Craftsman is certainly not what they once were. When I was a young fellow (watch it you young whipper snappers, I'll take my cane to ya!) I ran and worked in a body shop where we spent most of our time rebuilding totals using mostly Craftsman tools. Some few things I bought Snap-On, usually when I could get used that had been traded in and/or rebuilt, but most of my box (and my box itself) were Craftsman. Not top of the line, but it got the job done and I rarely broke anything.
Today the quality is definitely lower. I’ve had wrenches get buggered, take them in for a new one, and the new wrench is “loose” right off the bat. Took it back along with some sample “good” bolts and verified the next was a proper fit, all the rest were at least reasonable, my typical bad luck, but I took home the best. The cheap ratchets are where they took the worst hit in quality. They are pretty much crap, only marginally better than HF cheapies. But the up graded pro line (or whatever they call it now) is much better. But I wouldn’t get the fine tooth ratchets since they pretty quickly get to where they may or may not engage, though they rarely strip.
Still, most of my regular use ratchets ARE Craftsman and they generally work rather well for the most part. Don’t even t think about trying to work with them professionally any more, but for hobby and shade-tree wrenching, they are still about the best “value” going.
