Craftsman Tools

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1969383S

1969383S

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Like or hate? I have had them since the beginning of my time.

I have some Snap on, Mac and Matco as well. My main box is a Matco giant and have went from a Craftsman 3 box setup to Snap-on bench and then a Matco 3 box unit. Most the hand Tools remained old school Craftsman. They have served me pretty well over the years and Sears was always close by to replace, Under lifetime warranty a piece that failed. I had been pretty displeased with the current offering from Sears and always asked for a fix it kit for my ratchets etc. Made in China was deterring me.

I was looking for a kit to keep in the Motor Home and decided on a Craftsman 216 piece combo deal from Lowe’s. At $149 it was roughly $1.45 per piece and a easy buy. They are now listed as made in the USA with Global products, maybe a catch phrase.! Guess they could have said, Assembled in the USA! They seem to be better than my old stuff with some caveats, like shorter handle ratchets, but smoother. Anyway a nice compact kit for the Motor home and comprehensive. Wonder if Stanley is making the product as branded.

My bad head math was incorrect and even cheaper! As pointed out .69 per piece. Oh well. Thanks DFR360cuda for correcting me!
 
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1969383S said:
Like or hate? I have had them since the beginning of my time.

I have some Snap on, Mac and Matco as well. My main box is a Matco giant and have went from a Craftsman 3 box setup to Snap-on bench and then a Matco 3 box unit. Most the hand Tools remained old school Craftsman. They have served me pretty well over the years and Sears was always close by to replace, Under lifetime warranty a piece that failed. I had been pretty displeased with the current offering from Sears and always asked for a fix it kit for my ratchets etc. Made in China was deterring me.

I was looking for a kit to keep in the Motor Home and decided on a Craftsman 216 piece combo deal from Lowe’s. At $149 it was roughly $1.45 per piece and a easy buy. They are now listed as made in the USA with Global products, maybe a catch phrase.! Guess they could have said, Assembled in the USA! They seem to be better than my old stuff with some caveats, like shorter handle ratchets, but smoother. Anyway a nice compact kit for the Motor home and comprehensive. Wonder if Stanley is making the product as branded.
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The old Craftsman were made in the US. The new ones not so much. The tool truck major brands are made here but the secondary lines are Taiwan or China. Not to say that they are junk though. If you are a hobby mechanic the NON first line brands will probably be fine. Professionals need the fit, finish, quality, warranty and the weekly door to door service.
 
Bought my first big set from Sears 45 years ago at least. They have lasted pretty damn good. A cracked socket or maybe 20 over the years. Ratchet rebuild every 5 or so. Just in last 5 years , I learned why the screw drivers were shaped the way they were, it was not on the package as I remember., as who needs instructions to use a screw driver? I have no regrets!
 
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I like any brand hand tool that's decent quality. I'm even impressed by the Power Torque hand tools that O'Reilly sells. They are really good quality for chinkisium imported stuff.
 
I was able to find some good deals at pawn shops to put a set in each of my cars. Last one I bought was a Stanley set for like 15.00.
 
I have lots of craftsman. All the stuff I bought was USA made. When I loose them or break them, I take my missing/broken tools list with me when I go to swap meets and dig through the boxes of sockets when I find them and pick out the USA made Craftsman tools that I need. ;) I prefer not to buy chinese stuff, - only when I have to. Like this phone that I’m typing on. LOL

But I do once in a while buy Snap-On. Especially their ratchets and wrenches, I only buy those on E-Bay.
 
I have all craftsman and I love them. Most of my stuff was bought when I worked at sears and got the employee discount. I started at sears when I was 18 years old in 2004 and the stuff seemed really quality then. My dad gave me his old set from the 70s but I was always biased to the ones I bought myself.

I still continued to buy them when they were made in china. Anyone who has been to or seen china in the 10 years will know they pump out some good stuff. They don't skimp on labor and the stuff out of their foundries is very consistent.

I wish they were made in USA even still just out of principle that craftsman should be an American Thing because it always was.

I can say I have never had any big issues with any craftsman made in USA or china.
 
When I have had Craftsman ratchets that slip and take them to get exchanged, The ones I get in return Suck! they are sloppy and in no time they slip. I have noticed this for about the last 15 years.
 
About 80% of my two huge tool boxes are Craftsman, mostly bought when they were made in the USA. I buy a lot of this stuff at yard sales, swap meets, etc. Keeping a sharp eye out can land some really nice tools for cheap. I understand the newer China stuff can be good, but it's not as good as the domestic stuff in my book.
 
Since Sears is no longer in Canada, I guess I'll have to rely on Lowe's for Craftsman stuff. I've begun buying Canadian Tire Master Mechanic tools as they have life warranty as well as being good tools.
 
