I was looking at some tools on sale at sears, and went by the 'special cheap stocking stuffers' bin. Noticed nitro coated drills, and it was of course 'made in china'. Well it had a KR tools logo and was from 'oxnard cali.' hey! thats where the dreaded 'HF', dare I mention? [harbor fright] tool warehouses are located! Could it be? is sears owned by china too?
Sears are importing more and more tools. Too many people want to be paid top dollar,but don't want to pay for quality.
i worked at sears in the tool dept for a couple years the only stuff still made in the us anymore is craftsman "hand tools" wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, and some of the pliers type stuff everything alse is CHINA, all power tools is CHINA now and the life time warrenty dosent apply to any of the hand tools taht have to be sharpend, like drill bits and tin snips
i like craftsman tools as i have never had a problem with them that they didnt replace , but im not a pro mechanic either and i dont have to use them everyday.
Even the Craftsman Tools are junk now. Remember when your Box end wrenches had kick Cast in to the wrench. not the new ones the end is just bent. Ive just been replacing any thing that breaks with Snap-on. they still seem to be good. even some of there stuff is starting to be imported
A couple of years ago I broke a 5/8" deepwell Craftsman socket. I forget now what I was doing, but I was using a Craftsman 3/8" drive breaker bar, and the socket split down the side (and I ended up on my ass ). So I take my busted socket with the lifetime warranty back to Sears (which is 50 mi away BTW). They look at it and tell me they won't replace it. I ask "Why?". The manager said "Because we do not replace tools that were abused, and the only way to break a socket is to abuse it (IE if you break one and need the warranty, it's void)." Of course, this pissed me off, and I told him so. He agreed to replace the socket, but it had to be sent in and a replacement shipped back to the store (wouldn't even drop ship it to me), so I had to drive back another 50 miles to pick the damned thing up when it finally showed up (a week later). When I picked it up, they told me this one had NO warranty at all. I've not bought a Craftsman tool since. When I need tools now, I buy Snap-On or KD. My local Snap-On guy replaced all my screwdriver blades because they were old enough that they had worn out and weren't sharp anymore. Same thing with broken sockets, replaced from stock on the spot, no questions asked. They cost more, but not a lot more, and you only have to buy them once. I'm slowly replacing all my hand tools as they die (since Sears won't replace them anymore). It might take me 15 yrs, but they'll all be Snap-On eventually.
it appears your friendly manager was just being a dick , i dont understand how a craftsman tool can have no warranty , did they (sears) mark it or something? i do agree with you on swapping to snap-on tools but i have the problem in reverse here our snap-on guy is a fuckin prick ..
they were fucking with you i was the guy replacing tools for customers and i gave out new cracked sockets all day long the only thing they really hassled people on was bent handles on ratchets from people using pipes for extensions you just got stuck with an asshole manager i had some of those managers to but when i was workin i made sure people got theyre new replacements
A few years back I had a craftsman 3/8 drive ratchet give out. so I marched into my local sears and the guy told me that the current warranty on the ratchets was to give me a rebuild kit. I told him loudly that that may be the current warranty but that when I bought this ratchet it was a unconditional replacement warranty and that was what I expected. Following a short stare-down he forked over a new ratchet (while mumbling under his breath). There was only one reason to buy Craftsman and that was the warranty, no warranty, no purchase. I haven't bought another Craftsman tool since then.
I tell you, I prefer to buy 30-50 yr old hand tools at swap meets- you know they'll outlast anything new. I never buy chinese handtools after 1 experience: my MAC socket set was used when I found it in a junkyard fully 20 years ago, never broke a single piece since- but I broke 3 Husky pieces in 3 years (cheap-ass metric set). China = junk.
Well, regardless of whether it was policy or just a dick employee, the result was the same. I've not bought a Craftsman tool since, and I encourage people who ask to refrain as well. The older tools are of noticeably higher quality than the new stuff too. When I was in high school I got a set of the "Professional Series" combo wrenches (the shiny polished ones) for Christmas. Those wrenches are utter shit. They're longer than a normal wrench, and if you use the open end (no matter the size), you can actually SEE it open up when you apply torque to the fastener. Those things rounded off every bolt they saw for the first couple of weeks until I figured out what was going on. I still have them (they were a gift, can't just toss them), but I only ever use the box ends. That was the beginning of their long slide downhill for me. They want to build cheap junk (and still charge top dollar for it), fine, I don't gotta buy it.
I'll second Snap On. They are pricey, but worth it. Im done with sears. Just about everything in my box is replaced with Snap On. The stuff works better too, much better.
