NEW Craftsman Comfort Grip Wrenches

[chevelle67]

More sh.t from China. It's not China's fault. There is a market for everything that China can put in a crate and send across the Pacific. Sadly I see a future where China supplies the uranium tamper and plutonium pits too the US for our nuclear deterrent arsenal as they age. With that being said I may never be heard from again as I just used the words; uranium, plutonium and nuclear in a public forum.

 

[blue dog]

You guys crack me up sometimes. Now i am not saying that i want or desire soft grip wrenches, but think about it from craftsman's side for a second. For the most part it is the diy and homeowner that are going to go to sears to buy some tools that they need for a project that the wife is gripping about etc etc. So Joe homeowner sees raised panel wrenches next to the set of soft grip wrenches, if they are priced close enough to each other, you know Joe Homeowner is going to get the soft ones, chinese or not because the general populous thinks all craftsman tools are made in the U.S.. It is a form of marketing and sears and craftsman could care less if you guys would not purchase them because they know the average Joe will. Now, i will say that at least sears a is all ways trying to add things like this, to me it shows that someone is trying.

 

[blue dog]

double post, sorry

 

[Bolster]

I bet Bolster had a set before they hit the shelf.

LOL! How did you know?!?

I have to admit, Cman really does try to "innovate." I often disagree violently with what they consider 'improvements' to tools...usually adding a laser, or a layer of plastic, or adding a hinge somewhere...shopping Cman reminds me of buying fishing lures. Lures are designed to catch the fisherman, not the fish. That's how I feel about many Cman tool innovations...they're designed to be sold, not designed to be used.

 

[blue dog]

Just poking at you Bolster, because i know you can take it. And all so know you would not let those comfort grips sleep in the same drawer as your and plomb pride and joy.
I was in your hood on monday by the way, but didnt see anyone that looked like Delmar in suspenders, so i conducted my business and jumped back on the 405.

 

[johnnybentwrench]

Ohh man, An american icon is going down the drain. I guess all there stuff will be made in taiwan or china now?? I went and looked the other day at the flare metrics and can confirm taiwan

I am not going back I have seen enough. I am actually going to write a letter emails are weak, hand written letter to the a hole in charge. FU sears & roebuck

 

[Skin]

Ohh man, An american icon is going down the drain. I guess all there stuff will be made in taiwan or china now?? I went and looked the other day at the flare metrics and can confirm taiwan

I am not going back I have seen enough. I am actually going to write a letter emails are weak, hand written letter to the a hole in charge. FU sears & roebuck

the flare wrenches were made by SK thats why it switched. Look for old stock or shop ebay. I know my local store still has a couple of the old sets sitting behind the newer imports. They're easy to tell apart as the older sets are in a very bland and basic packaging.

As far as Craftsman going down the drain, blame Apex/Danaher as they make the majority of the basic hand tools. I still think they supply a great value to the American who wants American. This innovation stuff is nothing more than holiday "bling" to attract the wives and moms of the world who may think it makes a great stocking stuffer and occasional do-it-yourselfer. Yea its junk but its not like they're a truck brand hawking their product in the full time garage.

chinese or not because the general populous thinks all craftsman tools are made in the U.S..

Disagree with this. The older generation may give a damn as a matter of pride but the new generation could really care less. I've spent enough time around the retail tool market to say confidently its rare for someone to check or ask about the COO. When someone stops to purchase a tool, they just want the tool and for it to do its job. I think you'd find even in the professional market imports would sell well, most guys end up with a collection of truck tools as a matter of convenience rather than loyalty to the country of manufacture.

 

[SoCalJ]

Got this fluff from Amazon for $5 last weekend. I guess Amazon is going down the drain as well with this offshore stuff.

 

[mkdive]

CM comfort grip Combos =

 

[Jeff]

 

[otis66]

Yea also our Craftsman Locking pliers are made by Irwin also, didnt know if you guys knew this or not but just wanted to mention it.

Stopped buying Irwin Vise-Grip when they laid off all of the USA workers and moved to china.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

look for the rubber grip on the next line of ratchets too - then i can have a matching set!!!!! i can't wait!!!!

 

[rhastings80]

Wonder how many of us will get those from the Wife/GF for Christmas and have to smile while hoping the receipt is taped to the back...

 

[stock z/28]

Took this pic at work today, enjoy and discuss:

I think I have seen US made tools in the new packaging.

I will say that I dont care for the look of the new package design, I think it makes the tools look "cheap"?

 

[cashishift]

Won't be buying those.

Standard old wrenches suit me fine.

Plus, made in china = fail.

 

[don-vee]

Craftsman had a useful niche market that they're pushing aside to create a different, useless niche market:

then - Inexpensive U.S. made decent-quality tools
now - Expensive imported crappy tools

 

[mrholeshot]

It kind of gets under my skin that some people equate everything that comes out of China as ****. I have a set of 12 year old Stanley wrenches that are as good or better than most USA brands. I have used them side by side with a set of Snap-Ons for the entire time in a pro enviroment. If anything they have taken more abuse that the Snap-Ons. When it came to down right abuse I used the Stanleys. Not only do they look as good as my Snap-Ons they fuction just as well, do the same job and for a 13 peice set of long wrenches I paid 30 for a set of SAE and 30 dollars for a 13 peice set of metrics. Not only are they proven but they are still in good shape. They have Max drive (like flank drive) I have been so impressed with them that I bought 2 more sets recently to go in another box. I don't like the new ones as much as the old ones but seem just as good as far as quality. The value and quality are unmatched. The older ones are better quality than last years Craftsman Pro and they were nice wrenches and way better than craftsman raised panel, Kobalt and many other brands. When you can buy a Snap-On quality wrench set for less than the bottom of the line USA built Craftsman this is what started killing off American tool companies. Th COO on those wrenches doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is grabbing up a USA made Craftsman ratchet with a plastic selector that can't come close to going toe to toe with a 5 dollar Taiwan ratchet from Harbor Freight.

