Are any new Craftsman tools worth it?

[F-22]

Hello, I'm thinking about getting some more SAE wrenches here in Europe, and I'd like to get the Craftsman cause they use a cool style. Would have to pay a bit more to have them shipped from the USA Amazon, and I guess the warranty won't exist here...

Anyway, it's for occasional use on my 70's Harley, nothing very intensive.
I like the iconic style of a Craftsman wrench. I have one small old USA made one.

Is it worth it? Any other iconic designs they use? I kind of want a pear-style 3/8" ratchet too, but maybe I should just get the Williams instead?

 

[dchawk81]

I think you'd be better off shopping for whatever is easily sourced locally.

JMHO.

 

[MarvinBerry]

Some of the current stuff is decent enough that I'd buy it again but the wrenches? Ehhh...

The raised panel style they offer today are made in India and an oversized, kinda cartoon version of the classic design. There are better options...

For a few bucks more the gunmetal chrome wrenches are way hipper... long pattern, nice fitment. Taiwan I think? Have a set of those in SAE & I'm happy. There are also a few people here that like the V series junk, I haven't seen or used any myself.

 

[mogandave]

Inch tools can get pretty pricey in non-inch countries, particularly for decent stuff.

We used to buy all our inch tools at the plant from the US.

 

[F-22]

I think you'd be better off shopping for whatever is easily sourced locally.

JMHO.

That's definitely the easy way, but my problem is that I like quirky and unique things. Besides, even if I order the set from the US, it wouldn't actually cost much more than a totally generic chinese set over here, SAE is just more pricey for whatever reason.

 

[dchawk81]

That's definitely the easy way, but my problem is that I like quirky and unique things. Besides, even if I order the set from the US, it wouldn't actually cost much more than a totally generic chinese set over here, SAE is just more pricey for whatever reason.

Okay then do that.

 

[dchawk81]

BTW not to be a ****, I just don't see Craftsman as particularly special enough for the extra hassle.

Even the old stuff wasn't THAT great.

 

[F-22]

BTW not to be a ****, I just don't see Craftsman as particularly special enough for the extra hassle.

Even the old stuff wasn't THAT great.

Fair enough, over here in Europe, raised panel wrenches practically do not exist. I guess the equivelant here would be a DIN 895 pattern wrench? Those were usually kind of mid-quality tools, and I have bucketloads of them. However, I only have one SAE wrench set (from Proxxon), and sometimes you need two wrenches to hold a nut and a bolt at the same time. Well, there's never enough wrenches...

Anyway, I'm open to any other cool suggestions in that price range (up to ~50$).

 

[ecotec]

BTW not to be a ****, I just don't see Craftsman as particularly special enough for the extra hassle.

Even the old stuff wasn't THAT great.

It was cheap. Per tool it was quite cheap. The big sets were often under $.75 a tool. Good enough tools at great prices.

And most guys could hide in Sears while their wife shopped in the mall.

 

[Jtels85]

Current Craftsman quality is bad. Even the China made Craftsman tools Sears was peddling in the 2010's was better than the stuff Black & Decker/Craftsman is putting out.

Honestly, you're better off looking elsewhere. If someone gave me a set of new Craftsman tools, I'd donate them.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Proto would be a far better option.

 

[Andres26tnt]

People give opinions without actually owning the tools or ever using them. Current craftsman tools are good and or similar to what Sears used to peddle back in the day. they have some gems and stinkers. the raised panel wrenches are trash, the USA-made ones were also trash but they worked. Smooth Taiwan Dewalt rebranded wrenches are good, they also have the antislip feature. they do skip sizes, unfortunately. Anything Taiwan is going to be decent, it's mostly rebranded Dewalt. The V line is mostly great, but it's almost all rebranded Facom/expert/usag. you can save some money with the v line, not everything but some for sure.

 

[dchawk81]

People give opinions without actually owning the tools or ever using them. Current craftsman tools are good and or similar to what Sears used to peddle back in the day. they have some gems and stinkers. the raised panel wrenches are trash, the USA-made ones were also trash but they worked. Smooth Taiwan Dewalt rebranded wrenches are good, they also have the antislip feature. they do skip sizes, unfortunately. Anything Taiwan is going to be decent, it's mostly rebranded Dewalt. The V line is mostly great, but it's almost all rebranded Facom/expert/usag. you can save some money with the v line, not everything but some for sure.

Sure. And other people give opinions with actually owning them.

You can own something and like it but still tell people it's not worth getting if they can't acquire it easily and cheaply.

Sears doesn't exist anymore so the days of walking in and grabbing a 2 buck USA wrench off the peg are long gone.

