Thinking about retiring my USA Craftsman tools

[metaldad]

Some grandkids want no parts of dealing with old stuff. Do yours have interest?

alot of the younger generation has no interest in anything, unless it has an app.
save your money.
you want to give them tools, give them new, when they're older, if they have an interest

 

[Jtels85]

As others have said, replacements are available on Ebay, etc.

In 30 years (IMO) there will be less demand for the old made in the USA stuff. It's currently bringing a premium because of the 50-80 year old collector demographic.

I've considered getting rid of my old USA RP wrenches and replacing with something "better", but I can't seem to part with them for whatever reason.

Lol, I’m 37 and a ******** Craftsman USA collector.

 

[kody1234]

The Craftsmen ratchets have always *****,and the Craftsman wrenches are to short for me.

 

[LOW1]

. . .Unless you have money to waste and just want new tools. . .

I bet these two reasons are responsible for 70% of tool purchases in the United States today. And are there any better ones?

 

[Davefr]

The Craftsmen ratchets have always *****,

B.S. The old USA CM raised panel ratchets were excellent in their day and affordable. The CM RHFT ratchets were among the finest ratchets out there.

 

[CTyankee]

I kept my Craftsmen wrenches and "retired" my sockets and ratchets for Gearwrench 6pt sets. Most of my CM were 12pt anyway.

 

[Vwpower]

This thread is the most garage journal thing I’ve seen all day.

 

[johnny_boy02]

I don’t think setting aside your old tools for family is a bad idea. I recently put most of my 20+ year old Craftsman set away and started building up a new collection with some nicer stuff and some comparable stuff.. with no skips of course…

I would highly recommend treating yourself to a few nicer “premium” things that will make your tasks easier. For me it was a couple tool truck ratchets and since I use semi-deep sockets the most I got some SnapOn in SAE and Koken in metric.
The rest of my box is Tekton, Capri, Williams USA, Mac precision toque, Harbot Freight, Astro, Milwaukee, etc. Some bought used, some new, some used but “like new” from EBay.

Some day I am going to get some really nice reversible wrenches. Spend the money, buy nice stuff and then enjoy it.

 

[Ton ton]

I bet these two reasons are responsible for 70% of tool purchases in the United States today. And are there any better ones?

Well said.

 

[mrvm]

The only Craftsman hand tools I own that are “retired” are the limited edition blue titanium set otherwise any other basic CM are used abused and repurposed.

 

[WWheeler]

Juust to toss this bit of fuel on the fire keeping this thread toasty. This is a post I wrote here on GJ more than 5 years ago.

The Round Head Fine Thread ratchet incorporates a dual integrated floating pawl design that doubles the number of clicks to the number of teeth so with that 1/2" you get the strength and reliability of a 45 tooth ratchet but the 4 degrees of travel between clicks of a 90 tooth ratchet (the 3/8 has 41 teeth so 82 clicks, and the 1/4 is 35 tooth, so 70 clicks). The damn things are well known as being one of the, if not the, most reliable ratchet designs of all time. Their only downfall is that they were more expensive to machine than almost all other ratchet designs out there.

There's good reason people will pay hundreds of dollars for a pristine condition Craftsman RHFT, especially one of the flex heads. They are very sought after. The ones I've had for decades that were handed down to me from my grandfather still work like new and I still use them frequently, and they hold a sentimental value to me waaaay more than anyone would pay for them. I seriously wouldn't even consider selling any single one of mine for any price short of enough to buy me a new car of my choice. Then I'd really have to think about it.

I've still got these two sets of RHFTs, most of which came from my grandfathers tools I inherited, that I kept for myself and handed down a set to my son who cherishes these sort of gifts in very much the same way I always have. He's a marine now with a normally calm demeanor but if you were to grab one of the tools I handed down to him without permission he'd likely beat you like you just purposefully ran over his dog. Not even kidding.

 

[brownbagg]

Im the only one in the family that like tools, so every , I end up with craftman. even today. I got a rich friend that ever year he buy me that 205 piece kit, I got one in every car, work truck, house, shop, boat. 17 kits. some ten years old and never been open. well anyway, through life i have about 15 of each size wrenches, from with family. between my last post, i went out and look at them, rememebr. Im the one that said, it didnt matter where they was made. so when i look, i got 15 sets of wrenchs from the small one to 2 inches, forgeds in usa. I did have a couple of the 205 kits with no usa on them. I think I started tools in the 70's

 

[Kscardsfan]

Lol, I’m 37 and a ******** Craftsman USA collector.

Same here.

 

[Kscardsfan]

Lol, I’m 37 and a ******** Craftsman USA collector.

