Crown Bolt, Inc. Crown Screw & Bolt Shoddy materials & Design Internet
I purchased a number of "hook and eye" pieces for a project. The specific name on the package was "gate hook & eye." Unlike the standard hook & eye manufactured in this country for the last hundred years, these had a u-curve with no point or reverse curve. As a consequence, they are USELESS because when any strain is put on the latched hook, it pops out of the eye! Only individuals who have no concept of a hook & eye and its use would make such a product. It was probably 2 cents cheaper to make, and that shortcut reduced its value to zero. (No, not zero -- it could be scrapped for about 0.001 cent -- an approximation of zero.)
The purchase was made at Home Depot in Waltham, MA (Store 2574). I would recommend not buying ANYTHING made by Crown Bolt. These were in plastic packages on a large display of Crown Bolt fasteners, and you should walk right by. I will be returning this junk, and I will buy hook & eyes for my project at another store -- NOT Home Depot. There is no way I'll get my time back.
Crown Bolt does say on the package not to use the hook & eye for overhead support, human support, athletic purposes or for playgrounds. They neglected to mention not using this product for anything! They also mention the product was made in China. Well, a word to the wise is sufficient, and that's all I have to say about that.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
RD
Weston,Massachusetts,
United States of America
Experience w/ defective hook&eye from Home Depot
#2Author of original report
Mon, April 12, 2010
UPDATE: Today returned to Home Depot (HD) w/ bad hook & eye. Explained situation to assistant manager. He was apologetic but said they are given these items by HD to carry in the store. However, he had another brand of hook & eye which are of better design. The assistant manager then gave me the replacement units and also refunded my original purchase price. Later this afternoon, I was able to complete my project successfully. This shows great initiative and responsiveness on the part of the HD store asst. mgr, but does not change the fact that HD corporate has a policy of carrying many substandard items, and you can't count on what you buy to be acceptable unless you check the item very carefully.
UPDATE on CROWN BOLT: This company is a wholly owned subsidiary of HD. They have a web site under the generic group "HD Supply." The web site will not allow you to access it, however. This subsidiary is in California. HOWEVER, another company in the mid-west called "Crown Screw and Bolt" is a different organization altogether. They unfortunately have a similar name and keep popping up in the search engines alongside the HD subsidiary Crown Bolt. As far as I know, Crown Screw and Bolt is not part of this complaint and is not the same as Crown Bolt.