new craftsman 1/4 drive flex head

[Mr.Nutcase]

As to the talk of the diffrent guts in the ratcher, it is the same ratchet as a stanard tooth 1/4" matco flex. The matco flex has the same head design and lower tooth count then a non flex 36 tooth 1/4" ratchet.

Agreed, a Tech has a Matco and the head looks the same

 

[kythri]

I don't see Craftsman going away even if Sears goes under. The way I see it, Craftsman at Ace Hardware, Menards and Summit Racing means that they are shopping the brand around. If Sears goes, I bet someone continues Craftsman. I don't see Danaher (spelling?) letting it die, they seem to have a lot invested in the brand and could force Sears to let them move the sales end to someone else.

Danaher has NOTHING invested in the Craftsman brand. They do not own it, they are only a contract manufacturer and have no say in the brand future unless they buy the brand.

 

[BigAl62]

Danaher has NOTHING invested in the Craftsman brand. They do not own it, they are only a contract manufacturer and have no say in the brand future unless they buy the brand.

I know they don't own it, they make money making it, it's in their interest to do what they can to keep it alive (MY opinion!). I could see them buying it to keep making money (also MY opinion!) and finding another seller for the brand. As I said, this is MY opinion, what Sears and Danaher do with it is anybodies guess, but it is a money making brand (even if it's made in China). Who knows, I may win the lottery and buy the brand myself!

 

[dragoocoda]

I guess now; the question is whether they will continue to support it with rebuild kits.

I have a feeling now with Sears offshoring their hand tools, the cost to manufacture a ratchet will be cheaper than a rebuild kit. So, in the future we may just get new Chinese ratchets instead of a rebuilt USA ratchet. If you think about it, it will be a nightmare for Sears to have two sets of rebuild kits. One for US made ratchets, and one for Chinese made ratchets, since the innards are not the same.