02-19-2019, 06:01 PM
spacescape wrote:
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.