Lowes to sell Craftsman

[Mechanical Noise]

Can you give an example of a Harbor Freight product that is superior to craftsman? Or you don't know that Harbor Freight is also China made?

Speaking from personal experience, Pittsburgh Pro ratchets are much better than Craftsman pear head ratchets. Pittsburgh Pro sockets seem just as strong and have more consistent plating and roll stamping.

My HF ratchets and sockets are made in Taiwan.

I have a HF drill which is far better than my early 80s era Craftsman drill.

I'm sure the drill is made in China and it's decent quality.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Why punish Stanley Black and Decker for Sears' actions? Seems silly to me.....

Why have ANY expectation of the Craftsman brand? It's just a name stamped on the tools.

Seems likely that if Stanley didn't buy the Craftsman name, they'd still be selling the same tools but at a lower price.

 

[Fender1325]

And about $32.00 a year comes from their Kobalt cordless tools and outdoor power equipment lines. Or did you see any other tool company on earth offering Lithium packs for $10 each in a desperate effort to plead with the public "PLEASE - buy our power tools!"

****, really? Sounds like a deal to me!

 

[mbshop]

Jeez, all this kvetching about tools can be sooooo tiring. Maybe just wait till it comes out and then make comments after they are bought and used. Otherwise it is all hot stale air.

 

[Fender1325]

Ya know what's funny though? The relationship with craftsman for many of us is like a girl that dumped you but you have to see her all the time. We're mad but we still pay attention if there's any chance to rekindle the old flame.

I'll say it. No brand quite gives you that "American" fuzzy feeling quite like craftsman does. Maybe because I have more years using them privately than professionally. But tell me you don't get a warm fuzzy feeling with a garage that has a muscle car or truck in it, and a craftsman box with USA craftsman tools in it. I personally don't have that connection with snap on, proto, Mac, SK, etc. Seems like back in the day you had craftsman and didn't second guess your ownership of them much. It was solid, made in America and did the job with an easy warranty to back you up. That was mom and dad's garage you know? Me as a younger guy, I have some hand me down craftsman and a lot of harbor freight. Sign of the times. But damn if they wouldn't kill it if they simply went back to their roots (craftsman). Just my opinion.

For me now, its going to be a collection of random brands

 

[SilverBulletZ06]

I don't mind it, so long as Stanley fixes the quality issues. Lowes' Kobalt line is floundering, they would be better to get rid of it and trade the broken stuff out for C-Man.


Again, it all depends on if C-Man will continue to make ratchets that feel like they come with free sand in the mechanism or not.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Lowes selling CM tools may turn out to be a good thing. If SBD brings back the quality and continues to produce tools in the USA, at a fair price, everyone could benefit.

I'm in the wait and see camp.

 

[JazzBlueRT]

I can forgive Craftsman using foreign made tools...they have always been a price point brand. What I can't forgive is the absolute **** foreign tools they have been selling.

The Craftsman name is irreparably damaged for me. I will NEVER buy another new Craftsman tool ever again. I would much prefer to buy tools from Harbor Freight...They're cheaper, quality is better, and HF stands behind their product better than CM.

What I'm saying is...there is more risk in buying Craftsman than Harbor Freight. Not only do you run the risk of coming away with an inferior product, but you run a high risk of paying significantly more for that lower quality product.

Could you share an example of the "**** foreign tools" that Craftsman is selling.

And BTW, if you think HF is less expensive than Craftsman, you should learn how to shop better.

 

[928'er]

I actually own HF's flare nut wrenches and haven't had an issue with them. Whether that's a testament to the quality of the wrenches or the relative intactness of the brake lines I've worked on with them, is up for debate.

Picked up a set of the HF flare nut wrenches when I had to change a caliper cross-over pipe in a pinch and didn't have access to my tools. HF wrench immediately began to spread and round off the flare nut. Took them back and picked up an individual SK flare nut wrench to complete the job.

The HF flare nut wrenches are complete JUNK don't waste your time! Flare nut wrenches are not the place to "cheap out."

 

[D.Sobek]

It would be nice if somebody like Menards or Lowes would sell TOPTUL for the high end market , the Cresent/Kobalt for the mid range and whatever's left for the low end.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Don't forget the flare nut wrenches.

