best tool brand?

[PHOENIX]

The Husky ratchets (I have 3) all seem fine and smooth.
I have a snap on thats smoother, but that has more teeth and I think that plays into the smooth feeling.

The Craftsman ratcheting wrenches are not cheap.
If you buy a set they are cheaper $50-150.
I wanted some both sae and metric and wanted the reversible option.
If you plan to buy any I highly recommend you go into the store and feel them out. I almost bought a set online I dont think I would have been happy with.
Craftsman has a lot of these ratcheting wrenches. Some are fine tooth (5 degree), some are not. Some are thicker at the ratchet some are thinner. Some are reversible while others are not. I liked these the best and happen to find them on ebay for a fair price.

I bought these on ebay for $60.00 each.
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00942405000
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...id=00942404000

Edit:
The Husky ratchets do have a loud click to them, but it feels very solid.
If you are shopping for a good ratchet I say get one with a lot of teeth and the reversible switch location is important. I love the snap on "on-off" switches. A lot of the cheaper ratchets will have a whole head that rotates to reverse it. These suck as sometimes the ratchet is against something and difficult to reverse.

[86dieselburb]

Originally Posted by 67ChevyC10Stepside

what do you guys suggest for a nice set of ratchets....? i like S K husky except their ratchets craftsmen ratchets aint very durable usually. i have a husky tool set and the ratchets seem almost like they didnt oil them from the factory. so i think im gonna try to take them apart and oil them.

Craftsman and Husky are made by the same company. Several years ago my local Home Depot had a sign up stating that they would replace broken Craftsman tools. I asked the tool guy whats the deal and he told me they were made by the same company.

I also read somewhere that the company that makes Husky and Craftsman makes another big brand. I wanna say the other brand was Snap-on, but i'm not 100% sure on that one.

[junkyardjohn]

I HAVE A TON OF SNAP-ON & MAC TOOLS. MOST OF THEM I PAID 20 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR FOR OFF OF EBAY OR IN PAWN SHOPS. I ALSO HAVE ALOT OF CRAFTSMAN TOOLS THAT I USE EXCLUSIVELY FOR MY JUNKYARD TRIPS. (NO GOOD TOOLS IN THE JUNKYARD INCASE I LOSE SOME, IT'S NO BIG DEAL.) JOHN

[724wdcopper]

here's another vote for SK ratchets. i really like the 4 that i have, 2 - 1/4 and 2 - 3/8. my dad uses sk ratchets but the majority of he rest of his tools are snap on. he owns a body shop and uses them every day. if you are just a weekend wrench, craftsman will do ok. but like a previous post stated, you will notice a tighter, more precise fit with better quality tools. i have not had good luck with snap on ratchets. the dont seem positive enough on their clicks.

[junkyardjohn]

(QUOTE)I also read somewhere that the company that makes Husky and Craftsman makes another big brand. I wanna say the other brand was Snap-on, but i'm not 100% sure on that one.(QUOTE)
I'M 100% SURE THAT HUSKY, CRAFTSMAN & SNAP-ON ARE NOT MADE BY THE SAME PEOPLE. NOW DON'T GET ME WRONG.. I'M NOT A "TOOL PREMADONNA. I JUST HAVE AN AWFUL LOT OF SNAP-ON & MAC TOOLS. I LIKE SNAP-ONS SOCKETS & RATCHETTS, SPECIALTY TOOLS & AIR TOOLS & I LIKE MACS WRENCHES BETTER. I DON'T HAVE ANY REAL EXPERIANCE WITH ANY OTHER BRAND BUT 25 OR 30 YEAR OLD CRAFTSMAN & S-K , & THEY WERE O-K, BUT THE SNAP-ON & MAC TOOLS ARE JUST A PLEASURE TO USE JOHN

[toddtheodd]

I've got Husky, and I haven't had a problem with them yet.
The only reason I bought them though was that I need 1/2" stuff fast and Home Depot was the closest place that was already open that morning.
Todd

[cableguy0]

i just jumped on ebay after junkyardjohns post and d@mn the prices are right for snap on stuff some of it is half what it costs off the truck

[76sierraclassic]

I was curious about this a while back, so I did an internet search and found this site . I cannot speak to the validity, but it is interesting reading.

I am a fan of Craftsman tools, but I have had rachets go bad. I bought one of the "boxed" sets of Craftsman tools around December of 1992, and I've had to have both the 3/8" and 1/4" ratchets replaced because they would sometimes not "catch" as you were trying to loosen bolts. However, the ones that I got as replacements seem to have better internal mechanisms in them. I kinda agree with the folks who say "you get what you pay for". Most of the "boxed" sets like I have are the cheaper of the Craftsman line and are not as good as the higher dollar ones, but they work fine for the general mechanic type work that I do. I have been extremely impressed with the Craftsman reversible ratcheting wrenches I have. I've put some serious strain on them with a cheater pipe and have yet to mess one up. Of course, they weren't cheap either.

Anyway, that's my .02.

Mike

[Staceydude]

I have a mix of ratchets in my box... A few craftsman, a few Snap-ons, a Matco, and a few Macs.....

IMHO the craftsman sucks.... they do break and break alot.... this is the cheap little one you get in the tool sets...

I have one Mac that slips and I need to get it fixed but it has been around forever.

