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Sears selling Craftsman

A little bird told me that there are plans to bring Craftsman back to the states.
 
Moparsmitty said:
I'm fairly certain that Sears is just selling the trademarked name "Craftsman" to Stanley. I doubt that there are very many physical assets that go along with the deal. You are right that Sears has been farming out the trade name for a while. It's just that now Stanley will own the rights.
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Smitty, just wondering do you think now that Stanley will just keep importing cheap tools and putting Sears trademarked name on? Just a effort by Stanley to cash in on Craftsman name?
 
Paul Boucher said:
A little bird told me that there are plans to bring Craftsman back to the states.
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I can only wish! I set myself up with a good assortment of hand tools to keep at my daughters house when i had my car there. I had a lot of stuff but needed a few other items. I did not buy Craftsman for all the reasons stated. I bought HF as it was easy and the quality for the money you cant beat it. Never would use them for full time work but for what i wanted they were fine.
 
steve from staten island said:
Smitty, just wondering do you think now that Stanley will just keep importing cheap tools and putting Sears trademarked name on? Just a effort by Stanley to cash in on Craftsman name?
Click to expand...
I think that Stanley is buying the Craftsman trademark just so they can eliminate a competitor and squeeze whatever goodwill is left out of the Craftsman name. I seriously doubt that they plan on improving the quality Stanley or Craftsman tools. I would love to be wrong and see them come out with a premium line of Craftsman tools and restore the reputation that the brand had many years ago. Sadly, I just don't think it's going to happen.
 
I was in a Sears store before Christmas looking at some screwdriver sets and to my surprise they were made in USA.
 
All Harbor Freight tools are junk! All of them. I buy used Snap on Tools Still kenosha Wisconsin. Many tools from Craftsman still are made here by Danaher! The largest tool maker in the World. I was a Matco Dealer and saw the quality of tools.
 
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If Stanley decides to produce Craftsman products in the USA they will probably be made in the Dallas Tx. forging plant.
 
WOW, I've always bought Craftsman. Had no clue about them being made in China, guess I better wake up.
 
This is a sad demise.

I am hopeful that Stanley can bring them back to the states, as the line of tools still has a heartbeat. I still buy Craftsman Tools, but wait for the sales. I just bought their 24 piece 3/4" drive set as a personal Christmas gift while it was on sale. I actually don't need may more tools and 80% of my Craftsman tools are the "flying V" era or later but made in USA. I got 2 roller chests full of them in shadow cut matting, collected over 40 years of turning wrenches. Got my first Craftsman toolbox and set from Dad when I started racing go-carts in '74 as a kid.

I don't buy the thought that HF is just as good as Craftsman, even today- spin the HF socket sets on an impact and watch 'em wobble as the drive isn't cut concentric to the well. But there's certainly a place for HF tools - heck I have a full set of HF stuff permanently in my camper as emergency use. Don't like to assemble a box every time we go camping, but they really rarely get used so not worth the investment other than cheap HF.

My dad owned a machine shop from '72 until he retired in '04 and sold the business. The production benches were armed with Craftsman tools, with the exception of some specialty stuff (Snap-on, SK). The stuff held up well and he has 75% of it as the sale was for the business name and the customer roll-a-dex, not the machinery. You could sink a battleship with the weight of tools! He's 77 now and has told me when he gets done with his Hot Rods it'll be "my problem" to figure out what to do with them. We have a '65 Ford Country Sedan (wagon trim level) project going right now and it's still weird to reach up on his meticulously maintained (and massive) pegboard for a 1/2" drive ratchet and see 6 identical ratchets.

Here's one guy pulling for Stanley to do right by a (once) proud and storied tool name.
 
GrabberOrange69 said:
This is a sad demise.

I am hopeful that Stanley can bring them back to the states, as the line of tools still has a heartbeat. I still buy Craftsman Tools, but wait for the sales. I just bought their 24 piece 3/4" drive set as a personal Christmas gift while it was on sale. I actually don't need may more tools and 80% of my Craftsman tools are the "flying V" era or later but made in USA. I got 2 roller chests full of them in shadow cut matting, collected over 40 years of turning wrenches. Got my first Craftsman toolbox and set from Dad when I started racing go-carts in '74 as a kid.

I don't buy the thought that HF is just as good as Craftsman, even today- spin the HF socket sets on an impact and watch 'em wobble as the drive isn't cut concentric to the well. But there's certainly a place for HF tools - heck I have a full set of HF stuff permanently in my camper as emergency use. Don't like to assemble a box every time we go camping, but they really rarely get used so not worth the investment other than cheap HF.

My dad owned a machine shop from '72 until he retired in '04 and sold the business. The production benches were armed with Craftsman tools, with the exception of some specialty stuff (Snap-on, SK). The stuff held up well and he has 75% of it as the sale was for the business name and the customer roll-a-dex, not the machinery. You could sink a battleship with the weight of tools! He's 77 now and has told me when he gets done with his Hot Rods it'll be "my problem" to figure out what to do with them. We have a '65 Ford Country Sedan (wagon trim level) project going right now and it's still weird to reach up on his meticulously maintained (and massive) pegboard for a 1/2" drive ratchet and see 6 identical ratchets.

Here's one guy pulling for Stanley to do right by a (once) proud and storied tool name.
Click to expand...
It's sad the amount of products thay are made elsewhere, especially China. They don't have the EPA, OSHA, and government intervention in the process. Their people work for pennies and probably don't get benefits or pensions. We have done it to ourselves. We want everything for cheap and when it breaks, we throw it away and buy new.
 
Your right Mike! Tools now are cheaper than they ever were. Your also right about when they break we throw them away. The up side is we can afford most tools now then ever before. I bought my house in 76 and i did all of the big renovations when i was young. My wife grandfather was a carpenter and he introduced me to the guys that ran the lumber yard he used. This was well before HD. I bought a Milwaukee saw'sall from them and paid it off a little a week. I still have it and use it. Now i could go to HD and take my pick and there not much more than i paid decades earlier. When we were kids we wanted to make a slot car track and needed a router. Nobody's father had one ,today take your pick at HD and everyone has one. Times have changed.
 
I have mac, snapon, and a load of craftsman old and new. But I have to confess I have been using a set of Pittsburg ratchet wrenches at work for a year now and they haven't broke yet.
 
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