I still have the S&K sets I bought 45 years or so, some Snap-On, Crapsmen, and Proto. But recently I have been buying Pittsburgh brand at Harbor Freight and honestly the hat is what I usually grab out of my box to use.
 
My pittsburgh ratchets have lasted longer than my made in china craftsman ratchets. Still love my made in the usa craftsman 6 point wrenches though.
 
most of my stuff is crafstmen.. some husky,snapon and mac thrown in there...

my crafstmen line wrenches just never felt right.. bought a used set of snapon line wrenches and the difference is amazing..
 
Today tool brands change their manufacturing centers and parent companies so much that it is hard to say if any brand is good or not. You have to judge each tool individually and by what series or date it was manufactured. There is usually a cycle where a brand builds up a reputation with good value tools then uses that reputation to get maximum profits by pasting their name on lesser quality items. You might get an awesome tool by a brand one year and get a totally different tool from the same brand the next.

It looks like Lowes is trying to revive the Craftsman name with USA "manufacturing" and their new products look nice. Might be a good time to get Craftsman before they once again ride the brand out.
 
If Imma buy Chinese tools, Imma pay Chinese prices. End of story.
 
jos51700 said:
If Imma buy Chinese tools, Imma pay Chinese prices. End of story.
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Currently 1 Chinese Yuan = .14 US dollar

so one US dollar gets you many Chinese Yuan

still I would have a hard time justifying the plane ticket, but to each his own.

I know that there is a middle man that gets paid, but I think it is best to let someone else bulk freight them in.
 
Most of mine are Craftsman. Even the corded power tools. But I'm not partial to any line. Heck, I may even have 1 (one) Snap-On wrench. For Craftsman I broke 1 breaker bar, one deep socket, and snapped a tip off a #2 Philipps over the years. All exchanged with no questions.
My go to ratchet, a 3/8" fine tooth flex head ratchet, I wore out the socket retainer ball. That was irritating with sockets falling off at inopportune times. Not in stock at the time. They had me order a new ratchet and exchanged it (no charge) when it came in. Still USA made so it say's. I would have been happy just to get the rebuild kit that they had in stock.

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But just wow many of ya' had/have this brand?
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Come on, don't be shy. I know you're out there!

BTW, Sorry guys, (I just know you're wanting that 19/32) no Blue Light Special on these gems ……………...yet!:lol:
 
my68barracuda said:
Currently 1 Chinese Yuan = .14 US dollar

so one US dollar gets you many Chinese Yuan

still I would have a hard time justifying the plane ticket, but to each his own.

I know that there is a middle man that gets paid, but I think it is best to let someone else bulk freight them in.
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You figured it out. It ain't worth paying Chinese prices. :)
 
I have alot of craftsman tools, alot of proto challenger and alot of blackhawk, I guess my blackhawk are my favorite, its ashame they aren't around anymore, I bought most of my tools in 84 to 92 when I was working maintenance at plastic products I've had my craftsman tool chest and snap on tool chest since 84, I bought alot of snap on special tools for body work in 83.
 
FYI Since a lot of sears stores are now gone you can still get the " Lifetime Warranty " at any place that sells Craftsman tools like Lowes, Ace hardware If they have the item in stock. If that fails you can call the 888.331.4569 don't forget to press 1 for English lol. I had a couple of sockets and a combo wrench they simply asked me the model numbers on the phone and sent me new ones. No return required and NO proof of purchase.
 
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i think that when craftsman got sold, the buyer said that they were going to make them in the USA again. not sure if they are yet.
 
rbkt65 said:
i think that when craftsman got sold, the buyer said that they were going to make them in the USA again. not sure if they are yet.
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Stanley will build them in the Dallas forging plant if they are going to be made here again.
 
nearpar said:
FYI Since a lot of sears stores are now gone you can still get the " Lifetime Warranty " at any place that sells Craftsman tools like Lowes, Ace hardware If they have the item in stock.
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Been meaning to try that. I remember it being hassle free at Sears back in the day.
 
Half of my tools are old USA Craftsman and the other have is SnapOn. Never liked the craftsman sockets much, they break more often than I think they should. Love the the snap on. The feel in the hands is much better in my opinion. It’s still painful to pay snap on prices though, even with my 25% discount through my employer. Tool boxes however, hard to beat the HF brand for the dollar.
 
Our garage burned down about seven years ago. Bought a large new set of Craftsman after that. Then bought my ‘66, pretty damn much overhauled the whole friggin’ car....never broke a wrench, socket, ratchet...anything. I don’t use the tools professionally, and they’ve worked for me.
 
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