Nobody is broke and nobody is **** hurt. I don’t buy Snap On because they are way too expensive. But I still would rather own a real Seiko instead of a fake Rolex.
Tool Brands you cannot stand . . .
- Thread starter IRQVET
- Start date
neophyte
Well-known member
Older USA made Milwaukee grinders, or the later Chinese corded grinders ?
I’ve rarely had issue with the older USA made stuff.
Shocker
Well-known member
This is a neat thread! Frankly I don't think I hate any particular brand of tools. I have a huge number of hand tools at the moment and all of them are pretty decent with the exception of generic Chinese made stuff which I put in a pile and sell cheap or give away.
I think the Craftsman Pro stuff, made by SK is pretty great. I have a lot of SK stuff before the sell out and they work just fine. I have a massive amount of raised panel Craftsman wrenches. They are a great go to IMHO.
I love my Cornwell stuff. It is my go to for 1/4" drive stuff.
I am invested in the Milwaukee M12 stuff and all of it works great. The M12 impact can drive a 4" lag without a pilot no problem. If I need something heavy duty I have Ridgid 18v which work just fine for heavy stuff. I will say I stripped out a 18v drill driving lags. Should have used the impact.
My son-in-law has DeWalt 20v. That is great as well! I helped him build a shed using that driver and it was great. Lighter than the Ridgid 18v.
Regarding Great Neck, I have a 32mm deep chrome socket that I used for something...6 point and I still have it. Works great!
I have a ton of Proto. Especially the weird MAC/Proto multi angle 3/8" ratchets. Don't use them much but they work fine when needing to get to a hidden bolt/nut.
I dunno guys, when it comes to something name brand, most of the stuff out there works fine for home use.
I don't know if I would rely on the lower end stuff if I was a pro and needed to make $$$ daily. But I use the hell out of a 32" Pittsburgh breaker bar and it has never let me down.
I think the Craftsman Pro stuff, made by SK is pretty great. I have a lot of SK stuff before the sell out and they work just fine. I have a massive amount of raised panel Craftsman wrenches. They are a great go to IMHO.
I love my Cornwell stuff. It is my go to for 1/4" drive stuff.
I am invested in the Milwaukee M12 stuff and all of it works great. The M12 impact can drive a 4" lag without a pilot no problem. If I need something heavy duty I have Ridgid 18v which work just fine for heavy stuff. I will say I stripped out a 18v drill driving lags. Should have used the impact.
My son-in-law has DeWalt 20v. That is great as well! I helped him build a shed using that driver and it was great. Lighter than the Ridgid 18v.
Regarding Great Neck, I have a 32mm deep chrome socket that I used for something...6 point and I still have it. Works great!
I have a ton of Proto. Especially the weird MAC/Proto multi angle 3/8" ratchets. Don't use them much but they work fine when needing to get to a hidden bolt/nut.
I dunno guys, when it comes to something name brand, most of the stuff out there works fine for home use.
I don't know if I would rely on the lower end stuff if I was a pro and needed to make $$$ daily. But I use the hell out of a 32" Pittsburgh breaker bar and it has never let me down.
Two Speed
Well-known member
I won't buy milwaulkee drills (M18's). Terrible chucks that don't stay locked soured me on them and the warranty place denying anything is wrong with them. Ended up buying a jacobs chuck at the Dewalt store for it. Those got replaced by Dewalt & Makita drills over time. Not brand loyal, but I'll avoid the red.
blown94conv
Well-known member
I‘ve never been impressed with MAC tools. when I used to part toolboxes, they were the hardest tools to get sold.
We use at our various locations all brands of tools. The only thing we pitch is the unbranded pot metal type tools. Different makers at different times in history. The usually do not survive our use. Most other things find a place in the used hourly to used monthly or less locations where we keep tools. The other thing that goes is the low quality sets and gimmick tools I see usually see sold at Christmas for unsuspecting spouses or others to get their male friends.
I do find it interesting the Craftsman argument keeps going on. This story really sums it up. One day one of the youngest employees came up to me holding a new style high tooth small head ratchet and an old RHFT ratchet in the same size. He asked me why we considered the RHFT so good when the new style was better. I said history. I told him, you realize the new style he was holding came out 40 or more years after the RHFT. It was not available when the RHFT came out. He looked at me with eyes that said he did not understand.
