When did Sears Canada Step Selling U.S. Made Tools?

[Gregg33]

I'm talking about the hardline.... (And I meant Stop Selling not Step Selling lol)

Recently I bought a Beach top chest in really good condition. It came with a lot of (40 or so?) Craftsman sockets. They appear to be part of a set, with the case and a fair number of sockets missing. Although I don't think the set included much larger than 7/8" and the equivalent in Metric.They are in good shape, little use with very little rust. My hunch is these sockets weren't purchased in a U.S. Sears and they look fairly new, I'm guessing 1980's but this is just a hunch.

I was wondering what year Craftsman in Canada switch to offshore?

Did Sears in Canada and the U.S. ever sell the same hardline tools?

Is there any demand for the sockets I have? I realize they aren't worth SO or Gray prices, but are they more sought after than offshore brands like Mastercrap, Powerfist, China Husky etc. which are basically worth nothing unless they are in a set.

Does anybody on here collect U.S. made Craftsman that was sold in Canadian stores? The sockets I have would be great for some1 that needs to complete some sets. I'm mostly into Gray and have no need for more miscellaneous sockets in other brands.

Also the sockets came with some U.S. made extensions and swivels, but the ratchets were more modern looking with no CoO marked on them (Taiwan?). Are they likely newer or is it possible the U.S. made set came with off shore ratchets? Maybe it was a time of transition and ratchets went off shore before the sockets?

I know I should post some pics! Any answers are appreciated!

 

[stovebolt6]

I know that Sears Canada (Craftsman MD) and Sears USA are different entities.. but they weren't always. There's a ton of old Craftsman stuff in pawn shops and flea markets here that is marked USA, so I believe at one time the Canadian Sears stores sold the the same Craftsman products as the US stores. When the change occurred, I'm not sure, but I would guess it was when Sears Canada became its own thing. Anyone know what that was?

 

[1950mercury]

They are not worth a much. To the point they are not worth selling.

 

[TLR-NUT]

I tried to exchange a broken 1-1/2" 3/4 drive socket at the Kitchener Sears store recently. They said they no longer sell that size, so too bad, no warranty. Their tool selection is getting less and less. I believe none of it is made in US. Sears Canada will be out off business soon.

 

[gte718p]

 

[lbgradwell]

I know that Sears Canada (Craftsman MD) and Sears USA are different entities.. but they weren't always.

Actually, the USA Sears and the Canadian Sears have always been separate entities. In Canada, Sears began as a partnership with Simpson's and was known as Simpson-Sears for decades (and legally remained so even after the store banners were switched simply to SEARS).

(By the way, don't let that CRAFTSMAN®/MD thing fool you into thinking it's a name; the MD simply stands for "marque déposée" - the French equivalent of the ®!)

...so I believe at one time the Canadian Sears stores sold the the same Craftsman products as the US stores.

Sears in Canada did once sell the same tools as were available in the US. That certainly remained the case into the 1980s (since I actually have memories of this), but I've never determined exactly when Canadian Craftsman went offshore. I'm pretty certain it had occurred by 1990...

 

[lbgradwell]

This is a different topic than the normal "Craftsman goes offshore" threads here...

 

[lbgradwell]

I know I should post some pics!

Your description sounds like a 1980s set to me, Gregg, but please post some shots when you have time.

Are the sockets V or E series? If V, I might be interested myself...

 

[Gregg33]

Your description sounds like a 1980s set to me, Gregg, but please post some shots when you have time.

Are the sockets V or E series? If V, I might be interested myself...

I think they are E. But I'll double check. They are really of no use to me as you know I'm mostly a Gray guy. I can imagine even the E series is fairly hard to find now especially a larger lot in decent condition. Most of the Craftsman I find is usually offshore or even U.S. Sears made in the USA.

Kind of o/t but I was in a Sears store in Canada for the 1st time in a year or so. It was very sad. I went to buy a screwdriver. They didn't even have a common #2 Philips in hard-handle. The selection of everything sucked. I literally have more hand tools then they had in stock. What was in stock was usually on clearance and picked through. About the only tools I'd want were the Fuller made Craftsman screwdrivers, a few SPG boxes and the Hansen socket racks which were expensive. There was a tool box that was a large box with rounded edges that looks similar to the Mastercap boxes and wreaked of made in China. I highly doubt it was made by SPG.

 

[knobby]

At least as far back as the early 80's sears Canada was selling US made but some of the product line was different for example the metric double box wrenches size pairing was different and yes the US sizing made more sense at least if you were working on Asian iron

 

[MikeF2316]

I didn't buy many tools in between the early '80s and the early '90s when I bought my house. I have sockets I know I bought when I lived across the street from a mall with a Sears in it in the early '80s, they're USA, mostly marked V. Some of my newer USA sockets are marked G. And the six point sockets I bought in the early '90s are not USA.

 

['71 VW 1302]

Most of the Craftsman stuff I bought in Ontario, Canada in the mid-to-late-80's was Made in Japan.

Today....not so much.

The only craftsman hand tool I ever broke was a 1/2" breaker bar. I was trying to loosen a nut in a junkyard. I ended up using a fence post as a cheater, and broke the 1/2" swivel right off.

Damn left hand threads!

 

[Bunit98]

A while ago

 

[lbgradwell]

And the six point sockets I bought in the early '90s are not USA.

Are they marked at all, Mike? Japan? No COO?

Can you narrow down "the early '90s" reliably?

 

[lbgradwell]

Most of the Craftsman stuff I bought in Ontario, Canada in the mid-to-late-80's was Made in Japan.

Again, is is possible for you to recall when you first saw the "Japan" markings?

 

[MikeF2316]

Are they marked at all, Mike? Japan? No COO?

Can you narrow down "the early '90s" reliably?

Upon further reflection, I'd say they're from the summer of 1995. Tomorrow is 20 years in my house, I got 2 Craftsman rollers for my birthday following. Both "gifters" offered to take theirs back and get me something else, but I decided to keep both. I went from 2 jammed top boxes to way more space than I needed, one of the first things I got to fill them up were the 6 point sockets. I only had 12 point ones up to that time, and a couple of rusty Volvos...

All my craftsman stuff, sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc either say USA or nothing. (The toolboxes are all Canadian, though. Beach.)

 

[Gregg33]

Your description sounds like a 1980s set to me, Gregg, but please post some shots when you have time.

Are the sockets V or E series? If V, I might be interested myself...

I double checked the sockets last night, they are the "EE" series. I only have a couple "V" series which are older and not from that lot. I need the 1/4" drive SAE sockets for my race box. If I can make up sets of the others, I'll put them on rails I have and sell them. A good winter project for me.