Ratings Of Tools By Brand: Difference between revisions

Overall: 4 Similar to Craftsman's "Companion" series. Slightly lesser quality (but still very good) and slightly cheaper costs. A good tool for home mechanics, and several of the guys at the shop here use Blue-Point tools (perhaps because the Snap-On one is too expensive.) If Snap-On is out of your budget, but you want high quality, get Blue-Point. You won't regret it.  

Craftsman makes a range of "qualities", from Ace Hardware to near Snap-On. Their Craftsman Professional hand tools are pretty well-regarded ([http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/tools/ see review]).  

Value: 5 I rate these highly because they are still very good quality tools, with a good warranty, and for less than Snap-On.  

Warranty: 4 Lifetime no questions asked replacement on hand tools. Almost always in stock, zero turn around time. Power tools aren't as great, 1 year limited warranty, with option to buy 2nd year of the same for a few bucks when you get the tool. Very easy to find a Sears store.  

Usability: 5 As with Snap-On, these tools never fail unless you use them wrong. The worst I've had happen was breaking the tip of a P2 phillips driver while using it correctly. Very stubborn screw, though. A quick trip to Sears, and I had a new one.  

Overall: 5 It's hard to get such a good combination of price, value, and warranty. For me, Craftsman is simply the best for a home mechanic, or in many cases a professional. Many of my tools at work are Craftsman.  

==Companion==  

Overall: 3.5 A good starter tool set for a budding home mechanic. Not so great for professionals. Sockets seem to be the best value in this brand. Too bad there's no warranty. There is more difference in quality between Craftsman and Companion than between Snap-On and Blue-Point.  

I won't comment too much on this brand, as I have limited experience with them. The few tools I have bought work reasonably well, and were cheap, but they were lacking in quality. Casting marks on brad-removers, amongst other things, stand out in my mind.  

Value: 4 Remember those ratcheting flex head gear wrenches? These guys started that... Gear Wrench is owned by KD. Sometimes, there's nothing else that will work.  

Warranty: Haven't had to warranty a KD tool yet. Unsure exactly what the warranty is. My KD tools are ordered through Snap-On, though we also have a direct account, so getting the warranty is probably a little harder than getting Snap-On warranties...  

Overall: 3 Specialty tool company makes special tools. Sometimes, there's nothing like them, but WHEW. I spent 179 bucks for a wrench set... 8-19MM complete. 12 wrenches. That's close to 15 bucks each!  

NAPA Autoparts has a "Professional Series" ratchet set for $70 or so. They seem to be durable and of "Great Neck" (middle of the road) quality. The set includes: deepwells and short sockets both metric and standard from sizes 4mm-19mm and 5/32"-7/8", two ratchets, two extensions, a converter for 3/8" to 1/4" drive, a nut driver, two spark plug sockets and a nice plastic carry-all attache' to keep it all in place. There is not a single 12 point socket in the whole set. Overall, I found it to be a very good value for someone who does not regularly do heavy duty work. I do not know if they would hold up to hard labor, but I think so.  

I have a Greatneck pullbar and a two Greatneck torque wrenches that also fill the bill. No problems so far. All my other tools are Craftsman. For the householder or the guy who likes to do his own oil changes and valve adjustments, I highly recommend both Napa and Greatneck. But for the pros, probably not.