I'm not a hater but if I was in Europe I wouldn't be making great effort to acquire Craftsman. Especially the new stuff. There are too many options out there.

 

[Andres26tnt]

Sure. And other people give opinions with actually owning them.

You can own something and like it but still tell people it's not worth getting if they can't acquire it easily and cheaply.

Sears doesn't exist anymore so the days of walking in and grabbing a 2 buck USA wrench off the peg are long gone.

I'm not a hater but if I was in Europe I wouldn't be making great effort to acquire Craftsman. Especially the new stuff. There are too many options out there.

My opinion is only on the tool quality not if it's a hassle to get. I also live in Europe (UK), and it's not super hard to get anything here, we do live in a global economy. What I do find hard is finding quality budget tools here, most are Chinese trash. Also, Any of the major EU brands aren't cheap either. The USA def has way more options available, and I would go to the trouble and acquire some craftsman tools.

 

[F-22]

Well, I got some placeholders in the mail for the time being.
Proto would be really cool too.
I read in the past that Craftsman was trash, but it's a shame they can't at least make semi-decent basic hand tools for such a well known brand. I had some "Workzone" wrenches from Aldi or Lidl that were surprisingly fine for the ~25€ I paid years ago, and that usually seems like rock bottom quality.

 

[Jtels85]

People give opinions without actually owning the tools or ever using them. Current craftsman tools are good and or similar to what Sears used to peddle back in the day. they have some gems and stinkers. the raised panel wrenches are trash, the USA-made ones were also trash but they worked. Smooth Taiwan Dewalt rebranded wrenches are good, they also have the antislip feature. they do skip sizes, unfortunately. Anything Taiwan is going to be decent, it's mostly rebranded Dewalt. The V line is mostly great, but it's almost all rebranded Facom/expert/usag. you can save some money with the v line, not everything but some for sure.

I have owned a newer Craftsman 216 Pc. mechanics set purchased from Lowe's and was gifted their new red handled pliers for Christmas 2020. The ratchets were clunky, the wrenches in the set were too short and the arc joint pliers had plenty of slop as well as terrible machining. They are in fact garbage tools. There are so many better options out there.

 

[dchawk81]

Well, I got some placeholders in the mail for the time being.
Proto would be really cool too.
I read in the past that Craftsman was trash, but it's a shame they can't at least make semi-decent basic hand tools for such a well known brand. I had some "Workzone" wrenches from Aldi or Lidl that were surprisingly fine for the ~25€ I paid years ago, and that usually seems like rock bottom quality.

The Craftsman brand today has zero meaning.

 

[ike]

Father's Day 2023 will be the first Father's day in several years that the new USA made Craftsman tools won't be expected to launch.

 

[inliner311]

You probably can get a used set of USA made SAE wrenches on ebay. There probably is even stuff that has never been used. There are services to get things shipped from the US to other countries even if the seller doesn't provide international shipping. You get the item shipped to an address in the US and they will ship it out to you. It might make sense if you want a couple things to subscribe to a service like that and get it all shipped to you at once.

If you are going to get a ratchet, you might as well buy a rebuild kit for it too so you have it if you ever need it.

 

[Komet]

No, I would never support a traitorous company that can't figure out how to make tools in the US.

 

[DAustin]

The Craftsman V series wrenches are clones of the Facom wrenches. I'm sure the Facom would be easier to find where you live.

 

[mogandave]

No, I would never support a traitorous company that can't figure out how to make tools in the US.

Everyone knows how to make tools in the US, the just don’t know how to sell them once they’re made.

 

[mogandave]

The OP is looking for inch wrenches in a metric country. People assume everything is as cheap (or cheaper) and easy (or easier) to get in the rest of the world as it is in the US. This has not been my experience.

Our Thailand plant imported a lot of production tools from the US because it was cost effective.
The OP specifically wants wrenches to use on a Harley he owns in Europe. Were it me, I would not buy Craftsman, but I would want a US brand.

 

[dchawk81]

The OP is looking for inch wrenches in a metric country. People assume everything is as cheap (or cheaper) and easy (or easier) to get in the rest of the world as it is in the US. This has not been my experience.

Our Thailand plant imported a lot of production tools from the US because it was cost effective.
The OP specifically wants wrenches to use on a Harley he owns in Europe. Were it me, I would not buy Craftsman, but I would want a US brand.

He should move.

 

[DAustin]

You could look into some of the old Britool SAE wrenches. I have some of the old RJ wrenches in SAE that I really like. The new Britool/Facom Expert are made in Taiwan but would do the job for you.

 

[JEdiag]

Ebay isnt a bad idea. Ive had some good luck there. Also look at Wright tools. Great tools that are a much better price point than most USA made brands.

