For weeks, I’d been meaning — not to mention, promising Stuart — to write up a little something about Craftsman’s return to the market, but for myriad reasons, most of them related to my “day” job covering baseball, there are about 13 unfinished drafts in the “Not Done Yet” folder of my iCloud Drive.
(Sorry, Stuart! Trust me, you’re not the only one of my editors to deal with this!)
Anyway … Craftsman had pretty much slipped my mind over the last couple weeks but I came home from a particularly long day at the “office” to find a replay of the game I had just covered on television, and for reasons I cannot explain, I did not change the channel.
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Turns out, it was a pretty good game. Much better, in fact, than my story would suggest. What really stood out to me wasn’t the fact the Brewers managed to score nine of their eleven runs without recording an RBI, nor the fact that Wade Miley continued his surprising run of success with a six-inning gem.
Instead, I caught myself staring the ad behind home plate as Jonathan Schoop stepped to the plate with two on and two out in the eighth inning of the Brewers’ eventual 11-1 rout of the Cubs.
The familiar stylized white block letters on the bright red background spelling out “CRAFTSMAN.”
I’d noticed this ad in other ballparks — sometimes including the logos of Lowe’s or Ace Hardware — while catching the nightly highlights on MLB Network but because I’m at every single Brewers home game, I never really noticed that the advertising had reached Milwaukee, too.
It got me thinking again about the brand and I went back and re-read Stuart’s coverage from Craftsman’s launch event last month along with other coverage related to Stanley Black & Decker’s purchase of the venerable label from Sears last year.
Part of me is really excited to see what SBD is doing. The new offerings look cool and I’m certainly interested in more tools made here in the USA, but until I have them in my hand and can put them to use, I really have no way of knowing.
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That said, I don’t know if I’ll ever really find myself using Craftsman tools again.
I know that SBD is pretty much starting over with a clean slate when it comes to the actual tools. I know that there is a differentiation between SBD’s offerings and what one can find at the few remaining Sears stores in the United States. I also know SBD had little, if anything, to do with Craftsman’s downfall over the last decade, but they unfortunately now have to deal with the mess and try to win back a generation of users who felt betrayed by Sears’ brand negligence. Consider me part of that group.
I just got into woodworking, home improvement and DIY a few years ago, and while I didn’t at the time own tools of my own, Craftsman was the first brand that came to mind as I started my collection. My old roommate managed a Sears and pointed me toward my first drill, circular saw and impact driver (which at the time, I thought I’d never use). Before long, I ended up with quite the assortment of C3 cordless tools and a surprisingly-reliable Evolv circular saw.
I got hooked on tools and I was also hooked on the brand. I was on a mission to create an almost exclusively-Craftsman shop and began scouring shelves, sales and Sears Outlets to find “Made in the USA” tools. Before long, I had myself a full starter set Craftsman hand tools; screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches, hammer… all of it made here in the USA. My first miter saw was the Craftsman Compact Sliding Saw. My router is the fixed/plunge combo with table. I had a Craftsman random orbit sander that I absolutely loved until it fell apart in the middle of a project, and a belt sander that actually caught fire on its second use.
That’s when I started to realize Craftsman wasn’t Craftsman anymore
Eventually I realized I was being conned, ignored, insulted and taken for a ride. For a brief minute, I thought the Mach tools were some kind of innovative, forward-thinking design, but it took just one use to realize that it was nothing more than a gimmick.
I moved on to Milwaukee tools, once I realized how affordable the basic tools in their line can be. In time, I also realized that I could buy the same screwdriver or wrench set, probably made in the same vicinity as Craftsman’s, from Husky or even Harbor Frieght. They did the same job and had the same warranty as Craftsman, and I could get them at half the price.
My biggest gripe wasn’t about the gimmicky tools. And it wasn’t about their outsourcing of tool production either. Specifically, it’s about the fact that Craftsman essentially thought consumers were too stupid to realize that despite the label, these were NOT the Craftsman tools their fathers and grandfathers had used for years, yet Sears still kept them at the USA-made price point thinking nobody would notice or care.
Mixing Sears’ abhorrent customer service and abysmal online experience into the equation, not to mention the fact that there is no longer a single Sears retail store in the Milwaukee area, pretty much brought my Craftsman loyalty to an end.
It was disappointing for me because I kind of felt like I was right in Craftsman’s wheelhouse: a young (sort of) person, new to DIY/Home Improvement/Making who had never owned his own tools but knew Craftsman was — at one time — a quality brand; the brand for the DIYer.
Sears, though, never seemed to care. Not about the tools. Not about the customer. And eventually, enough is enough.
I’m admittedly curious to see how this new partnership enhances the brand — and how the remaining affiliation with Sears might diminish it — but I’m not ready to welcome Craftsman back into my shop just yet and honestly, I don’t know if I ever will. The damage has been done, at least in my mind, and I, like many others, have moved on to other brands over the years as we filled out the foundation of our tool collections. Most of what I “need” moving forward, I can get from Milwaukee, DeWalt, Ridgid or Ryobi, and so I’d need a good reason to go back.
This stubbornness is rather unfair to SBD. It wasn’t their fault that Eddie Lampert & Co. all but destroyed what was once one of the more recognizable and trusted brands in America, but unfortunately it’s now SBD’s problem to clean it up.
In many ways, its like a bad breakup: yes, someday, we might be able to be friends again, but it’ll never be what it was.
What about you? Are you ready to give Craftsman another shot or are you done for good? Share your thoughts with a comment below.
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Tim
Not when Sears continues to make sub par last minute money grab decisions like the 20v tools from the other day and ruin SBD/Crapsman while they try to relabel/remarket.
The yeti
Look at number of replies on any Craftsman post. Through the roof. Craftsman can be #1 again easy
Cori
You are correct, there are over 100 comments here. Some are filled with exceptional advise and others merely are pointing out the probable outcomes. With Sears, I do not see any outcome where the company doesn’t go out of business within the next 5-10 years. What is truly worth buying at Sears one cannot buy at Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, True Value, Grainger, Fastenal or even Wallmart?
Look I am not the biggest fan of either Wallmart or Amazon, yet even I know these companies have a large market share.
As for the Craftsman brand, I am on the fence on what Stanley Black and Decker is truly able to accomplish. Look at the largest corporations and the brands they own. This is SBD, TTI Industries, Bosch, Makita that is available to most people. Stanley Black and Decker, TTI Industries and Bosch own a significant amount of brands.
My guess is that Craftsman will NOT be a brand geared to professionals and will be more geared to home owners. Similarly how a larger majority of Dewalt, Makita and higher end Bosch/TTI (Milwaukee) tools are geared towards professionals.
What I speculate is this will mean a portion of SBD Craftsman items will be made in USA (of global materials, with exception of screwdrivers maybe) and there will be outright imports as well. If I had to guess what will be made in USA (of global materials in most cases) I’d guess screwdrivers, hammers, punches, tape measures, pry bars, shovels, rakes and perhaps more. If they can manage to convince Jore or Norseman to work with them, there will be American made twist drills.
As for wrenches, ratchets, sockets, pliers, cutters, this is anyone’s guess. Especially given what Sears did to Western Forge, I can’t imagine any companies wanting to risk that mess with their companies.
While I am certain there will be a few made in USA of global materials power tools, I wouldn’t expect to see more than drills, impact drivers and maybe some angle grinders and compressors. I’d be deeply surprised if there will be any USA made (of global materials), circular saws, sanders, oscillating tools. There haven’t been USA versions of any of these items in years-decades or with cordless, ever in some cases.
If these new Stanley Black and Decker tools are only going to be available at Lowes or Ace, don’t expect to see much USA made tools overall. Hopefully, these new items will be available at Grainger, Fastenal and other higher end distributors.
Dan Boyd
Thought I was the only one who used “crapsman”
Oh there’s a spot of rust on your sockets. Warranty void.
Crapsman tools is finished.
Tom
The other day a coworker of mine mentioned offhandedly that she needed to buy a new shovel for some gardening this weekend. Another coworker overhead and called out, “Make sure you buy a Craftsman. It’s worth an extra couple of bucks.”
I think that Craftsman’s reputation is in tatters to many people who read blogs like this. But I also think that most people will see Craftsman in Lowes and think to themselves that Lowes is selling better quality tools now.
Gary
SBD Craftsman will be selling Ames-sourced shovels made in USA.
https://www.craftsman.com/products/wood-handle-digging-shovel?taxon_id=6658
fred
Sort of like some Ridgid brand shovels at Home Depot – also sourced from Ames
Jon
It would not surprise me in the least to find that Eddie Lampert is purposefully contracting crap tools to sell in Sears stores. As SBD tries to restore the brand he can create a poison pill by making crap and force SBD to pony up more money to buy out the current contract clause that allows Sears to use the brand name. It was pretty surprising to me to find out that Sears can market and sell shadow Craftsman tools totally outside what SBD is doing.
