Craftsman tools are made in the USA
 

https://www.craftsman.com/support/where-its-made

I've ever had only one break and it was replaced no problem. I recently had two Craftsman torque wrenches recalibrated. Both were ?? 35 or so years old.

I have a broken one 15 years old. Where do you send them?

Excellent tools for us layman. Professional tools include some Craftsman stuff huh. I prefer S-K for double-box wrenches. I got treed

I quit buying Craftsman tools when the replacement ratchets for my 20 year old ratchets only lasted 6 months. That was years ago when Sears and Craftsman were both reliable names.

15 years ago, I quit buying Crapsman tools and started buying Kobalt. Much better quality and I've never broken one, despite giving them harder use.

Yeah I have broken a lot of craftsman tools when they switched over to plastic inside and leavers from steel that was the mail in the coffin .
I have mostly bought kobalt stuff after but recently bought a craftsman set that was on special Don it’s been really good too.

My only complaint w the new set I bought is if I hold the head of the ratchet w one hand to speed the bolt out after breaking it loose my hand hits the switch easy and it slips the old ones didn’t do that . But otherwise they’ve been very strong and reliable .

That’s great info. Thanks

Odd, the last Craftsman ratchets, sockets and wrenches I looked at were made in Taiwan; the same as Kobalt. This was in December. I still have Craftsman wrenches, sockets and extensions I had when I started as a power plant mechanic’s apprentice in 1983. Can’t say that about my Snap On, Proto and Cornwall tools. I would love to find a complete set of Craftsman wrenches ( in good condition) like the set my dad had. He bought his right after he got home from Korea in 1954.

I have two tool boxes with Craftsman tools bought years ago, American Made.

Two tool boxes made by Snap-on with Snap-on tools.
I used to have a Snap-on Truck Driver friend that always gave me a really good discount.

8 Harbor Freight tool boxes (6 are the add on chests to the side of the two large commercial 44" Roller Cabinets.)

I bought those years ago and have been very happy with them, considering they are offshore made.
The Roller Cabinets have matching 44" Top Chests.

I have so many chests/cabinets because I have a workshop in a "Out Building) I built,
Mostly Welding stuff and Lawn Mower maint tasks.

A workshop for doing Car mechanic work in my garage.

And a Work Shop in my basement for my Holley Carbs builds.

Too much trouble going back and forth in and out of the house or garage for tasks.

You only really need tools for what you are working on but I like limiting "my steps"
and not wasting time.

That will all change once my Morton barn gets put up. Everything will be done in one location.
So two of the three brands I own are American Made but I have owned all three types for at least 20 years.

Tool Boxes are CHEAP vs constantly wasting valuable time. Time is everything.

Tom V.

My (late) wife got me a set of Craftsman pass throughs. No complaints and good to get into the tight places on my 87 Ford diesel. I've had Craftsman tools for years and never any complaints. My Craftsman line wrenches do better than my Snap On's.

After posting this topic on here and the 348-409 forums and reading some of the comments I got back I researched Craftsman and Kobalt tools. I'm not sure all Craftsman tools are made in the US based upon what I've read but it looks like they are moving that way if they aren't there yet. They opened a new 450,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facciity in Fort Worth in 2019 to manufacture hand tools. It would not surprise me that there is still stuff on the shelves from Tiawan and China that are Craftsman. Kobalt has most if not all of it's stuff manufactured in Tiawan. Craftsman hand tools are still guaranteed for life and Kobalt has a 30 day guarantee from what I read.

The truth is I have much more faith in hand tools made in Taiwan, than I do tools sourced from global (china) sources, and assembled in the US.

I first bought crapsman in 1971 when I was beginning my career as a mechanic. In 1977 when I took a breaker bar back to the sears store for replacement, because the knuckle had sheared off, they wouldn't give me another one, even though they had them in stock. They cited the corporate policy was only to replace the knuckle, and not the complete tool, and they had no replacement parts in the store. I had a head gasket job to do the next day, and it surely would be much easier if I had the breaker bar. But no way I could talk the moron in charge into replacing my broken tool with a new one. If you're making your living with your tools you don't want someone to recite their policy to save the company $5 by inconveniencing you by changing the rules on broken tool replacement. They also started only replacing the guts on ratchets about the same time too. If they were out of replacement parts when you came in, you had to make another trip to get the kit installed.

