Chinese Made Craftsman Professional Wrenches

[cglasgow]

"US" I think the majority of the blame falls on the Previous generation. In reality they allowed the Walmarts to enter the community and obviously set a presidence that we as Americans would purchase Imported Clothes and general consumables. Now all of a sudden people want to blame the Current consumers who have to deal with a Poor economy and weak dollar and abundance of Imports goods available for purchase and meanwhile its nearly impossible to find US goods. The Blame Game doesnt do any good, The above statement is a prime example. We sold ourselves out and now everybody is pointing fingers but NOBODY is free of blame and i mean NOBODY.

My shopping at Walmart is not the problem -- it's all those other people shopping at Walmart that's the problem. Except that it's all of us that's the problem.

And remember that all that "corporate greed" that's causing all the offshoring is caused by the owners of the companies. And those greedy, thieving owners are.... ......us. If you have a 401k, an IRA, or a mutual fund, you're one of those greedy corporate owners who's sending manufacturing overseas......

We, as consumers, demand the most possible goods for the least possible money, and at the very same time, we, the very same people, demand the highest return on our investments in the stock market. As consumers and investors we're successful beyond our wildest dreams. As citizens we've sold our souls for pennies. We've no one to blame but ourselves....

 

[dankicksass]

Nothing I've bought at Sears in the past month aside from a quart of SAE-30 was American made, now I feel like a jerk. Damn you, Danaher tool group!

 

[Hiball]

We sold ourselves out and now everybody is pointing fingers but NOBODY is free of blame and i mean NOBODY.

My shopping at Walmart is not the problem -- it's all those other people shopping at Walmart that's the problem. Except that it's all of us that's the problem.

And remember that all that "corporate greed" that's causing all the offshoring is caused by the owners of the companies. And those greedy, thieving owners are.... ......us. If you have a 401k, an IRA, or a mutual fund, you're one of those greedy corporate owners who's sending manufacturing overseas......

We, as consumers, demand the most possible goods for the least possible money, and at the very same time, we, the very same people, demand the highest return on our investments in the stock market. As consumers and investors we're successful beyond our wildest dreams. As citizens we've sold our souls for pennies. We've no one to blame but ourselves....

I agree... As you can see in my quote. Ive got 5 years of Gold investing under my belt and currently own 57 acres outside of town, Both of these investments have served me well. Its eventually gonna come to a head and i dont believe we are too far from it.

 

[cglasgow]

I agree... As you can see in my quote.

I'm not disagreeing at all. I hit reply to your post because I agree with it!

 

[Hiball]

I'm not disagreeing at all. I hit reply to your post because I agree with it!

Gotcha...

 

[blarf]

I stopped by the Sears in San Rafael, CA and the only Craftsman Pro items I saw were #44349 #44350 #42012 and all were made in the US of A.

 

[bchee]

11 Pages of Thread and not 1 single picture over this hooplah?

I am going to go to Sears and clean house on all of the stuff I need before the transition.

I didn't see the pro combos, but I did see the cross force wrenches.

The ones in the "new" packaging are made in China (I checked the back). They won't come off the display because it was locked.

The ones in the old packaging are USA made, and that is shown on the front.

 

[mooman]

My first sighting of the China made Craftsman Professional wrenches. (Although, they don't say "Professional" on them anymore)
This was a Sears store in Oak Brook, IL. They only had two of the China sets in metric.
The rest of the wrenches were the U.S.A stock.
The quality looked about the same. I guess time will tell on that one.
Sorry for the camera phone pics.The "Made in China" is to the right of the bar code on the back.

 

[mrholeshot]

Those look exactly like the stanley pros. Good wrench, The price is rediculas for the craftsman at 99 dollars a set. You can buy the Stanleys for 39 in the 13 peice set.

 

[Cummins_Powered]

My first sighting of the China made Craftsman Professional wrenches. (Although, they don't say "Professional" on them anymore)
This was a Sears store in Oak Brook, IL. They only had two of the China sets in metric.
The rest of the wrenches were the U.S.A stock.
The quality looked about the same. I guess time will tell on that one.
Sorry for the camera phone pics.The "Made in China" is to the right of the bar code on the back.

Looks pretty definitive to me. Though Im surprised they dont say "professional" on them. They are packaged very similarly to the other new chinese stuff from cman.

I know i wont be the one to test out the new chinese wrenches. Unless you guys want to paypal me some money to buy and beat the hell out of them and let you all know...

 

[Fedwrench]

The quality looked about the same. I guess time will tell on that one.

Look at the size of the open ends on the Chinese made versions, they sure have a lot more steel (perhaps lower quality steel) between the base of the open end and the beam of the wrench than on the older US made versions.

Good eye Bchee on spotting the Chinese Cross Force wrenches. I never look at them so, I missed those completely. So the now Chinese made (but used to be US made) Craftsman wrench talley is up to the Cross Force Wrench set, Fully polished combination wrenches, Fully polished flare nut wrenches, and Flare crowfeet.