Most people do not know SBD-craftsman vs Sears-Craftsman and will hear about crap Craftsman (from Sears) and look at another brand. SBD is royally screwed here as long as Sears is a going concern. My guess is they figured it wouldn’t hang on as long as it has.
Shane
Those are really good points you make. I wish SBD the best with this but Sears is doing their best to continue hurting the brand.
Jonathan
The only saving grace here is that Sears is being run into the ground so fast it’ll be a non-issue soon. Once Lambert lays Sears in it’s final resting place, that should give SBD free run to rebuild the name. I, for one, love my Craftsman, and hope SBD follows through with their plan.
Hang Fire
Sadly, there is no final resting place. Like cheap “Westinghouse” TV’s and “Polaroid” cameras, the Sears brand will live on in cheap licensing deals long after the last retail outlet closes.
Toolfreak
It’s likely that Eddie Lampert will continue to keep the Sears name around, at least online if nothing else, so he can continue to collect the checks from SBD for the next 15 years.
I’m also guessing you’ll be able to buy the SBD Craftsman tools and who knows what else through Sears.com in whatever form it exists.
Joseph
The 3% from SBD that will go to Sears for the first 15 years goes
Straight to shoring up the underfunded Sears pensions.
Mitchell Smith
It’s worth noting that Sears and SBD have contracts the require them both to uphold certain brand quality standards, so if Sears produces certain garbage, SBD may have legal avenues to stop it, force changes, or sue Sears. I don’t know the details though.
Coach James
The new Craftsman can certainly overcome its bad reputation. other companies do it, so can SBD. If they begin offering good quality hand and power tools, the brand will come to have a much better reputation. To older tool users, it won’t matter as we have most or all of what we need, but younger buyers can be brought into the fold.
Produce good hand tools, preferably made in the US, at a reasonable price and good power tools on the level of Dewalt, Milwaukee etc. like they once were and customers that care about quality will come back or, at least, consider C-man.
One of the obstacles SBD has to overcome is the great number of choices customers have now compared to 40 years ago. When I started buying tools in the mid 1970’s, consumer choices around here were C-man, Skil and B&D for power tools and C-man, Stanley, Crescent and bargain bin junk for hand tools. Now, consumers have many more choices and places to buy them.
Also, Eddie Lampert gets much of the blame for the demise of Sears, but the decline of Sears began in the early 1970’s, long before Eddie came aboard. When he took over, many analysts already thought Sears was too far gone for anyone to turn it around.
Coach
Lynyrd
It was Lampert who made the decision to discontinue procuring sockets and wrenches from Danaher in 2007/2008, It was Lampert who began selling Sears/K Mart properties off to others and his other company Seritage. Yes, Bricks and Mortar retail, and Department stores were in decline, but it was Lampert who made moves which devalued the Craftsman name.
Coach James
I didn’t say Lampert had nothing to do with Sears’ current problems. My point is that many people speak as I the problems started when Lampert was put in charge which is far from accurate. he was hired to try and save an already sinking ship.
Sears began losing market share in the early 1970’s. In the 1980’s, store managers lost the authority to tailor their inventory to their local market. The result was a mass exodus of experienced store managers.
That was also the decade that Sears stopped paying employees a commission for most items they sold. A former Sears employee stated to CNBC that this was the point when morale began to fall and employees were no longer motivated to provide great customer service.
The company invested huge sums of money in both the “Softer side of Sears” and “Sears Grand”, both of which were flops.
By 2000, Sears was strapped for cash and in serious trouble. Alan Lacy was the Sears CEO that was running the company when it was bought by Lampert’s Kmart in 2005.
Selling real estate was done to raise cash the company was almost out of. During the Great Recession of 2007, consumers’ spending habits drastically changed from large retailers to discount shops like Dollar General, family Dollar, etc.,. An article in The Economist gave a need to improve margins during this time as the reason Sears switched tool manufacturing overseas.
Clearly, Lampert’s efforts to turn Sears around haven’t worked, but he took over a company that had already been in decline for 30 years.
David
His other companies do seem to have profited from K-Mart/Sears’ decline, which always bothered me.
Also, K-Mart/Sears vs Target/Kohls/WalMart/Costco/Home Depot/Best Buy/internet – seems like a lot of niches he could have targeted more effectively and did not.
Mick
Give Craftsman another shot? Nope!!! While browsing around a flea market, for example, I’ll grab an old USA made Craftsman wrench to keep at my drill press for clamping the vise down. But while walking through Lowes, I don’t even look.
Being A retired geezer now the need/drive for tools isn’t there. Unless I check out Toolguyd and read of an awesome “Black Friday” deal just to make life ar a job a little bit easier. Over the years, I’ve replaced junk with quality. The need is no longer there!
While waiting for my wife one day parked near the local HF store, I was watching the foot traffic in an out of HF. The older people were empty handed. The younger were doing the buying. Price over quality is the norm. Granted, there are inexpensive quality hand tools. Craftsman was always a first choice go-to brand. Those days are long gone.
pete
Which is funny, at my local HF tool it’s always older retired people in there buying junk that they don’t need just because they have a coupon. The guys that actually make money with their tools don’t go in there.
Raoul
I stop in once in a while ti pick up disposable stuff (latex gloves box for $5.99?) And I notice what you’re saying but I also notice professional car mechanics in there buying automotive tools. I don’t know what the draw is exactly for them but I did pick up some 1/2″ deep impact sockets that were quite a bit cheaper than what appears to be the same thing at other outlets and they work. It’s always in the back of my mind that the darn things are going to explode though.
me
My nephew who’s a professional diesel mechanic has never broken one. His friend who’s broken Maasdam come alongs and 1/2″ Craftsman flex ratchets by hand has never broken one. They’re probably one of the best things HF has. Though they may have some newer, weaker ones now.
Mitchell Smith
HF’s impact sockets are actually pretty strong. Good deal for the money.
NCD
There will be people that will buy the new Craftsman tools, however they will never regain the status they once had. By far, most people have moved on and now are committed to other brands. Craftsman today is viewed as some view Harbour Freight, maybe a bit better, not by much. In order for me to buy into their cordless tools, the price would have to be exceptional and I would have the mind set they could be discontinued at any time. Too bad really.
Mitchell Smith
I think a lot of the reason people view Craftsman and HF in the same way is because they are spiteful towards Sears (rightfully so). In reality, even Chinese Craftsman tools are quite a bit better than most HF offerings. Yes, we all know that certain HF tools are good, but the average item in there is total trash. The average Craftsman tool is OK. It’s not particularly good, but it’s typically nowhere near as bad as the HF version.
I’m as angry with Sears as the next guy, but I’ve ended up with a few offshore Craftsman tools over the years and honestly…they aren’t that bad in most cases. Of all the shit I have bought from HF, maybe 1/4 of it is broken, or deformed, or has some sort of issue that makes it useless or difficult to use. 1/2 of it does the job, but not in a satisfactory way, and 1/4 of it is perfectly fine.
My Craftsman stuff by contrast. I’d say less than 1/10 are useless, broken, or whatever. The vast majority, like 8/10 are fine but not special. Probably wouldn’t stand up to harder use. Maybe 1/10 are quite good.
That all being said, Sears and Eddie Lampert can go fuck their hat.
Robin
Sears has wronged me in the past. Not by Craftsman, but Kenmore. Let’s just say it shouldn’t take a month to get parts for a refrigerator.
I used to work for Sears and I was very loyal. They would be the first place I would go for Tools.
I vowed to never purchase another item from Sears/Kmart from the bad experience. I have walked through my local Sears and looked at the tool offerings. The tools department looked sad. It continues to shrink and the amount of empty shelves. There shouldn’t be 8 feet of one set of screwdrivers on the wall. I’ve also shopped at ACE Hardware but purchasing Craftsman from them was just like putting money in Sears pocket.
I knew Sears has put the brand up for sale. However, I was shocked when it actually sold! I am indifferent to SBD. I don’t own many of their tools, I do like DeWalt. Black and Decker, not so much.
Now that Lowe’s will be selling the brand I’m kind of excited. A rebirth of sorts. The years of Sears mismanagement of the Craftsman Brand have taken its toll. SBD took the ball and RAN!! It looks like they’re really trying to do this correctly. Marketing on the legacy of Craftsman Tools to get previous generation to convince the current generation to buy Craftsman.
I’m glad to see that the Craftsman legacy will live on. Even if it’s for a little while. Time will tell.
Mitchell Smith
Great article Andrew. I think you touched on the same feelings that many of us have towards the Craftsman brand.
