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I have to be careful buying tools from Sears now (which is really the only reason I go in there), because they've started selling cheap knock-off stuff under th

by douche 11y ago

I have to be careful buying tools from Sears now (which is really the only reason I go in there), because they've started selling cheap knock-off stuff under the Craftsman label, that isn't up to the old quality standards and doesn't have the Craftsman lifetime warranty on it. I think the worst was a socket set I picked up, where the chrome was literally coming off in flakes after a couple months.

bliti 11y ago
I stopped buying them about ten years ago. I now just buy the cheapest thing available for hand tools that have no special use. For powertools I stick to Hilti. Air-driven Snap-on. Specialty tools are purchased from Snap-on or Matco. Craftsman used to be a good brand, now its just a brand.
hga 11y ago
Gaaah, I wish I could say I couldn't believe this, but e.g. http://www.craftsman.com/en_us/customer-care/warranty-information.html#point12 http://www.craftsman.com/en_us/customer-care/warranty-inform... "Craftsman Hand Tools NOT labeled HAND TOOL FULL WARRANTY in warranty header" Are only covered for 1 year, and of course you've got to provide proof of purchase. They're insane.
- sokoloff 11y ago
  I believe those limited warranty tools tend to be gardening tools and the like. As far as I know, the Craftsman brand mechanics hand tools are still lifetime warranty. The 1 year term is for tools "not of metal construction".
  - hga 11y ago
    You could well be right, I just spent several minutes at sears.com looking at socket sets and all that I looked at, including a number of the lowest, "only" 4 star rated ones, had lifetime warranties. However, by giving any hand tool labeled Craftsman a less than lifetime warranty, they've done terrible damage to the brand, you shouldn't have to worry about this when shopping at Sears.
sokoloff 11y ago
I think all the chrome sockets with the Craftsman brand are still unlimited lifetime warranty. In any case, I also noticed the downward shift in quality of Craftsman tools, corresponding with the time that the contract manufacturer was switched and a lot of production went offshore. Fortunately, I'd already mostly switched to buying second-hand SnapOn hand tools, and I have to say that while I was generally happy with the old USA Craftsman tools, I wish I'd have switched to SnapOn earlier. The ratchets in particular are night-and-day better, IMO. Do yourself a favor and try one of the nice common SnapOn ratchets (a T72/TL72 or an F80). They're quite a bit more pleasurable to use, IMO. SnapOn stuff holds its value pretty well, which means it often gets pawned or sold when a mechanic goes out of business. I have bought maybe 5% of my SnapOn stuff new; most has been second/third hand and it's just as good and 30-40% the price.
- douche 11y ago
  Snap-on is good stuff, but it can be a little tricky finding a place that honors their warranty if you break something. I just give whatever it is to my Dad, who works in a plant that has a Snap-on sales rep swing by once a week, but without that connection, I wouldn't know where to go with it. Craftsman, at least you could find a Sears store to trade it in just about anywhere.
  - marincounty 11y ago
    I've wondered about returning broken Snap-on tools, and glad I read your post. I have a box of broken tools, and I don't want to bother a driver. It's not that important. Tools have become so cheap. Snap-on should go out of their way to honor their warranties though. What Snap-on never really got--was that they are lucky to have customers, at what they charge for tools. I don't blame the guys running around in trucks--that's a whole other franchise debacle. Snap-on should compensate them(franchise owners) for Any returned tools. Why--because that's what they promised when we bought their first overpriced tools. If you are dead set on Snap-on, just buy the 3/8" metric, and inch ratchet set. I bought mine second hand. Everything else can be another brand. I saw guys spend $40,000 on tools. A lot of them were too young, nor cared about ROI. Never forget the Snap-on rep in automotive school. He was worse than a drug dealer. (I do understand his persistence. I don't think Snap-on makes it easy for their employees/franchise owners.)
blt 11y ago
All Craftsman hand tools are all made in China now. My metric Craftsman wrenches are made in China and my SAE ones are made in the USA. The difference in quality is obvious. Not saying that Made In China == Low Quality, but in the case of Craftsman tools it's true. Plus it makes their "lifetime warranty" feel like a load of BS when the replacement for anything more than 10 years old is going to be vastly inferior to the original. The middle market of hand tools has been gutted. If you're not buying top-of-the line stuff like Snap-On, Knipex, etc. you might as well just shop at Harbor Freight and save some money.
- mc32 11y ago
  Protos are pretty good too. Made in Taiwan gearwrench are affordable and decent for the price.
- pbreit 11y ago
  Considering that Apple and others are able to get extremely high quality manufacturing out of China, it's a shame this isn't more widespread. I guess consumers don't really expect much better.
  - solipsism 11y ago
    Apple products are assembled in China. Manufacturing comes from all over the world.
labster 11y ago
I bought a wand-style garden sprayer with the Craftsman lifetime warranty about 5 years ago. I'm now on the 30th replacement. I have to be careful about the returns, so that I don't accidentally get one of the sprayers I had already returned as broken. They restock them sometimes. The first one lasted about a year before breaking. Then they changed the design to "cheap Chinese chic", and they usually take 1-2 months before they start leaking. A new rubber washer helps at first, but then they start leaking inside the case. I probably wouldn't bother with the returns if I didn't live so close to the Sears store, but the lifetime warranty is certainly no indicator of product quality.