Same here

 

[Htscheg]

Most kids these days are more interested in electronics than getting their hands dirty, Id use them and enjoy them, maybe if one of your grandkids shows interest later on then revisit the idea

 

[jonshonda]

If you want to buy more tools, then buy more tools. I know I would if I had the time and money. A snap on epiq box full of all the tools I want would be ******* awesome!

 

[m6z]

Lol, I’m 37 and a ******** Craftsman USA collector.

Is there an end goal? Are you trying to put together a "master" set of Craftsman tools or are you after all the tools and want multiple duplicates?

Honestly curious. I'm similar in age and I have sought out some Craftsman USA stuff, but I've also gotten rid of nearly all of my well worn Craftsman sockets and replaced them with Toptul, Capri and Sunex.

 

[dave*99]

Let's not lose focus on the purpose of this thread. It's about saving some USA Craftsman stuff for grandkids. And to do so, the OP will buy new tools for himself to use now.

I have old Craftsman USA tools.
I like to buy tools for myself.
Whatever is left for the grandkids (when I have them) is a bonus.

There is a very real possibility my grandkids will have zero interest in my tools and toss them out.
Who knows - maybe they will find value or interest in some other thing I have in my infinite pile of **** the I have taken interest in.

Two things I can't predict are their future interest and the future value of stuff. So maybe I can find a USA made Craftsman crystal ball to help with that. And my grandkids might throw that out too .

 

[Jtels85]

Is there an end goal? Are you trying to put together a "master" set of Craftsman tools or are you after all the tools and want multiple duplicates?

Honestly curious. I'm similar in age and I have sought out some Craftsman USA stuff, but I've also gotten rid of nearly all of my well worn Craftsman sockets and replaced them with Toptul, Capri and Sunex.

I’m very close to completing what I would consider a master set of Craftsman tools with date codes ranging from the years 2005-2011 (When I was buying the USA stuff at retail). I have several large USA mechanics sets. I’m a Craftsman USA hoarder. My collection with make some of the ******** eBay sellers rife with envy.

 

[jpaw]

Lol, this is so Garage Journal....
Personally I would sell any of my Craftsman tools to the crazies that are willing to pay good money for them.

"Tools" are just that and should be used as such. But hey if you are a collector and want to give me tool truck money for my Craftsman tools to complete your sets I'll give you my number.

 

[Busted_Knuckles]

Did this last year, replaced all of my old school craftsman from the mid 1980s, with new sets from Tekton, best money Ive spent in a looong time. Love these tools or I should say, I love the way they are organized in their clam shells ( I bought duplicates of everything, clamshells and loose for roll arounds in the shop ). Im sure you can find better quality and better tool storage clam shells, but what I paid for them, Im very happy, and will continue to buy that brand. Ive not put the warranty to the test yet, but Ive been buying straight from them and they are on the ball with shipping.

 

[Jtels85]

Lol, this is so Garage Journal....
Personally I would sell any of my Craftsman tools to the crazies that are willing to pay good money for them.

"Tools" are just that and should be used as such. But hey if you are a collector and want to give me tool truck money for my Craftsman tools to complete your sets I'll give you my number.

People collect all sorts of things. Tools are no exception. I also collect bourbon, which is meant for sipping/drinking, yet there are those who will pay a fortune to have several of the same unopened bottles on their shelf without ever pulling the cork.

I worked with a guy who collects ink pens from businesses and he’s incredibly passionate about it. One could say, pens are for writing…

 

[finn]

If my grandson takes an Interest in tools, I’ll gladly buy him a box full of SnapOn tools (at the appropriate time).

In the meantime, my mixed bag of Craftsman, Gearwrench, SK, SnapOn, and everything in between serves me well and meets my needs.

 

[rsanter]

keep using them but dont abuse them

i actually have some select tools that I have set aside for abuse, some are misc quality brands and others are chiseese but depending on what im doing its nice to have some beaters

 

[M635_Guy]

Personally, I'd keep using them and find the grandkid that seems interested and use them with him/her. I have beater tools for the off-chance I'll need to do something potentially destructive, something you could do to preserve the tools you have without packing them away.

That said, I think the old C-man wrenches (esp. combo wrenches) and sockets are fine, but woud say there's not an old low-tooth ratchet I'd trade for my modern 90-tooth Icon ratchets, which compare pretty well to my Snap On equivalents. My Tekton ratchets are nealy as good (just a little less beefy).

 

[Jtels85]

…my modern 90-tooth Icon ratchets, which compare pretty well to my Snap On equivalents.

Be careful, thems fightin words to some folks round here. They don’t take too kindly to disrespectin Snap Uhhn… ‘specially with some cheap, Taiwaneeeese import.

