DIY Old Craftsman Level Value Line Tools???

[Treeman]

Did a search, but obviously not very well. Direct me to them if possible, otherwise: Please list today's alternatives for the old Craftsman homeowner's line of hand tools (wrenches/ratchets, sockets, mainly) that had the excellent attributes of easy accessibility, easy warranty, decent (relative) quality, excellent value. Thank you.

For US made, SK seems to be the only alternative. Even their prices seem to be double and triple the Asian alternatives. A 3/8 metric/SAE socket set with extras is in the mid $150 + range for SK vs. less than $75 for Asian counterparts. Wright is even more. Armstrong is a bit more difficult to access.

Below SK are a number of Asian brands. Gearwrench has good brand recognition. Tekton is attractive, especially living here in Michigan. Don't know if I can stomach Harbor Freight, even with their improvements. It's tough (for me) to ignore the brand recognition and it seems that Home Depot and Lowes change their line up every few years.

Any and all advice appreciated. Apologies if this has been beaten to death. Help me find those threads, if possible.

Thank you.

 

[Fcvapor05]

The 'alternative' is....

Drumroll...

Craftsman.

 

[Tim37]

The hf pro series stuff isn't too bad. It looks like for the most part you have a good handle on it. Sadly there isn't much left of mid level made in America left.

 

[jeeper46]

How can you beat HF? 20% off on whatever you buy, coupons are everywhere. They will exchange a broken tool with no questions, and most of their hand tools are the equal of anything you are going to get at HD or Lowes. I've never broken a HF wrench or socket, and I do some pretty heavy duty wrenching. I used to scoff at them, but I have a load of their stuff now.

 

[cliftonbros89]

If SK is out of budget Armstrong and Wright will be over SK on most things. If those aren't an option look at Klein. Although the range of tools is limited there. But they still offer pliers, screwdrivers, nut drivers, and socket sets. They're stuff is pretty affordable, good quality and a lot of it is U.S. made. But I'd say if you don't go with those I'd say Gearwrench over the new Craftsman stuff or HF. Gearwrench stuff isn't bad. A lot of people on here like it. As for Tekton I couldn't say. I don't have any Tekton stuff. I can't say I'd go with Kobalt or Husky either. From what I've gathered the quality is diminishing on those brands like Craftsman is.


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[Moose97]

Craftsman of the 60's, 70's and 80's is no more. There really aren't any American made quality DIY tools out there. You either pay high dollar for quality American made tools or you buy foreign stuff.

YOU need to decide YOUR price range and then go out and see which tools YOU prefer. Buy those.

 

[Mrmontebuilder]

If you have time and patience maybe buy used on eBay? You can probably get a smoking deal on a huge amount of tools if you buy wisely.

 

[jakemac]

^^^^ THIS ^^^^

Stock up on the used market and put those old tools back to work.

 

[PWC Repair]

I really like my Husky Pro hand tools. I wrench about 20 hours a week, more in the summer. They don't carry them in most of the Home Depots any more but you can still find them online.

 

[Wyoming09]

I find being diligent on checking Craigslist can have good results. I've gotten some really nice prices on some SK sockets, Williams and Proto wrenches. Just last week I picked up a Facom 501 plier for a nice price.

 

[stang2007]

Craftsman of the 60's, 70's and 80's is no more. There really aren't any American made quality DIY tools out there. You either pay high dollar for quality American made tools or you buy foreign stuff.

YOU need to decide YOUR price range and then go out and see which tools YOU prefer. Buy those.

Exactly, the craftsman we grew up with is dead, HF twain stuff is good, if i was starting out fresh i would go with Tekton.

 

[PJNJ]

At this point I don't know if I would consider SK to be a high dollar alternative as opposed to the "golden era" of Craftsman.

I recently found this interesting article about Cman tools from the 1964 catalog adjusted for inflation to 2014 prices.
http://professional-power-tool-guide.com/2014/07/craftsman-tools-in-retrospect-a-50-year-comparison/

This year I bought 1/4 and 3/8 SK socket sets. The 1/4 set was around $135 and the 3/8 was around $165.00. Both sets were in sturdy blow molded cases and included 6 point SAE and Metric, shallow and deep sockets along with a ratchet and extensions, thumbwheel ratchet, and u joint (plus two adapters in the 1/4 set). They are well made and should last the rest of my lifetime. And they are relatively cheap compared to 1964 prices. Though they can be more expensive than SK, I also consider Proto, Williams USA and Wright to be good value (especially Wright combo wrenches with WrightGrip).

If USA doesn't matter then Gearwrench Taiwan socket sets are also an excellent value. They often run BOGO promotions that include a free 1/4 set with the purchase of a 3/8 set for around $120. I'm not impressed with their Chinese tools however. I have Taiwan ratcheting wrenches and I picked some of the Chinese versions sold at Advance Auto last year - they aren't the same. The older Taiwan versions are much smoother in ratcheting action.

 

[acecobra]

I got duped into the purchase of the big mechanics set from craftsman(sear rep told me coo was USA) have been looking for USA made set, but have seen any in my area.
If I did my research I would've bought Tekton to get me by and would have saved up for SK or Armstrong sets and buy them a rail at a time.

 

[four.cycle]

Craftsman of the 60's, 70's and 80's is no more. There really aren't any American made quality DIY tools out there. You either pay high dollar for quality American made tools or you buy foreign stuff.

^ This pretty much sums it up.
Best bang for your buck in a US-made tool is going to be S-K. If you don't want to pony up the bucks for brand new from one of the online retailers (Amazon, ToolTopia, etc.) check Ebay - all kinds of used/slightly used S-K listed every day.

Pliers and screwdrivers: There are other US-made options which don't get mentioned here (for reasons which escape me) - Wilde, Enderes, Proamerica, Jawco, Ullman, Mayhew, Klein, Xcelite, Channellock, on and on and on....

 

[WWheeler]

There's still new old stock USA made Craftsman that can be found. Some are marked up to ridiculous collectors only prices, and others not so much. Here's a couple examples I found with just a cursory search on fleabay.

NOS CRAFTSMAN (USA) MADE 245 PC. MECHANICS TOOL SET 33245 ($300)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-CRAFTSMAN-USA-MADE-245-PC-MECHANICS-TOOL-SET-33245-/152337356716

NOS CRAFTSMAN (USA) MADE 190 PC. MECHANICS TOOL SET # 35190 ($220)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NOS-CRAFTSMAN-USA-MADE-190-PC-MECHANICS-TOOL-SET-35190-/232145334423

No doubt the prices are a lot more than they originally sold for (like double), but I've not seen any other current comparable USA made tool sets for these prices.