I went to the historic tool box and pulled out a large 22 tooth ratchet we had used before the RHFT came out and walked over to him and grabbed the new ratchet from him. I handed him the older one from the early 1960s. I said this was what we used before the RHFT ratchet. Go over there with the two ratchets you are holding and complete the job you are working on. Use the large one first. He came back understanding a little more. He said that the old ratchet at times would not work due to the large swing and other issues. It was very smooth for the number of teeth it had which surprised him. He then said the RHFT was light years ahead of the old one. He was easily able to get everything he needed done, done with it. It was 2 steps below the new one he routinely used while the 22 tooth one was at least 5 steps below the RHFT one.
He did make one more comment that for when it came out the RHFT with a quick release would have been revolutionary and if he worked at that time it was what he would have used. He also said for people like an uncle of his who used tools rarely it would still be a great choice.
Hopefully puts the 1960 to 1980s Craftsman in the light of what it was. Craftsman started to change market it sold to after that time. Older than that time it targeted a different market even having tool trucks. It was not cheap it was not expensive it fit the middle ground I see many on this forum trying to find today. At that time the middle ground was a no-brainer, Craftsman or the competition for Pennies, Wards, and Western Auto. From our point of view Tekton and the like are options we look at in this market currently.
I do find it interesting the Craftsman argument keeps going on. This story really sums it up. One day one of the youngest employees came up to me holding a new style high tooth small head ratchet and an old RHFT ratchet in the same size. He asked me why we considered the RHFT so good when the new style was better. I said history. I told him, you realize the new style he was holding came out 40 or more years after the RHFT. It was not available when the RHFT came out. He looked at me with eyes that said he did not understand.
I went to the historic tool box and pulled out a large 22 tooth ratchet we had used before the RHFT came out and walked over to him and grabbed the new ratchet from him. I handed him the older one from the early 1960s. I said this was what we used before the RHFT ratchet. Go over there with the two ratchets you are holding and complete the job you are working on. Use the large one first. He came back understanding a little more. He said that the old ratchet at times would not work due to the large swing and other issues. It was very smooth for the number of teeth it had which surprised him. He then said the RHFT was light years ahead of the old one. He was easily able to get everything he needed done, done with it. It was 2 steps below the new one he routinely used while the 22 tooth one was at least 5 steps below the RHFT one.
He did make one more comment that for when it came out the RHFT with a quick release would have been revolutionary and if he worked at that time it was what he would have used. He also said for people like an uncle of his who used tools rarely it would still be a great choice.
Hopefully puts the 1960 to 1980s Craftsman in the light of what it was. Craftsman started to change market it sold to after that time. Older than that time it targeted a different market even having tool trucks. It was not cheap it was not expensive it fit the middle ground I see many on this forum trying to find today. At that time the middle ground was a no-brainer, Craftsman or the competition for Pennies, Wards, and Western Auto. From our point of view Tekton and the like are options we look at in this market currently.
Crazyjake8493
Well-known member
Channellock
I get that they're a "classic American brand" but I've never been happy using a pair of Channellock pliers, nor has any Channellock branded tool been anything other than mediocre compared to other brands.
I get that they're a "classic American brand" but I've never been happy using a pair of Channellock pliers, nor has any Channellock branded tool been anything other than mediocre compared to other brands.
China
I can change your mind fast. Go to Lowes and buy yourself a pair of Craftsman 10 inch “tongue and groove” pliers and a pair of Channel lock 930s. Use them on a couple projects and report back.
Bought a pair about 6 months ago because they were cheap and I like to have multiples of common use tools in different locations. In that length of time they have migrated from my work truck to my home shop to my tractor tool box and quite frankly if they get lost in the field I’d be happy. Anything including the yellow handled Pittsburgh Harbor Freight brand would be an improvement and quite frankly SBD should be ashamed to market such a product.
As a matter of fact I used them today to remove a hose from a sprinkler and I debated throwing them in the creek
Last edited:
reader2580
Well-known member
Menards was getting their USA made sockets and wrenches from Apex. Apex closed the Armstrong plant which cut off Menard's supply. Menards could have gone to another USA supplier, but I doubt any current USA supplier could match the pricing.
The Masterforce Chinese sockets just seem cheap and not all that well made. They could have gone with a better Taiwanese supplier, and probably had a product that was just as good as the USA sockets.
wafrederick
Well-known member
Gearwrench,the warranty is ****** and the quality is bad.We had a warranty problem with Gearwrench,a quarter inch deepwell 8mm socket that was broke.The auto parts store we used to deal with would not warranty it wanting to see proof of purchase,my dad bought the set this socket from them.
lynnbilodeau
Well-known member
My only experience with Matco was in the late 70s when I was wrenching for a living; right when they split off from Mac (at least that is what my feeble brain remembers). Broke the first Matco socket I used. The flare nut wrenches would not work on really tight fittings, just slipped around, rounding the nut. The Phillips screwdriver immediately wore so badly it would not work on a brand new Philips screw. Maybe in the decades since, quality has improved. I will not likely ever find out.
bcradio
Well-known member
Yeah you have and you know exactly what I’m talking about. Every tool Harbor Freight sells is made by Harbor Freight.
