Tool Review Time
- Thread starter NIKwoaC
- Start date
USA Craftsman vs. PDRC Craftsman
Before Sears became "Transform Holdco", it went through another transformation. It went from the go-to place for high quality hand tools, tools that were genuinely professional quality, to being a Harbor Freight competitor at best.
Here we have a Craftsman 10mm 12-point 3/8-drive socket from China vs a Craftsman 11mm 12-point 3/8-drive socket manufactured in the United States. The Chinese-made socket was a warranty replacement.
At first, nothing really seems amiss. I mean, the knurling is gone from the base, and while it was a nice touch (and rather SnapOn-like), it's not absolutely necessary. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice something missing. The older socket says "Made in USA", while the replacement says nothing. The package stated it was made in China, but the socket itself says nothing. It's almost like Sears was embarrassed by the move, as they should have been.
The other side of the sockets reveals the ONE thing I like about the Chinese replacement. That laser-engraved "10" is great when working in a low-light situation, and even when not, it's a much faster visual cue as to what socket you're looking at. That said, I'd give up the laser engraving in a heartbeat to have an American-made socket back.
Another sign of the diminished quality in the Chinese-made Craftsman. The American-made Craftsman has not only the channels notched into each of the sides to make sliding the socket onto extensions and ratchets easier, but it has that second detent in the same area that the SnapOn and Williams sockets above have their single detent. That double-detent is actually a fantastic feature, and is why most of my shallow chrome 3/8 drive sockets at the shop are older, USA-made Craftsman. The Chinese-made Craftsman has NO DETENT AT ALL, meaning the socket has a hell of a time staying where it's supposed to!
Flipping over to the "business end" of the sockets reveals two things: 1. I almost never use that damned 10mm, and 2. that the design of the 11 (the US-made socket) is much more similar to the SnapOn and Williams sockets than it is to the Chinese-made Craftsman.
A lot of us feel nostalgia for what used to be, I'm guilty of it myself from time-to-time. We often think the old stuff is better. We're often wrong. If you're feeling that way about Craftsman tools though, you're most definitely right.
(I haven't tried the new Stanley-Black-and-Decker-made Craftsman stuff yet, if anyone has and wants to chime-in, feel free.)
Before Sears became "Transform Holdco", it went through another transformation. It went from the go-to place for high quality hand tools, tools that were genuinely professional quality, to being a Harbor Freight competitor at best.
Here we have a Craftsman 10mm 12-point 3/8-drive socket from China vs a Craftsman 11mm 12-point 3/8-drive socket manufactured in the United States. The Chinese-made socket was a warranty replacement.
At first, nothing really seems amiss. I mean, the knurling is gone from the base, and while it was a nice touch (and rather SnapOn-like), it's not absolutely necessary. Upon closer inspection, you'll notice something missing. The older socket says "Made in USA", while the replacement says nothing. The package stated it was made in China, but the socket itself says nothing. It's almost like Sears was embarrassed by the move, as they should have been.
The other side of the sockets reveals the ONE thing I like about the Chinese replacement. That laser-engraved "10" is great when working in a low-light situation, and even when not, it's a much faster visual cue as to what socket you're looking at. That said, I'd give up the laser engraving in a heartbeat to have an American-made socket back.
Another sign of the diminished quality in the Chinese-made Craftsman. The American-made Craftsman has not only the channels notched into each of the sides to make sliding the socket onto extensions and ratchets easier, but it has that second detent in the same area that the SnapOn and Williams sockets above have their single detent. That double-detent is actually a fantastic feature, and is why most of my shallow chrome 3/8 drive sockets at the shop are older, USA-made Craftsman. The Chinese-made Craftsman has NO DETENT AT ALL, meaning the socket has a hell of a time staying where it's supposed to!
Flipping over to the "business end" of the sockets reveals two things: 1. I almost never use that damned 10mm, and 2. that the design of the 11 (the US-made socket) is much more similar to the SnapOn and Williams sockets than it is to the Chinese-made Craftsman.
A lot of us feel nostalgia for what used to be, I'm guilty of it myself from time-to-time. We often think the old stuff is better. We're often wrong. If you're feeling that way about Craftsman tools though, you're most definitely right.
(I haven't tried the new Stanley-Black-and-Decker-made Craftsman stuff yet, if anyone has and wants to chime-in, feel free.)
