Another nosedive for Craftsman tools.

[Myk Rian]

They were sold to Stanley - Black & Decker for $800m.

[John Lanciani]

They were sold to Stanley - Black & Decker for $800k.

$800M, ouch.

[Mark Blatter]

From what I had seen, the quality had already dropped. I stopped buying their tools long ago. I suppose that the great warranty is pretty much gone now. Sad really. I remember buying their tools back in the 70's and thinking they would last a lifetime. I guess they did, just a short lifetime.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

Oh My- well this may be a good thing. I was just visiting the states and went to Sears with my brother. We were discussing what would happen to Craftsman Tools with the inevitable demise of Sears. I said that they weren't what they used to be anyway, and I blame that for part of why Sears has taken a dive. Craftsman Tools used to be unquestionable- they were good tools. You knew if you bought Craftsman you were getting quality. Now they have shifted to cheaply made and cheaply priced tools. It really hurt their brand. Perhaps Stanley will take them and make them similar to their Dewalt line as an upscale tool like they used to be.

[Rich Riddle]

The WSJ said $900,000,000 but what's a hundred million? It also said that the brand will no longer be tied to Sears. It might ensure the legacy of the brand after Sears succumbs.

[Matt Meiser]

Its a little over 500M now, 250M down the road (3 years...like Sears will exist then) and royalty payments from Stanley back to Sears for some period. In 15 years Sears has to start paying royalties to Stanley. Total estimate is 900M. But its Sears...I'm sure when its said and done, they'll somehow lose both the brand and money.

Sears is toast anyway. They need to make it to July so that the "good" real estate they spun off is free and clear of the bankruptcy claims. That's the only reason the CEO is pumping money in.

[John McClanahan]

Our local Sears is on the latest list of stores to close. Too bad it same to this.

John

[Bill McNiel]

Sad to see the never ending slow demise of a once great retailer. Back in the day (60s-70s) the axiom was Craftsman tools were solid as long as they didn't have a cord. Many of my Craftsman wrenches, levels, pliers, screwdrivers, socket sets, etc, are still with me. Framing Hammers were Vaughn.

[Matt Meiser]

Just told my wife I should list my last set of Craftsman sockets on Craigslist and put whatever money I can get for them toward something better. Don't see the warranty being worth much going forward. Even if they honor it the current sockets are junk. I think I'm down to one set of Craftsman sockets and a couple Craftsman hammers.

[Mike Henderson]

I have a bunch of Craftsman mechanic's tools that I bought long ago. Still good tools. I don't do that kind of work any more so the tools don't get used much. I'll have to figure out who I want to leave them to - someone who will use and take care of them.

Mike

[Morey St. Denis]

Agreed. The alluring feature with Sears Craftsman hand tools was that lifetime warranty / replacement and in my experience, Sears stores generally honored it without much trouble. Likely this all goes away with B&D running the brand. I have had some limited success with B&D Delta honoring warranty replacement for outright failure-as-new with their Delta plumbing fixtures brand. Who knows what might develop with the Craftsman proper brand? I own a number of their power tools also, including a vintage drill press. Just informed this week that the Sears retail hardware & tools location that my father worked at part-time more than 35 years ago will be fully shut down within 6 weeks. Sad situation, especially considering the plus one hundred more Sears retail stores nationwide slated to close within a few months and the thousands of rural retail employees impacted at the very beginning of this new year...

[Rod Sheridan]

My Mother-in-law worker for Emerson, who made the Craftsman power tools in the early 1980's.

I still have my drill press from then, accurate, solid drill press which I paid 50% of retail for as an employee discount.

They weren't inexpensive then, perhaps that allowed them to make something that lasted.

As to their hand tools, last year I was in the US and went to a hardware store that was selling Craftsman hand tools, I was surprised as I thought it was a Sears only brand.

Sad to see retailers go down like that..............Rod.

[Steve Peterson]

As to their hand tools, last year I was in the US and went to a hardware store that was selling Craftsman hand tools, I was surprised as I thought it was a Sears only brand.

Sad to see retailers go down like that..............Rod.

About half of the tools at Orchard Supply Hardware appear to be Craftsman brand. An I recall seeing an occasional socket/wrench set at Costco. According to the news article, 90% of the Craftsman product is still sold at Sears stores.

Steve

[Jim Koepke]

About half of the tools at Orchard Supply Hardware appear to be Craftsman brand. An I recall seeing an occasional socket/wrench set at Costco. According to the news article, 90% of the Craftsman product is still sold at Sears stores.

