I do not believe they are the same parent company anymore. At Home Depot (Husky) we used to honor the Craftsman trade in because we could get credit from vendor. It hasn’t been that way for a while. The policy does vary by store though, the smarter of us still replace Craftsman with Husky to get the name out and service the customer. Personally a few years ago I got bummed when I traded a 5/8" deep socket from Craft. for a Husky…the Husky deep was a 1/4" less deep that’s how I found out manufacturer changed when I asked the Husky rep.
I do not believe they are the same parent company anymore. At Home Depot (Husky) we used to honor the Craftsman trade in because we could get credit from vendor.
Maybe that’s changed. I’ve had good luck with Craftsman or Husky. My first 3/8" ratchet set I ever owned is Husky. It’s now almost 40 years old and everything is still working fine.
To the original poster, Snap-on does indeed have a quick release version of their ratchets. You haven’t looked hard enough. They’ve had it for years. It’s available in 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4" drive versions.
Thank you for the reply! I see it.
Some of the GOOD Autoparts stores carries the Blackhawk line. That and S&K. Both good tools…but Craftsman has always been cheaper.
I think that is an urban legend about Sears requiring receipts. I buy broken Craftsman tools at garage sales and then take them to sears to exchange them for new ones. They have never required a receipt.
The only issue I’ve had with either Snap-On or Craftsman is the internal ratchet mechanism teeth/gears wearing out—after about 30 years+ of rough use. With the Snap On ratchets, I gave them to a professional County Road & Bridge mechanic and he got replacements.
With the Craftsman, I went to a Sears store and was offered either a brand-new replacement ratchet or a free rebuild kit. Since I had the thing apart anyway, and had a little bit of time, (like 7 minutes incl. cleaning time), I chose the replacement parts kit. But that’s just me. I like to know how things work internally and this was a piece of cake. My personal preference now is Craftsman. They just feel “right” to me. Craftsman also replaced a 3/4"-drive breaker bar (or strong-arm bar as some of us antique guys call them). Seems like the “helper” pipe that I was using on a very stubborn motor home wheel lug applied too much pressure and actually bent the breaker bar handle. Some strategic use of “Knock-Er-Up” (OOPS! I think that I meant “Knock-Er-LOOSE”) and a little heat got the dang lugs loose and off. No questions asked-- free replacement at the Sears store. Last time I looked, it was still a part of the display of really screwed-up tools that had gone through that store . I have also cracked a couple of Craftsman sockets. No questions–free replacement. Same with a late 40’s vintage 1/2" drive ratchet. No replacement parts kits available. Free replacement. They even gave me back the old ratchet! That’s so I can show it to younger guys who seem to not believe my story. I pull it out of it’s drawer and threaten to beat them on the knuckles with it. (No, I do not actually assault them—just let 'em know that they have options!).
I am a Craftsman Club member and save quite a few bucks once in a while by ordering online directly from Craftsman. Don’t even need to blow the gas budget on a 70 mile round trip to my nearest Sears store. I don’t even know if you can get that kind of a deal with Snap-On.
I submit that it’s more a matter of personal preference and situation than quality of either brand. Price is definitely a factor.
back when i was swinging wrenches i bought the snap-on and mac and matco. now that i am not craftsmen are fine with me. but i did make a big mistake and sold some of my snap-on sockets. they cannot be replaced for anywhere near the price i bought them years ago.
fyi… craftsmen are made by danaher tool group which is the company that owns either mac or matco.
Sneaky!
I’ve used craftsman socket wrenches for a long time. My only complaint with them is that the lever to reverse the rachet is too easy to reverse by accident, or bump into the neutral position. Aside from that I am completelt happy with them. My sae/metric set came in a blow mold case with 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 wrenches and lots of sockets. I tried to get sears to replace the case as the plastic hinge tore and failed, but no dice. They said no warranty on the case.
I love car talk!
chuck in austin
I have a large pile of cheap, semi-broken tools that I use to attempt repairs. These dirty, dangerous, poorly maintained tools routinely do damage to my person, and have never, EVER actually worked properly. I must be doing something wrong.
I worked pro for 10+ years in automotive. The snap-on tools are my favorite. I lost most of the wrenches and a slew of misc. tools to theft a few years ago. I went and got a basic set of wrenches from craftsman and hated them. They seem to be OK for simple tasks like repairing a bicycle or irigation pump. When I need to work on my vehicle I now use a mix of tools: Husky,S&K and Mechanix(?) I have used some of the craftsman pro series tools and they are much more like the snap-on tools but also almost as expensive. You know it: You get what you pay for! If some day I where to go out and buy a big set for home use I would likely go with the craftsman pro series but as a tech I would choose snap-on or mac.
I hate the quick release ratchets. They usually have too much play tolerance of the attachments and some even have play in the gears fresh out of the box. Luckily I lost only 1 ratchet in the theft so I still have most of those in snap-on.
Craftsman products STINK, I bought there top of the line stainless steel ratchet set, all three broke, I went to get them fixed and the parts are not available any more, so they wanted me to take the standard cheap ones in exchange, I have no faith in Craftsman or Sears, if you want good tools, BUY SNAP-ON, or Blue Point, I have to agree though, get the Snap-on with the quick release.