I have had a somewhat similar experience with the Craftsman brand. Growing up, my dad always bought Craftsman tools, and he bought me my first mechanic’s set which was a big Evolv kit, but when I was just starting out in mechanic work and diy things, I felt I couldn’t get away with buying Harbor Freight instead. It was hard for me to justify the extra expense for Craftsman.
I soon saw that my Harbor Freight tools consistently let me down. They would break or fail in the middle of a job. So I started slowly buying Craftsman replacements for all my tools, and handing my (still working) HF tools down to my younger brother.
During this process, I started to realize just how much more of a pleasure the Craftsman tools were to use. The screwdrivers fit screw heads better and didn’t strip them as easily, the power tools were quieter, drills had way less runout, etc. The durability was also substantially better. I even remember one time slipping a 4ft jack handle over my Craftsman breaker bar and pulling with all my strength, eventually breaking the threads out of a very large nut. That’s more a story of me being young and dumb, but it still shows how much torque those breaker bars could handle and not break. To compare, I snapped the head off a MAC breaker bar doing ball joints and didn’t have an extension on it at all.
When the quality started to fall and things began to be off-shored more, it left me really conflicted. Many will disagree, but in my experience, even Chinese Craftsman tools are slightly better than Harbor Freight 99% of the time. The problem is they’re way more money, but not way better quality. This left a big market niche for those of us who wanted reasonably priced, pro-sumer level, US made tools. The box store brands were ok quality, and ok price, but all offshore. Pro-line tools met the quality mark, but were too pricey and not very available.
I also resent the way Eddie and his gang have attempted to zombify the Craftsman brand and squeeze every dime out of the name. It’s a disgrace.
However, just because Craftsman has fallen from glory, doesn’t mean it’s past glory is no longer valid. I’ve taken to buying vintage Craftsman tools in the used market. The stock is plentiful, so I can usually find what I need, often still new or only gently used. I pay HF prices for Craftsman quality. It’s working out pretty well.
Moving forward, I am cautiously optimistic about SBD’s Craftsman revival. I’ve stated before that what made Craftsman great in the first place was Sears willingness to contract with many different producers, all of which specialized in the specific type of tools they were producing for Craftsman. For instance, Armstrong didn’t make circular saws, they made ratchets, sockets, and wrenches….and they made them well. Is there any evidence that Armstrong could have produced a good quality circular saw? Who knows, and who cares, because Sears contracted with Skilsaw for their circular saws. Skilsaw made awesome saws.
With SBD, I’m afraid that they will attempt to produce most of what’s going to be offered under the Craftsman brand in house. This makes financial sense, and they’re positioned well to do it. However, while they are well suited to make quality tools in some arenas (Proto or Mac knock offs for hand tools for instance). They are not necessarily suited for others. I’m worried they will attempt to produce more products that they don’t have the expertise to produce well. Maybe this will turn out to be a non-issue, but that’s something that concerns me. The reason it concerns me is because Craftsman was all about the idea that EVERYTHING was good enough. During it’s heyday, you could be pretty confident that ANY tool you bought that said Craftsman on it would do the job you needed reasonably well. I’m not sure that can be re-created.
We shall see.
Sco Deac
Interesting points. It’s worth noting that SBD does contract out to some specialists for their other tool lines and don’t try to do it all. As examples some of the Proto or Mac tools are Western Forge, Grip-On, Vim ect.
Mitchell Smith
That’s a good point that I didn’t think about. I don’t pay much attention to the high end brands, so I just assumed they all acted much like Snap-On and were manufacturing most things themselves.
This gives me hope. Thank you.
Matt
I’m fully supporting SBD’s American Made line of Craftsman. Sears was my favorite store, Craftsman (next to Bosch) my favorite tool brand. Lampert destroyed Craftsman period. I’ve made excuses for some of his decisions concerning Sears in the past but no more. USA Craftsman was the reason I shopped at Sears in the first place and I know I’m not alone in that. Next in line was USA Whirlpool/Kenmore. Nobody was going out to the mall to buy clothes at Sears post 1995 at best. Eddie completely gave the middle finger to the most loyal customer base a tool company could have ever dreamed of. Appliance buyers as well. Most of which are one in the same. Never again would I step foot inside a Sears store. It’s why I hope Lowes goes all out to replicate what once was the ‘Craftsman Experience’ from Sears golden days. Because I truly loved it.
Oh, and to tie Craftsman into K-Mart??? K-Mart? I cringed when Sears itself became associated with anything K-Mart. It took Sears down to gutter level. And then to see Craftsman inside of a K-Mart store was sickening. He ruined both Craftsman and Kenmore. SBD is here to revive Craftsman and I’m all in, particularly on the DeWalt quality power tools at the moment. And to see Eddies last ditch effort to dump cheap power tools with the Craftsman name into the marketplace trying to look like the new SBD line is awful. Truly awful. I want the company I once loved to just go away.
Jordan
As a young tool user (non-professional), I think the fact that the market demographics have shifted away from “lifetime-quality” to “cheap & convenient” is the challenge for a tool manufacturer like Craftsman. My generation buys from HF because it is cheap and it performs good enough to assemble IKEA furniture. Young homeowners no longer need a garage “workshop” to keep a house in order. Mick is right — the older generations are probably a lost cause for Craftsman because there is no demand for tools, at least the basic offerings Craftsman has right now. However, I think the older generations are critical in the growth of Craftsman because they can be strong influencers for their kids. Craftsman’s best shot at success is convincing my generation that the brand equals value and is worth investing in. https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultalbot/2015/10/25/legacy-brands-and-millenials-the-art-of-courtship/#171832be20b1
Andrew Wagner
Sounds like you and I are very much in the same boat and are also on the same page when it comes to Craftsman’s future. Seems unlikely they’ll win back my father’s generation — though, let’s be honest, most of our dads are probably still using Craftsman tools from the 60s-70s-80s anyway. I do believe, though, that a number of factors are going to lead people “our age” into more discerning tool ownership. First and foremost, I think people are starting to buy into the entire “Maker Movement,” just based off the insane growth of YouTube channels alone. Second, as the housing market continues to jack up prices while slashing inventory, I think we’re going to see more and more people take chances on fixer-uppers and rehabs (inspired, in part, by the aforementioned YouTube channels) in order to purchase a home while not breaking the bank.
I have to think the average “young tool user,” the kind who *isn’t* reading ToolGuyd will recognize the name but not know enough about the brand’s decline. If Craftsman can find a way to tap into those markets (and hey, Craftsman … I’m listening), I think they have a shot at some brand penetration and eventual success.
Thanks for taking the time to comment and thanks, too, for linking to your article which just so happens to be from a publication where my sports coverage resides. 🙂
Matt
You make a great point on the Fixer-upper and rehab trend going on right now. And it’s just getting started. Think about this. When Craftsman first launched there was somewhere around 1 billion people on earth. In 100 years we’ve gone from a little over 1 billion to 7 billion and counting. The American population has more than quadrupled itself. New homes aren’t as affordable to the younger generation and those coming behind them. Old homes that need work however are plentiful and cheap. I see it around here. Old houses that were once beautiful homes, later turned into rental property, now being turned back into beautiful homes again. Just young couples putting in sweat equity. There’s also that sense of pride that comes with that. I know it’s things like that which fueled my passion for USA Craftsman in the first place. Craftsman under SBD has a golden opportunity here.
Mitchell Smith
As a 27 year old, I’m inclined to agree with Jordan simply based on my experiences with my peers. NO-ONE my age knows how to fix anything, nor has any desire to learn to do so. Most of them can’t even change a tire or the oil in their car, let alone swap out a radiator or a head gasket. Maybe I’m just old school, but the idea of a grown man calling AAA to change his tire just makes my skin crawl.
I think there is some validity to your point about the Maker Movement, but I think that’s a small small subsection of the population, and it’s more focused on the artistic component. Artisan woodwork or metalwork or whatever. While this is very cool, even these folks don’t seem very inclined to expand those skills into other domains. They’re ultra-specialists, just as everyone has become in their careers as well.
On the whole, there’s been a movement towards ultra specialization, that has left us with a lack of “jack of all trades” types. Mike Rowe has done a lot of interviews about this, he calls it the “skills gap”. He’s worth listening to.
This ultra specialization and lack of general skills is what’s causing fewer and fewer young people to learn to tackle things like home or auto repair(and low self-efficacy). Add to that the fact that parents haven’t done a good job of passing down knowledge of handyman skills, and the picture becomes much more clear.
It’s possible that as the younger folks age, and finally afford home-ownership, that they might dabble in some basic repairs, but I think that’s doubtful. Here in the midwest at least, even fixer-uppers aren’t that much cheaper than a move in ready house is a vinyl village, and people seem to really like that cookie-cutter thing.
