One of the big reasons many bought and supported the Craftsman brand for so many years was the fact that they were made on the USA. Now that has largely fallen by the way side.

How many will pay USA tool prices for imported tools? You might as well buy Gearwrenches at least they don’t try to hide where they are made! Trying to find a country of origin on the new packages from Craftsman is a major exercise of your detective abilities.

The new Harbor Freight Pittsburgh line from Taiwan exhibits a better chrome appearance and better machining at a much lower price point.

Now add in the dilution of the brand by the selling of Craftsman tools by every store around.

It all adds up to the end of Craftsman tools as we have known them.

SK 45173 Slim design Pro

Sk 45173 Slim design Pro With the round head fine tooth action in an Slim line body you have a great ratchet for working in tight areas.

Basically it is a 3/8′s in a 1/4 body.

It has became my current favorite. Despite being a coarse tooth it has the smoothest ratcheting action of any of my 1/4′s. The hard handle is very comfortable and fits my oversized paws very well.

My only complaint is that the head is rather floppy. This has it’s plus and minuses. It makes it easy to lift the handle to clear obstacles. However it requires you to be able to use two hands to get a socket on the end of an extension into a small area. This is due to the head dropping from the weight of the extension and socket.

Cornwell Orange handle flex 1/4

Top view

Recently while going through some of my tools I realized I have a boat load of SK sockets. I’ve bought them and used them for years. In my experience they are one of the toughest sockets on the market. While mine are no show pieces, being well worn and very used in appearance, they continue to give great service.

To me looks means nothing in tools. The one and only important item is the way in which the tool preforms it’s job. When I need it will it do what is needed? From SK sockets the answer has always been yes. I will admit that I have broken a few of them over the years. How ever this has been in situations where other brands have failed as well. I have cracked SK’s and then turned around and cracked Snap on’s on the same bolt. Some times the bolts are just in there too well. This is especially true here in the rust belt. The bolts can rust weld in place and be about impossible to get out.

To get back on subject I have decided that with Ideal now producing new SK tools maybe I need to get some new production ratchets and stress test them. Maybe even start to work on the 74 Jeep I’ve had on the back burner for the past couple of decades. That thing should be rusted enough to be a real challenge for them.

Hazet 1/2 ratchet

Hazet – made in Germany – is one of the most famous and prestigious toolmakers in the world. The tools are manufactured with the latest technologies by skilled craftsmen in three factories located in the Rhine area in Germany.

This is the new for 2011 fine tooth metal Hazet wrench with 1/2″ drive.

72 tooth ratchet allows for working in restricted areas

inductive hardened ratchet

This item is shipped directly and immediately from Germany by airmail.

If I had the disposable income to do so I would order this just to evaluate it.

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Advance Auto Parts:

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Performance 4 Trucks

All truck parts on sale, including tires, shocks, exhaust systems, wheels, and more.

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Tom Tom

Exclusive Offer: Get 15% off any all GPS systems, route planners, and speed camera alert systems – use Promo Code TTFALL15

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You’ve never been shy about expressing your opinions on your favorite cars, parts and accessories. So let the world know what you already know by voting for your favorites. The winning brands will be annouced at this year’s SEMA in Las Vegas.

Vote for your favorite brands and you’ll be entered to win the Grand Prize, a VIP trip to SEMA plus $10,000. And hundreds will win other awesome prizes.

Have fun voting folks!

Early this morning a friend of mine came over and asked me if I had a short ratchet he could keep a grip on.

This gentleman has Snap on and Macs stubby ratchets so I was intrigued and went to his garage to see what he was working on. He was working on his Kenworth trying to tighten some bolts on the engine. My first comment was you should have cleaned it first.

To which he replied this is what I’m trying to stop. Major oil leak! Entire side of the engine was covered. Well we started tightening the bolts and I noticed he kept dropping his. So I tossed him my extra SK out of the car.

He fell in love with it. Not a single episode of losing control or losing the ratchet entirely.

His main problem with it was getting used to the round head selector. But after a few minutes he had it down pat.

Now the only problem is I’m going to have to find another one for the car.

The Snap on, Macs and Gearwrenchs with the smooth handles have given me a lot of trouble before with slipping and turning while slick.

At 4.25 inches in length the Gearwrench is shorter. As you can see in the picture above. With the highly polished handle it is also slicker in your hands.

If anyone is interested in trying them the SK is at Amazon for $19.99

Added. Since this was originally posted Amazon switched the link to Tooltopias point of sale. The ratchet from them is now $30.75 with $7.00 shipping.

It can however be  ordered from eBay at a buy it now of $19.95. With $2.95 expedited shipping.

The Gearwrench is $25.40 here