I too am extremely annoyed that they are cutting back on the kobalt tools. I have roughly 10 grand tied up and tools and most of them are kobalt. Not that I have anything against craftsman tools, however on with the original poster that when Stanley bought out Craftsman they ended up cheating the looks of the tools and made him look really crappy and junkie. I too felt that cobalt tools had a great quality they looked great I love their color designs on their electric tools and stuff like that, and their warrantees were hands-down awesome. I still own a 18v impact driver that I bought as a set with the drill and a fast charger many years ago. Somebody broke into my truck and stole the drill and the charger but I have the impact driver and a battery pack. I can’t even find the dang charger for it now.
Craftsmans newer tools looks better, I had a set of kobalt sockets that were the through hole socket set. Absolutely love them. The ratchet started giving out the teeth were just wearing inside the mechanism. I went back to Lowe’s about two months ago only to find out that they do not sell cobalt anymore. They now sell craftsman. So I got online and found a set of through hole sockets made by craftsman and I have to say, I am impressed with the quality. They are a black oxide tool now and they look really good. The kobalt socket set made it really hard over time to determine what socket size you had because it was a Chrome Vandium type socket With laser etched sizes on it. Overtime the laser etching would fill-in or polish off when you’re using your hands and I just made it really hard to determine the socket size. The craftsman socket set is a black oxide with the laser etch and I’m sure the same thing will happen over time and it will be harder to read the size. The thing that I love most about the craftsman set is that it is a spline set so it will fit a wide variety of different types of bolts even if they are rounded off.
I am very saddened and disgusted that they are getting rid of kobalt tools. The prices were within a decent range and they were great quality. Again I have nothing against craftsman I own many craftsman tools but I loved my kobalt. I now own a 24 V kobalt drill and driver and I’m not too enthused with the way it works. It’s nowhere near like my 18V was.
That said for the guys that can afford the snap on tools I applaud them. Snap on is an awesome brand great quality and awesome warranties. However for the most of us, their price is just too far out for us to justify unless we do this professionally and own a garage of some sort or like a lead mechanic. If you’re a DIY guy kobalt was the best way to go. Dewalt makes awesome tools as well, in fact, they’re coming out with more and more.
I do also have a fair amount of husky tools which are a brand of Home Depot. They too have a hassle free warranty and they have also gone to the black oxide on most sets which is a very nice look. The chrome is very nice except if you’re a mechanic that’s always working with greasy dirty stuff like breaks or Transmissions or engine blocks, your Chrome ends up looking crappy and you have to keep wiping it off. The black oxide you don’t notice the grease as much so you don’t have to keep polishing your wrenches. Though I still Wipe my wrenches off every time I use them.
Sorry for the long reply but I’m on the same bandwagon with Lowe’s abandoning that brand for craftsman. Very disappointed
Craftsmans newer tools looks better, I had a set of kobalt sockets that were the through hole socket set. Absolutely love them. The ratchet started giving out the teeth were just wearing inside the mechanism. I went back to Lowe’s about two months ago only to find out that they do not sell cobalt anymore. They now sell craftsman. So I got online and found a set of through hole sockets made by craftsman and I have to say, I am impressed with the quality. They are a black oxide tool now and they look really good. The kobalt socket set made it really hard over time to determine what socket size you had because it was a Chrome Vandium type socket With laser etched sizes on it. Overtime the laser etching would fill-in or polish off when you’re using your hands and I just made it really hard to determine the socket size. The craftsman socket set is a black oxide with the laser etch and I’m sure the same thing will happen over time and it will be harder to read the size. The thing that I love most about the craftsman set is that it is a spline set so it will fit a wide variety of different types of bolts even if they are rounded off.
I am very saddened and disgusted that they are getting rid of kobalt tools. The prices were within a decent range and they were great quality. Again I have nothing against craftsman I own many craftsman tools but I loved my kobalt. I now own a 24 V kobalt drill and driver and I’m not too enthused with the way it works. It’s nowhere near like my 18V was.
That said for the guys that can afford the snap on tools I applaud them. Snap on is an awesome brand great quality and awesome warranties. However for the most of us, their price is just too far out for us to justify unless we do this professionally and own a garage of some sort or like a lead mechanic. If you’re a DIY guy kobalt was the best way to go. Dewalt makes awesome tools as well, in fact, they’re coming out with more and more.
I do also have a fair amount of husky tools which are a brand of Home Depot. They too have a hassle free warranty and they have also gone to the black oxide on most sets which is a very nice look. The chrome is very nice except if you’re a mechanic that’s always working with greasy dirty stuff like breaks or Transmissions or engine blocks, your Chrome ends up looking crappy and you have to keep wiping it off. The black oxide you don’t notice the grease as much so you don’t have to keep polishing your wrenches. Though I still Wipe my wrenches off every time I use them.
Sorry for the long reply but I’m on the same bandwagon with Lowe’s abandoning that brand for craftsman. Very disappointed
