New Craftsman era.

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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So, I was a diehard craftsman tool fan. I even worked at Sears and enjoyed the employee discount.

Then I turned away when it was announced that they began making the old beloved tools in China.

Now, as we all know, Sears is dead and not coming back.

Craftsman has been redesigned, I notice the rachets look different now. I took a close look at them today at Lowes.

Has anyone tried out the new era Craftsman tools now that are being sold through lowes and have mostly been redesigned.

I'm tempted to buy a set to compare to my old tools that I bought in the early 2000s.

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Nope. Walked by them a bunch, though.
 
It's pretty weird seeing them outside of Sears, seen that my local Napa has them too. Would be curious to see how their quality is, do they still have that great warranty?
 
Funny that all of my shiny, polished snap-on's are in neat rows in my box
and my bench has my old greasy, dirty craftsman tools scattered everywhere!
 
Rockerdude said:
It's pretty weird seeing them outside of Sears, seen that my local Napa has them too. Would be curious to see how their quality is, do they still have that great warranty?
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It is kinda weird....but I have to admit, I'm glad Craftsman survived. At least they're still here. You caint redeem yourself if you're gone.
 
Same tools as HF and maybe even worse in some cases..... I can take something back to HF broke and it's a hassle free experience.. Since Craftsman is spreading themselves around everywhere I would think getting anything warrantied will be a hot mess so I have no interest in their tools anymore. I still use the ones I have from the mid 80's and have no problems...

JW
 
I had 3 of the old ratchets that were broken, two 3/8's and one 1/2 drive . I phoned Stanley last summer and they replaced them no questions asked, didn't even have to send the old ones back. I have since broken one of the new 3/8's drive. I will say they feel good in your hand while using them. Shouldn't hit them with a hammer though. lol

Jack
 
Coyote Jack said:
I had 3 of the old ratchets that were broken, two 3/8's and one 1/2 drive . I phoned Stanley last summer and they replaced them no questions asked, didn't even have to send the old ones back. I have since broken one of the new 3/8's drive. I will say they feel good in your hand while using them. Shouldn't hit them with a hammer though. lol

Jack
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I have a lot of craftsman tools from back in the 60`s , if one breaks (hardly ever) , I can take it to an ACE hardware about 3 miles from my house and get it replaced free ------------- no questions asked .
 
My Craftsmans are from the 80's and 90's. They are the good ones. If I know I'm gonna be beating on a tool with a hammer or using a 4 foot cheater, I have my Combat tools. They're the ones that I don't care if I break.
 
We lost Sears a few years back. Funny how a lot of the good tool companies were bought up by B & D.
 
I have a lot of old craftsmen tools my pops left me, haven't broken any yet, about a year ago I bought a set of ratchet wrenches and they seem fine, I use them all the time.
Jeff
 
Back "in the day" when first getting into cars Sears was the go to source for Diehard Batteries, tire service and various starting or charging diagnostics, (among other services I never needed) and any hand tools (the free lifetime exchange warranty for damaged tools could not be beat) I remember the mechanics as being older guys that looked like my grandpa, been at it a long time, real mechanics who when you didn't know what you may know now, could trust that they would do things correctly. That's just where you went where we lived at the time. Now, Craftsman is just a name slapped on stuff that is no different than the other imported crap. Yard equipment is just different coloring, or paint and a badge. Parts cranked out at the same casting, stamping, molding, etc plants All you're buying now is a name. The glory days are gone. Like others mentioned, just walk right on by, or if feeling nostalgic might grab a tool or two every once in a while and flip it over to verify "yup, Made In China" Put it back, shake head :( and move on.
 
Princess Valiant said:
.....Then I turned away when it was announced that they began making the old beloved tools in China......
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I started buying Craftsman tools in the late '70s. I was surprised to find the combination wrench set I bought was made in Japan. They have been just fine. Several of the air tools were made there as well.........

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RustyRatRod said:
It is kinda weird....but I have to admit, I'm glad Craftsman survived. At least they're still here. You caint redeem yourself if you're gone.
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Craftsman in name only. Sears sold the name rights to Stanley Black &Decker back in 2017 and then there was a lawsuit against sears for releasing tools under the Craftsman name. Craftsman has always been tough but crudely made. Back in the last century they were tough and cheap. When Overseas (Japan/China) manufacturing opened up they went there for a cheaper product and possibly more profit. If I remember correctly, their Professional line were forged in the same Dallas plant that the American made Stanley, Mac, and proto tools came from.

Note: Very few air tools are made in the USA.
 
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I bought a three piece automotive pry bar set, one of the plastic handles broke off just removing them from the packaging.

I returned them the next day.
 
toolmanmike said:
Craftsman in name only. Sears sold the name rights to Stanley Black &Decker back in 2017 and then there was a lawsuit against sears for releasing tools under the Craftsman name. Craftsman has always been tough but crudely made. Back in the last century they were tough and cheap. When Overseas (Japan/China) manufacturing opened up they went there for a cheaper product and possibly more profit. If I remember correctly, their Professional line were forged in the same Dallas plant that the American made Stanley, Mac, and proto tools came from.

Note: Very few air tools are made in the USA.
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My auto shop instructor, James Lovett (RIP) had some very old Craftsman tools made by Snap On. That's who made their hand tools when they first started out. This was back in about 1980 when he showed them to us. They made the then "GOOD" Craftsman tools pale in comparison with weight and general finish. They were well worn, but you could feel and see that the metal was really high quality. I've seen a few since, but not many.

Speaking of Proto, that's what he had the entire tool room stocked with. Vintage Proto tools from the 50s. They were badass.
 
The vast majority of my hand tools are Craftsman. I started buying them when an old school gas station closed down and I got a trunk load of their tools for peanuts. Ever since Sears was a favorite place to wander the aisles and figure out what I couldn't live without. Now that Sears is done, I buy up all the old ones I can find at yard sales. The new stuff is passable but it's of a lesser quality for sure. I don't think as many folks know the value of the older Craftsman stuff so I get them for cheap. Kind of like the 3/4" Proto torque wrench I picked up a few months ago at a garage sale for $15. It is a monster, almost 4' long and I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I have it by golly!
 
halfafish said:
The vast majority of my hand tools are Craftsman. I started buying them when an old school gas station closed down and I got a trunk load of their tools for peanuts. Ever since Sears was a favorite place to wander the aisles and figure out what I couldn't live without. Now that Sears is done, I buy up all the old ones I can find at yard sales. The new stuff is passable but it's of a lesser quality for sure. I don't think as many folks know the value of the older Craftsman stuff so I get them for cheap. Kind of like the 3/4" Proto torque wrench I picked up a few months ago at a garage sale for $15. It is a monster, almost 4' long and I have no idea what I'll do with it, but I have it by golly!
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Flip it for a profit
 
SLOPAR72 said:
Same tools as HF and maybe even worse in some cases..... I can take something back to HF broke and it's a hassle free experience.. Since Craftsman is spreading themselves around everywhere I would think getting anything warrantied will be a hot mess so I have no interest in their tools anymore. I still use the ones I have from the mid 80's and have no problems...

JW
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Worse then HF is actually a very low bar

I've found thier hand tool specifically more then adequate
 
diymirage said:
Worse then HF is actually a very low bar

I've found thier hand tool specifically more then adequate
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HF has a new line of hand tools called ICON. They are very high quality for china tools.
 
RustyRatRod said:
HF has a new line of hand tools called ICON. They are very high quality for china tools.
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We taught China everything they know. The quality of their steel is good and their quality, fit, and finish is much better than 10-20 years ago.
 
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