They even had the warranty on the wall in the tool department, but they weren't going to honor it that day. I swore off crapsman tools that day, and I doubt I've bought any since then. I happened to be looking for a new lawn mower that day too, and I didn't purchase one from sears after that exchange.

I started buying off the tool trucks after that incident, and Snap on or Mac were much better tools than crapsman by a long shot. I also saw the tool man once a week and never got any song, and dance about corporate policy says this, or that when it came to warranty.

Stanley, or Husky has better hand tools than crapsman does by a long shot, and they're usually quite a bit cheaper than crapsman is too. Yes, Stanley, and Husky, are made in Taiwan, but the tools compared side by side are better than crapsman tools are. I've actually never broken any of them, but I have lost them, can't blame anyone but myself for that. I'd rather buy the pro line from Harbor Freight, than buy crapsman tools.

I've never owned many Kobalt tools, because I don't like dealing with Lowes, but the few I've had were very good quality.

Tekton has a warranty that you take a picture of the tool and E mail it to them, they send you a replacement in a few days. Some of Tekton is US made, and some is Taiwan. Their warranty policy is head, and shoulders above anyone else's though. Tekton is middle of the road on most tools as far as pricing, good tools though.

:2cents:

Taiwan makes some fine tools these days. Same country that makes some of the most complex computer chips in the world, and some of the most advanced machine tools.

There is a reason China wants Taiwan badly, Taiwanese technology is about a decade ahead of the China.

Most craftsman tools are not USA made anymore look at the new ratchets not made here anymore. Even your link has select products at the top. I have mostly craftsman and snap on but a little older USA stuff.

2X on that!

I literally have a box full of broken Craftsmen ratchets. A heavy ass box. Some are missing teeth, others have their selector snapped off, some even have the socket drive twisted straight off. Have a few where the handles are bents/twisted, and others that just locked up.

After getting sick of trying to replace or rebuild them, as soon as they break they get tossed in the box. Thankfully I'm down to only a handful of Craftsmen ratchets. When they're gone, they're gone. I've broken less Harbor Freight crap than Craftsman.


It's too bad. I have some really old Craftsmen stuff that's been passed down generations, and still works great. But I won't touch the new stuff.

I have always like Craftsman tools. They were a good quality for the price. I also bought Snapon , Mac, Matco and Cornwell. Usually when the tool vendor came in and I needed something right away. My Snapon timing light quit working and I was told parts are not available. Then my Matco light quit. They told me they do NOT repair anything that is out of warranty. Might as well stick with Craftsman.

Most of my tools were free. Tools I found in cars that I've bought and sold. Ended up with several tools out of vehicles that I repossessed and the people never came back for. I have a triple stack Craftsman rollaway that was a christmas gift about 20 years ago that is full of tools. I have buckets full of tools.. sockets.. wrenches.. etc.. One of the advantages of owning a used car lot... free tools.. :)

Apex Tool Group owned Craftsman for a few years, now Craftsman is owned by Stanley, Black & Decker. Also including Mac Tools and Proto as well as a dozen or more popular brands. Most of my tools are Snap-On that i bought 50 years ago when I wrenched full time. But I also have a second set of 60 year old Craftsman and they've been very good over the years. I work part-time at the High School Auto Shop and we have a lot of Snap-On and S-K. We recently bought some Craftsman tools and several roll-aways. We like to keep cheap tools on hand in case we need to make a special tool instead of chopping up a Snap-On. The new Craftsman tools seem decent for hobby work, but the casters on the roll-aways are horrible. Students enrolled in a school program get a huge discount on Snap-on tools. Snap-On sockets and ratchets are the best IMO.

My “newest” Craftsman ratchet is nearly thirty years old. It still works as good as the day I purchased it. When it finally fails, I will be look at Tekton or the Icon line from Harbor Freight.

