new craftsman tool manufacturer???

[K5er4Life]

I was at sears yesterday and they had all of their sockets on clearance, cheap if anyone interested, and many of their other hand tools as well. Well after speaking to one of there extremely knowledgeable staff members (sarcasm doesnt go well on the internet but you get the idea) he told me that they are getting rid of all their sockets to make room for the "new" merchandise. He said that all the sockets they sell will have the laser etched markings now. Im afraid what this means is even a lower quality tool compared to what they have now (like its already great quality anyways). It seems to me that craftsman has gone down the sh*tter with tool quality. I have some many older craftsman tools and they are nice, but I also have some newer stuff and it sucks. I dont even think they are made in america anymore. Is sears going to a low bidder to have some overseas company mass produce their tools at a cheap rate? And as a result the end user still pays the same price for a lower quality tool. Anyone have any validity to this? What the hell happened to my craftsman, I used to really like them. My grandfather had all craftsman tools and they provided him with many many years of trouble free service. Hell, when he got out of WW2 he built a boat with his own two hands, a yankee ratchet, and a select few craftsman hand tools.

I wish I could afford snap on tools because if I could thats all I would have in my box.

 

[ARAMP1]

Good to know.

I've got a lot of craftsman sockets that I need to get. Don't you just love it when you buy a set and they leave out a size because it isn't popular. And then, when you really need a 20mm whatever, you're effed.

 

[BurbLover]

Don't you just love it when you buy a set and they leave out a size because it isn't popular. And then, when you really need a 20mm whatever, you're effed.

That's why I have every 6 & 12 point available for SAE and Metric up to 1.5" & 32mm. You just never know. Also have 2 of each combo wrench up to 1" & 19mm. So many tools, so little time. Lucky for me I just bought a used enclosed trailer and the guy threw in a used one of these top & bottom only):
http://s7.sears.com/is/image/Sears/009H0009000?rgn=0,0,1020,1234&scl=4.936&fmt=jpeg

It'll go with this that I already have full:

 

[divorced]

So now when one of my sockets break, I get it replaced with one that looks nothing like the others?

 

[ARAMP1]

So now when one of my sockets break, I get it replaced with one that looks nothing like the others?

That's pretty standard though. A while back, the snapon man made me a deal on some old wrenches. They had the old snapon style script. Well, I ended up breaking two of them and they had to be replaced with the new style. I don't really mind that much, just as long as I have the tool avaliable when I need it.

 

[ARAMP1]

BTW, I spent just over $100 and I got 43 sockets that I didn't have. Not too bad of a deal.

 

[grimjaw]

I just bought a hand full of 1/2", 9/16" sockets off sears.com. I got 3/8" and 1/2" drive sizes in normal and deep. I am always hunting those sizes for the K5.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Here where i live sears has had the acid etched craftsman sockets for about 10 years now. They sell both currently but that's not to say they will discontinue selling the "regular" ones.

 

[1967k10]

Just what we need,more crap tools on the market . Is SK still around? All there dealers around here discontinued them recently . I have mostly older ones and they are definately better than the new ones.

 

[ARAMP1]

I don't know about SK. I really haven't used them much. There's a thread over on the Garage Forum about poor quality control with SK wrenches. The guy dropped a bunch of money on a wrench set and they were bent, scratched through the chrome, poor chrome, etc. HERE is the thread.

 

[JDNobodi]

Just what we need,more crap tools on the market . Is SK still around? All there dealers around here discontinued them recently . I have mostly older ones and they are definately better than the new ones.

SK is still around. You could do a dealership search from their web site, or you could buy some online. www.etoolcart.com has SK tools for a decent price compared to SK's site.

I don't know about SK. I really haven't used them much. There's a thread over on the Garage Forum about poor quality control with SK wrenches. The guy dropped a bunch of money on a wrench set and they were bent, scratched through the chrome, poor chrome, etc. HERE is the thread.

Gee, I hope SK’s quality isn't going downhill also.

 

[guido666]

I don't like the laser-engraved sockets as much because they're harder to read in the dimmly-lit-under-car area, and when you rub on even the smallest amount of grease/grime they're unreadable. I too have some of the laser-etched variety mixed with my normal ones where they've been replaced.

 

[bigjbear]

It wouldn't surprise me if the moved more of their stuff off-shore. Espically with K-mart owning them. I've got a set of Craftsman electronic pliers that were made in China. I didn't notice until I got home and took them out of the package.

Home Depot's Husky line has a lot of "made in China" stuff too. I'm pretty much down to either buying form Harbor Freight or the tool truck.

 

[ARAMP1]

I don't like the laser-engraved sockets as much because they're harder to read in the dimmly-lit-under-car area, and when you rub on even the smallest amount of grease/grime they're unreadable. I too have some of the laser-etched variety mixed with my normal ones where they've been replaced.

I got to disagree on this one. I don't think they're any more hard to read than the engraved type especially when they're covered in transmission fluid, oil, etc. I'm experienced enough that I can look at a socket and tell between a 1/2", 9/16", and 5/8". I think that most of us after turning wrenches for a couple years are able to do that. Of course, it's harder to distinguish between 1/2" and 13mm, etc, but what can you do?

I do think that the laser etched stuff is nicer looking, but in the long run, I don't give a rats a$$. If I can get a "quality" made in america socket for $1.50 for engraved, versus $3.50 for laser etched, I'm going with the cheaper every time.