Even most of the people I know in their 40s at this point who own homes don’t own enough tools to even fill a portable toolbox, let alone outfit a workshop with the things needed for more daunting tasks. You aren’t renovating your kitchen with 2 screwdrivers, a torpedo level, and the 15 allen wrenches (all the same size) leftover from your particle board furniture.
So the point being, I think the market for “Pro-sumer” tools is going to continue to diminish. There will always be a demand for pro-tools, and some demand for homeowner grade stuff that’s cheap and will just get the job done one time (Harbor Freight). The “Pro-sumer” market will probably only consist of older folks(in age or mindset), hobbyists, and cash-strapped professionals. SBD probably knows this, and will probably place Craftsman tools similarly to other consumer level offerings like Ryobi in terms of price and quality.
satch
Andrew, I do think you are onto something with a burgeoning maker and self help homeowner movement.
And we need to remember something here. We think DIY is a relatively new mode of homeowner repair and building but it’s not. We need to remember Sears sold complete kit homes that arrived on rail cars well into the 1920s. While some of these were indeed assembled by the local carpentry company, many were assembled by the owners themselves. It was the epitome of DIY. There was no one else in your area who could do it or there was no money beyond the purchase of the kit.
I live just outside Kansas City. Until the 20s/30s this was the last outpost so to speak before Denver and then the west coast. Not much in between for industrial developments. Most people had to make, build, and repair much of their own property and possessions. There was no other way. It is why Sears and others like Montgomery Wards or J.C. Penney were so successful. They were the Amazon of their day. Only through mail and rail. Analogue if you will.
Many young couples are facing the same situation now whether they like it or not or realise it or not. If they want a livable home that costs under $250,000 they will be doing a LOT of diy remodel. They will learn or else. I would also suggest it may be worth a bit of attention to what Skil is doing with their new cordless lineup. They are going full Amazon with its introduction and making the tools look like tools. It remains to be seen how well they will sell or how well they hold up but they are not just aiming for an entry level. If you look at some of the press on this they want to be the sort of upscale diy brand. And are using words like maker and ‘build something worthwhile’. I think they sense this trend too and are trying to carve something out of that market. Get them at entry, maybe they upgrade to our pro saws later sort of thing. They are offering a five year warranty on the cordless tools and this is essentially unheard of. We shall see how it plays out.
Marvin
In the past people bought tools to last now we are a disposable people.If it lasts a year you are lucky but the problem is more waste in land fills and lifetime cost to people who will use something again.Proud to say I have the first wrench that I bought and still being used but can’t find quality in many items today.
Jeff
The finacial gurus have Sears gone before the end of 2019. The stock closed at $1.34 yesterday. Most people don’t have a clue. In Lowes I have heard “Lowes bought Sears” and similar misinformation. The sales help does not even know or care. The new power tools are basically rebranded DeWalt XP. I suspect, with so many SBD brands, Porter Cable will be gone soon. The hand tools are probably rebranded Stanley with a little cosmetic change. I figure they know more about the market than I do. Tool nerds are not their primsry customers and rhey will get past the bad taste of Sears last gasp tools. SBD wanted to get into lawn equipment so new Craftsman tractors should appear soon.
Another Jeff
How they are holding on for the remainder of 2018 is beyond me, but, yes, there will no longer be Sears, at least as we know it (see GM), come 2020. Brought my kids into a Sears store while traveling and almost felt like I should take their picture in one. It was a pitiful sight and even the tools department looked like a thrift store. There was only one of everything with the exception of the cheapest of inventory items. I occasionally see a deal on something at Sears, but I know you’re playing Russian Roulette on whether the cards are going to fall sometime between when your payment goes through and them dropping your order off at the post office. If they can’t get the cash from selling Kenmore soon, I’d be hesitant to put something on layaway (Does that still exist?) for Christmas.
Mitchell Smith
Holy cow you aren’t wrong. I went into Sears to return some things last week and it felt like a freakin flea market. Crap just sat out anywhere, no prices on anything, lots of empty space, etc. When the associate asked if I was looking for anything specific I replied “Just looking around and pondering the fact that this might be the last time I step foot in a Sears”. He said “You might be right”.
Dan
I’m done with Craftsman! I won’t even give them a second chance. Not only am I unhappy with how Sears distributed them, I am also not a big fan Of Stanley Black & Decker. I just feel SBD picks up anything it can to enhance it’s place in the tool market. The only thing that SBD has right is Dewalt. They are leaving Dewalt alone to run their own business. Craftsman will always be Crapsman to me.
Diamond Dave
Isn’t that what owning a business is for ie growing and making a profit? The Industrial Age is over and companies that cannot constantly adjust are digging their graves such as Sears has done!
Thom
Craftsman will get a second chance from me once I see more “made in USA” content from SBD… Sears however is dead to me.
Another Jeff
Hear hear
Stuart (2)
One more chance for me, but only if the tools say ‘USA’. Otherwise, I’m looking to German tools…
Michael Veach
when I think of how many c3 tools I have, it is depressing. I also feel abandoned.
Framer joe
The editor bought craftsman tools Because the were made in the USA and quality, then went right into Milwaukee China made???? Doesn’t make sense.
Pros are not buying into new SBD craftsman until at least a year of reviews are in and the tool line can match dewalt…( why would they match dewalt specs) and definitely not if Sears is confusing the craftsman brand with there tools.
Craftsman thriving is a very simple formula, ..All tools must be made in America ..and..high quality,each and every hand tool or cordless tool…that is their only chance,which they are already screwing up selling ,China and Taiwan Craftsman tools at Lowe’s ,right now.
When I go to lowes I see guys picking up a craftsman tool excitedly,then flip the box over and read ( not made in America) and put it back down and look elsewhere…that is a customer gone for life…
SBD better understand this or the brand is doomed
charles
“When I go to lowes I see guys picking up a craftsman tool excitedly,then flip the box over and read ( not made in America) and put it back down and look elsewhere…that is a customer gone for life…
SBD better understand this or the brand is doomed”
This is me as well.
You listening sbd?
Sears closing all their stores near me is a problem. At 2pm on a Sunday when my one (insert hand tool here) just broke and I need to finish the project, I head to a store. If it’s not a Sears where I can get a replacement “lifetime warranty” (WITHOUT THE RECEIPT!) then I buy a replacement. Which will not be Craftsman. Every time I exercised that warranty, I walked out with the replacement AND a purchased tool or two. So in my case that $1.50 cost screwdriver was the cheapest and most effective advertising Sears spent.
Requiring a receipt for a Craftsman tool I bought 25 years ago with a “lifetime replacement warranty” or “mail in for free replacement” just guarantees that not only will I not exercise the warranty but I’m not going to buy another Craftsman tool.
Lynyrd
No one ever produced “Made In USA” Cordless Power Tools. For the briefest of times I believe Milwaukee might have before they were bought by TTI. We have to separate expectations for Power Tools and expectations for Hand Tools.
If you’re waiting for Made in USA Cordless Tools you’ll be waiting a long time.
Assembled in USA isn’t Made in USA. It’s a con.
Jim Felt
Dewalt certainly did starting with their original 18v NiCad models beginning in the mid 1990’s.
And I’m pretty sure Makita did some assembly in GA in that era too.
Mosh
Imo they should have good deals and send TOOLGUYD tools to review.
I think that we all here trust TOOLGUYD for there honest opinion
Stuart (ToolGuyd)
Yeah!
Sears’s decline didn’t happen overnight. I’d say that, for me, the full decline involved about 4-6 years of disappointments.
I’m willing to give SBD a chance, and so far there are some very interesting offerings that, speaking as a consumer, might lead me to start trusting the brand again.
The big question for me is this – does the new Craftsman see ME as their customer? Sears didn’t, or at least they stopped seeing me as a target customer several years ago. They stopped caring about my needs as an intermediate and discerning tool user.
SBD has, at least with the V20 drill/drivers, https://toolguyd.com/first-thoughts-on-the-new-craftsman-v20-cordless-drills-and-drivers/ , shown that they are prepared to target more than one type of user. If this same “good, better, best” type structure is applied to hand tools, or at least “good” and “better,” they’ll likely factor into my future tool purchase decisions, especially if there’s as healthy a “made in the USA” product selection as SBD and Craftsman have promised.
mattd
I truly hope the brand is revitalized. When I asked for tools as gifts my mother would always buy me craftsman because that is what she remembered her father had. That multi generational brand loyalty is rare or even non existent in many other markets, and sears burned that. I will say, like others, that now there are a TON of other options for tools out there so they will have a heck of a time dancing the price/vs quality line. With the web the world has shrunk even more and so they have to compete with german brands like knipex/wiha/wera/nws/gedore for top end hand tools, and there are SO MANY decent quality power tool brands now that that will also be hard to break back into.
aerodawg
I was breezing through Lowes grabbing a “gotta have it tonight” spark plug socket after one of my little monsters made off with mine. Browsed the Craftsman stuff for a minute and wasn’t impressed. Made in China combo wrenches that were pretty rough, even compared to the Kobalt nearby.
