# Craftsman Tool Set - Made in the USA



## catoctin (Dec 30, 2014)

I was in Sears looking for a toolkit for my daughter for Christmas and found a majority of their Craftsman stuff is now made in China.  Craftsman tools were always the average Joe's alternative to Snap-On.  I see this topic has been beat to death in many forums.  The screw drivers are still made in the USA and I picked up a set of those.  I left the store feeling another little piece of Americana has disappeared.

A few days later, I was shopping in an Orchard Supply Hardware.  OSH was bought by Sears a few years back and later sold to Lowes this year.  Another attempt by Sears to find itself.  In the tool section, I found some several dusty mechanics tool sets that were made in the USA. Eureka!  The set contained the basic 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" ratchet sets, two basic combination wrench sets, and two sets of allen wrenches.  From the documents inside the tool set, it looks like this set may have been on the shelf since 2011.  We'll see how long they will last.

-Joe


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## darkzero (Dec 30, 2014)

If you go to Sears & look at the individual sockets, most of them will be USA, at least most of the ones around here do. I've seen others on the net report this too. Not so much with the individual wrenches but some are. Surprisingly not all craftsman hand tools in the store are all China, not yet anyway. I suspect they'll probably close down before that happens though. Hopefully not or hopefully someone will pick up the Craftsman brand if it does happen.


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## catoctin (Dec 30, 2014)

darkzero said:


> If you go to Sears & look at the individual sockets, most of them will be USA, at least most of the ones around here do. I've seen others on the net report this too. Not so much with the individual wrenches but some are. Surprisingly not all craftsman hand tools in the store are all China, not yet anyway. I suspect they'll probably close down before that happens though. Hopefully not or hopefully someone will pick up the Craftsman brand if it does happen.



I noticed that too when picking up a 12 pt socket a few days ago for a power drawbar build.  The individual sockets are stamped with all the usual info and the size is repeated with a laser etch.  They may be leftovers.

I went through all of the tool sets that contained ratchets at my local Sears and they were all from China.  The set I bought OSH was there too but made in China.  I saw some folks post that they got the set for 1/3 of what I paid prior to Xmas.  HF prices!  Costco had a similar set from Taiwan they were selling over the holidays .  The heads on the ratchets are huge.  I always liked the compact heads on the Craftsman.


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## herbet999 (Jan 2, 2015)

My wife bought me two socket sets for Christmas. One is a basic 3/8 drive standard and says made in USA. The other she mistakenly bought the metric deep socket instead of the standard. The metric one says made in China. I'm hoping when I exchange the metric set for a standard set that they will have one made in the USA. Although I'm not sure what difference in quality there would be.


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## NightWing (Jan 2, 2015)

I wouldn't be too concerned about country of source as long as the Craftsman Lifetime Warranty is still in effect.  Yes, it is too bad the hand tool manufacturing is going overseas like so many other products.


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## MikeWi (Jan 2, 2015)

I worked at Sears in the tool dept. about 5 years ago, and I also have a huge collection of Craftsman tools that I inherited from my Dad.    For some of the tools, the difference in quality between the old stuff and what they sell now is staggering.  From little things like the square hole in crows-foot wrenches being cut mis-aligned, to ratchet wrenches that jam or slip into neutral as you're using them.  They used to be my go-to brand, for anything, but now I know better.  They just aren't what they used to be.

The hand tools still have that life-time warranty, but I'm reminded of a tool line that I sold as a kid in a home center that also had a lifetime warr.  The tools were made over-seas, and of obviously questionable quality, but there was that lifetime warr.  People would buy the tools, and replace them a few times (like every time they used them) and eventually they'd give up and buy something better.  Meanwhile that company still made a profit.


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## 18w (Jan 2, 2015)

MikeWi said:


> I worked at Sears in the tool dept. about 5 years ago, and I also have a huge collection of Craftsman tools that I inherited from my Dad.    For some of the tools, the difference in quality between the old stuff and what they sell now is staggering.  From little things like the square hole in crows-foot wrenches being cut mis-aligned, to ratchet wrenches that jam or slip into neutral as you're using them.  They used to be my go-to brand, for anything, but now I know better.  They just aren't what they used to be.
> 
> The hand tools still have that life-time warranty, but I'm reminded of a tool line that I sold as a kid in a home center that also had a lifetime warr.  The tools were made over-seas, and of obviously questionable quality, but there was that lifetime warr.  People would buy the tools, and replace them a few times (like every time they used them) and eventually they'd give up and buy something better.  Meanwhile that company still made a profit.