GX460DIYguy
Well-known member
I’ve never had to warranty anything from gearwrench, but I’ve heard you can email them a pic and they send a new one. I do have one of their 1/4” bit driver setups that is garbage, but I’ve been happy with them overall. That said I try to stay away from their stuff that’s been made in the last few years.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
isb cornbinder
Well-known member
I needed a much larger adjustable Crescent style wrench for one job. I could not justify the very high cost of a "big Crescent" so I bought an off-shore adjustable. I spent over an hour on my lathe and milling machine "finishing" the work the factory should have done. I also milled off the "SQUIRL BRAND" on the handle. I could not bring myself to risk getting caught holding a wrench with that name.
Attachments
Which means they’re Harbir Freight store brand.
Crazyjake8493
Well-known member
Once I bought a few pairs of Knipex Cobras, I gave away all the Channellocks I had. Night and day difference.
I love MAC and Proto, especially the older stuff, but Stanley BD is really running them into the dirt. When Stanley bought them 40 years ago they were decent tools, and stayed decent until it became the Stanley Black and Decker mess. I wonder how long until they are made in china 
.
.Me too - I hated my Channellocks. (for me it was a couple pairs of Cobras and three pairs of Pliers Wrenches - they cleared out my Crescent adjustable wrenches, too...)
Why not?
bwringer
Well-known member
Agreed. Really wish they would have gone with someone like Tekton.
I do appreciate that they have a very complete selection of open stock and sets. For example, that 23mm gap in my socket rack was bugging the absolute **** out of me, and since I've never once actually needed that size, well, hey, why not stick a Master
Ya know, I would have painted the lettering red or something. That's so awful it circles back around to kinda great.
neophyte
Well-known member
True, but I was only referring to the brand sold at Lowe’s. My Flex drill had serious overheating problems.
cavalry
Well-known member
Any once powerhouse US brand that has sold out and sells overseas low quality with their name on it for the bulk of their lineup. Crescent, SK, Vicegrip, Craftsman, Irwin , etc,etc.
I partly hate Williams for that, but mostly because they are just a knockoff of old snapon designs but with "global sourcing"
I partly hate Williams for that, but mostly because they are just a knockoff of old snapon designs but with "global sourcing"
Fair enough.
I’m not the poster you quoted but…
You can’t put a cheater pipe on a pliers wrench
Crescent wrench can be used to bend and shape metal
Crescent wrench makes a better hammer
Crescent wrench is what you take when you can’t bring the whole shop.
Crescent wrench is found in every tractor tool box and in the floor board of every farm truck. It’s on every service vehicle in the world. Next to a hammer and screwdriver is probably the most common hand tool in existence. It’s a problem solver and despite the burning hatred for them exhibited in this forum it’s literally the tool that keeps the world moving.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Hypertough has some good pry-bars made by Wilde, and decent screwdrivers made by Great Neck. The rest of their stuff is displosable.
Since we're talking Wal-Mart, I have been entirely unimpressed with Hart tools.
You can put a cheater pipe on a Plierswrench. You only need to apply force to one handle.
It can be used to bend metal.
It’s not a good hammer because it’s lightweight.
A plierswrench is really handy to have if only have limited tools, probably more so than a Crescent adjustable wrench.
LWB
Well-known member
Who remembers when made in Taiwan or Japan was garbage? Boomer Alert!
Thry work very well for me. The cobras and the plier wrench are very innovative and quickly turned into my first go-to tools in the garage. I do not think it is a gimmick if practically all notable plier brands copy those designs now. Their needle nose pliers seem to be good for me. Are you thinking about the long version and comparing it to some stubby needle nose pliers from another brand? This is the stubby and strong needle nose plier from knipex, and it is not something that'd be easy to snap.
The plier wrench is actually extremely useful for that kind of stuff. Instead of just bending, you can also flatten stuff cause it's basically a high leverage plier as well.
Can't really think of a situation where I'd rather have one over a plier wrench. They just seem to work better.
I don’t like them because they are only as strong as you are. The Jaws of an adjustable wrench are in theory immovable (I get that they can bend, but if they are bending out you probably need a bigger adjustable wrench anyway). I can’t see a way where a plier wrench could do the job of a 24” adjustable for example.
16” Plierswrench is a serious tool that fits a larger fastener than a 24” adjustable.