Craftsman not as good now?

[GMBoy]

Well, I've noticed over the years that Craftsman has slipped in regards to quality. Case in point, my dad still has his original Craftsman tools from the way back and they still function and look good. My Craftsman stuff dates back to the 80's at the oldest and seem pretty good. But - my 3/8" rachet has broken 2x (and we're not talking heavy use). The first time about 3 years ago and I was cheerfully given a replacement, but it looked different. They no longer made my style. This rachet broke today doing a spark plug change. So, I go off to Sears and hand the guy the rachet and he reaches under the counter and hands me another one. It was "refurbushed" he says with all new gears. I told him [censored], I want a new one instead of somebody else which is all scratched up - mine was in darn near new condition. So, he says "sure, but its just like this one". I say, "I'm sure it is except it'll be new". Well out the door I go and as I am walking I am looking at the rachet and it is so cheap. I mean, it has small tool marks, the casting looks porous and the darn reverse switch is the worse I've seen- all floppy and loose feeling. I wonder how long this one will last? I question Craftsmans quality and the return policy of refurbished items. That they offer refurbished proves to me there is enough defective items returned to justify a refurbushing program.

I am glad I've not bought craftsman in over 10 years. I started buying Snap-On over the years..as I could afford a new piece I bought it one at a time. The Snap On rachets and tools I have look like quality, feel like quality and shine oh so bright!

Just my opinion and rant!

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

Everything's slipped in quality it seems.

I agree with you. Its unfortunate we live in a society that strives to please shareholders rather than consumers. The old Craftsman stuff was built like tanks!

 

[dime]

i personally buy snap-on/matco quality tools,i have friends that buy craftsman though. on black friday a group of my guy friends(excluding me) went to the tool sale at sears and came home with several craftsman tools that were made in china. they were upset once they opened the package and discovered that fact.

 

[dsmith41]

We live in a very disposable world and tools are no different. I am doing my best to fight it though. When I buy something, I like to pay for quality and then maintain it rather and replace it. Weird for a 24 year old, I know.

I have a pair of sunglasses that I will be refurbishing this summer. I shave with an old style double edge safety razor that I hope to give to my son someday. None of that plastic, 10-blade Gillette [censored] for me. I also have a pair of work boots which I clean and treat the leather often. They have been through 5 years of work and still look almost new.

As far as tools go, Snap-On seems the way to go if you can afford them.

 

[The Critic]

That's weird.

The few times I went to Sears for a tool exchange, they just went to the shelf and told me to find something similar and I could have it.

 

[Warstud]

The better quality Craftsmen tools are there Professional Series.

 

[JimPghPA]

Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
Everything's slipped in quality it seems.

I agree with you. Its unfortunate we live in a society that strives to please shareholders rather than consumers. The old Craftsman stuff was built like tanks!


It all goes back to the judge who ruled on Dodge brothers vs Ford.

 

[JimPghPA]

I tried to take apart a Snap-on 1/4 inch universal once to make a snap apart conector for two key rings. I did not test it but I swear the darn thing was tougher than a Craftsman 3/8 universal.

I bet if you put the two in searies and drove them till one broke the 1/4 Snap-on would be undamaged, and the 3/8 Craftsman would be pieces.

 

[Oldwolf]

I've been using the same 1/2" drive set for almost 40 years now.

 

[Scienceman]

Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
Everything's slipped in quality it seems.

I agree with you. Its unfortunate we live in a society that strives to please shareholders rather than consumers. The old Craftsman stuff was built like tanks!


+1

 

[drewjp]

Originally Posted By: dsmith41
We live in a very disposable world and tools are no different. I am doing my best to fight it though. When I buy something, I like to pay for quality and then maintain it rather and replace it. Weird for a 24 year old, I know.

I have a pair of sunglasses that I will be refurbishing this summer. I shave with an old style double edge safety razor that I hope to give to my son someday. None of that plastic, 10-blade Gillette [censored] for me. I also have a pair of work boots which I clean and treat the leather often. They have been through 5 years of work and still look almost new.