Having worked as a heavy equipment mechanic for a lot of years, I amassed a lot of hand tools. Most were truck brands and some Craftsman. One thing I learned was lifetime warranty can sometimes be a misnomer. On several occasions I had the need to warranty a SnapOn tool only to find out they had discontinued it. It would pain me to have to exchange a old Craftsman tool for a new one...no comparison. One has to think the tool warranties are a double edged sword for the mfg. though. How many times do you think people buy broken or worn out tools at garage sales and exchange them for new? Glad I bought most of my stuff 30 to 40 years ago. Wouldn't want to be a young person starting out now...either price or quality wise.

Cheers
Darrell


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## MikeWi (Jan 2, 2015)

18w said:


> How many times do you think people buy broken or worn out tools at garage sales and exchange them for new?


I can answer that one from personal experience!  All the time!  I suspect they then turn around the new tools, sockets etc. at flea markets, but who knows?  We had customers who would collect any old craftsman tools they could find at garage/estate sales, and then exchange them for new.  All allowed by Sears!


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## herbet999 (Jan 2, 2015)

NightWing said:


> I wouldn't be too concerned about country of source as long as the Craftsman Lifetime Warranty is still in effect...



Until Sears goes out of business. Which may be sooner rather than later.


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## T Bredehoft (Jan 2, 2015)

Similar experience, I bought some used tools, For get what now, broke a Craftsman whatever. Took it back to Sears: "Do you have the receipt from when you bought it?"  

So much for a lifetime warranty.


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## Mark in Indiana (Jan 2, 2015)

herbet999 said:


> Until Sears goes out of business. Which may be sooner rather than later.



I think that Craftsman will live longer than Sears. Locally, Ace Hardware & Fastenal sell C-Man.
Also, Jeep is still sold after being owned by Willys, Kaiser, AMC, & Chrysler.


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## John Hasler (Jan 2, 2015)

Mark in Indiana said:


> I think that Craftsman will live longer than Sears. Locally, Ace Hardware & Fastenal sell C-Man.
> Also, Jeep is still sold after being owned by Willys, Kaiser, AMC, & Chrysler.



The name will live on: It's what the marketing people call a "franchise".  The product will be whatever the current owners choose to buy and stick the name on.


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## kd4gij (Jan 2, 2015)

I have a 3 year old 3/8 ratch made in usa and a new one made in china. When I show them to anyone and ask them to pic witch one was made in USA gues witch one thay pic.


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## xalky (Jan 3, 2015)

As far as hand tools go, I've been pretty impressed with the Kobalt line sold by Lowe's. I'm not sure where they're made but the quality has been good. Sears tool department had been a major disappointment the last few times I was in there. They don't carry half the stuff they used to anymore.


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## Micke S (Jan 3, 2015)

MikeWi said:


> The hand tools still have that life-time warranty, but I'm reminded of a tool line that I sold as a kid in a home center that also had a lifetime warr.  The tools were made over-seas, and of obviously questionable quality, but there was that lifetime warr.  People would buy the tools, and replace them a few times (like every time they used them) and eventually they'd give up and buy something better.  Meanwhile that company still made a profit.



Yes that is how it works when economists are in control of a business.  It works well short term only since the company will lose it's foundation. Sooner or later customers realize they can buy non-premium stuff cheaper by themselves. This is why I mostly value old tools more than new ones and the used old tools are often quite cheap to buy.


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## Rick Berk (Jan 3, 2015)

No agenda here just my thoughts. When I cleaned my mom's house out 4 years ago I kept my Dad's craftsman offset box wrenches from 3/8-1"  They were before chrome plating, 6 months later I walked into Sears and got an brand new set for free and passed them to my Senior High School son.

