Kobalt tool chests?

T

turnipgreen

New member
I'm going to be in the market for a serious tool chest in the next few months. I've just started looking, but I know I want a base that rolls on casters, and the drawers to be on ball bearing slides. I have a friend who works for Snapon, but I quickly figured out that unless he ended up with some mis-ships that I wasn't going to be able to justify the cost. He pointed me to the Kobalt brand that is being sold at Lowes, as he says Snapon makes these. He went further to say that the Kobalt stuff was of higher quality than like the Craftsman from Sears.



Just wondering if any of you had comments.
 
I own some Kobalt tools, including one of their tool chests. Kobalt is made by J.H. Williams, which is the industrial hand tool division of Snap-On Inc. There tools are VERY high quality, much better than Craftsman IMO. Make no mistake Kobalt IS NOT the same as Snap-On, but for the normal DIY'er it's as close as you are going to find. The quality for the price is outstanding.



The tool chests are very nice. They use heavier gauge metal than Craftsman and all units come with ball bearing drawer slides, etc. They are pretty nice toolboxes, I own one myself. They are not quite as good as Snap-On, but are light years better than Craftsman. Do a comparison for yourself, check out the Kobalt box and then go look at a Craftsman box of equal. It's not even a challange, the Kobalt box will win hands down.



On a side note, I hear rumblings that Lowe's is dropping the Kobalt line because they can't seem to get along with Snap-On over pricing, availability, etc. Many of the Lowes are running very low on stock of tools and the toolboxes are quickly going bye-bye. I think Snap-On has stopped shipping to Lowes. My local Lowes is almost totally out of everything and I know Adamah was looking for a toolbox as well but can't find any in his area. So, if you want one and can find it I would buy it before it's gone.



If you have anymore questions about Kobalt stuff fire away, or you can PM me if you want. :)
 
Kobalt tools are made by Snap-On. The quality of their tools blows Craftsman away. They make very solid, good handling tools. I'm not lucky enough to live near a Lowes that carries the Kobalt tool chests so I cant attest to the quality but I know ShowroomLincoln just bought one and I think the loves it. Maybe shoot him a PM about it.
 
Any rumblings about who would pick up the Kobalt line if Lowes stopped carrying it? My Lowes only had a couple of the larger pieces, and neither was what I wanted. I didn't ask yet about getting pieces they don't have.



Just wondering how the lifetime warranty would work if Lowes stopped carrying them and nobody nationwide picked it up.
 
I was just browsing the online Lowes Kobalt selection, and the dimensions listed don't seem right. They list the width on a top chest that looks like it would go on top of the tower you have at 16 inches. Surely this is the depth. How wide is your tool chest?
 
Last rumor I heard the Kobalt line would be absorbed into Williams and Snap-On industrial and would no longer be available for retail sale.



My tool chest is about 28" wide and 43" high. :up
 
I emailed my friend from Snapon, and he said he had heard the same rumors you mentioned. He said that he didn't know all of the issues, but that the relationship between Kobalt and Lowes was not guaranteed. He went further to say that while visiting a Lowes he noticed the slim inventory of Kobalt.



For my benefit though, he said that if I bought Kobalt and ran into any warranty issues, he would swap me Snapon as replacements! Can't beat that, if I can get what I want from Lowes as far as Kobalt goes.
 
turnipgreen,



Thanks for the confirmation. I had heard just rumors and have not had any type of confirmation. I know most of the stores around the Cincinnati area don't have much, and Adamah can't find any of the tool chests where he lives. :( I hope they can work things out, Kobalt is probably the best band for the buck in the DIY'er tool market today. :(



Thanks again for the info.
 
I haven't been able to find much as far as Kobalt chests locally either, even though they have been advertised in the Sunday paper every week. I finally found a 800 number (actually 888) and called to see what story they would give. According to the lady at Kobalt, they are low in stock at Lowes at the moment due to them redesigning their line, and a new line will be out in mid January. She wouldn't give me any details other than that.



I guess I'll wait til mid January and either see their new stuff, or call back and see what the updated story is.
 
Wow, that sounds interesting. I hope "Redesiging" does not mean cheaper quality at same price. :confused: From what I heard mid-January was the time Lowes and Kobalt were set to split. :nixweiss
 
So will the kobalt line still exist, it will just not be available through lowes? I was thinking about getting some of their tools, but have not gone to lowes look at them, so I am not sure how large of a selection they will have, from what you guys say, not very big. I don't want to buy some stuff and then later if I want more pieces, them not exist anymore?:confused:
 
I have several Kobalt tools and their quality is outstanding. So much better than Craftsman or Husky. I hope they don't discontinue them!
 
Sounds like from all the pieces we can get that we won't know for sure til mid January when they either are dropped by Lowes or put out a new line of tool chests (and possibly tools).
 
Latest development according to my friend at Snapon is that they, meaning Snapon, won't be manufacturing "much" of the Kobalt stuff going forward. Supposedly a company named Armstrong is picking up the manufacturing, and the decision was made based on cost reasons. So I guess I'll stay back and watch to see what Kobalt becomes before I do any purchasing.



I could always ante up the big bucks for Snapon, maybe I could convince my wife that if I live to be 80 it won't really cost that much per year.
 
Armstrong is a maker of industrial hand tools. They are owned by the Danaher tool group, the same people that make Craftsman tools. Looks like Kobalt is going to join the masses of unimpressive tools. :down :sosad



Guess I better buy the Snap-On made stuff before the new "redesigned" (cheaper, run of the mill junk) comes out in mid Jan. :down
 
So now I have to decide for either a Craftsman chest (cheapest currently), Kobalt (unkown quality going forward), Bluepoint made by Snapon which is roughly 2X the cost, or bottom level Snapon that carries ball bearing slides for about 2.5X cost.



Someone tell me how to convince a wife that having Snapon is useful for me:)



Maybe I'll become wealthy before I make a decision and it won't matter anymore.
 
Found out why my local Lowes didn't have the Kobalt Chest I had been lusting after.My Father picked it up for me for Christmas!!! :)
 
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