Have you guys heard of the industrial line? They look the same but are actually made in the USA. I saw some socket sets advertised in my summit catalogue. Costs about twice as much too.
I have not heard of the “Industrial Line” and I buy a lot of Craftsman.
The tools at the Sears Tool store around here all seem to be American made…though I have not been there for some time. I know K-Mart Bought Craftsman, but they have a very cheap line of tools. I went there looking for a new set of 1/2 inch deep impact sockets and they looked pretty cheap and had such small lettering…I’d have to get out the mag glass to read what socket I was reaching for. I wanted the nice big etched lettering for the older eyes.
I’ll have to look at their web site.
Yosemite
I see there is a “Professional Line”.
Yosemite
I just went to the K-Mart site and they don’t even show the junk that was in the store. Maybe they are too ashamed to show it. It did have the craftsman name on them.
Yosemite
I’ve shopped at Sears regularly, for years
Still do
The “professional” line has all but disappeared
No more professional wrenches or screwdrivers
It seems ever more sockets are now chinese
They used to have a very nice hacksaw, made in sweden. No more
I believe the hammers are still usa
It seems the impact sockets are also still usa. Get them while they still have them. They may also soon be chinese, or maybe they’ll also stop selling them. In any case, the impact sockets are a real bargain, in my opinion.
A few years ago, I bought a very nice set of usa made craftsman utility cutters. They broke, after several years of use. I brought them to the store for a free replacement. The new tool had the same part number, but it was now chinese!
I buy all my gardening tools and hoses there. Not because they’re so great, but because of the lifetime warranty. I’ve replaced several of them over the years. I’d rather only buy a tool once, if I have a choice in the matter
I suspect the “industrial” line will also soon be phased out
Sears definitely seems to be circling the drain . . .
I don’t know. I usually check the Craftsman ones out at ACE but wow they are high priced. I wanted just a 10 mm open end wrench and they wanted something like $12 for it. I went to Your Own Hardware instead. Maybe they were the pro version or something and worth it, otherwise it is a waste of display space.
I guess this is car related,anyway Kobalt,has a nifty little multifit socket set for minimal genero also.Craftsman used to be the default brand for affordable quality tools(great stocking stuffer)-Kevin
Is Kobalt the Lowes store brand?
Yeah, I’ve got some Kobalt sockets from Lowes and they seem to be ok. Of course nothing gets used that much but I can actually read the markings on the sockets without a magnifying glass.
@Bing
I’m getting craftsman pop-ups on this website
Apparently, a 12-piece 1/2" drive deep impact socket set is ony $39.99 right now
That is a win-win situation, in my opinion. That works out to just over $3/socket. Coupled with the lifetime warranty, that deal just can’t be beat.
At sears, they never ask for a receipt
At Lowes, do they need a receipt to warranty a tool?
Does Sears continue to replace a Craftsman branded hand tool gratis if it gets broken or worn out? I’ve used that feature to my benefit from time to time, like when a socket or wrench gets rounded over. I have taken the tool to Sears, showed the staff member the problem, and they told me to go to the shelves and get a new one, no charge. Since there is no mailing, no waiting, no sales receipt or other paperwork involved, I’ve always considered that a big plus for Sears and Craftsman. It’s simple: If you can walk into a Sears store with a faulty Craftsman branded tool, they’ll give you a new one. But I haven’t had to return any tools lately, so don’t know if they continue this policy.
No doubt. I just don’t think Sears is going to make it much more than a couple more years. They’re borrowing money like crazy and their plant assets are more valuable than their sales. ACE might maintain the same warranty though with their Craftsman line. For me, the warranty has never been a big deal since I rarely wear anything out. I did break my lifetime Wards ratchet but of course Wards was out of business by then.
George
Yes, they still adhere to this policy
@Bing
Speaking of Wards . . .
What was the slogan . . . “Can’t shop smarter than Wards” . . . ?
I bought an ironing board at my local Wards a few months before it closed
That was several years ago
The lot and the building are still empty . . . and they are becoming a breeding ground for drug dealers, junkies, homeless people, and other undesirables
Sears has been in serious trouble for years.
So serious that they got bought out by… K-Mart!
Ah, Monkey Wards! I remember them! My ex worked for Monkey Wards when we first married. May they rest in peace.
Of course, I also remember Zayres, and F.W. Woolworth, and J.M. Fields, and Ames, and other ghosts of Christmases past.
I went to help someone with a car problem this weekend and used their tools. Good thing I took along a few of mine.
They had 2 brand new Craftsman ratchets that were absolute crap and were unuseable.
There was so much slop in the gearhead mechanism that it required a 1/3 of a turn (in confined quarters on a Honda Accord clutch master and slave cylinder) to move a bolt one notch. That was on top of the directional mechanism acting up and reversing on me.
They can be taken back for an exchange but the replacements are not likely going to be any better.
On the other hand, OK4450, your friend’s ratchets are probably only used to bang nails in anyway, and they’re fine for that. {
When did Woolworth go under?
I remember eating lunch there once, in the 1980s
Yeah and SS Kreske. When we’d go to Minneapolis shopping as a kid, we’d usually eat at the Woolworth. They had great commercials. Hot beef, mashed potatoes and gravy and a coke for about a dollar.