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And you'll be able to see it real nice from the passenger seat of the tow truck.You shut your whore mouth!
It's blue
And you'll be able to see it real nice from the passenger seat of the tow truck.
It only has to sit in the driveway and hold tools. Occasionally, I'll lift something heavy with the crane, run the generator, and glue something together with fire.
Can't run the PTO if that Paccrap won't run.It only has to sit in the driveway and hold tools. Occasionally, I'll lift something heavy with the crane, run the generator, and glue something together with fire.
There's a Cummins joke that comes to mind... but this is a family show.I think you might have "Paccrap" wedged in your undies.
I'm a Cummins fanboi for the same reason I'm a Toyota fanboi. I like things that work well, are reliable, and are easy to work on and maintain. If I didn't, I'd be a Powerstroke/Paccar/Duramax/BMW fanboi.
After comparing SnapOn to Williams, and US vs Chinese Craftsman... I thought, why not compare all of the brands that have made up replacements for lost sockets, or fillers for spots on the rails not included in sets? Here, we'll take a look at 6-point chrome sockets from Duralast, Klutch, Kobalt, Gearwrench, Ampro, and Husky, and see how they compare to SnapOn and Silver Eagle (Matco's value line).
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Gearwrench: If you look at this 7mm deep socket from Gearwrench, there's a lot to like. It's got a knurled base like a SnapOn, which is great for turning the socket itself with your fingers when working in tight spots or with greasy/oil hands. It also has its size in a large clear marking on the side. Looking at the underside of it reveals a really good copy of SnapOn's retention detents. The only things I find not to like about it are at the business end, where, while it's a deep socket, it's engagement on a nut or bolt is going to be less than some shallow sockets out there. It's otherwise a great design, made in Taiwan, and Gearwrench's quality-to-value-ratio is VERY hard to beat.
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Klutch: I likewise find a lot to like about my 6mm Klutch socket from Northern Tool. The large size identification is a nice feature here as well. The first downside is the lack of knurling, but as I've said before, it's not a must-have, it's just "nice". The second thing I find to be of some concern about this design is that the detents on the inside of the drive end are not as deep as they are on the SnapOn and GearWrench sockets. While this hasn't proven to be troublesome in use, I thought it could be worth noting. On the business end of the socket, things are better. The engagement, while not as deep as it is on the SnapOn socket, is significantly deeper than it is on the GearWrench socket. Between the lifetime warranty, quality features, and budget-friendly price tag ($5.09 on Northern Tool's website, and they frequently throw coupons in the mail like Harbor Freight), this really isn't a bad buy.
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Ampro: Ampro's a really odd brand. Their full lineup used to be sold at every Advance Auto Parts store, with Autozone selling select Ampro tools as well , and the tools were mostly of good quality, with some easily the equal to Craftsman (The US made Craftsman) while some were no better than Harbor Freight and Chinese Craftsman's worst. Now, they have a website, and their tools are for sale somewhere (they are on Amazon and Ebay, for example), but their in-store presence anywhere seems to be non-existent.
Their sockets were among the higher-quality tools, but they were unusual in certain ways. Take a look at this 8mm socket, for example. It's taller than the SnapOn 14mm when placed side-by-side, and is just as deep. Instead of the polished chrome finish of the rest of the sockets in this comparison, it has a rough/textured finish, which has the same effect of the knurling on the Gearwrench and SnapOn sockets. The drive-end has deeper "channels" in the corners, keeping the torque off the corners and on the flats, which is good for durability, and the business end of the socket is deeper than most shallow sockets, as mentioned before, and possibly has the best imitation of SnapOn's "FlankDrive" chamfering in the corners of the hex drive. If you can find a set of Ampro sockets used, or new old stock somewhere, they're a hell of a deal, I just don't know how easy it'll be to warranty them these days.
Their sockets were among the higher-quality tools, but they were unusual in certain ways. Take a look at this 8mm socket, for example. It's taller than the SnapOn 14mm when placed side-by-side, and is just as deep. Instead of the polished chrome finish of the rest of the sockets in this comparison, it has a rough/textured finish, which has the same effect of the knurling on the Gearwrench and SnapOn sockets. The drive-end has deeper "channels" in the corners, keeping the torque off the corners and on the flats, which is good for durability, and the business end of the socket is deeper than most shallow sockets, as mentioned before, and possibly has the best imitation of SnapOn's "FlankDrive" chamfering in the corners of the hex drive. If you can find a set of Ampro sockets used, or new old stock somewhere, they're a hell of a deal, I just don't know how easy it'll be to warranty them these days.
