I have a mix of Craftsman, Kobalt and some cheap tools I keep around just incase I need to customize something. That way I don't ruin a good tool.

I buy mostly Craftsman tools for the warranty.

I have mostly Kobalt for hand tools. Warranty is the same as Craftsman and I get an employee discount. Anything other than normal hand tools I'd get Mac. My dad has a lot of Mac tools and they just don't fail you.

I don't like tools...



Oh wait those kinda tools I like kobalt and snap on lol

I have Snap on, Mac, Craftsman, James Niell and Facom tools along with some cheap tools in my collection.
The quality tools are the ones that see constant hard use and have stood up to wear and abuse over more years then I care to remember.
I think Craftsman offer great value, but taking a broken one back to the store involves a transatlantic trip for me. Having said that I haven't broken one yet.
We have Snap on and Mac tool vans over here, but the tools are twice the price I would pay in the USA, James Niell and Facom are made in Britain and Europe respectively, again I haven't broken one yet.

A farmer friend of mine nearly had seziure when I told him how much my Facom pliers cost, I told him they would outlast me and made great long term value.
His argument was (and I had to agree with his reasoning) that his workers would use the tools and not put them back, so he buys his tools at yard sales or gets cheap chineseum junk instead.
I told him that'* why I don't lend tools, he has a different agenda to mine.

Roger.

ive got all craftsman stuff, they seem better than snap-on which my old man use to have the truck come by every couple weeks. their stuff was cheaper feeling and 2-3 times as expensive. the craftsman wrenches i bought 10-15yrs ago and beat on them all the time with bar extensions and only took the 1/2 and 3/8 back once each. and i was doing something they weren't designed for both times. never had to replace a socket. only chinese stuff i have that stands up is the deep std and metric 1/2 impact sets i got from harbor freight. i abuse these regularly and never had one crack or anything.

" the craftsman wrenches i bought 10-15yrs ago"

The Craftsman tools of today are not the same of the Craftsman tools of 10+ years ago. Sears has decided to build cheaper quality hand tools, with the hope you won't use them or return them.

I am in the same thought as Dan, have a few real nice tools, and have "throw away" tools. If I am a professional mechanic, I am looking towards acquiring lightly used Snap-On or Mac style tools.

I had a need for a 1 3/4" open end wrench to adjust a tractor. Special order from Snap-On and Mac, about $150. Craftsman did not carry it. I found the wrench at Menards, in stock, for $14. We all like premium tools, but for one-time use, hard to beat most of the stuff at Menards.

The return feature means less to me. I want a quality tool that doesn't easily fail. I don't like returning to stores and dealing with employees to do a exchange.

One other note, Sears has been losing money for years, and its majority shareholder (Eddie Lampert), sees the value in Sears in its real estate holdings, not its retail operations. What does that mean- Sears may not be around to warranty it tools in the future.

When I was a kid, Sears had a policy of satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. Sears no longer has that policy.

I have mostly Craftsman, some snap on, some blue point, which works out with Sears being only a mile away.

I do have a gearwrench set of locking, pivot head, ratcheting wrenches and Gearwrench 82248 prybar. Those two items are well worth investing into.

Pliers..there is no replacement for a set of snap on needle nose. Simply amazing grip and holding power.

95% of my tools are either Snap On or Matco. I'm a GM tech for a living though. Nothing wrong with Mastercraft and Craftsman tools. I still have some of my Mastercraft stuff from when I first got in the trade more than 7 years ago.

"gearwrench set of locking, pivot head, ratcheting wrenches and Gearwrench 82248 prybar."

Bill, you seem to be costing me cash. You post about specific good stuff, I google it and then order it. Thanks for finding great additions to my tool box.