Craftsman raised panel wrenches are now being made in China with pics

[jeremy v]

Deleted.

 

[metaleltr]

Like we didn't see that coming, stock up quick I guess.

 

[DARKSCOPE001]

why craftsman why? are you really going to kill off the last little bit of good tooling you had left? Sears your not saving yourself by doing this your actually turning more and more people away

 

[SMKS]

Hmmm....I thought the RP wrenches would be a hold out. When they stayed USA made after other tools had switched to Chinese, I thought perhaps Craftsman had heard the outcry and stopped the transition.

The chrome sockets have also stayed USA made. I wonder if that will now switch?

Can you provide any more pics? Do you have any USA RP wrenches to compare them to? What's the part number of the set you purchased?

 

[softailgarage]

That *****. Time to cross off wrenches from the XMAS list

 

[metaleltr]

They even have the friggen lobster claw open end.

 

[Boyd]

Damn. Glad I bought the 500pc from the outlet.

 

[Hootbro]

Great, looks like the lobster claw pattern extends to them.

 

[Zeke]

But wait, looks like my thread was pertinent:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173266

 

[FiendFX]

The only Craftsman tool I own is their ratcheting wrenches and that's it. Made in USA. But it's for sale now...

 

[Conductor562]

Well….At least the bastards had the courtesy to print that it was distributed in the USA.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

The chrome sockets have also stayed USA made. I wonder if that will now switch?

Already seen the new stuff coming up for the holidays. It's ALL China. Wrenches, sockets, ratchets...

 

[Conductor562]

The only Craftsman tool I own is their ratcheting wrenches and that's it. Made in USA. But it's for sale now...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who suddenly gets the urge to sell off tools after the manufacturer sells out to China.

 

[Mickey O]

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[RedFordTruck]

So I take it the 26 piece wrench set on Black friday for $37.99 will now be Chinese? F*** Sears.

90% of my tools are Craftsman but F*** Sears, Im done. I Will gladly spend my money with Epsteins and other stores that provide USA made tools.



Anyone see the Craftsman facebook page post about MADE in USA tools? Yeah, big steaming pile of Horse ****.

 

[kc-steve]

SHOCKA! Two major unexpected events in one week isn't good for the old ticker.

Steve

 

[Conductor562]

So I take it the 26 piece wrench set on Black friday for $37.99 will now be Chinese? F*** Sears.

90% of my tools are Craftsman but F*** Sears, Im done. I Will gladly spend my money with Epsteins and other stores that provide USA made tools.

Welcome to the party I've seen at least 15 people on here (including myself) say the very same thing today. I can't support commie junk peddlers.

 

[DSLTRK]

Yep, Seems like my purchase of the remaining US made overstock at Sears Outlet will be my final Sears Tool purchase.

Wright, Channel-lock, Proto, Snap-on, Here I come!

Oh, can't forget SK or Williams too.

 

[Maexle]

I am not a COO - buying guy, BUT, if i want chinese tools i go to HF, i bought this afternoon the CM 1/2" socket set from Sears, first i checked the COO, USA: fine, but i refuse to buy CM labeled chinese tools.

I don't expect Gedore or Stahlwille or SO Quality from CM, but decent tools and made in the USA or i switch to gearwrench / Kobalt (decent price, good quality)

 

[tyheuser]

Damn good thing last year I bought the biggest set they make off of sears website with every 12 point so I had the bigger ones for home, plus I already had sets of 6 points, and some in my tool sets and a couple dozen loose ones lol funny thing is there my back up sets and I mostly use them as my striking or lock together wrenches lol no more of that! Its really sad though thats all my old man ever used thats what I grew up on, Im gonna be pissed the day the sockets go china I have over 500 of them and dont want to spend my money on more truck sockets. Im about done with sears I own everything good they have (Had) and now all they make is communist gimmick tools that someone that doesnt know what direction to turn a bolt would buy. The open ends are rediculous expecially on the polished ones whos designing this ****? I hope sears dies if this is all there gonna sell I would rather just buy a used replacement then warranty my tools for some chinese ********. It disgusts me I actually had a couple china craftsman tools and couldnt stand to look at them anymore and gave them to a friend. Sears *****

 

[byoungblood]

Glad I got in on the Craftsman Industrial deal, which are very nice wrenches.

Looks like I won't be spending my money on anything Craftsman branded any longer unless it is one of the few US made items on closeout.

 

[TireTracks]

Sigh.

 

[CD1]

It doesn't appear that those wrenches are stamped with the COO. Could you post a pic of both sides of one of the metric wrenches, preferably a larger one like 17mm?

