> I just dug a set of craftsmen sockets out of a car that's heading for
> crushing. It's a 76, they've been there the whole time, I think. The
> ratchet handle is junk, it's got about 15 teeth. The sockets, though,
> are nicer than my recent (well, 10 years or so) craftsmen stuff.
> Thinner walls, better chrome.
I have Craftsman stuff extending back sixty years or so, plus
Snap-On/Blue Point, S-K, Facom, Utica, Proto/Challenger, Stanley (which
is now what Proto is anyway, right?), Husky in old US-made (*my* first
socket set was a Husky circa early '70s) and recent Home Depot-grade
Chinese (only when I *have* to), a couple Japanese brands that seem to
last quite well (I've got a couple old Center brand flex ratchets that
are my favorites by a mile), some old Wards Powr-Kraft, a couple
Herbrand Van-Chrome that came from my grandfather, etc.
Craftsman is still fairly well made, but they've definitely fattened up
the wall thicknesses etc to reduce breakage and returns under their
lifetime warranty. I've broken a few of the old ones, I shed a couple
tears every time I do (because they were my father's, because I hate to
lose a good tool, and because the replacement won't be as good.)
For me, I grade tools based on whether they're stuff I want to keep in
the shop, stuff I'm willing to take to the track, or they're stuff I
don't mind taking to the junkyard.
I'm still ticked off that a couple weeks back I managed to lose my
thirty-year-old ball-joint pickle-fork at the local pick-n-pull...
John.
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