by douche 11y ago

bliti 11y ago

I stopped buying them about ten years ago. I now just buy the cheapest thing available for hand tools that have no special use. For powertools I stick to Hilti. Air-driven Snap-on. Specialty tools are purchased from Snap-on or Matco. Craftsman used to be a good brand, now its just a brand.

hga 11y ago

Gaaah, I wish I could say I couldn't believe this, but e.g. http://www.craftsman.com/en_us/customer-care/warranty-information.html#point12 http://www.craftsman.com/en_us/customer-care/warranty-inform... "Craftsman Hand Tools NOT labeled HAND TOOL FULL WARRANTY in warranty header" Are only covered for 1 year, and of course you've got to provide proof of purchase. They're insane.

sokoloff 11y ago
I believe those limited warranty tools tend to be gardening tools and the like. As far as I know, the Craftsman brand mechanics hand tools are still lifetime warranty. The 1 year term is for tools "not of metal construction".
- hga 11y ago
  You could well be right, I just spent several minutes at sears.com looking at socket sets and all that I looked at, including a number of the lowest, "only" 4 star rated ones, had lifetime warranties. However, by giving any hand tool labeled Craftsman a less than lifetime warranty, they've done terrible damage to the brand, you shouldn't have to worry about this when shopping at Sears.

sokoloff 11y ago

I think all the chrome sockets with the Craftsman brand are still unlimited lifetime warranty. In any case, I also noticed the downward shift in quality of Craftsman tools, corresponding with the time that the contract manufacturer was switched and a lot of production went offshore. Fortunately, I'd already mostly switched to buying second-hand SnapOn hand tools, and I have to say that while I was generally happy with the old USA Craftsman tools, I wish I'd have switched to SnapOn earlier. The ratchets in particular are night-and-day better, IMO. Do yourself a favor and try one of the nice common SnapOn ratchets (a T72/TL72 or an F80). They're quite a bit more pleasurable to use, IMO. SnapOn stuff holds its value pretty well, which means it often gets pawned or sold when a mechanic goes out of business. I have bought maybe 5% of my SnapOn stuff new; most has been second/third hand and it's just as good and 30-40% the price.

douche 11y ago
Snap-on is good stuff, but it can be a little tricky finding a place that honors their warranty if you break something. I just give whatever it is to my Dad, who works in a plant that has a Snap-on sales rep swing by once a week, but without that connection, I wouldn't know where to go with it. Craftsman, at least you could find a Sears store to trade it in just about anywhere.
- marincounty 11y ago
  I've wondered about returning broken Snap-on tools, and glad I read your post. I have a box of broken tools, and I don't want to bother a driver. It's not that important. Tools have become so cheap. Snap-on should go out of their way to honor their warranties though. What Snap-on never really got--was that they are lucky to have customers, at what they charge for tools. I don't blame the guys running around in trucks--that's a whole other franchise debacle. Snap-on should compensate them(franchise owners) for Any returned tools. Why--because that's what they promised when we bought their first overpriced tools. If you are dead set on Snap-on, just buy the 3/8" metric, and inch ratchet set. I bought mine second hand. Everything else can be another brand. I saw guys spend $40,000 on tools. A lot of them were too young, nor cared about ROI. Never forget the Snap-on rep in automotive school. He was worse than a drug dealer. (I do understand his persistence. I don't think Snap-on makes it easy for their employees/franchise owners.)

blt 11y ago

All Craftsman hand tools are all made in China now. My metric Craftsman wrenches are made in China and my SAE ones are made in the USA. The difference in quality is obvious. Not saying that Made In China == Low Quality, but in the case of Craftsman tools it's true. Plus it makes their "lifetime warranty" feel like a load of BS when the replacement for anything more than 10 years old is going to be vastly inferior to the original. The middle market of hand tools has been gutted. If you're not buying top-of-the line stuff like Snap-On, Knipex, etc. you might as well just shop at Harbor Freight and save some money.

mc32 11y ago
Protos are pretty good too. Made in Taiwan gearwrench are affordable and decent for the price.
pbreit 11y ago
Considering that Apple and others are able to get extremely high quality manufacturing out of China, it's a shame this isn't more widespread. I guess consumers don't really expect much better.
- solipsism 11y ago
  Apple products are assembled in China. Manufacturing comes from all over the world.

labster 11y ago

I bought a wand-style garden sprayer with the Craftsman lifetime warranty about 5 years ago. I'm now on the 30th replacement. I have to be careful about the returns, so that I don't accidentally get one of the sprayers I had already returned as broken. They restock them sometimes. The first one lasted about a year before breaking. Then they changed the design to "cheap Chinese chic", and they usually take 1-2 months before they start leaking. A new rubber washer helps at first, but then they start leaking inside the case. I probably wouldn't bother with the returns if I didn't live so close to the Sears store, but the lifetime warranty is certainly no indicator of product quality.