Jet vs Snap-On vs Mac vs ???
 

How do Jet products compare to other high end tools? I'm not too keen on how Snap-On sells their tools through independant dealers in vans, and I believe Mac tools are usually sold the same way as well. I've been looking at some Jet products, namely ratchets, breaker bars and torque wrenches and I can pick 'em for a relatively decent price through a local company. However, I'm just curious how they compare to other high end brands.

Kinda tired of breaking Princess Auto breaker bars on a monthly basis. :lol

jet stuff is pretty good quality

lordco sells it but lordco is a rip off so if you've got somewhere else then go for it

Jet stuff's pretty good. I have a couple of there torx and allen set in my tool box. But have been phasing them out for Snap on version just cause they do last longer, I believe Jet also offers lifetime warranty on some of there product line. The snap on ratchets are better, stronger, finer teeth, more precise action.

snap-on and mac aren't too bad to deal with... if you want tools, just call them and they'll come over with their truck... lol

not always. go to ackland "proto, armstrong" is pretty good

Jet makes good tools, but with some tools you just cant cheap out. For example with ratchets, jet would have 48 teeth whereas snap-on, mac, proto, etc would have 72 teeth. but when it comes to wrenches, sockets, allen, torx, screwdrivers and so on, high end isnt necessary unless you use it hours on end a day for years.

anything with lifetime replacement policy is good enough

screw the trucks. ebay is your friend. lots of deals to be had on mac and snap on.

Lots to be found on Ebay for sure.

If you want to stick local, and support a Canadian tool maker that's been in business for close to a century, look for Gray Tools. www.graytools.com/pdf/Corporate%20Brochure2.pdf

FYI though, not all of their stuff is made in Canada; their 'filler' items that round out their full product line are outsourced to Asian countries....just as much as Snap-on, Mac, Matco, etc. does.

not exactly, I'm tired of breaking stuff at crucial moments and scraping the crap out of my hands.

Gray makes some great tools too - I've only ever broken one of their sockets, which was around 50 years old (no joke). All I did was put a crack in the socket too.

I've got mainly Jet tools, and they're pretty nice too. I'd love to buy Snap On, but that's wayyyy out of my price range right now, but the snap on guy does live 6 houses down the road haha.

Although not distributed down South, the quality of Gray tools (both, old and new tools) is well known and it has a bit of a following down there, too!

Do your JET tools have the country of origin stated on them? Chinese or Taiwanese mostly?

i'm currently slowly buying snap-on stuff cuz the snap-on guy comes every thursday to work. but most of my stuff is just craftsmen. snap-on is quality, but $$. you get what you pay for..

JET tools are okay. There's nothing wrong with them, but there's nothing impressive about them either.

Most people don't believe that Snap On is worth the money, but as you progress in the trade, you'll find more and more of the tools in your tool box getting replaced by Snap-On ones. In the end, most of the cheap tools you bought before end up costing more than you thought you saved. We're not even talking about serious tools like the Vantage and Modis either. Some Snap-On stuff are overpriced, but you can also count on them having everything you'll need as a professional technician. MAC has some decent stuff, but their product range is fairly limited.

JET isnt bad, but again, i got tired of breaking tools when i really needed them. Such as 8PM on a sunday and i work monday morning.

I think 90% of my tools are Snap on/Mac. There is a difference, especially since i use them everyday.

I find MAC rebadges a lot of other products as there own, while snap on doesnt. I truely believe snap on make a better tool then MAC, but sometimes vice versa.

Id say snap on and mac are like the lamborghini/ferrari of tools. Each have there own strong points, and some perfer one over the other.

Check out S&K tools. They make damn good tools for a good price. Id say they are only a step below MAC/Snap on quality too!

Snap-on does sell rebadged tools as well. I know that they carry items that are rebadged tools manufactured in US, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan (may be even more). Not everything is made by Snap-on and there's a continued trend towards oversees outsourcing.

I don't believe one has to buy Snap-on; there are a ton of good manufactures to choose from such as S&K (SK), like you mentioned.

If you don't mind shopping online or going down south to shop, here are just a few hand tool manufacturers to choose from:

For North American manufacturers:
Armstrong
J.H. Williams
Proto
Crescent
Cornwell
Wright
Bondhus
Eklind
Mayhew
Kastar
Klein
Channellock

For Asian manufacturers:
KTC
Ko-ken
Tone
Mitoloy
Anex
Mitutoyo
Toptul

For European manufacturers:
Facom
Britool
USAG
Bahco
Hazet
Stahlwille
Gedore
Heyco
PB Swiss
Wera
Witte
Beta
Knipex
Bost
Acesa
EgaMaster
Irimo

When snap on rebadges, its usually under Blue Point.

Yeah. What i meant, i believe mac rebadges more things as there own, more so then snap on. I know both do. The only thing with MAC, is i find they are out sourcing a lot of there stuff from china. Not that there is any detriment to quality, its just something ive noticed a lot more.