Yup. The summer between my Junior and Senior year of HS I broke a 3/4" drive ratchet the day after I bought the damned thing. No cheater bar, trying to break a bolt loose on a huge pipe flange (like 36" ID pipe), broke the head casting right in two and spit the guts out all over the ground (once again ending with me on my ass, seeing a pattern here ). I felt like a total stud, until I looked at the break and saw this huge bubble like casting flaw. The head casting was only about 0.025" thick in that spot, so it just came plum unglued when I tried to actually use it. Took it right back to the store that same day, and the guy gave the same "rebuild kit" spiel that you got. At first I thought he was joking, but since he wasn't laughing, I asked him how the hell you "rebuild" a ratchet when the main housing is broke in half. He saw my point and actually pulled one from stock to replace it with. That was the last time I actually got something replaced like they always used to (mid summer 1997).
sears has been importing their tools since the late 70s from japan. more recently tawian and korea. my uncle was a tool fanatic. i remember him cursing up a storm when they would break at him. sad but true. snap-on is not what is used to be either. i have had new ratchets strip out in one day. And you give them a chrome socket they want to give you back a black one? cheapo imo.
I've never had a problem with sears taking anything back. I took a Torx socket back a few weeks ago that I destroyed (split in half) working on my Jeep, the kid literally had me on my way in 2 minutes and apologized that the first one broke. LOL
i experienced that sears bullshit with a rachet," a rebuild kit?" imagine the look on someones face when they wake up after being knocked cold by a "defective rachet" time to try out husky or cobalt!
My dad gave me a set of Craftsman tools for Christmas in 1966,I still use most of them to this day. My 1/2" drive ratchet started slipping so I went to Sears to pick up the repair kit they use to have but not any more. The salesman said bring it in and toss it in the broken tool barrel and get yourself a brand new shiny one to replace that old beat up one. I went back home and got my old wrench and the same salesman was there when I returned with my old ratchet ,I walked over to the tool rack and removed a shiny new ratchet I then layed it on the counter in front of the salesman, then I removed my handy snap ring tool from my rear pocket and started taking the new ratchet apart and put the new internal parts in my 1966 ratchet. Then I tossed the shiny new worthless ratchet in the broken tool barbell the guy was shocked and he ask me why I would do that. I ask him did he work on cars, does he even own any tools? he said no to the first question and said yeah to the second. I just told him that the ratchet that I was holding in my hand is a part of my life that I was not ready to throw away and that my dad has been gone for several years but he rode in a couple of cars that those tools he gave me helped build. BTW ,I love my Craftsman tools. HRP
I bought my Son Dirty31 a center box for his tool box and he has had nothing but crap with it. craftsman SUX now !!!
The following link lists which tool lines are made by which manufacturer (at least up to 2003; the last time this page was updated.) http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/whotools.html I have a mix of late `90s (Danaher-made) Craftsman tools and Stanley-made Husky tools, and I personally feel the Husky tools are higher quality (Stanley made Craftsman hand tools prior to moving to Danaher in 1994, according to the above website.) I used to regard Lowe's Kobalt brand on par with Husky, but I've noticed a significant drop in quality in the past couple years. A sales associate at the local Lowe's said he saw the quality drop when they started carrying the low-end Task Force line (perhaps both lines made by the same manufacturer, with the same level of quality?) Can't comment on Snap-On, MAC, et al; only the lowest buck wrench turnin' going on here.
This sounds crazy but I have a cheap ratchet that I bought at Wally World. The shape reminds me of Snap-On. Its a Popular Mechanics brand I have had it for 4 or 5 years now and it replaced the very cheap feeling Craftsman that came in a set that I bought. It has never missed a beat and supposedly has a lifetime warranty. Oh yeah made in Taiwan.
I ran across a Mac 3/8 swivel head ratchet at a swap meet a while back. The guy wanted 20 for it. I took a close look at it and saw that it was cracked in the swivel joint. I told him about it and he said 'hell jut take the damned thing, I have two and keep bringing the broken one instead of the good one". I thanked him and when I got it home I took it to the Mac man and got a brand new one.
This is false information. Craftsman HAND tools may not be the best, but 90% is still USA made. The HAND TOOLS are 90% made by Danaher in the USA. They do sell some tools that are made overseas, but thats not the majority. This applies to the Craftsman line, not Companion tools. USA made or not, the quality has dropped in recent years. I have switched to Snap On, but still, for the light work, Craftsman does make decent USA made tools. Regardless, Craftsman may be turning to junk, but lets not pass on false info. The tools clearly state they are made in the USA. It is illegal to state such if its false. But it just proves that USA made doesnt always mean quality. Now check out some current MAC ratchets and sockets. They are going to Tiwan, yet still charging top dollar. They recently were fined over $100K by the government for putting "USA" on their gearless ratchet thats made mostly overseas (and the casting quality shows it). Thats not Snap On policy, thats your dealer violating his franchise agreement.
Ian had it right. Kmart did buy Sears. NOT the other way around... Sears has slowly but surely been backing out of their warranty. I'm a Snap-on convert as well.
I've had a Snap On set since '74 and I picked up a Craftsmen set a couple years ago. Back in late 80's Snap On tool truck guy "replaced the internals" on my Snap On ratchet & gave it back to me. So if Craftsman does that also - it's nothing new. Next, Snap On ratchets and wrenches seem to have a nice feel in the hand. Outside of that,what the heck. For replacements Sears is open more hours 7 days a week vs. the Snap On truck that would come around once a week. Just my 2 cents worth here this evening....
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