Husky vs. Gearwrench: Which Brand to Choose? - Handyman's World (2024)

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If you are looking for a new brand of tools to buy all of your products from, two that you may want to consider include Husky and Gearwrench. Husky is a very well-known brand in North America, and as far as hand tools go, so is Gearwrench.

That being said, these two brands are fairly different in terms of what they offer. Let’s do a side-by-side comparison of the two to see which one is better for you.

A Brief History of Husky and Gearwrench

Husky is a very old company, one that was started by a Czechoslovakian immigrant, Sigmund Mandl, back in 1924. This is an American company. Sigmund Mandl created what would be the first official Husky mechanic’s wrench, which quickly became extremely popular due to its very high build quality and functionality.

Sigmund and Husky then formed a partnership with the J.H. Williams Tool Group in 1928. J.H sold this Husky wrench inside of its own mechanic’s wrench sets. Shortly after, in 1928, Mandl left Husky. The company was then sold to the Olsen Manufacturing Company, and later to the New Britain Machine Company in 1932, which itself was purchased by Litton Industries shortly after 1970.

The New Britain Machine Company sold the rights to Husky to Stanley Works in 1986, which then sold the rights to The Home Depot. To this day, Husky is still owned by The Home Depot, and is in fact its flagship line of tools. Husky is a fairly small company, with under 150 employees and just over $40 million in yearly revenues.

Gearwrench is also an American tool brand. It specializes in mechanic’s tools. The brand has a bit of a complicated history, so bear with us.

Gearwrench was first called KD Tools, as it was founded by Harry W. Kulp and Martin C. Dellinger in 1919, in Pennsylvania, USA. KD Tools then built its first Taiwanese manufacturing facility in 1965, which at the time was called the Ruey Yang Company manufacturing facility. This would then come to be known as the Lea Way Hand Tool Corporation, and by the late 1990s, as the Apex Tool Group. The Apex Tool Group then founded Gearwrench in 1995, when the first five-degree ratcheting wrench was made. Therefore, Gearwrench itself isn’t even 30 years old.

The Apex Tool Group, the parent company behind Gearwrench, was bought by Bain Capital in the early 2010s for $1.6 billion. While the Apex Tool Group is very large, Gearwrench is not a massive company. That said, Gearwrench is all about quality, not quantity.

Husky vs. Gearwrench: Which Offers Better Quality?

In terms of overall build quality, Husky tools are seen as being middle of the line. They aren’t anything overly special but work well enough for basic tasks.

As far as Husky power tools are concerned, they’re seen as being ideal for DIY tasks, small home repairs, and general light work. That said, they aren’t seen as being durable enough to handle heavy-duty work, especially not on a daily basis. The consensus is that Husky power tools, for the most part, aren’t ideal for professional purposes.

However, there is a difference between the power tools and the hand tools. When it comes to Husky hand tools, particularly those mechanic’s tools, they are actually seen as being quite good, well above average. Most agree that Husky hand tools and mechanic’s tools are indeed good enough for professional purposes, and can easily compete with the other big names out there.

It is worth noting that Husky tools are made by various other companies, including the Apex Tool Group, Western Forge, Iron Bridge Tools, and Stanley Black & Decker. A good deal of the mechanic’s and hand tools are made in the USA, but everything else is made in China and Taiwan. This is of course interesting as the Apex Tool Group also owns Gearwrench.

Speaking of Gearwrench, all of their products are made in Taiwan, and since just a few years, also in China. Now, what does need to be said is that Gearwrench produces some of the absolute best tools to come out of Taiwan and China. Of course, Gearwrench specializes in mechanic’s tools, and they are seen as being some of the best in the world, without a shadow of a doubt.

There really is not much else to say about Gearwrench tool quality, because as far as automotive and mechanic’s tools are concerned, many professionals out there choose Gearwrench over everything else. Although Gearwrench is not a cheap brand to purchase tools from, it does often have huge sales, particularly BOGO sales.

Which Offers a Better Warranty?

Husky has great warranties on its hand tools and mechanic’s tools, lifetime warranties to be exact. All of the power tools have either three-year or two-year limited warranties.

All Gearwrench tools feature a lifetime warranty, accessories generally have a one-year warranty, and toolboxes have one, three-, or five-year limited warranties.

The warranties from both brands seem to be fairly equal.

Husky vs. Gearwrench: Which Has a Better Product Portfolio?

In terms of product selection, these are two very different brands no doubt. Husky produces quite a few power tools, as well as hand tools and mechanic’s tools too. They don’t have the biggest selection across the board, but pretty decent nonetheless.

On the other hand, Gearwrench specializes in only one thing, which is mechanic’s tools. Although this brand only produces mechanic’s tools, it produces many of them, and they’re very high quality too.

Which of the Two Brands Should You Choose?

If you are a professional mechanic or someone who repairs your own car a lot, then Gearwrench is the brand to go with. However, if you need some normal hand tools for carpentry, as well as power tools for light to moderate use, then Husky is the better brand to go with.

Simply put, Gearwrench is all about automotive tools, whereas Husky is more about the carpentry side of things.

Summary

Now that you know all of the important facts about both Husky and Gearwrench, you can make an informed decision between the two. When it comes down to it, both brands are very popular, particularly when it comes to mechanic’s tools.

How Does Husky Compare with Other Brands?

See how Husky compares with: Craftsman | DeWalt | Kobalt | Milwaukee | Stanley