Steve

Orchard Supply Hardware was owned by Sears. After the takeover, OSH went downhill fast. Currently Lowes owns OSH:


Home improvement retailer Lowe's ( LOW ) has completed the acquisition of Orchard Supply Hardware (OSH) for $205 million. Under the deal, Lowe's has gained ownership and control of the majority of Orchard Supply's assets, including 72 stores. However, it has also assumed responsibility for payables owed to nearly all of Orchard's supplier partners.

Orchard Supply had earlier filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after being weighed down by years of declining sales, an overcrowded California market and massive debt which it inherited from its parent company Sears Holding Corporation.



Read more: http://www.nasdaq.com/article/lowes-completes-orchard-supply-hardware-stores-purchase-cm272790#ixzz4UzxfFxhh

The article is from September of 2013.

When my residence was in California OSH was a great place to shop before Sears took over. After that, the shelves started going empty. It was just recently the wife and I went to the closest OSH store to us in Beaverton, OR. One of the reasons to take a field trip was for the free calendars they have after Thanksgiving. My impression from talking to some of the staff was they didn't offer calendars for a few years. They used to offer a couple of different calendars, one with the traditional train drawings and another with a botanical theme. There also seemed to be a few other hiccups in the supply chain. A member of the staff told me they were out of large paper bags at the registers and looked like it was going to be a week before they got more.

Poor management can ruin a business even if the best people in the world are working on the floors and in the aisles.

jtk

[Chris Padilla]

OSH has done quite well here around the SF Bay Area, Jim, and I was unaware of its ails or at least it was never obvious to me. Interesting. It is one of my favorite places to shop. I'll pay a little more at OSH for plumbing and electrical stuff over the orange and blue boxes but they are usually more organized and keep things well stocked and the folks working the particular aisles always seem to be retired tradesmen...of that aisle's contents. About 2-3 years ago, the OSH that was within walking distance of my house took over a building that use to be a Mervyn's and moved there. It is further away now and I'll admit I don't go there as much now but it is a beautiful place and still a pleasure to shop there.

[Tom Stenzel]

I have a lot of Craftsman hand tools in the garage and they've served their purpose. Their electric tools? Ugh. I'd rather not go into that, the mods would ban me for life.

There was a Sears hardware in tool store in Westland that I would stop in to pay the Sears credit card. Just had to re-route my trip home from work and it wasn't out of my way at all. Plus I could walk around and do more damage to the credit card.

Once I needed a new battery for my drill. I wrote down the battery number and stopped at the store. No one in the store could reference the number. One guy told me he couldn't find my number. My reply: it's not MY number, it's YOUR number. Why do you have them if you can't use them?

The store closed. I talked to the staff during the closeout sale, they said a bunch were being closed for losing money. The Westland store went away too even though it was profitable. At least I was able to get a 9" blade for Dad's radial arm saw cheap. Those never went on sale. After that going to a Sears meant going out of my way and, well, out of sight, out of mind.

There was a Sears parts store right my my house. It went away about 10 years ago.

I liked shopping at Sears. But I went away.

-Tom

[Brian Henderson]

I was going to say I couldn't remember the last time I stepped foot in a Sears, but I did so a couple of years ago for work and, as expected, they didn't have what I needed and I went elsewhere. I had a Sears credit card back in the 90s, but I paid it off and cut it up because I could never find a reason to go there. Other stores were closer and more convenient, and of course they had what I needed in stock, something Sears never seemed to do. I also don't know that I've ever bought any significant Craftsman tools. All of mine came from my father, who bought them back when they were worth buying and I don't think any of them have ever broken. And even if they did, I wouldn't go get them replaced today anyhow, I'd just buy something else. I really don't want to live in the past. Once, Sears and Craftsman were good. Today they are not. You can't live in nostalgia-land. Time to move on to better things.

[Kev Williams]

The beginning of the end for Sears, to me at least, was around the turn of the century- I'd gotten the balance on my card down to like $29, and this was the first time I was paying off my Sears card since the late '70's when I got it. The due date on the bill was like the 3rd of the month. I mailed it on the 1st. They received it on the 4th. A month later I was presented with a bill for $35 for "late payment fee". I called them up, and asked if they'd drop the late fee. The fact the pay envelope was postmarked before the due date mattered not. The fact it was only one day late at all mattered not. The fact I'd made only 1 late payment in over 20 years mattered not. The fact the late fee was more than the payoff balance didn't matter either. I asked if this was any way to treat a 20 year 'preferred' customer. "Your payment was late, and we charge for late payments". Ok then, spend that $35 wisely because I'll never spend another dime at Sears.