On the other hand when I needed parts for a Craftsman table top band saw, parts were no=longer available. 
When I needed parts a a 16 gallon shop vac, parts were no longer available. I bought a new one that fill the filter rather than the 16 gallon bucket, what a POS.
I bought a vibrating 1/3 sheet sander and found it vibrated my hand more than the oak board I was sanding, I returned it within a week and bought a Milwaukee 30 years ago.
In 1980  I bought a 7 1/2 circular saw and it cut exactly 18 feet before catching fire, I returned it the next morning for a new one thinking it was defective, the new one lasted 24 feet and I was being careful not to cut to fast. I found out it was made by Singer sewing machine co. spoke with a design engineer who told me it was designed to live 7 hours.( must be cutting 1/4 plywood). I then bought  Milwaukee and still using it today.
Finally my 25 year old Kenmore dehumidifier finally quit working (made by Whirlpool) and I bought a new Kenmore made by EHP and it lasted less than 1 year and was out of warranty.
GUESS WHY I HAVE BOUGHT NOTHING FROM SEARS IN 25 YEARS.

Most of my hand tools are Snap on, I have broke one combination wrench in 30 years. (don't tell me they cost to much).  I have several Proto crescent wrenched that are excellent. I bought a set of Bonney combination wrenched and the box end it great but the open end will spring open rather than breaking before you get to full torque.

You get crusty and opinionated when you have lived to long.


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## compsurge (Jan 3, 2015)

I think the Kobalt made in China ratchets are better than the newer Craftsman USA models at the same price point. One drop on the concrete of the garage and the Craftsman ratchet chips its finish off. Nothing is as good as it used to be - it's unfortunately the American consumerism model that converted quality tools (and everything else - look at appliances) to disposable ones. I believe this mentality removed the sense of pride (and thus quality) in a lot of US-made products.

20 years ago, you'd squirm at the thought of a Chinese tool. Modern China will make products as well or better as any other country, USA included, if you pay for it. China invested in manufacturing (importing high quality CNC machinery), training a workforce, and meeting ISO compliance. Irwin has been making tools in China that have compared very favorably to the older ones.

I don't know if it's my age, but to me country of origin doesn't mean much as long as the product is quality (and hopefully made responsibly). The Chinese are people and have families to feed too and the US is still innovating in new markets.


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## Mark in Indiana (Jan 3, 2015)

The majority of my hand tools are C-Man that I bought in the early 80s. They've done their job through the years. The quality of their tools have gone down through the years. 

My case & point is: A couple of years ago I went to trade in a 8" c-clamp (made in USA) because the spindle foot broke. The replacement that they had, with the same stock number was made in China, and it was noticeably inferior in quality. I just took mine back home and made my own spindle foot. 

BTW: I don't care where a tool is made...how it's made is what's important.


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## Wdnich (Jan 7, 2015)

Last January, the 1/2 drill that my father bought when I was born went to the drill heaven. It was a Craftsman manufactured in December 1963. On the label it stated very distinctly in big bold gold letters"guaranteed for life". This was a workhorse of a drill. Dad used it ,passed it on to me when I turned 18. When it finally went I went to return it. Talk about a hassle . They stated their electric tools did not carry a lifetime warranty. I pointed out plainly, the tag clearly marked. Their eyes got big as saucers. Then came the good old where's the receipt. I handed him the original receipt, owners manual, and the warranty registration card. Every turn they tried to weasel out of it, they hit a wall. It was warrantied for life. So after nearly two hours, they relented, and gave me a replacement. Cheap plastic body, weighed half the other one, and rattle like a jar of marbles, and informed me that it did not have a warranty.

The vast majority of my tools are Snap-on. I have never had an issue with replacement. Hand the dealer the broken one, and get back a replacement. And the replacement policy is very seldom used. I think in 30 years, maybe a dozen warranty repairs. I have never been fond of craftsman. I have some I call my pound on when needed tools. They have always disappointed me. I have an inch gash on my right hand where a craftsman 1/2 drive ratchet shattered. I sent 2 months in a cast due to the broken bones in the backside of my hand. 

The sad thing is although made in the USA some of them say. The steel is sourced from China.


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## umahunter (Jan 7, 2015)

Screw sears buncha tool thieves  look up the bionic wrench story


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