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Craftsman slim handle ratchets china.

wrenchr

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My brother warrantied a craftsman 1/4 ratchet yesterday and this is what he got. The USA one is mine. I also noticed the impact sockets are now made in china. Lets keep this civil fellas, I wanted to share this sad news with you.
The head is larger and the ratchet action is choppier. :(
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Buckgnarly

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There's a post on here about the China impact sockets, but this is the first for those ratchets.....guess it's only a matter of time.....:mad:
 
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wrenchr

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Yah it has the quick release pin that pushes out, I'm not happy because the pro wrenches and these ratchets were some of their best tools IMO. :(
 

Pro-Painter

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That *****. I was planing on buying the impact sockets tomorrow on black Friday. I will not pay USA prices (even black Friday) china tools!

Craftsman will be gone in a few years. Thanks K-mart!
 
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wrenchr

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That *****. I was planing on buying the impact sockets tomorrow on black Friday. I will not pay USA prices (even black Friday) china tools!

Craftsman will be gone in a few years. Thanks K-mart!

They should still have the USA ones but when you need the warranty you are SOL and will get a china replacement. :(
 

plinker

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I guess they really are the same as the Gearwrench ratchets now (IE; china coo, not just 60 tooth). :lol: :puke:

I cant say I'm surprised about it, but I'm very disapointed.
 

diesel research

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It's odd. "greed" is the claimed reason, and a bunch of "disappointment". Why is that odd? People seem to love gearwrench, and GW's equivalent ratchet cost more, w/o the unique profiled handle. China as well.
 

kythri

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Craftsman will be gone in a few years.

So everyone keeps claiming, and yet, it still hasn't happened.

Question to the OP: Did I miss "China" somewhere on the ratchet, or is it just missing the USA marking? Does the package say "China" on it?

Just curious if Sears is trying to claim the same nonsense as Snap-On with the removal of the COO from the tool itself, or if they're actually fully disclosing that these are made in China.
 
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wrenchr

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It is a different tooling making these as well, the head is larger than the USA one.
 

plinker

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It's odd. "greed" is the claimed reason, and a bunch of "disappointment". Why is that odd? People seem to love gearwrench, and GW's equivalent ratchet cost more, w/o the unique profiled handle. China as well.

To me the disapointing thing is I'd bet within one or two years the entire Craftsman line up will be made in china the way things seem to be going. Of course Sears will probably be out of business by then, but thats been said for years now.
I already have this issue with my USA Napa tools (would get a china replacement). I'm not saying Gearwrench is junk, But I do think it is a bit overpriced.
 
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jim2664258

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It's odd. "greed" is the claimed reason, and a bunch of "disappointment". Why is that odd? People seem to love gearwrench, and GW's equivalent ratchet cost more, w/o the unique profiled handle. China as well.

I think I'd be careful with the 'proof by citing a single example' argument. Maybe it will be ok, maybe it won't. Just because people generally accept GearWrench doesn't mean the same will be true here.

Are you going to deny greed is the reason? C'mon. Not sure why you don't understand the disappointment either.
 

AZ_Catskinner

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Oh well, at least Proto is still American made.

Some of it anyway - I've noticed some import Proto stuff filtering in recently. Just that I've bought:

½" flexhead ratchet: Italy (Okay, it's really a rebadged Facom and it was a total waste of money)

Locking pliers: Spain

Screwdrivers: England (red Trilobe cushion handle), Germany on a couple of the older ones.

Toolbox: Made in USA (With Global Components)
 
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Some of it anyway - I've noticed some import Proto stuff filtering in recently. Just that I've bought:

½" flexhead ratchet: Italy (Okay, it's really a rebadged Facom and it was a total waste of money)

Locking pliers: Spain

Screwdrivers: England (red Trilobe cushion handle), Germany on a couple of the older ones.

Toolbox: Made in USA (With Global Components)

You're right, I was just thinking about the sockets and old-type ratchets.

And I just used my Italian 1/2 flex head not even 3 hours ago....
 

blarf

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It's odd. "greed" is the claimed reason, and a bunch of "disappointment". Why is that odd? People seem to love gearwrench, and GW's equivalent ratchet cost more, w/o the unique profiled handle. China as well.