Now last time I was in my local Ace, they had some Taiwan made Craftsman ratchets that were pretty nice looking. Craftsman could be successful IMO with a quality Taiwan made lineup at the right price point. Say in the same price range as some of the better GearWrench stuff.
Jalopy_J
I’ve kinda thought the same thing. SBD’s Craftsman line as it sits currently looks tougher than Sears, or in your case Ace. Ace still has only the Sears offerings with the SBD stuff yet to arrive. Obviously the quality may change soon as their line-up changes and this supposed American production begins. But I thought the Sears/Ace China hand tools looked better at a better price than the Lowe’s SBD China ones. And I’m sorry, but that V20 line of power tools looks like junk compared to the old Sears C3 line and especially the Kobalt 24v line.
Richard
There are so many other better choices. Sears lost me when they started selling non-USA tools.
Jim Felt
Two of my local tool vendors plus an electrical house have in-depth Wera displays. Like a lot.
Hard to go back once that kind of competition is common. Not counting KC Tools and the big South America River.
D Burdsal
“Can the New Craftsman Overcome Years of Damaged Public Opinion?”
Not with my money they won’t.
Mike
I’ve had Craftsman power and hand tools for decades. In my opinion, SBD has its work cut out for them trying to revive the Craftsman name.
I sold off the last of my 19.2 Craftsman tools at a yard sale two years ago. I’m now invested in the Milwaukee and Ridgid cordless tools. I see no compelling reason in the new Craftsman tools to commit to a third battery platform.
As to hand tools, I have a fairly complete set of made-in-USA wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers that have served my needs well. However, several years ago when a Craftsman tape measure broke, Sears replaced my lifetime warranty Craftsman with a Stanley measure and a 3 year warranty. I might be interested in Craftsman if/when the hand tools are made in the USA and if the lifetime warranty is offered and honored.
Jim Felt
Why on earth should any company offer a Lifetime Warranty? No really. That’s such a dated and unreasonable expectation.
America no longer shops solely at Sears. And never will that expectation be expected. Or obviously obtainable.
And I’m speaking from a long history of unbroken Craftsman USA tool ownership.
If I’m dumb enough to break “it” I’ll buy a better tool.
Just my opinion.
Mike
Ridgid power tools, and some of the Husky and Kobalt hand tools offer lifetime warranties. I’m sure there are others.
Why? For certain, its marketing. But also reassures potential customers that if their tools break, they will replace them.
If the tools are quality, then the cost of the lifetime warranty should not be burdensome to the seller. I don’t abuse my tools and have only had to use the Craftsman warranty twice in 30+ years. Compared to what I spent for those tools, Sears came out ahead.
CT
Agreed, the vast majority of tool “failures” I’ve witnessed were because of misuse, abuse and neglect. Manufacturers shouldn’t be on the hook for those replacements.
Jalopy_J
The brand is hardly that damaged with the majority of America. It is damaged mainly among people like us who are enthusiats that visit places like TOOLGUYD and have strong opinions on “good” and “bad” tools. But we are not most Americans who still have good connotations with the Craftsman name. Yes, transferring production overseas ran a lot of people off, but Craftsman’s biggest issue was the decline of Sears.
The reason however that I don’t see Craftsman being what it once was is the fact that Sears had a HUGE selection of Craftsman tools. There was thousands of square feet dedicated to Craftsman and their stores were once busy. SBD have a smattering of tools around Lowe’s and Ace amongst their other products will not bring the brand back where it once was.
satch
Very good points. While Craftsman was always seen as a solid, reliable home owner line of power tools, no one I ever met in all my years in the trades/maintenace work I did fielded Craftsman power tools as a primary, go to brand. Sure, you would see the off drill, tablesaw or router but no one depended upon them for a fleet of tools for serious construction and maintenance.
Craftsman made their bones in the hand tool market. And the tool boxes as well. Better than hardware grade sockets, ratchets, spanners, pliers, punches, and hammers. And backed them up with a no hassle warranty. That’s what made them.
The average consumer, which is where they are aimed, doesn’t know come here from sickem about the minutae of which company built what for Sears. That’s the major pitfall of this stunt by Sears with these new drills. Only when they break or the batteries go bad and Sears is no longer around will they realise there is nothing left to support. We just have to get the word to family and friends to buy new C-man tools from Lowes or the SBD line from Amazon. I qm willing to give Craftsman another chance as long as I can see what, where, how they are doing it.
Matt
But tradesman Could depend upon a fleet Craftsman power tools for serious construction and maintenance if SBD does more than just the USA brushless drill and impact driver. They have the means to do so…. And that’s the complete line I’m waiting for personally. The regular V20, I agree with another poster, it’s just ok. The USA brushless however, that represents Real Craftsman to me.
max
Actually, my grandfather who was a carpenter did, but this was from the 50s-90s. I still have a few of the handheld power tools, though he sold off the larger shop tools when I was young (drill press, table saw, etc). I still use his circular saw and belt sander from the 50s regularly.
Russ
> Are you ready to give Craftsman another shot or are you done for good?
Not me. I like all the Craftsman tools I collected when I was younger but I don’t want to be stung by low quality stuff being sold now. Even if there are some good tools, the fact that there are also junk ones among the same brand means I have to be wary so it’s easier to just avoid them all.
Joe
I started with craftsman ( the real USA made) tools 31 years ago when I was an apprentice. My son used those same tools when he went to work and now my 2 nephews are using them to get started on their way to being mechanics. Not trying to be a tool snob but for the last 25 + years I have only bought snap on. Even thru the years some of their stuff has stopped being made in the USA as well. So I stay away from those and only buy USA made tools. As far as I’m concerned I would never go back they have screwed us all for too many years. Just sayin ……
Paul Campbell
OK let’s put it this way. I am a service engineer. In other words people actually pay me to be a tool junkie. I work on everything from 10,000 HP motors with torque multipliers on 1″ and 3/4″ drive sockets on down to the little sensors with micro screw drivers in manufacturing plants, pharma plants, hospitals, water, waste water, power plants, wood plants, you name it. Depending on the tool I kind of shop two grades. With things like sockets where they are likely to get dropped into a 10 foot deep sewage pit or buried in 3 feet of saw dust, I buy “cheap” meaning a decent mid grade that doesn’t break the bank. That can be HF, Amazon, or Lowes but not Walmart or Sears.
15 years ago pretty much all we used in an industrial plant for hand tools was Craftsman. I was the maintenance foreman but the purchasing guy wanted us to use all Craftsman. I was in the store at least once a week and since I was the guy always buying the 3/4″ ratchet wrenches and other “big hardware”, they knew me by first name. I’d be exchanging tools about once a month. Most got lost in the water (dredging operations). But when once a month turned into once a week, something had to give. That’s when Proto and others started replacing Craftsman.
I’m neutral on SBD. I use almost exclusively Milwaukee power tools while a couple of my partners use Dewalt and Bosch. Stanley is my go to brand for tape measures. I’ve burned up several Dewalt power tools in the past so I avoided them. Stanley and B&D are pure homeowner brands for most stuff sold in Walmart of all places. I have no use for homeowner grade tools, been there and done that with Sears.
The most likely place I’ll buy Craftsman will be out in the tool desert. That means I’m on the job some place say in central Virginia where the nearest town is 10-30 minutes away and has a maybe an Ace or Tractor Supply but nothing else to speak of. If I lose/break/need a tool on the job and I have limited choices. I won’t go to Sears and Amazon is way too much of a risk right now.
I’m just confused though. SBD ALREADY has plenty of brand names. The brand recognition for Craftsman as far as I know is long dead and buried. They already have professional grade brand names as well as cheap homeowner ones. Craftsman used to compete with Dewalt on power tools. The only opening I see in the SBD lineup is for a professional grade hand tool name. Then again…don’t they already have one of those? This makes no sense without cannibalizing an existing brand or getting into the brand recognition trap that GM had until 2009 when they killed off a bunch, and nothing in the Craftsman advertising seems to indicate a direction in this regard when they show both power tools and hand tools in the sales literature.
Paul K
I think many of you are forgetting just how expensive tools used to be when you get all nostalgic about Craftsman.
Take a look at the old Craftsman Tool catalogs available on-line. Figure out what those prices are in Today’s dollars and you’ll see that back in the day, Craftsman wasn’t selling premium tools at cut rate prices. I looked at combination wrenches; HF is selling wrenches now at the same prices Craftsman was charging back in the 60s! It’s astounding.
