When did Kmart make hand tools?

[BearCuda]

Came across a Kmart 8 mm wrench the other day and exclaimed "K-mart?? when did they ever make tools?"

 

[retDAC]

Never! But they did have their name put on some Jap or Taiwanese tools in the '70s or '80s.

 

[ken w.]

I find wrenches quite often marked KMC made is Asia land.

 

[lowrider85]

k mart is owned by sears/craftsman

 

[djwyman]

I remember before they started caring craftsman they used to sell benchtop tools but never seen k-mart brand tools.

 

[WildwoodChuck]

Some tell tails of getting Craftsman for K-Mart tools when they need to be replaced.

 

[BearCuda]

k mart is owned by sears/craftsman

Say what? How long has Sears owned Kmart?

 

[WildwoodChuck]

Say what? How long has Sears owned Kmart?

Lands' End, OSH and the great indoors too

 

[djwyman]

Say what? How long has Sears owned Kmart?

few years now...maybe 3 or 4 maybe longer.

 

[retDAC]

Actually Kmart owns Sears since 2005. http://money.cnn.com/2004/11/17/news/fortune500/sears_kmart/

 

[retDAC]

I remember before they started caring craftsman they used to sell benchtop tools but never seen k-mart brand tools.

Kmart sold Benchtop brand in the '90s. Wouldn't mind having some more Benchtop deepwells. They sold Stanley among others for awhile. Still carry some Stanley in addition to C'man.

 

[scaron]

no clue on COO but time frame must have been 1970s or early 1980s, my dad has a junky old chisel branded kmart, he's had it as long as i can remember.

 

[djwyman]

Kmart sold Benchtop brand in the '90s. Wouldn't mind having some more Benchtop deepwells. They sold Stanley among others for awhile. Still carry some Stanley in addition to C'man.

really I remember thinking benchtop tools were junk and hating them. I had a small benchtop set and hated them.

 

[zkling]

I have a kmart wrench COO Japan as well as a KWC or something socket set COO Taiwan IIRC. As for date, I think 70's-to early 90's.

 

[nicksnothereman]

Probably around the time other "department stores" decided they needed a tool line. Actually, it's respectable. Homeowners need tools and don't need or want to buy better made more expensive stuff. Back before the tool conglomeration wars... Taiwan quality wasn't so hot back then, Japanese might've been okay but they are certainly better known for their high carbon steel blades rather than their tools.

 

[djb2]

I have a Benchtop metric 1/2" socket set 10mm-32mm, and a 1/2" extension set. The packaging claimed "lifetime warranty", but I've long since discarded the packaging and receipt. I bought them at K-Mart, likely on clearance. They have a nice finish, are nicely chromed, and have stood up to pretty heavy use. They are high quality tools.

I also have a KMC 40 piece socket set, likely from the early 1980s. It's a typical low-end set, in a stamped metal case with a thin blow-molded insert. The sockets are plain cylinders, with chrome that looks as if it's ready to peel. They are functional, but you wouldn't count on them for regular use.

 

[quiettfxgt]

he's had it as long as i can remember.

 

[Kev442]

Benchtop Pro was the good stuff. Sockets on par with Cman and the ratchet nicer than the RP junk.

 

[malibu101]

I have a Kmart SAE socket set. I bought it in 1992, give or take a year. The ratchet has "Kmart" stamped on it. I don't recall about the sockets though.
I was a LONG way from home at a place where the people didn't have any tools and needed a spark plug socket. Went to Kmart and got the cheapest thing I could find.

I keep it in "my" storage spot at my dads barn. It is in a brownish wrinkle paint case.
I have barely used it except for the time I needed it years ago. When I see it, it always reminds me of that roadtrip.

 

[86k10]

I have some Bench Top stubby wrenches and regular wrenches. I also have a Bench Top 1/2" ratchet that has been my main to go ratchet for at least 15 years and has never failed. I do like Bench Top tools.

 

[GreenNV]

One one and only Kmart tool. Somehow it ended up in my toolbox when I used to work on my friends cars back in the late seventies. I keep in my J C Penny toolbox along with my Montgomery Wards Powr-Kraft wrenches and sockets; at least they were made in the USA whereas the Kmart tool was made in Taiwan.

 

[Vin]

my benchtop socket set & ratchets have held up pretty well. in fact the rackets are probably better than the craftsman ratchets that I have

 

[fourtythree]

My first set of combo wrenches were Benchtop. Think I bought them in the mid 90s. I was young and didnt take care of my tools back then, but those wrenches took a ton of abuse and never broke.

I also have a Kmart ratchet set that was my grandfathers. The ratchet broke a while back and I took it to Kmart to utilize the lifetime warranty thats stamped on the box. Ive never seen so many dumbfounded Kmart employees.

 

[Thumper]

I've got one somewhere marked Kmart. But I also have a KMC and a couple of Benchtop

 

[malibu101]

I also have a Kmart ratchet set that was my grandfathers. The ratchet broke a while back and I took it to Kmart to utilize the lifetime warranty thats stamped on the box. Ive never seen so many dumbfounded Kmart employees.