Seems they didn't ;) --I assumed right then that they must be in some sort of financial straits to pull that nonsense, and they've been sinking ever since. I've only been in Sears twice since that day, and that was only because I was doing someone a favor.

K-mart doesn't count... :)

[John Ziebron]

I've been buying Craftsman tools for over 45 years and was surprised the other day when I heard Black and Decker bought them. I know the quality started diminishing when Sears decided about 6 years ago to start making them overseas. But this morning on my local news they said that Black and Decker was going to build a plant here in the U.S. to make Craftsman name tools. So maybe there's hope that the quality will improve.

[Rick Potter]

Ten years ago when it was obvious that Wall Mart, K Mart, and Target could not co-exist, and one would eventually close, I would have bet money it would be Target that failed. They had the poorly maintained stores, and K-mart was re-modeling locally. Who knew that ten years later it would be Wall Mart with the poorly maintained stores and K-mart on its last gasp. Target is doing well locally.

As far as what happened to them, just step into a Costco, if you can find a parking place.

[Frederick Skelly]

Ten years ago when it was obvious that Wall Mart, K Mart, and Target could not co-exist, and one would eventually close, I would have bet money it would be Target that failed. They had the poorly maintained stores, and K-mart was re-modeling locally. Who knew that ten years later it would be Wall Mart with the poorly maintained stores and K-mart on its last gasp. Target is doing well locally.

As far as what happened to them, just step into a Costco, if you can find a parking place.

Same thing happened with home improvement stores.

When I was a kid, my Dad went to a local home improvement store. Then, they built a big chain store - Builders Place, Builder Square, something like that? The local home improvement store eventually closed.

Then they built a Home Depot. That "Builder" store eventually closed.

Then they built a Lowes. Now Lowes and HD are slugging it out. And now here comes Menards .....

[Jim Koepke]

Same thing happened with home improvement stores.

When I was a kid, my Dad went to a local home improvement store. Then, they built a big chain store - Builders Place, Builder Square, something like that? The local home improvement store eventually closed.

Then they built a Home Depot. That "Builder" store eventually closed.

Then they built a Lowes. Now Lowes and HD are slugging it out. And now here comes Menards .....

Before Home Depot my old stomping grounds had a Home Base store. They suffered the same demise so many other large retailers are now facing. One of the common factors all of them seem to go through is letting go of long term employees. There is more money to be made with low paid employees. In my opinion, the long term employees are an asset since they know the stores better and have the experience to help customers. One example was House of Fabric, where my wife worked. She was told by a district manager that they knew she must be stealing from the store, but couldn't figure out how. This was because no one stays with them for lousy wages as long as she had.

A home electronics store (Circuit City?) had a lay off of long term employees to cut payroll. That sure sends the warm fuzzy feelings through all those who remained. Many customers were more loyal to the "person" who represented the store than to the chain.

Sears and so many others used to have loyal long term employees who could actually not only help a customer but also perform the all important "up selling" or "add on sales." Most of them wouldn't stand around gabbing when there was a lull in customers. They would be checking the shelves and inventory and straightening things up. The young barely out of high school replacement staff had no idea or desire to learn or continue these important aspects of a good sales force. Many people appreciate a knowledgable sales person who can not only direct them to the desired item but can also explain how it works or suggest other things they may want to consider. To me this is better than discovering later there is a need to make another trip to the store.

jtk

[Brian Henderson]

Ten years ago when it was obvious that Wall Mart, K Mart, and Target could not co-exist, and one would eventually close, I would have bet money it would be Target that failed. They had the poorly maintained stores, and K-mart was re-modeling locally. Who knew that ten years later it would be Wall Mart with the poorly maintained stores and K-mart on its last gasp. Target is doing well locally.

As far as what happened to them, just step into a Costco, if you can find a parking place.

But Walmart remodels regularly. Just a couple of years after the last local K-Mart remodel, it looked like crap again. They just don't keep up on their maintenance. Remodeling isn't a one-time thing, it has to be maintained over the long run and K-Mart, at least locally, didn't do that in any of their stores.

[Morey St. Denis]

Rod, sounds as if your MIL may have had a hand in the fabrication of both of our vintage Craftsman / Emerson drill presses from the early 80's. Might you happen to know at which Emerson Electric plant location those Craftsman drill presses were likely assembled?

