Part of the time it's not the screwdriver but the Chinese screws that are so soft that they disintegrate as soon as they see a screwdriver.
Screwdrivers
- Thread starter Texas Red
- Start date
-
Don’t buy tools new, shop at pawn stores, and look for good deals.
I never did save one of these back for myself when I retired. S2 grade tool steel.
Now I have a Snap On bit set. Money well spent. It's not that big, but the quality is there.
After Klein did away with their lifetime warranty on their screwdrivers, I bought a set of Kobalt screwdrivers from Lowe's. I've swapped one of the #2 Phillips drivers out because the tip didn't hold up, I walked in, handed it to a nice lady at the return desk. She told me to get one from the tool dept and bring it back. It was tagged and I walked out, no pain, no strain.
Yeah and Sears will ***** and moan and hope you give up.
RRR, I saw a Klein reps vehicle at an electrical supply house not long after I was denied the warranty. I tracked him down, handed him the screwdriver, explained the lifetime warranty denial to him and then told him to put the screwdriver where the sun doesn't shine.
We had that same discussion with MAC Corporate a decade ago. SOme new president thought he was going to increase profits by screwing with the warranty. A warranty policy they started and wanted to end. Meanwhile we (the dealers) were losing lifelong customers after a screwdriver. (and spending a lot of time off work getting those tools removed from our asses)
No reason to loose customers over a screwdriver! Finally they wised up and let us take care of business again. It was a rough couple of years though. It is their right to change the warranty guidelines though. We went down that rabbit hole too.
That is A 100% absolutely true, but when you've bragged for decades that you have a no questions asked lifetime warranty both word of mouth and plastered all over millions of advertisements through time, that's really BAD business to backtrack on.
Just look at Sears.
I'm with ya there. I was stuck in the middle. Funny, we had a Snappy dealer in my area. The guy was an ***. Hand him a broken wrench and he would flip it and say "this end still works. You owe me half for a new wrench". He was turning the wrench in for full cost credit. He charged for ratchet kits as well. He screwed so many people for decades and made bank doing it. He dropped dead of a heart attack and boy was there a lot of pissed people when they found out he screwed them for years. His name was Dick Hull. "Snappy Dick the tool prick" is what they called him. He was good for my business.
What a jerk!I'm with ya there. I was stuck in the middle. Funny, we had a Snappy dealer in my area. The guy was an ***. Hand him a broken wrench and he would flip it and say "this end still works. You owe me half for a new wrench". He was turning the wrench in for full cost credit. He charged for ratchet kits as well. He screwed so many people for decades and made bank doing it. He dropped dead of a heart attack and boy was there a lot of pissed people when they found out he screwed them for years. His name was Dick Hull. "Snappy Dick the tool prick" is what they called him. He was good for my business.
Yeah, when the suits and the bean counters thought they could add to their bottom line by no longer offering a warranty they "screwed" themselves. The consumer quits buying the merchandise and down go the profits.
MidnightSwinger
Well-Known Member
Another vote for Icon brand from HF. I also save all the screwdrivers from IKEA furniture and use them like disposables. I use screwdrivers every day at work, and I would never buy a $30 screwdriver.
Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
Yeah, if a tool is purchased with a "lifetime warranty" and then the manufacturer changes their mind after the fact, they just lost a customer for good. And I will tell everybody I meet about it, too. I don't care how great the tool might be.
Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
I do this a lot now.
Estate sales, resale shops (Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity ReStores, etc.) are great resources. As more and more millennials are dealing with their parents' estates, they just don't want to be bothered with unloading stuff that they deem to have no value to them- so they just donate it or hire somebody to come and take it away (who usually just ends up donating it for the tax writeoff anyways).
You usually have to dig through a lot of crap tools, but I have walked out of these shops with some great "pennies on the dollar" deals on high-end stuff, and it all goes to a good cause.
Yes. The manufacturers have rewritten the warranty language to include "original purchaser only" or "warrantied against defects of material and workmanship'' (which has been the rule forever just not enforced) They added "not warranted against abuse or wear out" which is fair. Also "Lifetime" is the life of the tool and not your lifetime. When the tool is worn out and no longer works as designed, the warranty is over and you should buy a new tool. (see what they did there)
Professor Fate
Push the button, Max...
Hmmm... but if it wears out too fast, doesn't that constitute a "defect of material or workmanship"? I suppose they could go round and round on that, and hope at some point you just give up.
Did you ever get one of those crappy no name $4.00 3/8 socket sets that came with a ratchet and extension?
I did. Sockets were junk but I used the ratchet for years and couldn't believe it held up.
I too have several wood handle screwdrivers that have never failed. Even the phillips is still in great shape.
Have no idea brand or even where I got them.
I have a $5.00 set of combination wrenches that I got at a flea market 40+ years ago made in India .
1/4'' to 7/8'' hanging on pegs on my work bench.Easy to reach for and use almost every day.Not one worn or broken.
Like Forest Gump said "Never know what your gonna get".
I did. Sockets were junk but I used the ratchet for years and couldn't believe it held up.
I too have several wood handle screwdrivers that have never failed. Even the phillips is still in great shape.
Have no idea brand or even where I got them.
I have a $5.00 set of combination wrenches that I got at a flea market 40+ years ago made in India .
1/4'' to 7/8'' hanging on pegs on my work bench.Easy to reach for and use almost every day.Not one worn or broken.
Like Forest Gump said "Never know what your gonna get".
MidnightSwinger
Well-Known Member
Nice. Haven't seen one of those for years. Those barrel ratchets? I have no idea how they work.
Got one too ! Even his hand crank drill.
shittyslant6
Well-Known Member
I've got a used cornwell soft grip in my box at work and they work really good for the old cars I work on. However; I will say that old screws want old screwdrivers. I have a 60s snap on Phillips set that has ALWAYS gripped and rarely destroys the screws. got it for ten bucks at Pomona. Same reason I have old wrenches too. they just fit better on the 50 year old bolts I deal with every day.
Phreakish
Well-Known Member
Doesn't have to be made in USA, just NOT in china. I like HF and their business model, and I hope their sourcing follows the recent trend of near-shoring or simlpy getting the f out of china. It's not a question of quality, but safety - and I'm not talking collapsing jackstands.
-
