Question: CRESCENT tool kit quality?

Heaven: American home, Japanese wife.
Hell: Japanese home, American wife.

The rest is correct.

Can't help with tool set. At the very least I would go for big brand names. They are all made you know where, but brand name provides at least "some" degree of QC.

Have some wrenches and adjustable wrenches fro Crescent and they seem abut the equivalent of Craftsman. Great for the garage mechanic, but won't hold up to the daily abuse of a mechanic working in a shop.

Bought a Harbor Freight kit (300+ tools in blow molded case for around $150) to keep in my MH at the recommendation of my favorite Ford mechanic. He said that they are surprisingly decent tools for something from HF and are more than adequate for the occasional (I hope) use that they will see in the MH.

If SIL will be putting the tools to heavy home use, the Crescent tools set should work well. If he will only occasionally use the tool set, then perhaps HF, where you can get more tools for same $$.

STBRetired wrote:
Have some wrenches and adjustable wrenches fro Crescent and they seem abut the equivalent of Craftsman. Great for the garage mechanic, but won't hold up to the daily abuse of a mechanic working in a shop.

Bought a Harbor Freight kit (300+ tools in blow molded case for around $150) to keep in my MH at the recommendation of my favorite Ford mechanic. He said that they are surprisingly decent tools for something from HF and are more than adequate for the occasional (I hope) use that they will see in the MH.

If SIL will be putting the tools to heavy home use, the Crescent tools set should work well. If he will only occasionally use the tool set, then perhaps HF, where you can get more tools for same $$.

When it comes to Craftsman, you do need to be aware that not ALL Craftsman are good and are made with quality or warranty.

For nearly 30yrs Craftsman has two "versions" one is cheap import with no lifetime warranty and the other has full lifetime replacement warranty..

Since Sears bought Kmart, they have been selling Craftsman brand in Kmart stores and noticed some commercials for a hardware store chain and auto parts chain.. Bet most of those stores have the no warranty versions.. But even at Sears stores, read the fine warranty print..

Can't say much about Cresent brand, for the most part I own Craftsman tools with lifetime warranty (but for me the lifetime warranty is a joke since my local Sears store has been closed, I would have to drive 1.5 hrs one way now to find a Sears store)..

As far as HF stuff, I have bought some stuff from them since they put in a store only 20 minutes from my home.. Some stuff is pretty good, some not so good.. You have to really take a good look at the construction of the tools before buying.

I've been a Craftsman fan for over 30 years. but recently our Sears store closed down. While we still have a Sears hometown store nearby, they have a limited selection so replacements are difficult. A warranty with no mechanism to use isn't worth much.

Started buying some Kobalt tools with their lifetime warranty. A little concerned that they seem to change out what's available so often. Not sure how they will handle a warranty if it is a discontinued item.

Before our Kmart closed they started selling "Evolv" tools with a lifetime warranty. Fine print said return the tool ALONG WITH THE SALES RECEIPT for replacement. Seriously who keeps a receipt for every single tool they buy?

No offense, but I wouldn't buy any open end/combination wrenches from HF. Most of what they carry is 12 point, and not good 12 point. The only wrenches I buy from HF are 6 point sockets. Their 12 point wrenches are pretty much nut and bolt ruiners.

As far as the quality of Crescent, they used to make good tools, but now you'd have to look at the country of manufacture, and the actual quality of the tools. I don't buy many wrenches any more since I retired. I'm still using the Craftsman hand tools that I bought in the 70's and 80's.

ACE stores have a lot of Craftsman tools now also. Seem to be as good as you can get these days, and I'm pretty sure they warrant them also.

For sure, nothing's like the old Sears/Craftsman deal, always around to replace them as needed.

Gdetrailer wrote:
Since Sears bought Kmart, "...........

It was the other way around, if you can believe that.

Kmart Holdings, after just emerging from bankruptcy in 2004, announced that it would purchase Sears and change its name to Sears Holdings.

I've been shaking my head ever since as neither store has benefited from the merger.

I rarely set foot in either one now.

:):)

buy him a set of S,K, wayne tools ,he can use them on any job. they won,t break ,or the chrome won,t peel. heck,buy yourself a set too.

NRALIFR wrote:

Gdetrailer wrote:
Since Sears bought Kmart, "...........

It was the other way around, if you can believe that.

Kmart Holdings, after just emerging from bankruptcy in 2004, announced that it would purchase Sears and change its name to Sears Holdings.

I've been shaking my head ever since as neither store has benefited from the merger.

I rarely set foot in either one now.

:):)

Doesn't matter much, one "bankrupt" chain buying another "bankrupt" chain = TWO dead chains.. Was a stupid idea.

Initially a bunch of Kmarts and only a few Sears stores was closed after the buyout.

The idea of the "buyout" was "Sears" was going to cater to the upper crust crowd and Kmart was for the "working man" type crowd.. The experiment has failed miserably and now massive Sears store closures.

I have a Crescent set like you mention from Costco. It's a convenient set which I use infrequently but carry it in the coach for the few times my truck isn't around when I need a tool. I think it is a decent set.

I had a discussion with a Toyota mechanic recently. He said there is no substitute for a Snap On Phillips screwdriver and that Gear Wrench is better than Craftsman. His toolbox only has Snap On though.