Two memorable Christmas presents from my dad when I was 15 in the early 70s. An electric shaver, which made my older sister laugh hysterically and a new 75 pc. set of Craftsman tools, metal box included! They got plenty of use, and abuse, through high school as my house was a popular site to turn wrenches, especially in the winter, as our heated garage was in the house basement. I used the same set through my HVAC-R career and still use them regularly. Sears never questioned replacement requests, mostly screwdrivers, and all 3 original ratchets still get the job done.

I quit buying Craftsman when they went offshore. Ironically, a co-worker told me he was at Sears in the 90s to exchange a combo wrench. He selected the new wrench and took it, with the defective one to the checkout. He pointed out the 'MADE IN CHINA' stamp on the original. The manager was called over and asked if this was the only one. No, it was part of a full set. Sears replaced the complete set of knockoffs!

Most of my metric tools are Kobalt. They don't get much use, but I needed a warranty replacement. The part was not in stock, so they sent it to my house, no charge.

No Craftsman purchases in my future.

Any idea who made the tools for Montgomery Ward (Powercraft ?) or JC Penny?

My first 3/8 ratchet set was from JC Penny's.
It's still my favorite ratchet after 50 years.

It saddens me that Sears couldn't keep up with the times, business wise. EVERYONE went to Sears...for something!!!

The old saying, Hot dogs, apple pie and Pontiacs (LOL), is my feeling about Sears.

2-3 years ago, a huge Sears in Okkahoma City, closed. I went in a month or so before. The tool choices were slim, but I found some stuff I needed.

Not long before I bought my TA, I went to the Sears catalog store and bought a socket set, on sale, still have them. They were NOT Craftsman, but said Sears, on them. 1/2, 3/8 and 1/4 drive, shallow and deep chrome sockets, 2 extensions per drive size and wobble extensions and ratchets. No metrics, that hadn't happened yet. I believe all for $29.99 plus tax. That was a little change back then but still a good deal, I thought!!! I've only broken a couple of the sockets. By abusing them.

Oh, I bought a 2 pack of crescent wrenches, same Sears brand. One of them crapped out some how. I was working on a car for a female friend. I had bad wrench laying off to the side. She comes out in the garage to see how I'm doing. I explain the bad wrench. She said, put it in my car, I'll get it warranties for you. I explain the Sears/Craftsman brand difference, and the unlikely hood that they'd have Sears tools, just the top notch Craftsman stuff.
She said, don't worry, I've never had trouble with these things.
Just think of Linda Vaughn getting a wrench warranty. Same difference!!!

I have all kinds of tools. My local Napa store owner ( yes, a local owned store, has been for 50 years), told me he'd never carry the Craftsman stuff. He's not keen on having everyone in town bring all their broken Craftsman stuff in for warranty.

It's not as well documented as tools sold by Sears/Craftsman, but just them they contracted with various manufacturers over the years, and the contracts changed from time to time. For Wards, some known manufacturers were Duro, Indestro and Wright, but there were probably others. J.C. Penney used Wright and S-K, and probably others.

Don't get me started on Sears & Roebuck ... they were poised at the beginning of the internet era to absolutely dominate the online marketplace. They had huge shipping, warehousing, order taking components already in place worldwide, they had a catalog that you can be sure was already digitized. They had it all, ready to become the new Amazon. But I'm guessing some stodgy old people way up in management poopoo'ed the whole "internet" thing as some new fangled fad that real people would never learn to use. Fifteen years later they were going bankrupt. Should be taught in every college business course as a monumental failure. They did get an online presence .. about ten years too late.

Great example is McMaster-Carr ... known for years for their huge 3000 page catalog... they adopted early and created one of the most highly regarded, efficient web catalogs in the world. Like Sears they already had the shipping, warehousing and ordering system in place, just had to put the catalog online.

I still have the exact Craftsman barn style, grey toolbox my parents got me for a birthday 50 years ago, and probably 50% of the tools that came with it, severely abused over the years, 90% of them still used now. All made in USA back then. My father who was a deputy sheriff had to raise hell with the Memphis PD when they impounded my car for drag racing and when I went to pick it up they had stolen the tools out of the trunk (very same GTO I still have). That Craftsman toolbox and tools magically reappeared shortly thereafter. I was in big trouble of course, but my father wasn't going to have his birthday present to me stolen too.

