Craftsman Hand Tools

[R Clark]

This is actually a good news story.  Thought I'd share my experience with getting a replacement for a broken Craftsman 1/2" drive ratchet.

I've had the tool for 30 years; it was one piece of a 500-piece C-man hand tool set I mail-ordered when I was stationed overseas.

Last weekend I was driving 1/2" X 6" lag bolts to secure the posts for a hand rail on the back porch.  The ratchet gave out when put under heavy pressure.  I had to hold the direction lever tight in place to keep the ratchet from "slipping out of gear."  The 1/2 drive would spin freely in both directions without touching the selector unless held in place.

There is still a small Sears store front near my workplace.  I went there yesterday at lunch to take them up on the well-known lifetime replacement guarantee.  Given the recent news about Sears spiraling down the drain, I didn't know if they would still honor the warranty.

Went to the sales associate, and she went looking to the tool display for a replacement, but they didn't have that exact model number in stock.  The replacement is only for the exact model number, not a like-functioning tool.  So she got the manager to come forward, and that's where I thought this would derail.  Instead of disappointment, the manager said they would have to order a replacement.  I asked if I'd be notified when it was in, and he said, "No.  It will be delivered to you."  So I gave him my address and phone number. 

Manager said it could take two weeks.

This morning in my e-mail was the ship notification on the replacement and the UPS tracking number.  It should be at the house Saturday.

Sears, one of the great retailers of yesteryear, is sliding because of their inability to keep up with the times.  But in this instance, they still came through as advertised 30 years ago.

[srv52761]

.... I've had the tool for 30 years; it was one piece of a 500-piece C-man hand tool set I mail-ordered when I was stationed overseas.
... <snip>...
Sears, one of the great retailers of yesteryear, is sliding because of their inability to keep up with the times.  But in this instance, they still came through as advertised 30 years ago.

Similar experience a couple of years ago, except my set was about 50 years old.
They also replaced a 40 year old 12' tape measure. The blade had broken after wearing to almost nothing. Took it in to buy a replacement blade. The salesperson looked at and said, "This is a Craftsman, let me get you a new one." Didn't have a 12' tape, so he gave me a 16' one.

Growing up, Sears and Craftsman were a way of life for my family.
I love my Craftsman tools, but my fondest memories with them as a youth are my sports purchases.

My first baseball glove was the Ted Williams Autograph model. Used it during junior high, high school, college, post college league play... till my wife used it for one of her softball games and left it in the dugout.
Also a Ted Williams spin casting rod and reel (and tackle box and lures).

First tennis racket, a Jack Kramer model; my first non-wood racket, a Jimmy Conners aluminum...

I was still buying stuff from them till they pulled their local store.
I will miss them.

[fredhargis]

That is good news. Just check to see if the replacement is USA....they moved a lot of that stuff to Asia.

[pprobus]

That is good news. Just check to see if the replacement is USA....they moved a lot of that stuff to Asia.

I think now that Stanley/B&D own the name, they are trying to bring back a lot of the handtools to USA manufacture.  While most of the other Sears C-man handtools have been moved overseas, their pliers were still being made in USA. 

On a side note, it will be interesting to see if Lowes, who now carries Craftsman but from S/B&D, will exchange the older, broken handtools for the new ones.

[daddo]

I wish they would open smaller stores with just tools. And have them all USA made again.

[R Clark]

I didn't look closely for Made in USA staps yesterday, but the C-man tools on the displays sure had "Made in USA" prices.  Matter of fact, commented to a coworker that it looked like C-man Brand with Snap-on pricing.  That was a little bit of exaggeration, but not much.

[Enigmatic]

Early last year or the year before, Stanley bought all the tooling dies for the USA made Craftsman hand tools.
A company in South Carolina still had them. Last I heard, all Craftsman hand tools were being made in the USA again.
In South Carolina.

[pprobus]

Early last year or the year before, Stanley bought all the tooling dies for the USA made Craftsman hand tools.
A company in South Carolina still had them. Last I heard, all Craftsman hand tools were being made in the USA again.
In South Carolina.

I saw something either in the local newspaper or on Yahoo around the time that Lowes started carrying Craftsman tools that there is a difference.  The Cman being carried by Sears are still mostly Asian made while those being made by S/B&D are supposed to be USA made.  It was not explored in the article whether the discrepancy is due to Sears still having leftover Asian made stock or due to contracts with suppliers that still had to be honored.  And since that article was some time ago, I am not sure if Sears is now carrying the new S/B&D Cman or Cman from their Asian suppliers. 

Anyway, I have enough ratchets for a while, since Sears has been signalling for some time that they were going under, and since their ratchets were made in China anyway, I have mostly been buying HF ratchets and since they are so cheaply priced I bought quite a few for dedicated uses (i.e. I have one dedicated for when I do oil changes and leave it where my oil changing supplies are, etc.) .  What I miss is being able to get reasonably priced 6 point Combo wrenches.  They are great when you are working in tight places that you can't get a ratchet into and the bolt or nut is so tight or rusted that your normal 12 pt. combo wrench will just strip the fastener.  I found a Craftsman set on the 'bay with all inch and metric sizes they made, but now would like to get some 6 pt. combo wrenches to dedicate to some tools I have.

[carwashguy]

Went to the sales associate, and she went looking to the tool display for a replacement, but they didn't have that exact model number in stock.  The replacement is only for the exact model number, not a like-functioning tool.  

I brought in a ratchet  in to be replaced a couple of years ago.  The clerk looked at it and said "this is an American made handle, a replacement will be Asian OR we can send this one out to be repaired but it will cost $X." (I don't recall the price but it was only around $5) He showed me the Asian handle and the quality was night and day different!  I told him I'd prefer to have it repaired.  That's when he said "Let me check 1 more thing." he disappears out back and comes back 5 minutes later with my repaired Ratchet!  He went to the manager and the manager put in a repair kit!  No charge!
I was using the ratchet just a couple of days ago and the gears broke.  I wonder what's going to happen this time.

[R Clark]

I'll update when it arrives, which is scheduled for tomorrow, but could be early as today since the UPS tracker shows it in the area.

They were insistent on model number matching at the store, so I have wondered if I'll end up with a repaired/reconditioned tool.  We'll see.