If you want to pay 5x more than what HF or Husky wants for a wrench set, you can get some very nice wrenches and you’d be paying what Craftsman used to charge, in todays dollars, for their wrenches way back when. But understand that when Craftsman was making those nice tools, they were also making you pay a nice price for them. Not “a little bit more” which many are willing to pay for “quality American made”, but seriously, a lot more.
And you can still get those nice wrenches! That premium wrench market still exists, you can still buy them, but they’re marketed at professionals and not guys that just want to replace their alternator. And they don’t say Craftsman on the side. I know that’s a big sadness to everyone, but why does everyone care more about the brand than the tool?
For the record, for guys that just want to replace their alternator, I’ve done it with HF wrenches and they work just fine for that purpose, which is why they continue to sell.
satch
Paul, I rather disagree. Suggested retail does not take into account their nearly continuous sales. I bought a 9 or 10 piece SAE set of combination wrenches in the mid to late 80s for something around 20.00 on sale. It runs from 1/4 – 1 inch in 1/8 inch increments with some gaps here and there and some of the 16th fractionals like 11/16 and 15/16. A good deal by any account. They are just as good today as when I bought them. They were always on sale it seemed. Some of the socket sets were pricey but not compared to truck brands or upscsle ‘parts store’ brands like Blackhawk and S-K. Trust me on this. I was a poor entry level labourer in those days making six or seven bucks an hour. Expensive anything was not in the cards.
Kalos
People who saw Craftsman quality was better in the old days forget that Sears/Craftsman often sold tools in three grades: Good, Better, and Best. A customer could judge what he needed, according to his application and wallet, and would know what he was getting.
Chris
I just bought a Milwaukee 28 piece SAE ratchet and socket set. I felt much more trusting in Milwaukee, even though they’re relatively new to hand tools. I also bought a 15 piece combination wrench set which I’m still waiting for. I could have gotten a 28 piece craftsman set for like 1/3-1/4 of what I paid for the Milwaukee, but I chose Milwaukee instead.
Don
Craftsman needs to get back to the basics. Good sturdy tools that work correctly and last forever or you get a new one. No questions asked. I’ve seen too many gimmicky tools to care about the brand anymore.
Dave
My relationship with Craftsman never started because of such a horrible experience with Sears via another of their iconic brands: Kenmore. Received a defective washer from them circa 15 years ago. It leaked water all over the floor the first time it filled. Installer never tested it. I called sales and they referred me to service. I told them this was defective out of the box and needs to be replaced not serviced. Very long story from there and I eventually ended up with a new washer but it was like having a second job for a two weeks to get it resolved. The experience was so bad from a customer service perspective I vowed to never set foot in a Sears again. At the time that was a big promise but I find it very easy to fulfill that promise these days.
Toolfreak
I think SBD has a good shot at bringing the Craftsman name into the 21st century with all-new next-generation tools, but I don’t think that’s their plan.
Based on what they’ve done and put out so far, it looks like they are just going to churn out things the exact same as what Sears put out for the last few decades.
Some people might like the iconic raised panel ratchets/wrenches, the red/blue/clear handle screwdrivers, the black handle pliers, but all those things can still exist in the bottom-end tier as “classic” Craftsman tools (both for warranty and personal preference purposes) while making new tools with new designs available for the next generation of tool users.
Part of me hopes that SBD does Craftsman right to win back those who left the brand over the past decade or so when quality went down, even before the move to overseas manufacturing, but part of me also thinks that SBD won’t want Craftsman to even get close to it’s MAC and Proto brands in terms of quality/market position, so you’ll see them offer products that aren’t as nice as they could be.
Flotsam
I think because this is a community catering to people who love tools we think everyone thinks that way. There are a lot of people that equate Craftsman (and Sears) to tools. Most of them haven’t been paying as close attention about Craftsman tools over the years.
and since Sears are becoming harder and harder to find seeing Craftsman in Lowes won’t bother them a bit. The name has very high recognition. For some people higher recognition than DeWalt or Milwaukee. This was the brand their father or grandfather had (sorry ladies).
Rob
I have to say I enjoy reading these things and in the 80s grabbing tools helping my father do work around the house was always grabbing a Craftsman generally as I began getting my own tools as a kid of course it was junk which then became Craftsman which was good and did the job that was required of it and if it broke it was a simple return and replacement. I always went for Craftsman hand tools being made in the USA and quality to do the work without being considered professional and leading me to bankruptcy. My father continued buying their cordless line and time and time again it’d break I’d help him fix is as I became a good troubleshooter and enjoyed tinkering with things and see how they work and fix them but I’d also lend my cordless tools to him and tell him to stop wasting his money as they were junk in the late 90s and onwards for instance the trigger would skip and break on the drills first time using it and they took forever to charge 24 hours or something on nicds when the other brands would have you up and running in 3 hours then eventually 1 hour or even less. Seeing them sold in Lowe’s I think is great as Sears hours in the mall is 10am to 6 pm around here the worst and dealing with the people and parking is horrible. I love the big box stores home Depot and Lowe’s as they have the tools and parts you need for repair for instance buy your brass pipe fittings and your Ridgid pipe wrench unlike Sears buy your pipe wrench and then seek out your brass pipe etc. Also the hours of 6am to 10pm are much better and less people hanging out wandering doing nothing people come and go much faster your in and out. I have to say I did pickup the Craftsman gunmetal 120 tooth count made in Taiwan set based on reviews and I’m overall happy I waited for it to be on sale at Lowe’s and got the 81 piece for 50 bucks and then used the Lowe’s card for the additional 5 percent off, my only concern is if it breaks on me where do I go for the warranty the Sears, or to Lowe’s I know it says inside the case hopefully I don’t need it. Saying all this and going through my deceased father’s belongings I’ve come across Craftsman sets made in Japan and such that I believe are from the 80s when I always thought they were made in the USA. I understand China doesn’t make quality items or have great quality control maybe not yet but possibly heading that way in the future. As for Taiwan and everyone shooting them down let’s remember snap on has their blue point line made in taiwan. Let’s face it Craftsman doesn’t produce the items they contract out so we can speculate who makes them I’ve read early days of Craftsman snap on made their automotive tools, Armstrong, danaher just like Lowe’s kobalt and home depot’s husky. I don’t foresee myself purchasing many other Craftsman tools as the made in China is a turnoff and I have a pretty good collection of various brands DeWalt, Milwaukee, Porter Cable, skilsaw, Makita, Hitachi, etc based on which tool it is I’m buying, but I would be willing to purchase Craftsman hand tools again as I needed a spark plug set and yes I bought the Craftsman China but I rather replace it and similar items with Craftsman made in USA and pass these along to my younger siblings as so far it’s done it’s job without failure I just want to see the pride of made in the USA stamp on it knowing I’m supporting my fellow workers. As someone above commented yes the younger generation is lost I read a study houses are a thing of the past as younger generations are clueless how to repair or perform the upkeep on them due to lack of shop classes etc, I was clueless myself until working the trades and learning a great deal and hope to own my own house and pass my knowledge onto my children as well as my Craftsman made in USA tools, hopefully they get to see this as well and yes Ikea furniture what a joke I installed plenty of their light fixtures what a nightmare took double the time it normally would and everyone of them had to be modified and customized as some part was guaranteed to be missing which just doubled the customers bill based on hourly rate costing a fortune compared to the garbage purchased so I avoid Ikea and suggest others do like the plague. Another concern I have for the future of Craftsman is it’s great they got into Lowe’s, but it looks like Lowe’s will be a thing of the past as well losing the battle to home Depot so only time will tell, but I stand firm with others in not purchasing anymore Craftsman tools until confidence is restored and made in USA and like someone else said not just assembled in USA with global components as that really isn’t helping the American workers.
DC
If Made in the USA I would buy some tools for an emergency kit in my office. If made overseas especially china, I’ll pass and build the kit with Tekton and Gearwrench.
Wilbur
Way back when, despite living 3 blocks from a Sears store, my father would not buy anything from Sears. His rationale was Sears bought/had made by whomever won the low bid this year. In high school (mid ’60s) I worked in the “Customer Service Department” at that store, and discovered he was right; sometimes replacement parts came from totally unexpected sources depending on who made the original appliance, tool, or other item, and those sources changed with some frequency. But, back then, parts were available as long as you were willing to wait…and wait…..and wait….for them to arrive.
In later years when shopping for appliances I avoided anything Kenmore because first, that random outsourcing issue and, second, the habit of including “special features” to set Kenmore stuff apart from everyone else. That meant when your washer needed repair, despite it being made for the Kenmore line by Whirlpool (or whomever made it for Kenmore that year) and very closely resembling the Whirlpool models (or models from whomever made it that year), a number of the parts weren’t available from Whirlpool (or whomever originally manufactured it), only through Sears’ supplier chain. Been There, Done That, Got the T-Shirt, while in high school, and Not Going Back.