There was also evidence of quite the smoke show leading up to the parking spot where I picked the car up in the impound lot.

Anyway ... Craftsman ruled back in the day :)

Best lobby post in months. Sears really did have it all and let it slip away. Chapter 1 in the big book of how to ruin an American business giant could be Sears. Chapter 2 could be Oldsmobile division of GM . Chapter 3 could be the Story of Pontiac division of GM. There would be an entire semester of good reading right there. How to do EVERYTHING wrong! Agree McMaster Carr is just the opposite. Best on-line catalog for these type products period. They do everything right. I use them whenever possible. Get their products next day, even faster than Amazon. MSC, Grainger, not even close. Back to tools. Craftsman has an up and down history with the quality of tools. They have used a large variety of vendors over the years and the tools have been made all over the world. The one consistent thing for me at least was them replacing broken tools, on the spot, no questions asked. That has been my experience at least. Obviously, hearing Sirrotica's story, "your experience may vary". In the last 6 months, I have had 2 Craftsman broken tools replaced by NAPA. They have been selling Craftsman tools for a couple years now. Gave them the broken tools, couple days later, new ones were waiting for me. Prior to that, had a couple more broken ones replaced at an ACE hardware no questions asked on the spot. Quality wise, Craftsman branded tools in general I would rate "high end home owner/hobbyist tools" Husky and Kobalt, and some Craftsman all made by the same company at times. Overall quality between my old Craftsman tools and the recent replacements is not the same. All my replacements said Tiawan on them. All the old ones had USA forgerd into the handles. I have a Craftsman 1/2" ratchet from my grandfather, probably late 1930's, early 40's. Still very nice and works great. But to be fair, I don't use it anymore. APEX and Stanley Tool Group have about 85% of the hand tool market. Many, Many brands.

The Eddie lampert regime was the ultimate killer. His mismanaging sunk sears and Kmart.


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I did not think of taking defective craftsman tools back to Ace hardware thanks magrblik. I have 3/8 ratchet that needs replaced. My go to tool is always Metrinch tools, the ones made in Germany. Saves on how many tools I have to take to the junkyard, less weight. I keep a lot of old Craftsman tools in standing tool box especially larger sizes. I went to Lowes because I couldnt find my 1 1/8 combo wrench and needed to get shock bolts off. I was also going to get a 1" wrench and so I started playing air drums and tapping the wrenches together. It started raining chrome dust every time I tapped wrenches together. It did not seem like they were chipping but dust would continue to fall off of wrenches. I put those back and went home to search for my old wrenches, no new craftsman for me. Garage sales are the best places to find old tools direct from old timers. I like this guy on youtube Project Farm he compares all kinds of things and of course tools.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LtrgSOnGoCI&feature=shares

FWIW, I have allot of Snap-On tools like many life long mechanics. Most, but not all their hand tools are still USA MADE, and you pay dearly for them. If price was not an object, IMO Snap-On sockets, wrenches , extensions, flex ratchets, specialty hand tools are the best I have ever used. Snap-On equipment, like floor jacks, other hydraulic tools, are complete crap for the money and mostly made in China. Warranty is weak also, 1 year. Snap-On electronic and diagnostic tools are extremely overpriced and nothing special about their functionality. Scan tools for example, Autel has scan tools that rival anything Snap-On has available for 25% the cost. I use both daily. JMO.

I quit going to Sears when the made in other countries hand tools started to become the norm for the Craftsmen name. I'm glad to hear that they may have actually realized the folly of their ways.

I can certainly relate to the people who had complaints about their tool warranty problems. IMO they would rather pander to gain a new group of suckers as customers than to maintain store policies that would help them keep loyal long time customers. Roughly 30 years ago I started seeing problems getting them to warranty tools that I had literally witnessed them covering in the past. Then 15 or so years ago I was having to fight with them to warranty anything other than sockets and screwdrivers. Then a few more years down the road they suddenly "couldn't get" the exact replacements and began insisting on offering their Chinese/Taiwan cheaper line tools as replacements.

