Kobalt tools at Lowes... Are they phasing them out in favor of craftsman???

[bazookaman]

deckeda wrote:
Does Rigid still do the lifetime warranty on batteries when bought this way?

Yes.

[JoeH]

spacescape wrote:
[quote=JoeH]
[quote=spacescape]
I have Craftsman for the most part but like the feel of Kobalt Ratchets which "appear" identical to SnapOn (My research tells me that whomever is manufacturing SnapOn also manufactures Kobalt hand tools). Just seems Lowes has lots invested in the Kobalt name and seems like odd that they would just drop a successful name.

Your research is partly right, but not for over 15 years. In the early years, 1998-2003, Cobalt hand tools were made by J H Williams which is a division of Snap-on Tools. Williams was renamed to Snap-on Industrial in 2011.

From 2003 to 2011 most hand tools were manufactured by Danaher. Danaher owns Matco Tools and at the time also owned Armstrong Tools. Don't know whether one or both were involved in making Kobalt tools.

Since 2011 tools were made for them by JS Products, with Great Neck continuing to make their screwdrivers.
Thanks for the info... I know the Kobalt looks almost identical to the Snap-On Ratchet... That being said, I want to get a set of Kobalt Ratchets... Do you recommend anything else? They just feel so nice!!!
I haven't been actively buying tools the last few years, so can't make any recommendations among current products short of going for the pro tools like Snap-on or Matco. Best bet may be to see if your local Lowe's hasn't sold out yet and get the Kobalt ratchets. Otherwise estate sales sometimes have tools.