Why is it odd? GearWrench has more consistent quality control and puts out a better product than anything with the Craftsman brand name on it.

P.S. If anyone else is pissed,

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=634000030
http://www.linkedin.com/search/fpse...n=ajax:8206991604901900490&domainCountryName=

That's Kris Malkoski, vice president of the Craftsman "brand". If I had to guess, her corporate e-mail address is probably [email protected]
 

Mr.Nutcase

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That *****.... I have a slim ratchet too, that is skipps.
Damn, I going to get a China ****.
 

hammergodthor

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This makes me super sad and I'm done with craftsman for good. :mad:

People probably said Mac would cease to exist when they "went down the tubes", but they're still around, although at least half of their monthly flyer is all merchandise; t-shirt hats, etc.
 

mike13u

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Why is it odd? GearWrench has more consistent quality control and puts out a better product than anything with the Craftsman brand name on it.

P.S. If anyone else is pissed,

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=634000030
http://www.linkedin.com/search/fpse...n=ajax:8206991604901900490&domainCountryName=

That's Kris Malkoski, vice president of the Craftsman "brand". If I had to guess, her corporate e-mail address is probably [email protected]

Blarf -
Hey man, If you have a problem with a company, contact the company or the individual through the company. Those are her personal pages. Many of us work for large companies and we dont always agree and cant always align our personal interest with the interest that are best for the company. A company does what they feel is best for their enterprise.
This young lady doesnt deserve to get your gripes on her personal pages.
You should consider taking that down and If you want people to send their gripes, then just leave the work contact info.
How would you like your spouse's Facebook to get blown-up by a bunch of people on a message board because of the line of business she is in.
 
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blarf

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Blarf -
Hey man, If you have a problem with a company, contact the company or the individual through the company.

A.) She's not a newb or other low-level employee.
B.) She uses that Facebook account as part of her job (check out her wall, where she uses one of her $$$ creations the Craftsman facebook app —*@#$because Craftsman needs an app not better tools LOL).
C.) LinkedIn is a professional tool.
D.) The e-mail address I guessed at /is/ a corporate e-mail address.
E.) She's the *head of the brand*. If the direction the brand is going in is not aligned with her personal interests, SHE is doing something wrong.

And, quite frankly, if you're doing something you find distasteful at work it's probably time to find a new job. Or did this become pity an exec that's running Sears into the ground day?

Edit: And, please, enough with the sympathy for these poor executives at Sears. Why is okay to blame the consumers for buying cheap Chinese tools that are made to higher standards than the Sears garbage, but it's not okay to blame the executives making the decisions to sign off on doing business that way? Quite frankly, if I were married and that person was making decisions like this (making half-assed marketing things like a Facebook app over investing in making quality tools), I wouldn't approve of it and I probably wouldn't be married to that person in the first place.

Here's the circle jerk press release Sears put out congratulating Kris:

http://www.craftsman.com/news-diy-playground/nb-120000000195401

How much of a bonus do you think she got for:
* Creating the ultimate trophy case with a Hall of Fame baseball player
* Racing a major league soccer player on Craftsman's Turn Tight™ Tractor

We're not talking about a clerk that's already miserable. We're talking about someone likely sucking down six figures to come up with some marketing stunt while moving production overseas and gutting middle-class jobs.
 
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mike13u

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A.) She's not a newb or other low-level employee.
B.) She uses that Facebook account as part of her job (check out her wall, where she uses one of her $$$ creations the Craftsman facebook app —*@#$because Craftsman needs an app not better tools LOL).
C.) LinkedIn is a professional tool.
D.) The e-mail address I guessed at /is/ a corporate e-mail address.
E.) She's the *head of the brand*. If the direction the brand is going in is not aligned with her personal interests, SHE is doing something wrong.

And, quite frankly, if you're doing something you find distasteful at work it's probably time to find a new job. Or did this become pity an exec that's running Sears into the ground day?

Look man. Im not talking about distastful (hardly anything that isnt made overseas these days) and, Im sure to most companies making yourself more efficient by moving things offshore isnt in any way distastfull. But, LinkedIn and Facebook are social media used for much more than just business. If you have a gripe, send it in to her work.