[Brian Elfert]

Agreed. The alluring feature with Sears Craftsman hand tools was that lifetime warranty / replacement and in my experience, Sears stores generally honored it without much trouble. Likely this all goes away with B&D running the brand. I have had some limited success with B&D Delta honoring warranty replacement for outright failure-as-new with their Delta plumbing fixtures brand. Who knows what might develop with the Craftsman proper brand? I own a number of their power tools also, including a vintage drill press. Just informed this week that the Sears retail hardware & tools location that my father worked at part-time more than 35 years ago will be fully shut down within 6 weeks. Sad situation, especially considering the plus one hundred more Sears retail stores nationwide slated to close within a few months and the thousands of rural retail employees impacted at the very beginning of this new year...

Delta faucets is owned by Masco and has been for a long time. Black & Decker bought Delta power tools, but I think they got spun off again.

[Brian Elfert]

Ten years ago when it was obvious that Wall Mart, K Mart, and Target could not co-exist, and one would eventually close, I would have bet money it would be Target that failed. They had the poorly maintained stores, and K-mart was re-modeling locally. Who knew that ten years later it would be Wall Mart with the poorly maintained stores and K-mart on its last gasp. Target is doing well locally.


Walmart stores in my location are kept up in very nice condition. I think it really depends on the location because I have been in a few really bad Walmarts, but mostly in bad neighborhoods.

I really don't think Craftsman will be any worse off with Stanley than it is today. I don't think Stanley can really shut down the brand because Sears can continue to use the brand for a number of years without any royalty payments to Stanley.

[Jack Lemley]

"Nose dive" presupposes that the object or person taking a "nose dive" has room to go downward. Craftsman has been very close to the bottom for a long time. They will likely take a smal step down now but will then be located on the bottom with no where to go.

Jack

[Roger Feeley]

A friend of mine once said, "You can either have a full set of tools...or sons."

[Roger Feeley]

Rod, I may have the same drill press as you. I got mine in the early '80s. 17" swing. Monster quill that they claimed could be used for light milling. It has kind of a funny taper on the chuck. It's stubbier than a Morse and there is a threaded collar that holds the chuck in place. You use the chuck key to tighten and loosen the collar. The bed has no hole in it. It has T-slots like a milling machine.

[Morey St. Denis]

Thank you for that correction Brian,

My bad, I was indeed mistaken about it being a Delta / Peerless brand acquired by Masco. The replacement kitchen faucet purchased a decade ago from Lowe's was a Pfister, which at that time to my eye at least, in larger sizes shared certain style characteristics with Delta. That particular faucet is no longer in our usual home. Whenever you have a warranty replacement or quality control issue with a Pfister product, I came to learn; you are required to take it up with Stanley Black & Decker as corporate owner and customer service center.

Since then, as time & wear requires, I often prefer to replace household plumbing fixtures with a quality German make. Through plenty of experience, both personally and professionally, I have come to favor either Hansgrohe or Grohe design. It is my understanding that Freidrich Grohe, son of original founder Hans Grohe, initiated the Grohe AG brand name around 1936. Father Hans remained concentrated on showers and drainage products while Freidrich & company pursued opportunities with specialized sanitary fittings. Interestingly enough, here again we eventually come round to the aforementioned Masco Corp, which presently appears to own a 2/3 controlling interest in Hansgrohe SE. Thanks again for affording that opportunity to refresh and enlighten my memory.

[eugene thomas]

I stop in at a ace hardware today to exchange a craftsman locking pliers that broke. I was told that black and decker is really rigid about exchanges now and serial numbers have to match. I have feeling that in few years will not be able to exchange any old craftsman tools because they will change serial numbers on all new tools.

[Matt Meiser]

Now that they've ruined the Stanley, Black & Decker, Porter Cable, and Delta names they have have a new project. Sears already gave them a great head start.

[Doug Garson]

I don't understand why Black & Decker would want another brand name to add to their stable. It's not like Craftsman has any unique patents or reputation that's worth buying. Plus the lifetime warranty is a liability, if they honor it it cost $ if they don't just another hit on their reputation. Why not just let the Craftsman brand die?

[Harold Balzonia]

I don't understand why Black & Decker would want another brand name to add to their stable. It's not like Craftsman has any unique patents or reputation that's worth buying. Plus the lifetime warranty is a liability, if they honor it it cost $ if they don't just another hit on their reputation. Why not just let the Craftsman brand die?

Black and decker are in a solid enough financial position to acquire craftsman and keep it on life support in perpetuity. What they've done is buy a well known brand name in order to keep anyone else from ever having it. Simple as that. At some point they might decide to put some r&d behind the name and come out with a line of "new and improved" craftsman tools (perhaps even made in the USA) but more likely they will hold the name until some other company wants to buy the craftsman name from them and they get to make a nice profit....