 

[M635_Guy]

Be careful, thems fightin words to some folks round here. They don’t take too kindly to disrespectin Snap Uhhn… ‘specially with some cheap, Taiwaneeeese import.

I skip all that silliness

 

[zendriver]

The OP should probably pass on everything from “horrible fright”, because of the name reference alone will be setting himself up for nothing but disappointment.

 

[White Shadow]

The Craftsmen ratchets have always *****,and the Craftsman wrenches are to short for me.

Back in the late 80s when I was in high school, I worked at the local Sears store in the hardware/tool department. I distinctly remember that you could buy, right off the wall rack, replacement guts for Craftsman ratchets for 1 cent. That's right, just a penny. Even back in the 80s, there was nothing that you could buy for a penny, but for whatever reason, they sold the replacement parts for their ratchets for a penny.

 

[vwpieces]

I retired mine after all the Sears stores closed.
Did just warranty at lowes, a 36mm 1/2dr socket I cracked 15yrs ago. And honestly it appears wo be made better than the old one however it is taller and that could be an issue.
Think there is only one set of backup Craftsman Metric wrenches and a few screwdrivers left in my everyday Main Box.
Should sell off the stuff but then there is that extremely rare occasion I need an extra socket.

 

[dave*99]

The Craftsmen ratchets have always *****,and the Craftsman wrenches are to short for me.

Yup. I have and use my CM sockets from the 70's. I bought Snap on ratchets and wrenches. The CM ratchets and wrenches.... I probably have triples of them. But I prefer not to use them....

 

[brownbagg]

when i took a rachet back and sears replace it with another used rachet that had somebody name engrave on it, since that day, if a rachet broke, i just threw it away, in the trash

 

[Kuma601]

Congrats on your retirement! The historical side of you using them will impart value for the grandkids if they want to wrench stuff. OTOH they may want to preserve gandpa's tools too. Ask them and that way you can plan a course of action.

 

[Gurp]

Regardless of everyone's opinion on this, it's HIS money and HIS time.
Maybe he has a little gearhead in the family or a son in law that's a tinkerer.
My ole lady's dad is planning on leaving the contents of his garage to me and my 3 boys. His son has no interest in any of it other than to sell it.

Regardless
To fill the needs he has Sunex Tekton Capri tools all meet his needs.
Maybe as he gets new stuff he will just want to collect more vi tags tools. You never know. We all know a "few" tool collectors on this great forum.

The man had a question. Not looking to be belittled.

 

[Ton ton]

when i took a rachet back and sears replace it with another used rachet that had somebody name engrave on it, since that day, if a rachet broke, i just threw it away, in the trash

Good move.

 

[jsmeece]

After all my local Sears stores closed, I retired all of my older 36 tooth Craftsman ratchets, ended up giving them to my dad, about ten ratchets in total. I did keep my fine tooth round heads and the newer 75 tooth polished handles (the 75 tooth I keep in a tool bag in the car). Also gave dad all of my USA made SAE raised panel wrenches, these have since been replaced with Armstrong. He was happy and I was happy.

 

[subroc]

The idea that our children or their children will value our tools the way we do is amusing at best.

it is likely you will spend far more time cleaning them to put away than the decision one of them makes to throw them away or take $5 or $10 for them at some future yard sale.

I would just use them and enjoy them. That is what I do with my tools at 67 years.

Good luck.

 

[m6z]

This thread prompted me to look at Ebay auctions over the weekend. A nice 6mm-24mm set of USA RP wrenches sold for about $175 shipped. And anything larger than a 22mm wrench seems to be going for $40+ shipped.

So, I could probably sell my 6mm-22mm and 1/4"-1-1/8" sets for $300. Certainly a decent amount of money. What would I replace them with though? A nice set of imports?

 

[finn]

This thread prompted me to look at Ebay auctions over the weekend. A nice 6mm-24mm set of USA RP wrenches sold for about $175 shipped. And anything larger than a 22mm wrench seems to be going for $40+ shipped.

So, I could probably sell my 6mm-22mm and 1/4"-1-1/8" sets for $300. Certainly a decent amount of money. What would I replace them with though? A nice set of imports?

Simply not worth the time to deal with, even at those prices. If the grandson isn’t interested, donate them.

 

[Bockscar]

This thread prompted me to look at Ebay auctions over the weekend. A nice 6mm-24mm set of USA RP wrenches sold for about $175 shipped. And anything larger than a 22mm wrench seems to be going for $40+ shipped.

So, I could probably sell my 6mm-22mm and 1/4"-1-1/8" sets for $300. Certainly a decent amount of money. What would I replace them with though? A nice set of imports?

Replaces them with some Wrights