 

[don-vee]

It kind of gets under my skin that some people equate everything that comes out of China as ****. I have a set of 12 year old Stanley wrenches that are as good or better than most USA brands. I have used them side by side with a set of Snap-Ons for the entire time in a pro enviroment. If anything they have taken more abuse that the Snap-Ons. When it came to down right abuse I used the Stanleys. Not only do they look as good as my Snap-Ons they fuction just as well, do the same job and for a 13 peice set of long wrenches I paid 30 for a set of SAE and 30 dollars for a 13 peice set of metrics. Not only are they proven but they are still in good shape. They have Max drive (like flank drive) I have been so impressed with them that I bought 2 more sets recently to go in another box. I don't like the new ones as much as the old ones but seem just as good as far as quality. The value and quality are unmatched. The older ones are better quality than last years Craftsman Pro and they were nice wrenches and way better than craftsman raised panel, Kobalt and many other brands. When you can buy a Snap-On quality wrench set for less than the bottom of the line USA built Craftsman this is what started killing off American tool companies. Th COO on those wrenches doesn't bother me at all. What bothers me is grabbing up a USA made Craftsman ratchet with a plastic selector that can't come close to going toe to toe with a 5 dollar Taiwan ratchet from Harbor Freight.

I definitely agree with a lot of your points. COO means not too much to me as far as quality goes. Honestly, the nicest wrench I own in my mishmash assortment is an old Facom from France. Just an absolutely beautiful I-beam design. I have a bunch of off-brands like KAL and AIGO from Japan that have withstood my abuse for 3 decades or more.
I think there are two problems going on with Cman lately. Firstly, it's all about outsourcing jobs. That discussion has been beaten to death on here and many other forums, so I won't get into it.
Secondly, I do believe their quality has suffered over the last several years, regardless of the COO. A lot of the ratchets just can't withstand what they used to. The fit and finish on the wrenches is fair at best. None of this has anything to do with the COO, these are the US-made pieces. There's no doubt that Sears has lowered their manufacturing standards without lowering their prices. If I were an upstart mechanic looking for a new set of tools with not a lot of money to my name, short of buying good used stuff (which I always do anyway) I'd do better dollar-for-dollar at Harbor Freight than I would at Sears.

 

[phi2039]

Attractive to people looking to give gifts.

Useless **** to people getting the gift (rubbery handle junk will never stand up to normal solvent/oil/grease exposure and be a pain to clean

Actually, one of the development requirements was that they are completely solvent resistant (we tested about every one we could think of), and clean-up very easily...

 

[phi2039]

Got this fluff from Amazon for $5 last weekend. I guess Amazon is going down the drain as well with this offshore stuff.

That looks like a heat-shrink tube grip. Is that correct?

The Craftsman wrenches have a dual-durometer over-mold.

 

[billymade]

phi2039, now that we have your ear..... a couple of questions. So, why are they made in china; instead of Danaher in the USA? Don't want to sound like a twerp but COO (China) seems to be the choice for allot of the new Craftsman line.... Are we going to see Danaher ramp up their Chinese manufacturing as time goes on? Is it strictly a production cost or price point issue? When these new products come up for you guys to develop; what determines, whether they are made in the USA or Asia? Any info you are able to expound on would be greatly, appreciated.

 

[phi2039]

phi2039, now that we have your ear..... a couple of questions. So, why are they made in china; instead of Danaher in the USA? Don't want to sound like a twerp but COO (China) seems to be the choice for allot of the new Craftsman line.... Are we going to see Danaher ramp up their Chinese manufacturing as time goes on? Is it strictly a production cost or point point issue? When these new products come up for you guys to develop; what determines, whether they are made in the USA or Asia? Any info you are able to expound on would be greatly, appreciated.

OK...disclamer...I can only comment to a limited extent when it comes to our OEM business...

Apex (Danaher) has had significant capacity in Asia for quite some time. We believe that we are about the best manufacturer operating there, and plan to keep it that way. We manufacture product there for a wide variety of global brands that are distributed in a number of countries, the US being just one of them.

The decision about where to manufacture a product is driven by our customer. I can only go so far as to say that the factors they consider are all those commonly brought up in the forum...

<begin rant>
I will use this opportunity to say one important thing... The Craftsman performance standards for their product are very stiff, and they insist that we meet those specs, every time, regardless of the COO of a product. We and they spend significant time and effort making sure our new products perform before putting them on the market, and I would welcome any data to the contrary...
<end rant>

Hope that helps...

 

[billymade]

Thanks for attempting to answer the question, within the guidelines of your corporate non disclosure agreement; I think we probably know the answers to much of the changes we see... BUT it is nice to get a insiders view of what is happening. I've always thought that the quality, spec is driven by the customer and the OEM makes the product to this spec. Sometimes, when you see the quality of a tool go down (item made for years, if not decades) or poor quality control (finished pieces); wether it is the chicken or the egg. I always have thought; that downward pressure to cut costs from the customer, causes quality to suffer and poorer quality products from the OEM. Other issues: the reduced quality could be a result of the struggle to meet cost requirements (oops, we under bid the contract?), (the human element) workers are not competent or don't care, quality control is passing pieces that should be rejected or a new facility has been opened that is not up to the previous standard (e.g. Danaher Dallas foundry). As the saying goes; "somethings gotta give". Thus the chicken or the egg quandary.... Thanks for your response..