 

[Cummins_Powered]

Look at the size of the open ends on the Chinese made versions, they sure have a lot more steel (perhaps lower quality steel) between the base of the open end and the beam of the wrench than on the older US made versions.

wow, i missed that at first. In the picture they actually look ridiculous on the open end. Oddly HUGE...

 

[Jononon]

Am I wrong in believing that Craftsman Pro (USA) used to be made by Danaher?

Assuming that's correct, it's baffling that those aren't GearWrenches, but they clearly aren't as the open end's completely different

 

[arkangel06]

My first sighting of the China made Craftsman Professional wrenches. (Although, they don't say "Professional" on them anymore)
This was a Sears store in Oak Brook, IL. They only had two of the China sets in metric.
The rest of the wrenches were the U.S.A stock.
The quality looked about the same. I guess time will tell on that one.
Sorry for the camera phone pics.The "Made in China" is to the right of the bar code on the back.

So did you buy a set of the US made ones?

 

[Bigpigdave]

What the hell is going on with Craftsman. I am about as disappointed that it appears they are downsizing their "Pro" line of tools as I am that these wrenches are MIC. I have always found the "Craftsman Professional" line to be a nice middle point between cheaper import tools and Snap On. I guess they may have not sold enough "Pro" tools to justify their existence but they had become a large part of my Craftsman purchases. I don't have a tool truck that comes to my shop any more and Sears was pretty handy if I needed something new or replaced. I was really upset when I saw the indexing head ratchet wrenches were MIC earlier this year and am even more so now. I guess I am going to have to find another mid-range tool line to take the place of Craftsman Professional. I am p**sed!!!!!! :>(

 

[mooman]

So did you buy a set of the US made ones?

No. I did not. I already have a USA made set of each metric and SAE.
That leaves more USA stock on the shelves for people that really need them.

 

[eyeboltman]

A sad day for mechanics everywhere

 

[arkangel06]

No. I did not. I already have a USA made set of each metric and SAE.
That leaves more USA stock on the shelves for people that really need them.

Good stuff

 

[chevy302dz]

My first sighting of the China made Craftsman Professional wrenches. (Although, they don't say "Professional" on them anymore)
This was a Sears store in Oak Brook, IL. They only had two of the China sets in metric.
The rest of the wrenches were the U.S.A stock.
The quality looked about the same. I guess time will tell on that one.
Sorry for the camera phone pics.The "Made in China" is to the right of the bar code on the back.

Maybe they are doing away with the pro line and these will be the new standard line tools. Since it seems that Sears in the rest of the world only sells asian tools maybe we are going on that standard as well.

 

[otis66]

Matco Tools is already there with the 1/4 drive metric sockets. Set number SAM146TB 5mm-15mm, made in taiwan.

 

[otis66]

This is just a bad move for Sears.

 

[otis66]

Maybe Sears should hook up with S-K Idea and Wright Tools instead of Danaher. I was at Sears this past friday, I bought a USA set of wrenches marked USA, and I notice a Gearwrench set of ratcheting wrenches with the Matco "Opti-Torgue" open end.

 

[Cummins_Powered]

Maybe Sears should hook up with S-K Idea and Wright Tools instead of Danaher. I was at Sears this past friday, I bought a USA set of wrenches marked USA, and I notice a Gearwrench set of ratcheting wrenches with the Matco "Opti-Torgue" open end.

I thought at some point they might have been connected to SK. I thought the line wrenches used to be SK made.

 

[mikevango]

Were the USA pro combos made by sk? It would make sense then. Sk went bankrupt so sears had to find somebody else to make them (china).
Any way I got a USA set in the mail today that I bought here in the classifieds. They are very nice with shiny chrome. I don't need them but they are pretty much new and the last of the USA ones....

 

[otis66]

I thought Craftsman had a contract with Danaher. Danaher = Gearwrench=China Craftsman Pro tools.
Maybe S-K needs a big contract since Idea buyout. S-K= Craftsman Tools made in USA.

 

[Hiball]

I thought Craftsman had a contract with Danaher. Danaher = Gearwrench=China Craftsman Pro tools.
Maybe S-K needs a big contract since Idea buyout. S-K= Craftsman Tools made in USA.

Not all Danaher made tools are made in China, Like Matco, Armstrong, Allen. There might be more but those are the ones that come to mind.

 

[bchee]

So the now Chinese made (but used to be US made) Craftsman wrench talley is up to...... and Flare crowfeet.

the flare crowsfeet I saw were still the SK ones for $80, but then again, I didn't see the standard pro combos (at least in my local store).

Couple more questions:
1) the Gearwrench combos have the "surface drive" groove in the open end don't they? Do these new Craftsmans have that? IIRC the Craftsman pros never had any kind of "flank" drive feature in the open end.

2) Do any of those huge 300 piece or 500 piece sets come with the Craftsman professionals? If so, I wonder if they are going to mix USA sockets with Chinese wrenches.

 

[otis66]

Not all Danaher made tools are made in China, Like Matco, Armstrong, Allen. There might be more but those are the ones that come to mind.