 

[tamaraw]

Hello, I'm thinking about getting some more SAE wrenches here in Europe, and I'd like to get the Craftsman cause they use a cool style. Would have to pay a bit more to have them shipped from the USA Amazon, and I guess the warranty won't exist here...

Anyway, it's for occasional use on my 70's Harley, nothing very intensive.
I like the iconic style of a Craftsman wrench. I have one small old USA made one.

Is it worth it? Any other iconic designs they use? I kind of want a pear-style 3/8" ratchet too, but maybe I should just get the Williams instead?

110% not worth it. Craftsman wrenches used to be a decent budget option at one point in the past but quality got reaaally bad as they progressed into the 80s and 90's. At the end of the day, Craftsman is not a tool-producing company like Hazet or Snap-On, it's just a brand name. Production is outsourced to various forging companies and because of this, quality and finish may vary wildly between different years or product lines.

As for "iconic style", if you are talking about the raised panel wrench design, most of Craftsman's current stuff doesn't use that pattern. And like MarvinBerry said, the ones that do are basically cartoonized versions of the models from 50 years ago.

Raised panel is not unique to Craftsman though and can be found on budget lines for other makes too, Asahi and Toptul being decent modern examples. There's also a glut of super-cheap no-name wrenches using that pattern mostly because it is extra thick and can accommodate lower quality steel. Either way, I find raised panel wrenches to be not very comfortable in the hand. YMMV.

Craftsman ratchets have never been very good in the past and I wouldn't recommend them. The new ones seem like any old generic import model?

The new V-series stuff (wrenches, ratchets, sockets) is better quality than the rest, but it's mostly just rebranded Facom/Usag, so you would be better off buying that locally. Even the name "V-series" says a lot about where the brand is at these days; V-series was a forging mark on old Craftsman tools. All the brand has going for it is the name/nostalgia factor.

If you want to buy American tools for your bike, there are waaay better options. Proto, SK, Cornwell, Wright, Snap-On, Williams, etc.

 

[inliner311]

If you go the ebay route, you might want to search for "craftsman tool lot" or "craftsman wrench lot". Keep an eye out and you might get a "lot" of tools with everything you want. I have been buying up lots of sockets and I tend to get a lot of inch stuff since metric is just more desirable. The same will most likely be for wrenches.

 

[MarvinBerry]

My opinion is only on the tool quality not if it's a hassle to get. I also live in Europe (UK), and it's not super hard to get anything here, we do live in a global economy. What I do find hard is finding quality budget tools here, most are Chinese trash. Also, Any of the major EU brands aren't cheap either. The USA def has way more options available, and I would go to the trouble and acquire some craftsman tools.

There's an awful lot of China imports in mainland USA too... it's not that varied. Lots of re branding.

I actually bought those SAE gunmetal wrenches a few weeks back so the pricing is all pretty fresh in my head...

IIRC the craftsman 7 piece raised panel set made in India is $21 at bLowes. The gunmetal 7 piece was $38 and fwiw come with a functional tray.

Another few minutes up the road I can pick up duralast junk from AutoZone... that's their house brand and across the board it's mostly good stuff. Generally better then the craftsman of today.

Most of the duralast at least what I've bought is made in China & appears to be sources from Apex / SATA / gearwrench plants. I think most of the wrench sets are about $35 ? Think I paid that for the offset boxes?

They're also the only decent source where I am for open stock sockets & other bits. The pliers are decent enough Channellock clones. It's mostly all serviceable.

Carlyle & Napa where I am only really sell parts. I've never seen any tools in my local shop & when I asked all I got for an answer was mumbles...

Home depot sells all the same China / Taiwan stuff only now it says husky. Although their wrenches are coming out of India now too.

Proto & all the industrial stuff is basically unavailable to the general public. I'm sure I could order it somewhere but there's certainly no walk in & buy today options not where I am anyway.

Even the local rigging shop & lumber yards it's all the same junk... Milwaukee Stanley crescent etc... rigging shop stocks a bit of tekton. That's about the only variation.

 

[F-22]

Okay, I'm convinced Craftsman is not worth the hassle. Might just order a Williams set instead, they cost a lot more but I read those are really decent and they also look pretty cool. I guess Amazon is sadly still the best source for me, most other sites don't seem to offer the shipping.

 

[MarvinBerry]

Good call let's put it this way... if you walk into bLowes & ask for the absolute cheapest wrench set they have in stock? They're gonna hand you craftsman raised panels.

I'm sure they're fine & no worse then anything from hazard freight but it's not hard to find better... like sitting right next to them at double the bucks? The gun metal series which is several steps up the quality ladder.

Overall with bLowes 3 miles away & gifts I've got a fair amount of new craftsman...

