driver/bits or keychain.

 

[SMKS]

There are two styles of acetate Husky drivers (USA) I'm ware of. The first are these, with a tapered handle. This is the style that Home Depot currently carries. I'm not sure if Western Forge is responsible for these or not:

The second style drivers (which I believe you're referring to) have straight handles. These are nearly identical to the common Craftsman drivers (one difference being the ball end on larger sizes) and share the Western Forge origins. The image came from the Home Depot website, however this style has been discontinued. You can still find them secondhand or new old stock at places like Harry J Epstein.

Note: In the set show above the clear/striped drivers are USA made. The miniature red and blue drivers are Taiwan. I'm not sure about the offset driver, bit driver/bits or keychain.

This is accurate. HD recently started carrying the new drivers at the top of this post. It's not clear who makes them. They might be made by WF, but there are some differences from other WF drivers. They aren't marked "WF" and they use a square shank for the Phillips drivers, which I've never seen on a WF driver.

 

[ScottsGT]

Those are made by great neck, I can't say for sure but I doubt they are much better.

Well at least they are not the clear acetate that smells like *** after a few years. Threw out all my Craftsmans and bought these. My son went garbage picking. Told him as long as he gets them out of my house!

 

[espyking83]

I like the old hard handle Husky USA drivers, the ones with the solid color handles. Did know you could find anything Husky USA anymore.

 

[kctyphoon]

I like the old hard handle Husky USA drivers, the ones with the solid color handles. Did know you could find anything Husky USA anymore.

The husky torque wrenches that are coming in are USA made too.. Depending on what screwdriver set you buy, some are USA made, some are USA assembled, and some (the black handles) are made overseas I assume since the USA is not labeled at all on the front.. To be honest I can't believe that USA made tools don't come with a giant label on the package instead of making people look for it in most cases.

 

[Cato]

I prefer the Craftsman, just because I'm used to them. Husky seems fine, though.

I'm just surprised we still make screwdrivers in this country.

Doesn't everyone know that you can save 25¢ a tool by going Chinese? Then it will match everyone's Harbor Frieght 44" roller cabinets.

 

[winlinmac]

You're going to find most having the Craftsman-variant.
By the way, its good to see the Husky Torque Wrench being Made in the USA. Hope it stays that way.

 

[marlinspike]

To be honest I can't believe that USA made tools don't come with a giant label on the package instead of making people look for it in most cases.

Agreed. It seems to me like the things that do (Estwing for instance) are much more commercially successful. The relatively small country Germany is the #2 exporter in the world (not per capita, just total exports). Ever see something made in Germany that didn't use Made in Germany in the marketing? Me neither.

 

[winlinmac]

Gotta' love the Made in the USA Stickers Vaughan purposely sticks on the handles of their hammers.

 

[Brownsfan]

You're going to find most having the Craftsman-variant.
By the way, its good to see the Husky Torque Wrench being Made in the USA. Hope it stays that way.

They are already being replaced by made in China versions. Didn't last long.

 

[kctyphoon]

They are already being replaced by made in China versions. Didn't last long.

I could be wrong on this, but I thought the Chinese model was the older one, and the newer model was USA made.. I was looking at them a few weeks ago, and think they are slightly different.. No idea if one is better than the other, just something I noticed..

 

[Wamsutta]

When they leave chrome plating on the Phillips tips, that's a sure sign of a cheap screwdriver.

 

[Brownsfan]

I could be wrong on this, but I thought the Chinese model was the older one, and the newer model was USA made.. I was looking at them a few weeks ago, and think they are slightly different.. No idea if one is better than the other, just something I noticed..

They were China when Stanley was making the tools. Then they switched to Apex and they were essentially the same as the USA made Gearwrench and Matco torque wrenches. Recently the switched back to a Chinese made Apex wrench. I own the USA versions and they were a bargain for the price. Considering the Matco was $250 or more.

 

[Rarified27]

=lilcraigford;5521164

I have this exact set and they work just fine because I'm not a pro using them 24hrs a day under sniper fire like some people claim.

Every 2-3yrs I buy a cheap set like this because I wear them out, break one, etc and the 7 or 8 dollars it cost me to keep the party going with another isn't a problem. Plus, when one goes missing I don't need therapy because I'm out $60 on one driver.

To be fair, I do have one of those craftsman "master set" deals with every driver you could ever need, but they're not the ones I use every day because I want them to be there when needed.

So, if you're a pro wrench with a locking box, go for the nice stuff and spend money once. If not, grab these and spend the money on other tools.

 

[Rarified27]

I have this exact set and they work just fine because I'm not a pro using them 24hrs a day under sniper fire like some people claim.

Every 2-3yrs I buy a cheap set like this because I wear them out, break one, etc and the 7 or 8 dollars it cost me to keep the party going with another isn't a problem. Plus, when one goes missing I don't need therapy because I'm out $60 on one driver.

To be fair, I do have one of those craftsman "master set" deals with every driver you could ever need, but they're not the ones I use every day because I want them to be there when needed.

So, if you're a pro wrench with a locking box, go for the nice stuff and spend money once. If not, grab these and spend the money on other tools.