The hand tools, though, I thought were pretty good, and thanks to the employee discount, I wound up with a LOT of them, which i still have and still work well. I recently had two 45-year-old long nose pliers which developed splayed tips replaced under the “Craftsman unconditional forever guarantee;” as far as I can tell, the replacements are the equal, or nearly so, to the originals. Will these last 45 years as well? My grandchildren will have to report on that, I won’t be around that long.
What I’ve bought in recent years, however, has not been Craftsman or other Sears brands, it’s been Husky, Kobalt or MAC from the local MAC and MAC-Allied (MATCO) franchisee trucks, some Tekton stuff from online, and specialty stuff has all come from various online sources. For power tools I’ve always gone for national brand name tools rather than private brands like Ridgid or Kobalt because of the support structure.
Sears seemingly was always “behind the curve” in adapting to change, something old line American companies apparently specialize in (IBM is another good example of that); Sears stuck with accepting only their own charge card long after the world went to Visa and Mastercard because there’s very big money in having your own credit system, but there’s also big money in selling stuff, and the easier you make it to buy your stuff, the more you’ll sell. There was an opportunity for Sears to compete with Visa and Mastercard and accept somewhat reduced profits from their own card, but it took too long for them to see that and I suspect that was one of many substantial contributing factors to initiating Sears’ decline.
Sorry to see them go, but today’s Sears is not the Sears so many of us grew up with. That Sears has been dead for quite a few years now, so when Sears finally collapses it won’t be like losing a brother or parent, more like the former girlfriend of the 3rd cousin you haven’t seen in 20 years.
Hang Fire
Wow, another Craftsman disillusionment story. I’ve been hearing and reading these since Sears subcontracted Craftsman power tools to Black & Decker (now SBD). How long ago was that?
Enlightenment comes gradually, and never to a certain class of people who are too busy with life to darken the virtual door of a real tool forum. There will always be some who hold Craftsman brand in high regard, for historical reasons.
But we have to realize that Craftsman has never been held in high regard by another class. Ask someone with a full set of Bonney tools what they think of Craftsman.
Then there’s the, lets call them “Informed middle” that buys based on actual, not perceived quality. They will buy or not buy based on real quality metrics and value. Once burned by low quality, it is hard to win these people back. This is where the author is.
That leaves the “uninformed middle”, where most people reside, where elections are swayed, where most of the money is made, and brands are made or broken. Here, the brand will live or die by perceived value, just like everything else in the marketplace.
fred
I think that Bonney (nice tools I recall from the 1960’s) – got split up – with the tool brand name possibly bought up and/or merged under Utica (another good old USA-made brand) and then bought up by Bain Capital – merged in Apex. Some of that Bain-Apex thing seems to have worked out OK (I think that Dotco, Cleco and Apex still make some good tools in the US) – but some of their more consumerish brands seem to have moved offshore and/or a bit downmarket.
Meanwhile Bonney has now morphed into a valve and pipe fitting manufacturer – with manufacturing in Pennsylvania, Texas, Italy and China
Coach James
Bonney was founded in the late 1800’s and introduced their first forged wrenches in the 1920’s.
My dad was born in 1929 and said, when he was a kid, Bonney was popular with mechanics where he grew up.
Bonney was acquired by Triangle Tools in 197 as was Utica. Triangle was then acquird by Cooper Tools. Bonney production was shut down in the early 1990’s.
Cooper and Danaher merged in 2010 and Formed Apex which consisted of both companies hardware divisions. in 2012, They agreed to sell Apex to Bain Capital.
Coach James
Sorry, that should be 1967, not 197.
Charles
A combination of Craftsmen and owe’s does not bode well. When Lowe’s started with their Kobalt line it was mostly decent quality at low’ish prices.
Then they added cheap crap and all of a sudden it wasn’t “let me go and pick up a Kobalt whatever, but I’ve got to compare the Kobalt whatever to all the other whatevers because the Kobalt stuff might be junk.
I expect the same will hold true for Craftsman – some stuff will be decent and some will be junk – continuing the decline of the brand.
I’ll stick to brands that have consistent quality.
Coach James
The first wrenches sold by Lowes, sockets and ratchets too I think, were excellent quality, but actually quite expensive for big box tools. They were Made in USA Williams. I have a set of the metric combos and they have been great. They never sold well and Lowes switched suppliers to USA made Danaher.
That was why that generation of Kobalt looked so much like C-man and Allen. After that, they switched to overseas production.
Nicholaso
Frankly and I sincerely hope I am wrong, there is a very good chance this new revision of Craftsman will mostly fail unless Stanley Black and Decker sincerely makes an effort to make the Craftsman brand different than other brands. In theory, this is easy as all SBD needs to do is produce a sizable amount of products domestically. Milwaukee might be widely known and used in construction trades, yet the way to “beat” Milwaukee is produce USA made (I digress with global materials) power tools/ hand tools. Additionally, with commercials mimic Bosch with advertisements that indirectly laughed at corporate commercialization with their latest advertisement.
Don’t bother with the yuppies or overly sensitive “PC” crowd, as neither of these people tend to actually buy products. Just about anything offends these people and wasting time to appease them will alienate actual paying customers.
Basically all SBD has to do is market the Craftsman brand to actual tool users. In other words, working men and women. However, let’s be realistic here and for the sake of honesty, this will be mostly men that buy tools. Except for companies who’ve decided to become activists, any for profit business wants to make money so this isn’t as if there is one target audience.
While I have my doubts, I do sincerely wish the best for Stanley Black and Decker with the Craftsman brand. Genuinely, I do want to see more legal Americans working.
ktash
Sears was carrying Knipex tools not too long ago and I got some of mine there. A few years ago, Lowe’s was carrying NWS-made Irwin pliers, a full line, and I bought most of mine there. In both cases, holiday sales or (sadly) closeouts. If Sears wanted to make a splash with some high quality German-made tools and put the Craftsman name on them like Irwin did with the NWS brand, I’d buy them for sure. Not knockoff cheaper lookalikes, but the actual tools like Irwin did. A pro-line would do a lot to upgrade their badly tarnished image. Especially if it was not just a flash in the pan. That would be the pro-line. The mid-grade line would all be made in the USA. The lowest grade could still be assembled in the USA.
Only something this drastic would revitalize the line for me, and I’d give the pro-grade tools a try if they were priced on par with German (etc) made tools and clearly of the same caliber. They’d have to be CLEARLY superior. I’d rather support my local Lowe’s and Ace stores. If Sears kept this up and seemed solid, I’d for sure recommend them to others. In my neighborhood/family I’m probably the one who know the most about tools, so would be a good source of recommendations, like many others of my age. At this point my recommendation is to stay away from Craftsman, Sears or SBD C-man. Now that’s just hand tools, but it would provide some inroads and help restore trust in the brand.
For the cordless power tools they’d need to do what Ryobi has done at least, and that’s to make a stable battery platform. This is why I’d recommend Ryobi to any new diyer. They can build on the platform over time with many cool and useful tools (cordless nailguns for instance). Trustworthiness and consistency would be the key feature. SBD’s track record with Porter Cable also does not inspire confidence in the power tool arena. Both corded and cordless.
For corded power tools they’ll never compete with Makita and others. I’m thinking of my trusty circular saws from Makita, with exceptional oem blades.
Finally–my revenge fantasy–they could sue Lampert and force him to re-label his tools to “Cheap Eddie’s Craftsman” brand :). Let him license that for the next 15 years. Seriously, they probably need to do something to distinguish themselves from the Cheap Eddie versions.
ktash
Oops, I said “If Sears kept this up and seemed solid” I meant “SBD kept this up”
, of course.
Andrew Mattson
Having been there at the beginning of the end,the brand is essentially ruined.Fast Eddie does not give shit about anyone or anything.Now he is blaming those pesky retirees for the cash flow to “further improve” Sears…it’s dead…one more dip in the stock market,and when it hits 99 cents a share it will be de-listed.HF is a good place for consumables though,the quality of the hand tools,especially the storage is quite good,as they have upped their game because there is still a DIY market despite the generational differences.
Bob
Products made in China ?? or Indonesia are junk. Period
Craftsman is junk period!
