Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
"J. Clarke" wrote in message

Their reputation was made on hand tools, not power, and finish on
their hand tools is better than it was 20 years ago. They see
Snap-on as their competitor in that market and it shows. But even
in that market Craftsman was never "the best", they were what you
got if you couldn't afford Snap-On.

But their open end and box wrenches of 40 years ago were better
designed than the ones today. You could bet better leverage but
they
cost more to make.

Craftsman open end and box wrenches both come in several patterns, in
different lengths and offsets. The ones you got 40 years ago didn't
have so much variety. So make sure you're comparing apples with
apples and not comparing one wrench with another designed for a
different purpose.

I've seen
accusations that the Craftsman Professional tools are cheapened
versions, but I've never seen anyone post side-by-side photos of
their innards that demonstrates this, it's always been vague
assertions.

I've heard accusation that Home Depot tools are cheapened compared
to
the same DeWalt bough at the local hardware stores also, but I've
never seen proof.

--
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--John
to email, dial "usenet" and validate
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)