Thanks

 

[SMKS]

But wait, looks like my thread was pertinent:
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=173266

But when you posted that thread no one had shown proof of Chinese RP wrenches. This is the first actual evidence of them that I've seen.

Stephen9666,
Here are a couple more pics of the SAE made in USA version wrenches that I received as a part of the the same order so everyone can see the difference in the wrenches and the fact that the boxes look exactly the same.

I was wondering if you had any RP wrenches other than the new ones, so you could provide a side-by-side pic of a USA and Chinese RP wrench of the same size. That's a lot to ask, so I understand that you don't have doubles of the RP wrenches in any particular size.

It doesn't appear that those wrenches are stamped with the COO.

From what I've seen on the ratchets and extensions, they are omitting a COO stamp on the imported tools. They're not required to stamp them with a COO under law, only label the packaging. I can see why they skip it. A big fat "CHINA" stamped into the wrench isn't appealing to some people.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I stopped buying craftsman.

 

[03protege]

It doesn't appear that those wrenches are stamped with the COO. Could you post a pic of both sides of one of the metric wrenches, preferably a larger one like 17mm?

Thanks

The imported Craftsman tools to not carry a marking noting their origin other than the manufacturer code.

 

[alpinewhite]

I noted this: The ones made in the USA will say "made in USA" or "USA" right on the tool itself. The ones made in China or Taiwan have nothing about the country on the tool. The plastic hanger, however, will say "made in China" or "made in Taiwan". Some of the quick-release ratchets are now MIC or MIT. So far, all the sockets I looked at said "USA" on them. Beware of the ratchets and combination wrenches. If it doesn't say "USA" on the tool, it's not made here.

 

[Armed Bear]

Fu*K CHINA! we want USA tools !

 

[CWP1616L]

Sears is now competing with Harbor Freight.

 

[Super Sport]

I knew it was only a matter of time. I'm glad I have all of the Craftsman tools I will ever need. I don't plan on buying any more once the NOS USA-stuff is gone.

 

[Conductor562]

Looks like the rim of the box end is no longer polished. Makes it look cheaper. I guess that's because it is

 

[vintagefan]

Wow, the new wrenches are quite inferior in function, judging by the pics alone. They'll still turn a bolt/nut, but they have significantly reduced access due to the new "lobsterdrive plus" open end, and the box end also looks larger and more roughly finished.

One of the things that made the USA RP's great was similar open and closed end contours when compared to higher end professional grade wrenches, but at a much lower cost. That, and the fact that they were USA made and affordable. Now, the only two reasons to go with the Craftsman RP's (besides warranty), are gone IMO.

 

[archirelic]

Soooooooooooo glad my wife bought me their 43 piece raised panel wrench set last year! All made in U.S.A. and my set was great quality at that!

 

[SMKS]

Soooooooooooo glad my wife bought me their 43 piece raised panel wrench set last year! All made in U.S.A. and my set was great quality at that!

Same here with my box wrench set (pics and info here).

I also bought a RP wrench set not too long ago.

I won't worry about warrantying them in the future, since I don't think I'll ever be able to break a wrench under normal use. These should last a while.

Still a big time bummer, though.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

USA made RP's are excellent wrenches for the price. I have never broken one, I am sad to see them go.

 

[SMKS]

What is it with the lobster claws on the Chinese Craftsman wrenches? The fully polished wrenches, ratcheting and now RP wrenches have the giant open ends.

My first guess would be that it's because of lower-quality steel, but that's only a guess.

 

[pipsters]

So its pretty obvious the sockets are next...

I hope SK improves their quality control, I will be buying their stuff next.

This is a surprise, but not really, kinda thought it was coming.

 

[Burtonrider10022]

What is it with the lobster claws on the Chinese Craftsman wrenches? The fully polished wrenches, ratcheting and now RP wrenches have the giant open ends.

My first guess would be that it's because of lower-quality steel, but that's only a guess.

That was my assumption as well. Also, larger tolerences allow more forgiveness in the manufacturing process. I.e. if it's off a little it's likely to still work.

 

[dsmnickk90]

So its pretty obvious the sockets are next...

I hope SK improves their quality control, I will be buying their stuff next.

This is a surprise, but not really, kinda thought it was coming.

Armstrong has nice stuff too and is almost a 100% usa made tool line

 

[toolnut]

i stocked up a couple of years ago. Once Kmart bought Sears I knew that was the end. Now Craftsman tools are at Ace etc.. What did you expect?