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Sears is really starting to piss me off!

"Tools"..........the poster child for the statement "You get what you pay for".

If you think that Chinese garbage at Harbor Freight or anywhere else holds half a wick to decent american tools like Snap On, Matco, S & K, Klien and the others....Either you have never had to rely on tools for your profession, never really invested yourself in or used any decent tools to any extent, or are happy with tools that may or may not get you by. Possibly you don't care about skinned knuckles, broken fingers or damage to whatever you're working on. If you're buying off low cost, the person next to you with the more expensive decent tools (typically American made) will be more efficient, safe, prepared and reliable. That's all there is to it.

I have a few Chinese tools at my house. Actually, they're lying somewhere out in the field behind my house! (bad x-mas gifts)
 
I'll admit that if I need to buy a tool that I'm only going to use once or twice, I'm going to buy whatever is cheap and try to get by. If it's tools that I'm using everyday, like ratchets, sockets, air tools, etc. I'm going to buy the best tools I can find. I still have most of the Craftsman tools that I started buying 40 years ago when I was a teenager. Back then Craftsman tools were top of the line, I don't think so now. If I have to replace a tool I use a lot I will buy a Snap on or Matco off one of the trucks. I find some good older tools at garage sales if I'm lucky and I rarely pass 'em up.
 
I'll admit that if I need to buy a tool that I'm only going to use once or twice, I'm going to buy whatever is cheap and try to get by. If it's tools that I'm using everyday, like ratchets, sockets, air tools, etc. I'm going to buy the best tools I can find. I still have most of the Craftsman tools that I started buying 40 years ago when I was a teenager. Back then Craftsman tools were top of the line, I don't think so now. If I have to replace a tool I use a lot I will buy a Snap on or Matco off one of the trucks. I find some good older tools at garage sales if I'm lucky and I rarely pass 'em up.
Actually, Sears tools were not top of the back then. They were usually softer than the professional tools were and would wear faster with everyday use. I started out working on small engines in the mid 60's before moving on to cars and had worn my dad's Craftsman wrenches pretty good within 10 years....to the point many were starting to slip. Open end wrenches and sockets showed the most wear. In 1980, I hired on as a machinist at a plant and the tools that I used for 26 years still have a good fit and most of those are snap on. I still have most of my Craftsman tools that I bought in the 70's and 80's and most are still in pretty good shape but not as good as the stuff I used at work. The company gave me my tool boxes and a few hand tools when I retired but they sure didn't let me have the specialty tools but I had already added to my retirement 'gift' long before I retired so everything worked out pretty good :D

And Bru...what brand was the breaker bar that you broke? Was it a no name? If so, I bet it was made in China but was stamped USA anyways. That's happened a lot over the years.
 
I should qualify what I meant when I said that Craftsman tools were "top of the line" back then. They were the best tools that were available to me in a retail store in the podunk little town in Idaho that I grew up in. I'm sure that Snap-On, Matco and others have had better quality tools all along, but I don't ever remember seeing a tool truck in town. So it was either Sears or the local hardware store that had a very limited stock of automotive tools. I don't think that any of the of the brand name tools are as good as they were 20 or 30 years ago and that includes Snap-On etc. JMHO.
 
Since I retired in 06, I couldn't say how the top name brands are as for quality plus, the newest tools I have are a set of Craftsman Professional combo wrenches. The finish is great and so is the fit but I haven't used them enough to have an opinion on how long they will last....but at nearly 63, they should last me the rest of my life lol
 
Since I retired in 06, I couldn't say how the top name brands are as for quality plus, the newest tools I have are a set of Craftsman Professional combo wrenches. The finish is great and so is the fit but I haven't used them enough to have an opinion on how long they will last....but at nearly 63, they should last me the rest of my life lol

Let's hope they wear out in thirty years and you'll have to buy some more, Cranky. :)
 
"Tools"..........the poster child for the statement "You get what you pay for".......
......
I have a few Chinese tools at my house. Actually, they're lying somewhere out in the field behind my house! (bad x-mas gifts)

Propwash, I hope you don't mind that I truncated your post.
I regret the purchase of every Made in China tool I have. Because they either broke or couldn't do the job they were designed for and I had to buy the quality tool afterwards.
You do get what you pay for. Cheap is cheap.
All this griping about China getting our money is because Americans have a penchant for "cheap". It's very tempting and I fell for it, too. I buy quality tools, once. If I can't afford new, I look for vintage American made tools.
 
Propwash, I hope you don't mind that I truncated your post.
I regret the purchase of every Made in China tool I have. Because they either broke or couldn't do the job they were designed for and I had to buy the quality tool afterwards.
You do get what you pay for. Cheap is cheap.
All this griping about China getting our money is because Americans have a penchant for "cheap". It's very tempting and I fell for it, too. I buy quality tools, once. If I can't afford new, I look for vintage American made tools.


Oh not at all J5.........Truncate away!
 
I was a fan of craftsman tools, but now you have to look closely, as they say craftsman, but are Chinese. Sears sells high quality tools, but separates the U.S. from the chinese in the stores, , and hopes you buy Chinese, I guess.
I'm beginning to shop matco, when the time comes.
 
What's the issue if it is Chinese made? It's not the 50's anymore
 
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