lowes Kobalt tools

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Mike, I think it is the tool manufacturers fault for issuing the life time deal that screws you. Your at the short end of this stick.
 
Did Kobalt start manufacturing their tools in the USA again or something? Last I saw, they were made in China.
 
I like the Kobalt tools at lowes, simply because its close to my house and you can get individual sockets for cheap. I also have their hollow ground screwdriver bit set with the driver, and its excellent. Best tool I have for my pistols and rifles. Great for car interiors also. Their spline drive sockets have gotten me out of a pinch also.

But I buy most of my tools at Pawn Shops. Brands to look for, in my book, that the shop wont put a premium on: Proto, Thorsene, Challenger, Craftsman, Kobalt, Allen, and quite a few others. They get alot of Proto, so individual wrenches usually go cheap. The other brands, the general public doesnt know how good they are. I especially like Thorsene.

But if you want the MOST DURABLE 3/8ths drive, pearhead ratchet: STANLEY, From walmart. They dont care about any receipt. All they care about is break time. And those ratches can take a beating. I have put more three foot cheater pipes on those than anything, and they can take it. Best thing to use on a stuck plug in a differential. Now they are not precision, nice sounding clickity click ratchets. They do get the job done though.
 
rklein383 said:
Anybody else having troubles with Craftsman ratchets like I am?
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Yes, I break them often.

You have to watch them when you return them. They try to slip you a return (slip you a mickey) instead of a new one. You have every right to ask for a new one, but if you don't ask, they will give you a "rebuilt" one.

They are making them cheaper. My Sears guy showed me the difference between the old ones and the new ones. Unfortunately if you have an old one and it breaks, they will give you the new cheaper one to replace it....
 
if anyone wants a free craftsman 1/2" drive ratchet..... its about 80 yards behind my garage in the green belt. that thing skipped and ended up breaking my pinky finger knuckle. never threw something so hard in my life.
 
krazykuda said:
Yes, I break them often.

You have to watch them when you return them. They try to slip you a return (slip you a mickey) instead of a new one. You have every right to ask for a new one, but if you don't ask, they will give you a "rebuilt" one.

They are making them cheaper. My Sears guy showed me the difference between the old ones and the new ones. Unfortunately if you have an old one and it breaks, they will give you the new cheaper one to replace it....
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Look for a rebuild kit. That's what I do with my 40+ year old craftsman ratchets.

I'd rather spend a few bucks on a kit than get a crummy new one or in house rebuild.
 
^^^Exactly. I got one new one (garbage) and hope to rebuild my own or have it replaced with something old from now on.
 
New craftsman is junk.i lately have bought husky not at Home Depot but at Ollie's bargain outlet .husky pro tools made in USA.i like ther feel.best fusion grip screwdrivers ever no slip they really grip Phillips head screws frickin awesome at pawn shop prices for new tools.and I can cash them in at Home Depot.manufacturers offer lifetime warrentys as a show of the quality of there product even though some like craftsman and tru craft is Chinese junk.buy the way I'm waiting on lowes to start greeting everyone in Spanish.menards customer service blows them away.lowes the new walmart of building supply's.menards strives to sell American made products and they want you to know what you buy where it's made
 
Lowe's must be the world's worst place to work, besides WalMart. At the local Lowe's here, just about all of the clerk's (associates) are rude and hateful. What makes it worse, I'm a mech. engr. and if I do ask them a question, they will usually give me some off-the-wall answer that insults my intelligence. Wish they would build a new Home Depot!
 
craftsmans ratchets suck. sears sucks. used to be good reliable store.


Lowe's is the Walmart of the construction world. and Walmart is the armpit of America.... jmho
like the man said, check out one of the kazillion pawn shops????
 
Go to Harbor Freight. Kobalt is probably made in the same factory in china, but the HF tools will be way less expensive. They will also accept returns/exchanges lifetime.
 
hit up garage sales, even CL.... thorsen, S-K, Proto, older Craftsman, lots of great older name-brand stuff that is way better than anything from HF... I have tons of older "Industrial" brands like Bonney and some others that are awesome but never really made it mainstream.
 
around here ( in the sticks) this time of year there are dozens of farm auctions every week. old farmer estate sales or retiring. many times those guys COLLECTED tools, all kinds! small tools usually go cheap. the bigger the farmer, usually the better brand!
craftsman!??? just wonder when sears goes belly up???????
 
last I checked, kobalt tools were made in Taiwan, and priced higher than craftsman. it pisses me off because the kobalt tools I bought were made here. when they break, if they exchange them willingly I will get Taiwan junk as a replacement. I had issues trying to return a broken tape measurer. they wanted the receipt and original package. sorry but that isn't a hassle free. so I went and bought a 2 pack, brought in the receipt, and old broken tape, they refunded me the cost of the 2 pack. ok so I guess I made out. I then tried to swap out some broken hand tool and it was the same drama. now I will just chuck them when they break. im not paying top dollar for overseas junk. I will either buy better, or go to harbor freight.
 