Also, I must concur, with the others who have pointed out that the newer Craftsman tools are not even close to as good as the old stuff. I have Craftsman tools that were given to me for birthdays and so forth in the '80s that have never let me down. I also have Craftsman hand tools that I bought in the early 2000s that are only about a half step above Harbor Freight.

They also had an amazing set of respected brands besides Craftsman.
Kenmore appliances
Diehard batteries
Steadyrider shocks


When they finally got an online shopping site going, the search function worked terrible.

Eric

Bought lots of hot rod parts there too. I still prefer my 1970s Sears battery charger!

As well as my engine analyzer and timing light I got for Christmas in the early 70s. Still in active use.

Still have a lot of my original sockets. Unfortunately a few years ago my all metal torque wrench broke.

Jeez, just irks me to see that kind of stupidity. Yep .. they had a huge market share with those name brands and a great reputation. Heck I remember when one of the best leather motorcycle jackets you could buy was made by Sears.

Oh their website was a mess and still was when the company was sinking. For just a little while they had a pretty good replacement parts website. Now it all redirects to third party sellers.

I keep thinking someone should have gone to jail for destroying that company ... but I guess stupidity is not a crime.

Apparently you didn't look hard enough.

CORRECTION:

"You should never have a problem with your Kobalt tools. However, if you do, return the item to the place of purchase for a free replacement. No
questions asked. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you
may also have other rights that vary from state to state. Please see store
or call 1-888-3KOBALT for details."

The 90 day warranty you refer to is for "satisfaction" - if you get it home and you don't like it, you have 90 days to return it.

As piss poor as Craftsman tools were when I made the decision to not bother getting warranty replacements, the warranty was worthless. My hands are worth more than ANOTHER free replacement ratchet when they kept breaking time after time.

I have no reason to try the new Craftsman tools to see if they've improved. My Kobalt's are performing BETTER than any of my older Craftsman tools ever did.

"If you're not completely satisfied with your Lowe's purchase, simply return the merchandise to any Lowe's store in the US. Most new, unused merchandise can be refunded or exchanged with proof of purchase within 90 days of the original purchase date. Some exceptions to the standard policy exist."

Seems like I had Sears tires also Roadmaster maybe?

My dad wasn't a car guy or a big wrench, but he always had a decent set of Craftsman tools. As a kid, I was always working on bikes, tearing apart lawn mower engines, etc. Started out using his tools and at that young of an age(11 or 12), I didn't have an appreciation for them and lost a few and left a few outside in the rain a time or two. When I turned 13, he bought me my own set(wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers and a few other misc) of Craftsman tools. Guess what, I still have almost all of them. Once they were mine, they started getting taken care of. These are now over 40 years old and still get used.

My dad is now in a nursing home and my mom and pretty much given me all of this old excellent quality tools that I'll cherish forever. The best ones though are the Wizard ratchets sold through Western Auto. They have a feel like no other.

This post takes me back.

On my list of things that make me want to punch a hole through a wall, The demise of Pontiac and the destruction of Sears score 1 and 2. My father, (not a car guy), bought me three items I cherish and use today. 1 A Craftsman 1/2" drive all metal torque wrench, 2 A Sears "Engine Analyzer". Essentially a tach/dwell meter with a couple other functions and a voltmeter. 3 A SUN 1701 timing light. That was in 1974. All still work fine and my torque wrench was just checked at +- 2%. My GM Tech 2 scan tool I bought about 10 years ago lasted for 5 cars and died. Had to be replaced. Times have really changed.

I’ll give you that, there hand tools especially the ratchets are spectacular. Showed up to work at a shop my family owned when I was younger (instantly feel old) with my craftsman sockets and broke them repeatedly. Started buying stuff off the truck of financial ruin but it’s paid for itself many times over.


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Well I wish I hadn't started this thread now. I posted it because I had just ordered a set of new Craftsman ratchet ended metric wrenches from Amazon and in going to the Craftsman website before I ordered noticed that their stuff is now US made. And I further read that they had opened that new 450,000 sq. ft. tool manufacturing plant in Ft. Worth in 2019. My new wrenches got here yesterday and while they are not junk they are not the quality of the old Craftsman tools I have, almost all of which are forty or fifty years old. There is no indication on these new wrenches where they were made so I suspect they are older stock the vendor had and not brand new items out of the Ft. Worth plant? These new wrenches will serve for me but are now the quality I expected cosmetically. I almost never buy hand tools anymore but am going to start looking at what other brands look like when I am in hardware stores.