As far as tools go, Snap-On seems the way to go if you can afford them.


Wow, you're like my brother from a parallel universe. I'm also 24 and feel the exact same way (and also shave with a DE Merkur)!

 

[JimPghPA]

Last weak I purchased a Craftsman 1/4 inch drive solid shaft (not the flexible one) screwdriver handle that you can snap any size 1/4 inch socket on, from Sears. $9.99 + tax, they got to be kidding, but I really wanted it. Actually I wanted 2 of them but they only had one in stock.

Then I went to Harbor Freight and purchased a nice made in China 1/4 inch drive solid shaft screwdriver handle that has a telescoping set-up that click locks into several different lengths. Neat set up that acts like a regular one or like several different length extensions. $7.99 + tax

If you are going to purchase Chinese tools mise-as-well go to a store that gives you Chinese tool prices.

 

[XS650]

They have been slipping in quality for a long time. About 25 years ago I broke a Craftsman 12 inch crescent wrench (my fault, big cheater bar). When I took it in it was cheerfully replaced by a new 1980 something vintage 12 inch wrench. It has built a lot lighter then my old 12 inch, it looked exactly like my 10 inch with a longer handle and the jaws reworked to open further.

 

[pidster]

I'm in my mid twenties too, and it only took a few experiences to understand the value of quality tools (or any product, really). Not only is buying cheap [censored] more expensive in the long run, even while the item in question is working it's almost always more unpleasant to use than something built well. Vehicles, appliances, electronics, tools, and yes, even razors. The sad thing is it is getting very hard to find well made products, and even worse know what you're getting until its too late.

 

[ludey]

Originally Posted By: JimPghPA
Last weak I purchased a Craftsman 1/4 inch drive solid shaft (not the flexible one) screwdriver handle that you can snap any size 1/4 inch socket on, from Sears. $9.99 + tax, they got to be kidding, but I really wanted it. Actually I wanted 2 of them but they only had one in stock.

Then I went to Harbor Freight and purchased a nice made in China 1/4 inch drive solid shaft screwdriver handle that has a telescoping set-up that click locks into several different lengths. Neat set up that acts like a regular one or like several different length extensions. $7.99 + tax

If you are going to purchase Chinese tools mise-as-well go to a store that gives you Chinese tool prices.




I have several ratchets and parts of a tool kit that my Dad purchased from Craftsman in the 70's. All the tools are marked,"Made In Japan." Odd isn't it? The quality is much better than the Chinese made ones though.

 

[demarpaint]

I'm happy with my Craftsman Tools. I broke a few, marched them back to Sears and had them replaced with no hassle. IMO they are a better tool than anything I've see from HF. Anything I broke was because I was abusing the tool.

 

[stenerson]

I buy from autozone now. half the price of the sears craftsman and
about the same quality for a weekend tinkerer. If I worked on cars
for a living I would definitely go with the best.

 

[Tdbo]

Craftsman quality has definitely slid downward. My wife bought me a 1/4" metric set for Christmas (I just wanted the sockets, but it was cheaper to buy the whole set.) The ratchet is simply pure junk. The quality is nowhere comparable to the quality of the ratchet from the 3/8" set that my grandmother bought me while I was in high school in the 70's or even the set that my dad had while he was alive (still have that set.) I have a 3/8/-1/4" set that I bought from Ace Hardware (Ace branded) that I keep in my truck ($4.99 w/rebate) that has a nicer ratchet than the set that my wife bought. It's sad to see this decline.

 

[Torino]

Ah yes. Mediocrity is quite rampant. Alas, it also extends to the end user. John--Las Vegas.

 

[Dieselbob]

Craftsman 3/8" and 1/4" ratchets have NEVER been that great, at least since the late 70's when I got my first, but I don't think Snap-On is as good as it used to be either. I have a high end Snap-On 3/8" roto head ratchet that I got in the late 80's. The original gear set lasted about 15 years. I've been through 3 gear sets since then, and I am VERY careful with it.