I work for a LTL trucking company that delivers to a lot of businesses. We also haul a lot of the tool carts for MAC. Right on the side of the box it says "CHINA". so where are the tools made? I buy Craftsman in sets and have had quite a few sets over the years. As I lose pieces I toss the pieces that are left into my roll away and buy a new set. I have several 3/8, 1/2 and 1/4 ratchets. When I do break a tool, I set in a box along with the rest of the broken tools and when I get bored or head towards sears, Ill pick it up and take it in. Yeah, it may be Chinese junk, but at least they truly are a no hassle return. As for Snap-on and Mac, its not so easy to get them replaced. You have to find a driver that has time to help you, or chase him down and get him to pull over. Sure, they don't break as often, but they will eventually break. I guess convenience is the word of the day here.

Sears lost a lot of credibility when they merged/took over K-Mart. You can buy Craftsmen tools there as well. Still get a better deal at Sears. Never tried taking tools back to K-mart. I wonder if its as painless?
 
I haven't had any issues with my craftsman rachets. But I did recently purchase a torque wrench for about $10 from harbor freight, we'll see how well that one actually works.
 
rklein383 said:
Anybody else having troubles with Craftsman ratchets like I am?
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I had a coarse tooth 3/8 that was giving me trouble. Almost glad I lost it.
Kobalt hand tools seem pretty well made.
But.
Kobalt made in USA?????
Not that I've noticed. Seems like they are Taiwan made, at least.
Not Chi Com.
 
68coupe said:
Lowe's must be the world's worst place to work, besides WalMart. At the local Lowe's here, just about all of the clerk's (associates) are rude and hateful. What makes it worse, I'm a mech. engr. and if I do ask them a question, they will usually give me some off-the-wall answer that insults my intelligence. Wish they would build a new Home Depot!
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Not really the topic but.....

Back before the bust, my Home Depot stunk at Customer Service. Couldn't find a person to ask where anything was. And they had an attitude when you did find one.
So started shopping mostly at Lowe's which always had had better service.
Now it's funny that the economy is bad and you trip over sales people at Home Depot trying to help you.
 
I work on a drilling rig where tools get rained on dropped in the mud left out for days used and just plain abused... the tools I buy is kobalt...reason being there good cheap and I've never had a problem returning them... I signed up for a lowes card not a credit card or store card..it keeps up with purchases so you never need a receipt to exchange anything just hand them youcard and they can look out up...but I've only had to return one thing out of about 100 tools
 
HF, I live about 5 minutes from one. Their 1/2 impact sockets rock although i did break a 3/8 to 1/2 adapter of all things..? Their deep sockets you buy in a set (not in a combo pack) are much better than their old stuff: plating and ID on sockets are very good, not the stamped flaking stuff of old. Sure they still sell a 4.99 socket set but thats the one you keep under your seat for a road side emergency. IF it breaks, walk it in, tell the clerk(s) that you are getting a replacement, hand both items to the clerk and walk out with the new one. If the stocking part is different or more expensive (or cheaper) you get what they got but its usually better quality when it comes to hand tools. Craftsman tools has a few lines. Some of the wrenches look like cheap stampings, made in India or something, still have sand cast texture and a smooth ID stamp area. HF are all smooth and polished looking now like Snap-on but not as thin. I used a long 7/16 Snap-on wrench and it felt like a hacksaw blade in my hand, that shank was THIN! But I am cheap....and my livelyhood doesnt depend on my toolbox, thank goodness. I cant imagine wrenching for a living, then coming home and doing it for a hobby.
My favorite ratchet was a Kreauter (sp?) great feel, had somewhat of a squareish handle but the best tools seem the got 'lost' first...;-(
 
I have always used Craftsman tools and have generally been very happy with them. I keep several ratchets around and use multiple ratchets when I am working on a project so I don't have to constantly change sockets all of the time. If one Craftsman ratchet breaks (and the new ones will), I have backups. I only break one every couple of years, but they are free so I keep going back.

A friend of mine left his Kobalt ratchet in my garage a few months ago. I started using it and really liked it. Smooth polished handle makes it very comfortable to use and the ratchet works great. I was sad when he realized where he left it and took it home.

If I had to buy a brand new ratchet right now, I would choose a Kobalt. Otherwise my craftsman tools are just fine.
 
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