T140V wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:04:I have quite a few Craftsman tools non of wich I would say are of high quality if you compare them to Snap-on, Matco, Mac, Bluepoint and the rest of the tool truck types. The Craftsmen wrenches I have seem to spead out after a few years and can't grip a bolt properly. The higher quality tools won't wear out as easily.
I agree with you completly about the Craftsman wrenchs "spreading" as I've had them, and seen them do it consistantly. Just as with Craftsman screwdrivers, their wrenchs are junk. OTOH, I've got several of their old fine tooth ratchets with the thumb/finger spinner, and center release button, and I wouldn't trade them for any other ratchet. (Unfortunatly they are the ones Sears got sued over, by stealing someone's idea, and they no longer make or sell them!) There is nothing wrong with several of the Craftsman tools, and as you said, some are a good value. My point is; that there are lots of good tools to be had without overpaying for the fancy slick looking chrome job.
In fact, most of my favorite SAE hand tools are a hodge podge of MasterCraft, Thorsen, Proto, Husky, PennCraft etc... Good tools bought cheap one by one at pawn shops. One reason they are favorites, is that I can recognize them at a distance; because they all have a distictive look.
I have 'sets' of tools that stay nice and organized in their little trays and drawer racks... But when I go to work on something I habitually pick up my 'old favorites.' This method works good for me with screwdrivers too. I know from looking at a screw's shape which old #1 or #2 will fit well; because we all know that they're not created equal
Let's see... hmm... do I pick up the 12" long Excelite #1 with the clear/yellow handle, or the 6" blk/yellow handled Stanley? It depends on what the screw looks like.
When I usually do break into my 'sets' is when having to work on metric stuff; because I didn't begin collecting metric tools seriously until 8-10 years ago. The shop I was in at the time started doing a lot of remanufacturing of German equipment, which meant of course, we had to adjust to working with more metric. A lot of my old SAE tools have been around 30-40 years.
Your comment about "spinning" a tool to judge it's quality reminds me of an old story:
A guy goes to apply for a job as a mechanic... The boss picks up a ball peen hammer and tosses it into the air. It flips around three times and then he grabs it mid-air.
Then he asks the applicant "You think you can you do that?" The prospective employee says "Sure, I can do that!"
The boss tells him "I don't need you then. Look out in the shop, I've got two guys standing around out there doing that right now!"