How's outsourced manufacturing been to our middle class? There's more to it than just keyboards and cellphones. Germany made a decision decades ago to retain more of their manufacturing base. I wish we'd done the same.

It will never happen. Because the middle class doesn't have a lobbyist, and the big corporations who want thicker margins do.

Money is the only language that law makers understand, and the big corporations have a louder "voice" than we do.

 

[Super Sport]

Could you share an example of the "**** foreign tools" that Craftsman is selling.

And BTW, if you think HF is less expensive than Craftsman, you should learn how to shop better.

Shortly after they outsourced, I saw a 1/2" breaker bar with a square drive end that was probably 5/8" square. How's that Chinese QC?

For the most part though, I don't think the Chinese Cman is any worse than the last USA Cman.

 

[openwheelracing88]

Great news.

Nothing wrong with made in China Craftsman tools. Fact is US manufacturing can't compete globally, otherwise we would have the plants. No one wants the jobs at the proper wage. Everyone wants something for nothing. Learn from Germany and make the World thirst for "US Engineering" instead of "German Engineering". Until then, I am not blindly buying whatever is made in USA. For the sake of my country, it needs to wake up.

 

[6PTsocket]

Ya know what's funny though? The relationship with craftsman for many of us is like a girl that dumped you but you have to see her all the time. We're mad but we still pay attention if there's any chance to rekindle the old flame.

I'll say it. No brand quite gives you that "American" fuzzy feeling quite like craftsman does. Maybe because I have more years using them privately than professionally. But tell me you don't get a warm fuzzy feeling with a garage that has a muscle car or truck in it, and a craftsman box with USA craftsman tools in it. I personally don't have that connection with snap on, proto, Mac, SK, etc. Seems like back in the day you had craftsman and didn't second guess your ownership of them much. It was solid, made in America and did the job with an easy warranty to back you up. That was mom and dad's garage you know? Me as a younger guy, I have some hand me down craftsman and a lot of harbor freight. Sign of the times. But damn if they wouldn't kill it if they simply went back to their roots (craftsman). Just my opinion.

For me now, its going to be a collection of random brands

Sorry. I have the gray and red tool box set, a block grinder, a belt sander and an old jointer from the 50s. and a dead radial arm that I will send the motor back for the $100. Oh yeah, I have some hex wrenches and some ignition wrenches. After many decades of buying tools, that is all of it. Except for for the jointer and maybe the block grinder, I could care less about the rest. Craftsman does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. I does not remind me of an old girlfriend. It is a brand, sold by a store that has always had poor parts support for their power tools and has been going down hill for decades; first the stationary power tools and later the hand tools. I am interested to see what SBD does with the brand but I am not the target customer that will buy it because of any fond memories. For me they are a blank slate. Show me what ya got. The Craftsman name scores no points.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[sevt_chevelle]

I could care less, I have two maybe three items in my box with the Craftsman logo.

 

[Fender1325]

Really the hand tools. Wrenches, ratchets, sockets, pliers, etc. Circular saw, miter saw, routers, jigsaw, table saw, radial arm saw, shop vac, drill press, ....all kinds of **** from over 30 years ago that still are in service around the house for DIY. That kind of stuff was great to have access to under one roof/brand that was supported. I can still buy parts for my shop vac and it's older than me. I support that. We all use HF and the like to fill the void. But if craftsman got back to it's old ways, I'd gladly use them again

 

[Aberdale]

I wonder if Lowe's will drop the Kobalt brand if they start selling Craftsman?

 

[Bluedodge]

The number 48 Chevy of Jimmie Johnson is gonna need some freshening up next spring.

 

[TreePointer]

Could you share an example of the "**** foreign tools" that Craftsman is selling.

And BTW, if you think HF is less expensive than Craftsman, you should learn how to shop better.

I've noticed that the U.S.A. CM sockets of only 10 years ago had more chrome and better finish than the thin, raw interior or today's sockets. Some of them are so rough that it can be difficult to get a hex nut out of them. That's why I quit recommending them as starter sets.

 

[kythri]

I was at the Sears tool dept. last week and asked the counterperson about what they're going to be selling, and he said they'll be carrying Stanley made.

