[rawhide]

Lowes now is selling a line of Mechanics Tools called Kobalt which is made by Snap-On. They are good tools.

Home Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).

[MarineBrat]

Thanks for the tip! I tend to avoid Home Depot, but I do frequent Lowes and the Kobalt tools have caught my eye. If Sears goes bust I may move my loyalty in that direction. I had always considered Snap-On to be the highest quality hand tool available (to the masses), and I own several Shap-On items, but since I have not worked as a professional mechanic since the early 1980's I just don't have the opportunity to buy them. If I could just talk a Snap-On truck into driving down my street like the ice cream truck does every day... :)

I actually carried a broken Snap-On 1/4" ratchet around in my glove box for about ten years until one day I happened upon a Snap-On truck at a Chevy dealer who replaced it for me. (Though he gave me a hard time about it because I wasn't his customer -- why I do like the Sears attitude about the whole thing.)

If Sears dies and Orchard Supply keeps selling Craftsman hand tools, and honoring their warranty, I'll probably go there instead.