Sockets are nice maybe a bit expensive but nice. I've got a few rails & they look really similar to the DeWalt sockets my buddy has & people seem to like around these parts.

Ratchets aren't great. Better then the old 36 tooth & still stubby & heavy. And ******* expensive too! I have two of the modern 72 pears that came in a kit & they work. Not my favorites.

Better option is the 72 tooth duralast... cheaper & much nicer. That's your basic SATA gearwrench mold. Same with extensions & all that junk.

Craftsman screwdrivers are mostly ok. The classic clear handles are Taiwan and quality is probably equal or better then the old ones. Basically identical clones! If ya like that style they're what we'd have hoped for. The red handles are average import. Meh.

The pliers are sad sack junk drawer junk. Mostly icky. Those were a gift and live in the car bag... where they don't get used often enough to really offend me. Why couldn't they have offered something of DeWalt or Irwin quality?!

Most of the accessories kinda junk like mag bowls, socket rails & the essential magnet on a stick seem generic & overpriced. Like the pop up bowls cman is a 2 pack duralast is a 3 pack for the same bucks? Or we can find fake princess brand on amazon...

On a positive note all the tool storage has been awesome. Got a 5 drawer roll in December 2020 and it hasn't fallen apart yet. Got some sorta modular case for the dremel & all its bits... super heavy duty. Couple months ago grabbed a beefy hand box for all my framing hammers & wrecking bars... feels like it's gonna hold up.

 

[Lassen Forge]

If you can source old C'man without paying a collectors price, then youre OK... may have to pay shipping from the states, but thats the only way I'd do C'man... the modern stuff is 3rd world quality.

Sadly (for an American tool junkie standpoint) most all of the EU brands ( Stahlwillw, Bahco, Hazet, Gedore, Facom, Etc,) will be FAR superior to what's being passed off as Craftsman nowadays... Plus, you don't have to pay the duty to bring them over.

 

[JeepYJ]

@F-22 my son recently purchased an SAE Stahlwille wrench set from Amazon.de. They were more than Craftsman but quality is infinitely better and price was still reasonable.

 

[Dakotadadv8]

If you want Cman buy the more expensive ones since the sell ok, good, and better. Probably most home gamers buying lowest prices, Pros may not since using them for a living. I tried to buy and pay for Pro quality tools since it is my labor, I am not a collector.

 

[mikebaker1129]

Get the Williams!

 

[Bubba Fett]

I Ignore brand names and look for country of origin, which can vary, even in the same brand.

USA and Germany are going to be at the top, followed by Taiwan.

China makes a wide range, varying from decent to worthless junk. It's difficult to determine without seeing the tools in person. Apex/Gearwrench/SATA-sourced tools from China are decent, but I avoid them on principle, if possible.

India is OK, but quality is generally unimpressive. I avoid them simply because there are better options at better prices.

Stay away from China and India-sourced tools on Ebay and Amazon under all the no-name/random-letter "brands" which sell bottom-of-the-barrel junk made out of who-knows-what. Some of that stuff may even be dangerous to handle.

 

[WWheeler]

@F-22 my son recently purchased an SAE Stahlwille wrench set from Amazon.de. They were more than Craftsman but quality is infinitely better and price was still reasonable.

FYI: Stahlwille performed just terrible in independent testing (score 880) ...

MUCH worse than old-school Craftsman USA (score 1319) or China Craftsman (score 1232) in the same test ...

I'm just sayin'

Most everyone here at GJ loves to hate on Craftsman BUT when they (regardless of COO) get tested against everyone's favorite they tend to perform very well, especially against those in the same price ranges.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Say what you will about Craftsman.. they have clearly entered into the male consciousness. I've never seen so much hang wringing and naval gazing about a brand. Is Craftsman good? Why is it so collectible? What's the history? Will it get me laid? Should I buy it? Should I sell it? Retire it? Did you hear about the factory? See the spy pic? CRAAAAAAAAAAFTSMAAAAAAAAN!

 

[dchawk81]

Say what you will about Craftsman.. they have clearly entered into the male consciousness. I've never seen so much hang wringing and naval gazing about a brand. Is Craftsman good? Why is it so collectible? What's the history? Will it get me laid? Should I buy it? Should I sell it? Retire it? Did you hear about the factory? See the spy pic? CRAAAAAAAAAAFTSMAAAAAAAAN!

Okay.

 

[threewood]

If you are set on Craftsman, order a used set from Fleabay. The wrenches were pretty good as were the sockets. The RP ratchets have always sucked. Stay away from their screwdrivers.

My favorite old set is a mini box/open wrench set. They are tiny and have been extremely useful.