End of the KOBALT Brand

[dragoneggs]

Craftsman at Lowe's: Launching 218

 

[downsizingnow48]

I've only bought two Kobalt tools. One was a PEX cutter that I still have, works well on any kind of hose. The other was a 18" aluminum pipe wrench. The teeth rounded off after 3 or 4 uses and I threw it away.

 

[goeduck]

While I have always like Craftsman hand tools, I have never liked anything Craftsman made that had a gas engine on it.

 

[dragoneggs]

Come to think about it, I am not sure I have bought any Kobalt tools! Not that I am adverse to them, just I don't typically shop at Lowe's. I must have some... but I have mostly old Craftsman that have served me well, and a varied assortment of Dewalt, Hitachi, Proto, Husky, Knipex, Snap On, HF, whatever.

 

[Oldoak]

While I have always like Craftsman hand tools, I have never liked anything Craftsman made that had a gas engine on it.

When it comes to gas engines, I think Honda is at the top of the line and can't be beat.

 

[PILOON]

It is all about brand recognition.
Craftsman has been around much longer than Cobalt and by swapping brand names they gain instant recognition.

Even at the huge price of obtaining the Craftsman label the marketing guys probably calculated that they'd be years ahead.

As an example if you'd brand the crappiest tool with "SnapOn' label you'd have a great sales run for a short time.
The Chinese are great innovators on using quasi labels, ie, perhaps, snapson would probably create sales.

The farce of it all is that probably all the tools are made on the same production line in some Chinese factory, and that probably owned by Stanley/DeWalt!

As to 12 point vs 6 point sockets my thoughts are that it is much easier to swage the 12 vs the 6 points.
Better to have one top quality ratchet to accommodate those tricky situations.
The more 'teeth' the easier to navigate tight corners.

 

[not2old]

While I have always like Craftsman hand tools, I have never liked anything Craftsman made that had a gas engine on it.

I've always liked the hand tools too, but absolutely hate their power tools as the cords always kink badly.

 

[sixdogs]

Craftsman lost me 20 years ago. After that I picked up used Craftsman tools at auctions and went out of my way to ignore everything Sears or from that store. Last time I needed a ratchet replaced, they offered me a rebuilt used ratchet that looked like it was misused for 50 years. I chose the rebuild kit and never darkened their door again. It could have gone better but the salesman was a jerk times two and accused me of misuse of the tool. The ratchet looked like new and I treat my tools like royalty.

 

[dragoneggs]

Craftsman lost me long ago too. Twenty years at least, luckily... I had quite a stash collected as a result of always putting them on my Christmas list!

 

[Dftodd]

Craftsman lost me 20 years ago. After that I picked up used Craftsman tools at auctions and went out of my way to ignore everything Sears or from that store. Last time I needed a ratchet replaced, they offered me a rebuilt used ratchet that looked like it was misused for 50 years. I chose the rebuild kit and never darkened their door again. It could have gone better but the salesman was a jerk times two and accused me of misuse of the tool. The ratchet looked like new and I treat my tools like royalty.

That's exactly the same reason I quit shopping at Sears or buying craftsman tools. Was a huge fan till I got brow beat by a salesman for "abusing" a ratchet that had turned into a knuckle buster from tons of use. Ratchet would pop and switch directions on its own at about 150 ft/lbs of torque.

The only abuse the ratchet saw was when it switched directions and I broke a knuckle. It learned how to fly