Lowes will replace them at no charge. I had a 1/4" ratchet that's been broke for God knows how long. On a whim I went my local Lowes, and they exchanged it with a $30.00 1/4" ratchet with no questions asked and no cost to me. That should go for wrenches too.

The only thing I'd never buy is one of their flimsy Craftsman tool cabinets. To me they nothing but junk and told them so at Lowes. The Kobalt tool chests they used to have were top of the line. Far better than the Crapsman junk in every way.

Most of my tools are Craftsman tools bought in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I don't think I've ever had a wrench fail, but I have broken a few sockets and had to rebuild the rachets a couple of times.

My dad passed away a couple of years ago, and I inherited some of his tools. He had a mixture of Williams, S-K Wayne, Snap-On, Mac, and Craftsman. I've got a huge Snap-On 3/4" drive ratchet and socket set for 1" - 2" or so, probably from the 1960s that still works fine.

When did S-K Wayne become S-K?

Hey, give them a chance, and going forward let's hope Craftsman (who seem to have realized their error) shifts most production to the US. Great brand, I'd love to see them make a comeback.

And a great thread anyway.

Me too!

Give them a chance, right up until they start slipping a tooth under load and break your knuckles/fingers.

After that, throw them in the woods.

The woods near my shop would be littered w a bunch of Craftsman ratchets, if I hadn't started hitting PawnShops years ago, when I was on the road, & buying better. Craftsman ratchets were nothing but a bunch of poor feel junk for decades.

Only Craftsman ratchets I've consistently had great experience w day in & day out were:

- a small 1/4" drive extra fine tooth (from the 70's). Was GREAT for under dashes. Eventually, after rebuilding a few times, the repair kit was disco'ed, that was over 20 years ago. Flake mngr @ Sears wanted me trade that litle jewel in for a poor feel new coarse tooth ratchet. No thanks, was finally able to find a kit, that little ratchet has been retired.

- 1/2" drive early V series 44816 flex head, a $24-28 ratchet new. Often, now, sell on eBay for $80 plus. My go to 1/2" boneyard & partcar processing ratchet. The action always sucked, but w the flex head & long handle, too handy. Quit counting at over 30 returns to local Sears for repair kit/installs. Have several of this model today, only due to the years of having to have two in working order while waiting on a trip to whatever Sears for repair on the 3rd :(

Williams Tools. That's some heavy duty stuff. Proto was/is the same.

My Snap On dealer is an old friend. He takes trade ins, when needed. I have bought a bunch of used Snap On ratchets over the years. If I buy a used teacher, and the mechanism doesn't feel just right, he will put a kit in it, before I take it off the truck!!!

There was a thread here, concerning tools, years ago. One member, here, dealt with a new Snap On dealer in his area. This member had some old Snap tools, in need of warranty.
The newbie Snap On dealer told him. He couldn't warranty those tools, unless he had proof of purchase!!!
BULL!!! I asked my dealer about this. He said each dealer has some leeway in how they do business. Warranting a tool is one way to "hopefull" get repeat business, even IF the customer bought some bad Snap On tools in a yard sale!!! BEWARE!!!

PLEASE POST PICTURES OF YOUR OLDIE TOOLS, THAT TOU STILL USE. ESPECIALLY THE UNCOMMON BRANDS!!!

Being a Union Tradesman, Craftsman tools have worked out good for me, I never had their ratchets, but the amount of tools I returned over the years as warranty’s, thanks Sears.
One day at Sears, a guy was by the sockets, dropping them in a large soda, stealing them. I’ll never forget that. Lol

I worked for Sears 1966-1975. Part time during the school year and full time in the summers . Great company to work for back then. Customer satisfaction was a BIG deal to management. Even if the customer was taking advantage of Sears. What it came down to was the logo in gold leaf boldly displayed over the store entry doors..."Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back". They (Sears) meant it and lived it.