I agree, snap on and mac arent the only good brands, but they are the most recognized, which is why i used ferrari/lamborghini as an example, doesnt matter if they dont even speak english, everyone knows that ferrari/lamborghini are associated as the best/fastest etc.

I use quite a few of those brands, along with snap on/mac, i also have several SK tools, knipex(make some of the best pliars!), Klein, Channel lock. Also another good brand, Sunex. I have a set of there 3/8" Impact sockets, and i really like them. Cheap and effective, and id say are about on par with SK.

Ingersoll Rand also make tools, ive used some of there tools and they seem pretty damn good too!

Yeah, i think they dont want to tarnish the snap on name, so they put it most of it under the blue point name. First thing that comes to mind was my first impact gun. It was an Blue Point AT123..which was a IR 231C. Identical in every way, except mine said BluePoint.

Craftsman isnt bad too! There older stuff is on par with snap on, and i know several techs who will agree with me there. The newer stuff is not nearly as good as the old stuff, my dad still has a lot of his 70-80's era craftsman tools, and he still uses them to this day. Compared to some of my snap on stuff, id say they are definately tried tested and true, 30-40 years of use, 10 of which was in a autoshop!

and Kobalt.. if you go to Lowe's US and look at their tools, they are usually helpful and say who makes the tools for them.. eg Snap On.

Unless you're talking about Kobalt tools sold in Lowes prior to 2003, they are not made by Snap-on and the associates there have either tried to mislead you intentionally or genuinely did not know. In fact, they were never made by Snap-on; they were manufactured by J.H. Williams--part of the Snap-on group. :)

After 2003, all Kobalt tools have been supplied by Danaher--a tool giant that contracts most things overseas to China and Taiwan. A lot of their ratchets and ratcheting wrenches come from the same plant that GearWrench (Taiwan) comes from.

I honestly couldn't tell you. I'd go take a look, but unfortunately they're at my other garage. I'll reply back when I know. So far, I haven't had any problems with their normal sockets, and impact stuff (this includes using my normal deep impact sockets on the impact gun :S ).

Craftsman hand tools that are sold in the states are still made in usa. I find their unpolished wrenches strong, and prefer them to snap on's whenever i need to double wrench. I find they dont flex as much as snap on.
Practically everyone is now using snap on's flank drive system on their wrenches and sockets since snap on's patent expired around 20 years ago. the flank drive is the shape of the box (or socket) broach is "relieved" via a radius at the corners. This causes the rotational force to be applied to the nut (or bolt) a small distance from the actual corner of the fastener, thus reducing the tendency to "round" or "strip" the head of the fastener when loosening or tightening. (the corner of the box wrench or socket looks rounded or dimpled.)
It sounds gimmicky, buts seem to work well.
Not sure about the "flank drive plus" patent though. I read somewhere it may have already expired too

I use mastercraft maximum wrenchs as a tech. They are the longest ones I've seen out there. people in my shop have snap on flank drive plus, blue point, jet and Ultra pro (napa, we're an autopro shop) and after using all of them plus random craftsman garbage(serious garbage) I'm most happy with my canadian tire discount set. The snap on ones aren't long enough and have a slightly larger closed head than mine, the blue point ones feel the exact same just a few hundred $$ less per set. The ultra pro's are the same standard snap on length but don't have the flatness in the handle that feels pretty good from snap point. The sears ones feel like absolute shit. I'm worried about breaking them every time I double wrench them, and feel like the cheapest shit known to man when using them as a normal wrench.
The mastercraft maximum ones I use don't have the great "feel" that the snap point ones do with the thin handle, but make up for it with extra leverage in length and a low profile closed head. They have no 'flank drive' anything in the open end, but seriously, how often do you use the open end of a wrench? No enough to justify an extra $400-$500 for the set.

Not everything offered from Craftsman down south is completely 100% USA-made. On the other hand, Sears Canada's line of Craftsman tools are, I believe, mostly imported from overseas.

I've only seen photo's of a SO flank drive plus wrench...don't they marr the surface of a nut/bolt because of those "grippers"?

The CT maximum wrenches are pretty stout, I agree. I only have a 12mm wrench to compare, and it's the longest that I have for those hard to reach places. I believe the Maximum line are all imported from Taiwan, from Lea Way and Stanley Works.

Well, while I was waiting to pick up some speakers from Orgasm Donor at Soundsgood, I poked my head into the Snap-On truck that was parked outside his shop to take a look around. A lot of the tools I checked out, especially the ratchets, felt much more solid than current stuff. Plenty more teeth in those gears, but they aren't very long. My Mastercraft Maximum ratchets are much longer (by at least an inch) and that's something I need. I also had a bit of a sticker shock when I found out that the single 1/2" ratchet I wanted to buy from the vendor cost more than the retail price of the speakers I was picking up... :eek:

So, yeah... maybe I'll just stick with the Maximum stuff for the time being... :lol