Northern Tool

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I cant speak for the wrenches, but i have used a lot of northern tool sockets and i would put them side by side with the craftsman sockets. I believe they are not made in USA. I did buy one of there small socket sets with the ratchet and i am not real happy with the ratchet. It looks nice but the reverse mechanism is notchy and just not very smooth. One thing i generally do like about the northern socket sets is they usually dont exclude certain sizes like 16mm or 18mm. I have not been overly impressed with craftsman stuff lately(last few years) it just dont hold up like old craftsman stuff. The pliers really irritate me because some of the craftsman stuff i have bought has been junk and the task force brand from lowes was much better. Good luck
 
Thanks for the insight. I actually work at Lowe's and I am replacing/adding to some Task Force and Kobalt tools I have purchased over the years. I really dislike the Task Force items I have purchased and although I am keeping the Kobalt tools I own I decided I don't like them enough to fill my new box with them.
 
unless otherwise marked, everything from Northern Tool is from China. light to medium duty and cheap. not for heavy duty tasks.

in a recent breakage test where we sacrificed numerous sockets... (mostly craftsman...) we determined that Blackhawk sockets are much stronger than Craftsman sockets.
 
The only problem I see with Craftsman (and I like craftsman) is they are part of Sears which is part of K-Mart and both are shakey and together they aren't any better. According to some finicial whizzes they are one of the companies that will go away. To bad really, but it seems to be whats happening with our economy.
 
Originally Posted By: jcwit
The only problem I see with Craftsman (and I like craftsman) is they are part of Sears which is part of K-Mart and both are shakey and together they aren't any better. According to some finicial whizzes they are one of the companies that will go away. To bad really, but it seems to be whats happening with our economy.


K Mart is part of Sears, not the other way around.
 
I hate to tell you guys but K-Mart bought Sears, not the other way around. You can also buy SK tools at both places (made in the USA) and made in Taiwan (Gearwrench) or made in China (Evolve at Sears and most others at Northern). Northern does have a good selection of USA tools though. Bondhaus allens, several screwdriver lines, Channel Locks and others can be had there. Not to mention good old American Hobart welders... you just need to look closely.
 
Well Dang I was right. did a google search and yup K-Mart bought Sears. Anyone go by a K-Mart lately and look at the parking lot, its a shame whats happening to some of the old greats, but then I remember Montgomery Ward.
 
I may buy the Northern set anyway...I hate to say that but it has the best selection of any set under $200 I have seen. It also happens to be the cheapest. Kobalt has a 227 piece set I could buy for $180 but why bother spending more? I actually do want my tools to say Made in the USA but sometimes I wonder why bother, I should be looking out for my own wallet.
 
I understand fully where you're coming from, and look out for my own wallet as well. I'm older now (66) and buy tools with my age in mind. Suggest you purchase what you can afford and what you wish (you will anyway hehe). Not all of us use or need Snap-On.

Actually its too bad the U.S. population has gotten itself into this mess.
 
Have you checked out Costco. Sometimes they have full sets like this and it's usually Crescent or Stanley brand.

Let me see if I get this right:

Stanley makes Huskey, MAC, Ace H/W and most of it is from Taiwan

Danaher makes Craftsman, Kobalt, MATCO, KD, Allen, Armstrong, and others. Most of it is USA. (I think??)

SK is now part of Facom (French). I'm not sure if they still have their own US factories.

Snap On still makes most of their own handtools in the US along with the Williams brand.

China does everything else.

All of the above changes frequently so it could be outdated. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
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SK does have some factories here in the U.S. One went on strike in Chicago late last summer or fall, don't know if they got it straightened out or not.
 
Facom is part of Stanley. SK is privately owned by an ex-Facom French guy.
SK did get their strike sorted out & are now back to playing catch-up.
 
Originally Posted By: benjamming
Facom is part of Stanley. SK is privately owned by an ex-Facom French guy.
SK did get their strike sorted out & are now back to playing catch-up.


Thanks! I just read an interesting thread on SK. It seems like they're going to have a real struggle going forward. Most retailers have abandoned them and their distibution channel is in chaos. (no truck sales either). The mechanics are now [censored] that SK will not honor the free replacement warranty. ($5 handling fee per tool returned and a 12 wk turnaround time from the factory)

I started buying SK when they were SK Wayne. (Wayne made gas pumps) I don't know about their new stuff but I'd put their older tools up against Snap On any day. (many are better then Snap On IMHO).

I don't feel good about SK's future. I wonder if their management is hoping for a rescue from the Danaher group.
 
S-K is absolute trash. They break more than craftsman. As far as hand tools go Northern Tool is a distibutor for the Chinese. Of course everyone has some use for certain items and they can be very useful every day. Like when someone wants to borrow a tool for instance. My $35 set of chinese 1 1/4 to 2" combo wrenches I use amost daily for 20+ years. I have the same snap-on set equivlent and it cost well over $1000. Cormwell, proto, Mac, put out some good product. The Matco guy never came around often enough.
 
Of course SK is not absolute trash. What a ridiculous statement to make. They rebrand some items from other companies. Do you know all of these rebranded items?
 
The new S-K stink. I am not aware of the spin off names. & not interested. Its possible they are the red headed stepchild of stanley/proto/mac/ect..... I'm not sure and don't care. They cost time. unforgiveable.
 
Yeah, it is a shame when somebody buys up a good name and cheapens it. I still buy American if I can find reasonably competitive products.
 
Originally Posted By: labman
Yeah, it is a shame when somebody buys up a good name and cheapens it. I still buy American if I can find reasonably competitive products.


Troy Bilt comes to mind...MTD bought them and now their stuff is mass market junk. It's interesting to me that just about the only products I ever hear people care about their origin anymore are cars and tools. I know there are people who do care where everything they buy is made, but these two groups seem to have the largest following.

I will end up buying the Craftsman set...but not without debate.
 
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