Please tell us the rest of the story.

Did they honor the warranty?

 

[mrjaw14]

I hear Paul Harvey "in a minute you'll hear the rrrrrrrest of the story"

I have a k-mart branded impact driver, kind you hit with a hammer. Got it from my grandfather. Has to be pretty old.

 

[BFBOB]

Came across a Kmart 8 mm wrench the other day and exclaimed "K-mart?? when did they ever make tools?"

I've got a few and the steel box they came in. Wanta buy 'em?

 

[toolmutt]

I was working an OT shift at another station and saw these in the workshop.

 

[Moose97]

I've got or had (not really sure) an old wrench or two marked Kmart or KMC. No clue as to where they came from or how they got in my possession.

 

[jd_1138]

no clue on COO but time frame must have been 1970s or early 1980s, my dad has a junky old chisel branded kmart, he's had it as long as i can remember.

Must not be too junky if he still owns and uses a 40 year old tool.

K-Mart branded tools used to be common. They weren't quite as nice as Sears Craftsman or Montgomery Ward's Powr-Kraft. It was a value line for the home DIY type person.

There are some young people on this forum. I was born in 1972. They used to have nice sit down cafeterias in K-Marts where you could get like a club sandwich, soup, cheeseburger, or pick from about 30 different desserts. Sort of like the cafeterias in Ikea.

 

[1950mercury]

Quality tools that you could buy on the blue light special

 

[four.cycle]

^ I see quite a bit of "Kmart" brand tools listed on Ebay - mostly the Taiwan-made socket sets that were ubiquitous during the 1970s and 1980s.
Not even close to being on a par level with Craftsman of the same era, and certainly not Montgomery Ward "Powr-Kraft" or JC Penney "Penncraft" (or "JC Penney" branded items), which were made by top-notch US manufacturers like New Britain, Thorsen, S-K, and Indestro (among others.)

 

[stage20]

i dont believe that KMC is related to k mart in anyway.
ive got a few pieces here and their that are k mart. what i can tell you is the regular k mart stuff is just like any other overseas tool of the era. it works, but its not high quality.
their higher line was stamped "k mart auto" and was made in japan. they were sold only at the service centers. pretty decent sockets and a fine tooth round head ratchet is what youll find most. sometimes they didnt get stamped with the name, it was just on the metal case they came in. look for the numbers 224 228 262 or 263 stamped on the socket. these should be sockets that originally came in a k mart tool kit. they are marked japan as well

 

[mikebaker1129]

Must not be too junky if he still owns and uses a 40 year old tool.

K-Mart branded tools used to be common. They weren't quite as nice as Sears Craftsman or Montgomery Ward's Powr-Kraft. It was a value line for the home DIY type person.

There are some young people on this forum. I was born in 1972. They used to have nice sit down cafeterias in K-Marts where you could get like a club sandwich, soup, cheeseburger, or pick from about 30 different desserts. Sort of like the cafeterias in Ikea.

Me too !
Back in the day Kmart was the big box store .
They had the cafeteria,the deli where you could get a ham sandwich,popcorn,and icees or slushies.
Attention Kmart shoppers: blue light special.
I worked there in the 90's when going to college. It sucked.

 

[94EG8]

I've never owned or seen any of the Kmart/KMC branded stuff, but I do have some benchtop stuff that's held up quite well (3/8 flex sockets, 3/8 metric sockets and a 3/8 standard socket set) all of it is surprisingly decent quality and a lot better than Craftsman.

 

[Mastermind]

I've got a couple of k mart wrenches that were grandpa's, and dad bought a couple big benchtop sets on clearance for the cabin and truck, have held up white well over the years.

 

[Virgil Cain]

I bought Kmart/KMC branded hand tools back in the mid to late 1970s. At that time most were of Japanese origin, switching over to Taiwan as time went on.

They were definitely second or third tier tools, behind Craftsman. But, thinking back they were serviceable and I can't remember ever breaking one of them. I think I still have a few in a backup toolbox.

 

[chris142]

I see a few Kmart tools when I'm digging through the miscellaneous tool bin at pawn shops.

 

[mnoeltne]

I've got a few wrenches I bought when I worked there in the early 1980's. They weren't bad, but nothing overly spectacular either. They still had a lot of name brand products made in the US back then. Not the wrenches, but a lot of other products.

K-Mart was the #1 retailer in the US for a few years, beating out Sears, and Walmart was 3 or 4 at the time.

The food in the cafeteria wasn't bad, and was priced very reasonably. I ate there quite a bit during the 4 or 5 years I worked for them.

 

[pauls_workshop]

K-Mart made socket sets in the 80's from Japan were very decent. I have one set of those. Really, in the 80's hard to find anything made in Japan that was bad in any way. Japan quality was rising in the 70's and it reached the top in the 80's and stayed there. Taiwan was rising in the 80's and reached the top in the later 90's and stayed there. Even Sears sold many tools in the 80's made in Japan. Craftsman was still US then, but Sears brand was often Japan. I have some Sears Japan wrenches from then that are just fine, about same as US Craftsman of that era. - Paul