FWIW, I cant see her Facebook because Im not a member. But, I know that LinkdIn isnt a place to bash people about the direction of the corporation they happen to be employed by. Im pretty sure that is not the avenue she intended for her Facebook either. There is a channel for that.

Its a tool company man. Just send it to her at the company. No need to go viral with all kinds of electronic complaints right?

Just because she is at the top of the food chain doesnt make it any different.

Occupy Sears headquarters, not her front yard.
 
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blarf

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FWIW, I cant see her Facebook because Im not a member. But, I know that LinkdIn isnt a place to bash people about the direction of the corporation they happen to be employed by. Im pretty sure that is not the avenue she intended for her Facebook either. There is a channel for that.

Sure, and it's called electronic communication. If you give feedback, what do you expect to happen? BTW, Facebook privacy controls are such that if she didn't want her public identity tied to Craftsman, she could have set it as such. But she didn't. Hell, she could disable strangers sending her messages. But she didn't. That facebook account is not a personal account. In fact the only public information on that account is that she's using the Craftsman app. That's not her front yard (altho, that's not a half bad idea).

Its a tool company man. Just send it to her at the company. No need to go viral with all kinds of electronic complaints right?

Cool. So her corporate contact info is listed where?

Right.

Send it to one of her many handlers, secretaries, and hope that by the time it gets to her (if it gets to her) it won't be mangled beyond recognition. Good luck with that.

Or maybe if you sit there and steam silently, Sears will magically change. I hear that worked really well for the SnapOn and Mac drivers.

If she doesn't want negative feedback, maybe she should stop making ******** decisions. If she doesn't want negative feedback, maybe she shouldn't be the public face of the train wreck that is Craftsman tools.
 
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mike13u

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Edit: And, please, enough with the sympathy for these poor executives at Sears. Why is okay to blame the consumers for buying cheap Chinese tools that are made to higher standards than the Sears garbage, but it's not okay to blame the executives making the decisions to sign off on doing business that way? Quite frankly, if I were married and that person was making decisions like this (making half-assed marketing things like a Facebook app over investing in making quality tools), I wouldn't approve of it and I probably wouldn't be married to that person in the first place.

Your kidding right? I have no sympathy for corporate executives. But, do you think that Sears executives sit around trying to be un-American? Or do you think they try to maximize profits and stay globaly competitive so that they dont suffer the same fate as so many other good tool companies. Get a grip man. I dont like the decisions they make any more than anyone else on here. But, I also dont think that they conspire to ship things offshore just because of greed.
It all has to do with supply and demand like everything else in this world. If there were enough of us that would pay more to have American tools, believe me there would be plenty of American tool companies. But, there arent (enter sad music). These companies do what they have to do because HF, Northern Tool, whomever, is eating their lunch. Why? Because enough of your American friends and neighbors arent buying American. Thats the bottoom line.

My appologies to the OP. Didnt mean to get off in another direction. Just wanted the above to post link for the individual's work e-mail, the proper place to send a complaint.

Im done.
 
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pipsters

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That *****. I was planing on buying the impact sockets tomorrow on black Friday. I will not pay USA prices (even black Friday) china tools!

Craftsman will be gone in a few years. Thanks K-mart!

Just an FYI I just bought the 3/8" impact set from Sears.com (the ones that were mentioned and w/ pictures showing they were made in China) and the ones I got look like they were dropped shipped from Danaher (sets were in little bags). They are USA made. In fact, they are not only US made but they are damn good quality sockets.

Laser etching is perfect and bright, stamping is heavy and deep, broaching is perfect, and the sockets themselves are finished beautifully.
 

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gatewaysysop

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Thanks to the OP for posting this up, especially with pictures to back it up and show the differences in the two versions as well.

Truly a sad revelation, but given all the other moves to China for many of the other tools, I guess it was only a matter of time as people have already stated. I wonder how much longer the RP ratchets and, for that matter, the main line sockets will be made in the US? They can't be far behind in the queue if ratchets are already in China.

Again, really sad news but not unexpected by any means.
 

GoBlue

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I think we are all missing the big picture. All tool companys are outsourcing. Snap on, Matco, Mac, Craftsman, Kobalt, etc...I can promise that it wont be long before hand tools are ALL made over seas. Finding an American tool will be like finding an American T.V. Remember those? The ball has already started rolling.
 
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