Discussion over
I sell tools @lowes
ToolOfTheTrade
Not with today’s manufacturing standards and certainly not with people like Eddie Lampert and sbd current ceo at the helm. They’re the very reason why the reputation of brands like craftsman and other once prominent brands are tarnished to the point of being fubar. They have no clue what it means to have an uncompromising set of values and respect or what it means to be honorable. Look what sbd has done with just about every one of their big box brands since the merger or since they bought them. They have nearly ruined every single one of them or haven’t done anything to help reestablishing any of those brands under their ownership. The only brand that they seem to give a shit about is Dewalt and I highly doubt that they are going to invest that kind of money & dedication into craftsman. You have to remember, Dewalt wasn’t shit until Black & Decker bought them and slowly started to establish the brand. And Stanley Black & Decker will never be able to match or come close to the iconic status that craftsman had when Mr Sears & Mr Roebuck established the brand and the decades to follow. Sbd is already starting off on the wrong foot after they pledged to restore the reputation. They’re no better than Lampert’s Sears and as long as they think that anything made in the USA with global materials is an acceptable product, they will never establish their brand of craftsman into a household brand. Other than Dewalt, I honestly can’t think of one well established brand that sbd acquired that they haven’t tarnished under their ownership. Like I said, sbd is no different than sears in terms of reestablishing the reputation of prominent brand names. They might have more money but that doesn’t mean they are doing anything good with it. If they have the money to buy brands like craftsman, Irwin, Lenox and others, then they sure as shit have the money to bring the manufacturing of those brands products back to the United States and create jobs for Americans. But they have yet to do anything in regards to a positive contribution to their country’s economy and they likely never will because the only set of values that they believe in is greed and nothing else. Was craftsman the greatest tool brand ever made in America? Hell No. Were they the most iconic tool brand ever made in America? Yes. There wasn’t one household that didn’t have at least one craftsman tool. Were there other brands available? Yes. But nobody gave a shit about those brands when craftsman was well established. But there was a lot less competition compared to today and the concern for better quality was definitely more important than profit margins and the idea of taking manufacturing overseas was unfathomable. The quality of their automotive hand tools was just as good as the premium brands of the era but for a better price & the quality of their vintage power tools is very hard to beat. My table saw is almost 100 years old and I’ll take the Pepsi challenge with any of the big box brands in pushing the limits & capabilities of what a well built machine can do. Other than technological improvements, everything else about power tool quality has gone to absolute shit. And being that this is now the industry standard, craftsman tools, no matter who owns the name, will never be able to regain a prominent reputation.
Jay
Lowe’s has a craftsman 1000 lumens rechargeable worklight for 20.00 bucks. Its a great light even though there is no magnet. But I will always be interested in there under 20 dollars line up.
Vinny
I have Craftsman screwdrivers from 30 years ago – great. They have held up, but they are somewhat uncomfortable to use compared to the new stuff. Today for the garbage they are I’d buy Husky or Kobalt. But the truth is I found Wiha screwdrivers and they blow all of them away by miles. They are not that much more expensive as well, I just bought a 7 piece Wiha insulated set for $25 for one of my sons – no stubbies but you don’t need stubbies all the time. I am waiting for them to put the regular soft finish handles on sale to get my other son a set. These are professional grade screwdrivers, they do not come with a lifetime warranty but they take abuse and for $25 if they last 10-15 years of continuous use – you got your moneys worth out of them.
I am researching other hand tools as well, looking at made in the USA tools but it seems that the lower priced stuff is becoming garbage as well. Klein tools (supposed to be mostly great quality) may be overkill for a person not using them all the time, there’s Proto and a few more but they’re not easily bought … some of the on line sources will price gouge. There’s German made tools which are supposed to equal USA tools in quality and when you catch a sale – very affordable!
I don’t think SBD is going to woo many people back who’ve been burnt by the garbage that Craftsman became ESPECIALLY since there is the internet, Home Depot, Lowes and other hardware or industrial stores that sell to the public. Sears Craftsman was the complete line of tools for everything tool …now we can get great quality tools delivered to our home. Maybe when we are too old to use tools and the young people come up and need tools it will turn around … maybe they are using it as a long term investment.
James f duncan
I switched to Kobalt a few years ago (after xmas sale pretty much but all the pliers ,wrenches,a drivers i will ever need) have yet to break one (i used pliers as a hammer etc) and they have a walk in walk out with a new one policy.. i might get 1 -2 craftsmen special items but thats it
James f duncan
for any real driving ill use either my milwaukee drill or impact and my wera kraftform
Curtis
It’s darn near impossible to rebuild a reputation once you start selling crap. From a financial perspective it’s just not worth it. Better to buy out a small brand with a good reputation or build up the brand from scratch. SBD would have done better to buy out Hilti, Fluke, Klein or any other company with a reputation for building professional grade tools.
David
I grew up using Craftsman 40 years ago. Their stuff was good enough, some of it was great. It was mostly the no-nonsense replacement policy that kept my dad buying them. I have many of these tools from him (sockets, combo wrenches, screwdrivers).
There’s little point in going exchanging them now since I have no idea what I’ll get. A decent US made flat screw driver exchanged for something that’s too soft to ever use on hardened steel – no thanks,
Craftsman has always been a brand only – tools could be made by anybody and come from anywhere. Pretty sure they were primarily U.S. made until the 90s. (Somebody will correct me, I’m sure.)
Sears didn’t do a good job with the brand. But this is largely a consumer issue. When people started shopping based on price rather than value, they had to bow to the consumer and start selling less expensive tools. There was Craftsman Industrial, which was still good, but most non-pros didn’t even know about it.
WE (consumers) are responsible for the influx of crappy tools, not Sears or other stores. If enough people would vote with the wallet on U.S. made tools, or only quality tools, the crap would mostly disappear.
fred
The fact that Wal-Mart takes in more revenue than any other retailer, says something about what the mass market in the USA wants. I understand that Wal-Mart’s foray into Germany was a bust – that may also tell you something about differences in culture and buying habits. When you read the story of Rubbermaid’s decline , Wal-Mart’s role and Newell’s takeover – that may also give you some pause for thought about the decline in US manufacturing.
Jay k.
No
Jerry
I was buying Craftsman hand tools back in the sixties. They had a huge selection and there was always a nearby Sears in most mid-sized towns and cities. There wasn’t an Internet where you could easily compare brands — no Home Depots or Lowe’s. Not much negative press at all, and there was that big tool catalog that showed those trillion piece tools sets…..
I still have a lot of those hand tools that are now fifty years old! But I notice a big difference in the feel and smoothness of my 1/2 inch ratchet wrench compared to my Wera, Mayhew, Chapman, Whia, NWS, and Knipex stuff. Competing now days is a whole new ballgame.
Joseph
The 3% from SBD that will go to Sears for the first 15 years goes
Straight to shoring up the underfunded Sears pensions.
CT
SBD won’t have to pay Sears a penny if Sears doesn’t make good on all their unpaid merchandise during the bankruptcy.
Brian
I stopped buying Craftsman tools 20 years ago. They started down hill in the early 90’s. I got hassles on warranties as early as 15 years ago. Often times the tool would not be in stock or they would not break a set. A couple times I broke the set and just walked up to the counter and handed the cashier my broken tool and showed him the new one and walked out. The standard screw drivers do make good, cheap, chisels and pry bars.
Alex Colvin
I was ready to try Craftsman again after a few decades of ignoring them. The product showed its defectiveness not 20 minutes after taking it out of the box while trying to assemble it according to the manual. I struggled for 25 minutes with no success. It simply would not assemble. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. And that did it for me.
Kevin E
The trusted name is dead, sears has basically died too. I was looking for a washer and dryer back in 2017 and learned Sears’ new CEO was selling all the “trusted” names I grew up with off. Craftsman, Kenmore (which was already being built by others, but you get Sears to stand behind it) etc. Just like the author said, same stuff w/o the name can be had for less.
Sears, Craftsman, Kenmore are “no more” if you want my opinion. Society has changed and consumers have moved on. Everyone offers “life-time” warrantees on their hand tools, just go to the nearest Home Depot vice fighting mall traffic. Even better, Amazon. I was sad to see Sears die, but it’s not the Sear we grew up with. I remember when Montgomery Wards closed its doors. Times have changed. The one thing that Craftsman (B&L) have going, is they sell their products at the Military Exchanges, so they’ll still have a part of the market.
RIP Sears, Craftsman, Kenmore, you had a great run in the 20th century market and provided kids like me with “tough skins”. My first toolset was Craftsman, and I had many Kenmore appliances but change is inevitable and I have adapted to the change.
Adam Larsen
Craftsman wrenches and sockets and ratchets used to be as good as you could get without getting into snap on, blackhawk, Matco etc. No more. I can’t get a ratchet replaced or fixed without a receipt now. Craftsman is just a name now, riding on its former quality/warranty. There’s no need to buy craftsman anymore unless it’s some black friday deal or something similiar.
Shane Tarrant
I might buy a few things again, but only if it is made in the USA. Although I am learey because in my opinion Black and Decker and Stanley are not great tools either.
dstblj 52
Go look at the Stanley black and Decker brands page, it’s half the industry and they certainly make quality tools under their DeWalt, proto and Mac badging.