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No customers today, which is weird, because that usually happens on Thursday.You really are bored, huh?
Duralast, Kobalt, and Husky: Available at Autozone, Lowes, and Home Depot, respectively, these sockets have more in common than they do different, but there are some differences. The Duralast sockets have a red ring at the bottom, while the Kobalt have a blue ring, and the Husky has none. This doesn't matter one bit, but it is a difference. The Husky has it's size engraved in relatively larger numbers, where as the Duralast sockets have theirs stamped in tiny numbers near the base. The Kobalt sockets have their sizes laser engraved at one end, and stamped at the other. When it comes to functionality, all three have most of the features of the "big boy" brands from the tool trucks, and are a considerable bargain price-wise. I've put the Duralast and Kobalt sockets to relatively little use, as they were bought to fill out my Hansen Tool socket trays, but that Husky 10mm? That was bought as an emergency replacement for a lost Matco 10mm at the Home Depot next door to the Hyundai/VW dealership I worked at in 2016. The plan was to use it till it broke, then buy another Matco, getting a warranty replacement for the Husky and using said replacement at home... I gave up on the dream of it ever breaking long ago. It's possibly the most-used socket in my toolbox, and holds up just fine.
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Speaking of "filling out" a socket set... When I started driving and working on cars way-back-when, Dad bought me a cheap metric/english socket set at a one of those discount tool sales that pop up on the weekends. We immediately threw out the 3/8" ratchet and replaced it with a Craftsman, then as sockets wore out or wandered off I would replace them with Craftsman. I still have that set in the bottom of my mobile tool box, and surprisingly few of the sockets have needed replaced. Thanks, Dad!
Those pop-up tool sales were such a roulette wheel of quality. Cummins tool (not related to Cummins engines) was one of the big ones. Their pliers were fantastic, I have a pair of their big slip-joint pliers in my road bag. Their ratchets were garbage, their sockets slightly better, and their screwdrivers were the best in the world for sacrificial uses as pry-bars, chisels, etc. because they were so cheap you didn't give a flip if you broke them.Speaking of "filling out" a socket set... When I started driving and working on cars way-back-when, Dad bought me a cheap metric/english socket set at a one of those discount tool sales that pop up on the weekends. We immediately threw out the 3/8" ratchet and replaced it with a Craftsman, then as sockets wore out or wandered off I would replace them with Craftsman. I still have that set in the bottom of my mobile tool box, and surprisingly few of the sockets have needed replaced. Thanks, Dad!
MustangManny
Member
Going to order these now, I totally forgot about this brand, someone mentioned them to me a while back!! Thank you!!Knipex Cobra pliers. I never thought I would spend $100 bucks on a set of 3 pliers..... Until I was helping my neighbor and used a pair he had. I went directly home and ordered these.
Amazon product ASIN B0002STSQMView: https://www.amazon.com/Milton-S-448-Tread-Depth-Gauge/dp/B0002STSQM
Have you looked at your tires lately? Have you measured the tread depth? Do you even have a tread depth gauge?
When I went to work for Carmax in August of 2016, they issued me a Milton tread depth gauge, with the admonition that it was the only approved tread depth gauge in the shop. Four years later, I can understand why. For one, it s made of stainless steel, making it incredibly durable compared to your average run of the mill plastic tread depth gauge. They are also consistent and accurate, something much of their competition struggles with. Last, but not least, they are made right here in America.
Spend the extra couple of bucks and get a Milton, it's a "buy it for life" quality tool.
I bet @90sickfox likes 'em too.
Have you looked at your tires lately? Have you measured the tread depth? Do you even have a tread depth gauge?
When I went to work for Carmax in August of 2016, they issued me a Milton tread depth gauge, with the admonition that it was the only approved tread depth gauge in the shop. Four years later, I can understand why. For one, it s made of stainless steel, making it incredibly durable compared to your average run of the mill plastic tread depth gauge. They are also consistent and accurate, something much of their competition struggles with. Last, but not least, they are made right here in America.
Spend the extra couple of bucks and get a Milton, it's a "buy it for life" quality tool.
I bet @90sickfox likes 'em too.