For what it's worth, that counterperson is talking out his ***. He has absolutely no reliable information about Sears' future plans.

Not saying that the BS he was spewing at you will turn out to be wrong, just that store-level employees (and that includes the general manager) are NOT kept in the loop about what's happening any farther than perhaps 1-3 months into the future, and that's only for store-level logistics stuff, like a large sale or a planogram reflow.

Your counterperson has the same, or less, information than you do about the future of the Craftsman brand.

 

[sberry]

I could care less, I have two maybe three items in my box with the Craftsman logo.

I got a lot and don't care.

 

[jacked_72]

With as bad as Lowes handles Kobalt tool warranty claims, I don't want anything to do with this marriage. On the bright side for Stanley, they've now got a lock on Home Depot tools and Lowes tools. Someone there is doing something right.

 

[kythri]

I hope, as they roll out the brand, they stock stuff correctly. HD and Lowe's have never had the massive open stock that Sears once had.

 

[Finance Guy]

For what it's worth, that counterperson is talking out his ***. He has absolutely no reliable information about Sears' future plans

I emphatically agree with this statement ... the store employees have no idea where Sears will source their Craftsman-branded tools in 2018!

 

[ishiboo]

It would be nice if somebody like Menards or Lowes would sell TOPTUL for the high end market , the Cresent/Kobalt for the mid range and whatever's left for the low end.

Is TOPTUL that much bette than GearWrench? The Crescent seems just about the same as the GW.

I've never had to warranty GW at Menards, but I've warrantied a few Masterforce tools (pair of China water pump pliers I gave away, and several shovels/rakes) and it's been flawless... no receipt needed, simply go grab a new one they scan it and you're on your way.

 

[JazzBlueRT]

I have a HF drill which is far better than my early 80s era Craftsman drill.

It is statements like this that cause doubts about your impartiality.

For example, if I said:

"I have a 2016 Charger RT which is far better than my early 80's era Camaro"

It would be silly to compare the two.

 

[jsmeece]

Is TOPTUL that much bette than GearWrench?

In my opinion, YES.

 

[JazzBlueRT]

Shortly after they outsourced, I saw a 1/2" breaker bar with a square drive end that was probably 5/8" square. How's that Chinese QC?

Did you measure it, did you try to fit 1/2" sockets on it? Since you said "probably" the answer is no. You made an assumption and passed it off as fact.

 

[JazzBlueRT]

I've noticed that the U.S.A. CM sockets of only 10 years ago had more chrome and better finish than the thin, raw interior or today's sockets. Some of them are so rough that it can be difficult to get a hex nut out of them. That's why I quit recommending them as starter sets.

That is really odd. I just bought a Craftsman 323 piece socket set about 6 months ago. The inside of the new sockets is actually chromed, unlike my late 80's and 90's era Craftsman sockets.

I must be the worlds luckiest buyer of Craftsman tools, over 500 sockets brought through the past 30 years and NOT ONE defective socket. Each socket fits exactly the bolt size it was designed for.

Just curious, how did you measure the thickness of the chrome?

 

[nickleone]

I am 69 years old. Some of my Craftsman wrenches in my teens were marked made in JAPAN.
That box of tools were stolen about 25 years ago.
Locally in Colorado I have be able to by seconds of Western Forge made Craftsman
wrenches. Not much choice but cheap.

Nick

 

[theoldwizard1]

Some of my Craftsman wrenches in my teens were marked made in JAPAN.

Back in the 70s, Chicago Pneumatic made some products in Japan. Sears relabeled the Japanese 1/2" impact and air hammer as Craftsman even though CP is cast into the housing !

 

[theoldwizard1]

One thing I wonder about is the Craftsman corded and cordless power tools. Will they even bother keeping those tools ? SBD already has several successful brand name for corded power tools (DeWalt, Porter Cable, Black and Decker) and cordless. I would be surprised if they keep the C3 Craftsman cordless line.

I would like to see the Craftsman Industrial power tools brought back (best 1/2" drill and 4.5 angle grinder I have ever owned).

 

[subarub4]

It's actually a good move for Lowe's anyway. Their tool selection is worse than home depot

That is true I can't remember the last time I even went to Lowes to look at any tools.. the only one was to get a grinder disc for my Milwaukee.