Hello everyone, this is my first PM post, hope its not a rehash of a previous post. This is something of a continuation of rivett608's "Happy new year" post.
My question is what are some hand tool brands that were favorites of yours but are no longer available, at least in the form you once knew? Here are a few of mine.
Craftsman- When I first started my career(actually before) I needed tools and Craftsman was the most accessible and most affordable option. My father had always bought Craftsman tools so I already knew the name. Every week I would buy a few dollars worth of tools at our local Sears and before I even had my first full time job I had a pretty complete set of tools all the way from 1/4'' drive up to 3/4" drive, chrome and impact, deep and shallow, also wrenches, prybars and anything else I might need. I used those tools as a professional diesel mechanic for over ten years. The first to wear out were the 1/4" drive sockets and when I went to Sears to get them warranteed I knew it was the beginning of the end. Everythin was made in China. I decided that I would rather keep them as they were or throw them out than have Chinese garbage as a replacement. After that I slowly upgraded to Snap On for all my basic tools and the remaining Craftsman stuff went into my road boxes for working outside the shop at a customer location. I rarely broke any of my Craftsman stuff over the years and if I did lose something while doing a road job I wasn't out the cost of a Snap On tool. They were also great if you needed to modify a wrench for a special use because they were relatively inexpensive. I still have several specially modified Craftsman wrenches in my toolbox. One of my favorites was the stubby combination wrenches. They were perfect for tight spots or when you needed a delicate feel or whin something was too tight to get by hand but not tight enough for a wrench and a full size wrench would be too awkward, particularly on air and hydraulic lines and when trying to ease somethin together with slightly damaged threads. They gave you the feel needed to get past the bad spot and not cross thread the connection. And they went from 1/4 up to 1" which no one elses stubby wrenches did. They were the same as an equivalent full size wrench, just super short length. Towards the end their stubby wrenches were more like stamped sheet metal than a real wrench. You could literally bend it in half by hand. How many mechanics started their careers with Craftsman tools? Countless. I'm glad I did and I still have all of mine. What a sad end to a great name.
Petersen Manufacturing-better known as vise grips, the other "Man's Best Friend". They turned to crap when Irwin got ahold of them.
Crescent-makers of the best adjustable wrenches anywhere. The larger sizes with the tapered handle were great because you could put a pipe on the end for extra leverage. Now its all made in China junk.
KD Tools-special automotive tools that used to be available at independent auto part stores.Their large oil filter wrenches were the best.They got turned into Gearwrench and most of the KD line was dropped. Gearwrench is all Taiwan crap now.
Hanson taps and dies-I used to love them because they were readily available at the local hardware store, they held up pretty good and they were USA made. Most tapping I do is cleaning holes that are rusted, dirty or damaged so I consider taps and dies as consumables. Last time I went looking for a tap the package said "Hanson Irwin" and "Made in China". I put it back on the rack and found a NOS US made replacement on ebay. All my taps and dies come from either ebay or flea markets or swap meets now. Another example of Irwin turning everything they get their hands on to complete shit.
My question is what are some hand tool brands that were favorites of yours but are no longer available, at least in the form you once knew? Here are a few of mine.
Craftsman- When I first started my career(actually before) I needed tools and Craftsman was the most accessible and most affordable option. My father had always bought Craftsman tools so I already knew the name. Every week I would buy a few dollars worth of tools at our local Sears and before I even had my first full time job I had a pretty complete set of tools all the way from 1/4'' drive up to 3/4" drive, chrome and impact, deep and shallow, also wrenches, prybars and anything else I might need. I used those tools as a professional diesel mechanic for over ten years. The first to wear out were the 1/4" drive sockets and when I went to Sears to get them warranteed I knew it was the beginning of the end. Everythin was made in China. I decided that I would rather keep them as they were or throw them out than have Chinese garbage as a replacement. After that I slowly upgraded to Snap On for all my basic tools and the remaining Craftsman stuff went into my road boxes for working outside the shop at a customer location. I rarely broke any of my Craftsman stuff over the years and if I did lose something while doing a road job I wasn't out the cost of a Snap On tool. They were also great if you needed to modify a wrench for a special use because they were relatively inexpensive. I still have several specially modified Craftsman wrenches in my toolbox. One of my favorites was the stubby combination wrenches. They were perfect for tight spots or when you needed a delicate feel or whin something was too tight to get by hand but not tight enough for a wrench and a full size wrench would be too awkward, particularly on air and hydraulic lines and when trying to ease somethin together with slightly damaged threads. They gave you the feel needed to get past the bad spot and not cross thread the connection. And they went from 1/4 up to 1" which no one elses stubby wrenches did. They were the same as an equivalent full size wrench, just super short length. Towards the end their stubby wrenches were more like stamped sheet metal than a real wrench. You could literally bend it in half by hand. How many mechanics started their careers with Craftsman tools? Countless. I'm glad I did and I still have all of mine. What a sad end to a great name.
Petersen Manufacturing-better known as vise grips, the other "Man's Best Friend". They turned to crap when Irwin got ahold of them.
Crescent-makers of the best adjustable wrenches anywhere. The larger sizes with the tapered handle were great because you could put a pipe on the end for extra leverage. Now its all made in China junk.
KD Tools-special automotive tools that used to be available at independent auto part stores.Their large oil filter wrenches were the best.They got turned into Gearwrench and most of the KD line was dropped. Gearwrench is all Taiwan crap now.
Hanson taps and dies-I used to love them because they were readily available at the local hardware store, they held up pretty good and they were USA made. Most tapping I do is cleaning holes that are rusted, dirty or damaged so I consider taps and dies as consumables. Last time I went looking for a tap the package said "Hanson Irwin" and "Made in China". I put it back on the rack and found a NOS US made replacement on ebay. All my taps and dies come from either ebay or flea markets or swap meets now. Another example of Irwin turning everything they get their hands on to complete shit.