The craftsman Pro wreches look just like my Matco wrenches (minus the opti-torque), And the Gearwrench non-ratcheting wrenches also look like craftsman pros. I also have an Allen wrench set and socket set (made in USA) that looks exactly like the Matco wrenches and ratchets. It seems as though Danaher is shifting Craftsman tool production to there over seas factory. If SK is still made in the USA then maybe SK can make a deal with sears to make the hard lin tools. Or better yet make a deal with Wright tools for all hard line tools. I would pay the extra money for Craftsman branded Wright tools.

Also, no one here belives me but Matco Tools has also started making there 1/4 drive sockets over seas ie...Taiwan. Set number SAM146TB.

 

[Skin]

its not that no one believes you, you just sound like a broken record since you've said it twenty times now.

 

[Fedwrench]

the flare crowsfeet I saw were still the SK ones for $80, but then again, I didn't see the standard pro combos (at least in my local store).

Couple more questions:
1) the Gearwrench combos have the "surface drive" groove in the open end don't they? Do these new Craftsmans have that? IIRC the Craftsman pros never had any kind of "flank" drive feature in the open end.

2) Do any of those huge 300 piece or 500 piece sets come with the Craftsman professionals? If so, I wonder if they are going to mix USA sockets with Chinese wrenches.

1) I didn't see any mention of a modified open end on the packaging, or seeing anything on the wrenches. You are correct that previous versions of the Craftsman pro series wrenches never had a modified open end.

2) I don't think any of the current multipiece sets have pro series wrenches in them aside from the modular tray set. It's anyone's guess what will be mixed with what in the future. However, the lid is open on Pandora's box now, and there's no real reason to stop the Chinafication of Craftsman.

Some of you have dreams of Wright and SK produced Craftsman tools. The cold sad truth is that neither of those manufacturers can produce a quality tool at the price point required of Sears to make money. It ***** but, that's how it is. You might as well buy tool truck brands for what industrial tools list for. Members here may be willing to pay more for quality but, the masses won't. The last thing SK needs to do is to make cheaper tools right now. There is no great news unfortunately on the US made tool front.

 

[bchee]

I was talking to some friends.
I said "craftsman tools are made in china now, everybody is pissed about it."

He said, "who is everybody?"

I said, "some guys on this tool forum."

What proportion of the population is represented here in GJ?

 

[Hiball]

1)
Some of you have dreams of Wright and SK produced Craftsman tools. The cold sad truth is that neither of those manufacturers can produce a quality tool at the price point required of Sears to make money. It ***** but, that's how it is. You might as well buy tool truck brands for what industrial tools list for. Members here may be willing to pay more for quality but, the masses won't. The last thing SK needs to do is to make cheaper tools right now. There is no great news unfortunately on the US made tool front.

Agreed.. Craftsman was the last resort for affordable "New" Usa branded tools. If they cant make a go of it... Watch out.

 

[Hiball]

i was talking to some friends.
I said "craftsman tools are made in china now, everybody is pissed about it."

he said, "who is everybody?"

i said, "some guys on this tool forum."

what proportion of the population is represented here in gj?

.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001%

 

[oldtools]

Is this for real? I went to 7 sears stores and I didn't see any Chinese pro wrenches.

 

[Indy_500]

Is this for real? I went to 7 sears stores and I didn't see any Chinese pro wrenches.

my local sears has the chinese pro wrenches

 

[dankicksass]

Not all Danaher made tools are made in China, Like Matco, Armstrong, Allen. There might be more but those are the ones that come to mind.

The Allen hex T-handles and L-keys I got at Sears recently were made in China. I had a long internal debate on whether to spend the extra $100 for Craftsman USA for the same tools. I didn't find it to agree with my budget. I usually go out of my way to avoid China tools and products but with Allen I felt like the quality was the same as the Craftsman it was right next to.

 

[Skin]

so dont buy Allen? Eklind has been making hex tools for decades and their sets really arent that expensive. Ends up being $1-$2 per t-handle.

 

[blarf]

The sears I went to the other day had USA made Craftsman L handles for... $14? What did strike me as odd was that they had the full polish pro *standard* combo wrenches right next to the full polish Chinese made metric combo wrenches. No full polish metric wrenches in sight.

 

[gatewaysysop]

O...K...

So I read this puppy from end to end. Holy ****, don't even know where to begin, this thread has gone all over the place.

I'm just going to say that I am done buying Craftsman anything at this point. Thankfully I had the good sense and the means to buy pretty much every wrench, socket and other hardline tool from them that I ever needed/wanted as they went on sale or clearance over the last five years or so.

Even so, sad to see it came to this in such short order. Damn.

 

[Cummins_Powered]

O...K...

So I read this puppy from end to end. Holy ****, don't even know where to begin, this thread has gone all over the place.

I'm just going to say that I am done buying Craftsman anything at this point. Thankfully I had the good sense and the means to buy pretty much every wrench, socket and other hardline tool from them that I ever needed/wanted as they went on sale or clearance over the last five years or so.

Even so, sad to see it came to this in such short order. Damn.

We did get a little off topic


I am pretty much just going to pick up anything that i need that is USA and if they dont have it oh well. ill go buy another brand