Never broke a Snap-on or Matco... In fact my Favortie rachet in the world is a very very worn Matco swivel head ratchet. 3/8 drive. The swivel is now what I call a flopper... It flops all over the place.... However this ratchet has been with me most of my proffesionaal Aviation mechanics life as well as working on whatever car I had and I just love it. I love the Snap-on 1/4 drive rachets as well.

I bought alot of my tools on ebay and in pawn shops to save cash.

I will always buy a name brand tool when I see it at a good price.

I do have a lot of crappy stuff but try to upgrade over the years.

Regards,

[oldraven]

Mastercraft, for the cheaper brand, but nothing beats a Snap-on.

[Opper77]

It's funny that I recently bought a couple wrench caddies from Sears (they had a Craftsman sticker on them) and when I got them home and unwrapped I removed all the stickers (I hate stickers on tools and such)

Guess what was embossed on the caddies under the stickers?


Snap-On

Hmmm...

[cib101abn]

Just stay FAR AWAY from any tool that has CHINA printed on it in big letters, those are known as Snap-On from Taiwan, and not worth buying.[/QUOTE]


More like Snap-In-Two!

[1Ton]

(I worked as a auto technician for 5yrs) Since then do work on the side at home. I own Snap-On Craftsman and Matco Ratchets. I've owned my Craftsmans for the longest. Never had a ratchet back to Sears. My Snap-on's have never let me down. The Matco I was getting replaced on a regular basis when turning wrenches for a living. My 1/2 inch ratchet is a Craftsman, just because I never broke it or could convince myself to spend the money for a Snap-On.
So my vote goes for Snap-On first. I put them first because they are alot finer on the ratchet teeth so in a tight spot you can ratchet them.
Next is Craftsman. I've never had to replace one and there are Sears stores whereever you go to get em replaced if needed.
Hope this helped.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Craftsman, Snap-on, And S/k, I Have All 3, No Problems W/ Any Of It

[raggedjim]

If you work with them everyday (like I used to do), buy Snap-on. They will pay off in the long run. If you use them on the weekend to poke at rust (like I do now that I got my degree) buy what ever, I have tons of Snap-on, Mac, Matco, Craftsman, S-K (I call them "slip & kills") and they are fine for home use. In a maintenance environment, Snap-ons or Macs are mandatory...

[Robert1970C20rstbukt]

All my craftsman tools have worked great, I never had anything break except a phillips #2 screwdriver, the tip rounded off. Some of the ratchets and sockets I have are 40+ years old too. I wouldn't buy anything else except Snap-On, MAC, or Matco.

[67ChevyC10Stepside]

husky is a division of stanley.

[arkracing]

As said buy many other...if your using them all day everyday nothing beats Snap-On. You will pay big money...but try ebay and "pawn shops"....they sell tools there??? since when?? i'll have to check that out i guess.

I mostly have craftsman stuff..cause you can bring it back (even on sundays) the only complaint i have is that their ratchet mechanisms don't have enough teeth and don feel smooth....even the Professional swivel head ratchet I have...slips and that was like that when i got it...i just haven't used it since and haven't brought it back yet...but they do make a few modles with more teeth..so i'm wonder if you can get them to put some smaller teeth in it.....of course what do you do when it breaks???

you won't break a Snap-On unless you put a cheater pipe on a 1/4" drive ratchet (trust me on that on )

but Craftsman should be good for the weekend warrior

[>X<]

everybody that complains about the "feel" or "slip" of a craftsmen ratchet needs to go buy the thin profile bad ass one. i swear i could hold my weight on that handle for hours. i have prob 2 or three of the craftsmen that come with the sets. they are all still connected to the little plastic thing that they came on. i prob wont ever open them. maybe i should take them back and see if they let me exchange for somethign good. my 6 most valuable tools have "taiwan" printed on them. lph400, W400, lph100, eclipse bottle fed, hb-bcs, and custom micron-sb. all made in tiawan. (IWATA)

[Duner97]

I buy a lot of craftsman stuff. For the preice, its pretty dang good. Lots of the guys at work buy snap on. we get snap on matco and cornwell trucks coming to my shop. Since I've worked at this shop, i've been surprised at how many problems other mechanics have had problems with their snap on tools. Handles breaking, ratchet's forward/reverse mechanism breaking. They are good tools, just way too high of a price. with snappy, you're paying 5 times what it costs to manufature it. (i've heard)

[1972C10]

Snap-On Tools can be broken I Mass Murded My 1/4 long Handle rachet tightening header bolts I had it serviced on the truck.. Its never been the same Im gonna insist on a new rachet It now breaks away and slips Just like anything there is good and bad.

[67ChevyC10Stepside]

in our shop we are phasing out snap on in favor of SK...they seem to hold up better and i personally like the SK grip/feel better.

[73stepside]

i work with snap-on tools everyday. i'm an aircraft mechanic and i am not too fond of the looseness of there ratchets. once you break a snap on they are done. you might as well buy new ones. don't get me started on there torque wrenches. we have a couple of craftsman ratchets and they are holding up much better than the snap ons are

[86dieselburb]

Here's a good site that tries to explain who makes what tool. Seems the Home Depot tool guy was correct about Husky and Craftsman being made by the same company, but after 1994 they may have changed manufacturers.

Who makes what tool

[67ChevyC10Stepside]

right now...stanley makes huskey