My guess is this was never about reinvigorating craftsman... just a chance to own something so no one else can have it without paying b&d a nice profit.

[dennis thompson]

I think that we on this website are all a little crazed :) when it come to tools. We spend far more time thinking about them than the average do it yourselfer who just goes to Sears or Ace hardware for an occasional tool to complete some job around the house or the car.

[Mike Cutler]

I've bought my first and only set of Craftsman Tools almost 40 years ago. It was the larger Mechanics Set at that time. I bought them when I first went into the Navy and was driving across country to my first duty station out of bootcamp. I still use them all the time.
I never bought them for the warranty, and certainly wouldn't sell them because they may not still have the lifetime warranty. My opinion is that if you are buying tools/equipment for the warranty, you're buying the wrong tools/equipment.
It's a shame to see them, and Sears, go by the way.

[Matt Meiser]

I've bought my first and only set of Craftsman Tools almost 40 years ago.

This is the key sentence. Mine were all of 20 year old vintage. I had to replace several pieces and the replacements got progressively worse.

[Bert Kemp]

I inherited my first set of Craftsmen tools from my Grandfather in the early 70's. They were well used then and I took all the worn out tools to sears and replaced them, no questions asked.As the years passed by and I wore out tools they keep getting harder to replace, but I don't use them a lot these days and if something wears out or breaks I just go buy a cheap HF replacement, good enough for the limited use it will get now. Sad I can't go to Sears and get a decent replacement:( now days.

[Mike Henderson]

I've bought my first and only set of Craftsman Tools almost 40 years ago. It was the larger Mechanics Set at that time. I bought them when I first went into the Navy and was driving across country to my first duty station out of bootcamp. I still use them all the time.
I never bought them for the warranty, and certainly wouldn't sell them because they may not still have the lifetime warranty. My opinion is that if you are buying tools/equipment for the warranty, you're buying the wrong tools/equipment.
It's a shame to see them, and Sears, go by the way.

Yeah, I've gotten very cynical about "warranties". A warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it, and too many go out of their way to avoid honoring the warranty, especially if it's a year or more down the road. Some even ask for a copy of the original purchase receipt, and I don't keep all my receipts. Now days, I look for a product with good reviews and don't worry about the warranty.

As a side note, I inherited my father's Craftsman tools - mostly sockets and handles. I don't know the exact age, but they must go back to the 30's, I suppose. At one time I used them quite a bit but now, they just sit in my tool box.

Mike

[Stephen Tashiro]

Ten years ago when it was obvious that Wall Mart, K Mart, and Target could not co-exist, and one would eventually close

Ten years ago, it also seemed obvious that WalMart, K Mart, etc. could copycat what Amazon was doing and compete online. However, even today, they have not developed web sites that come close to Amazon's in sophistication. I wonder if that failure is due to "corporate culture"? - brick-and-mortar management being unskilled at doing things on the internet. The brick-and-mortar businesses have the advantage that they can also sell for at-store delivery. (Well, perhaps at-store delivery brings up images of long lines at the customer service counter. The local WalMarts separate the product delivery counters from the customer service counter so product pick-up usually doesn't take long.)

[Bert Kemp]

I see Amazon has opened a brick and mortar store and more coming, might put a real dent in wally mart


Ten years ago, it also seemed obvious that WalMart, K Mart, etc. could copycat what Amazon was doing and compete online. However, even today, they have not developed web sites that come close to Amazon's in sophistication. I wonder if that failure is due to "corporate culture"? - brick-and-mortar management being unskilled at doing things on the internet. The brick-and-mortar businesses have the advantage that they can also sell for at-store delivery. (Well, perhaps at-store delivery brings up images of long lines at the customer service counter. The local WalMarts separate the product delivery counters from the customer service counter so product pick-up usually doesn't take long.)

[Mike Cutler]

Yeah, I've gotten very cynical about "warranties". A warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it, and too many go out of their way to avoid honoring the warranty, especially if it's a year or more down the road. Some even ask for a copy of the original purchase receipt, and I don't keep all my receipts. Now days, I look for a product with good reviews and don't worry about the warranty.

As a side note, I inherited my father's Craftsman tools - mostly sockets and handles. I don't know the exact age, but they must go back to the 30's, I suppose. At one time I used them quite a bit but now, they just sit in my tool box.

Mike

I view warranties as a sales gimmick. I've just never had much faith in them. Once you're outside the timeframe of infant mortality, they generally have a lot of hoops to jump through.
I remember a co-worker and I were re-doing our bathrooms at the same time, and he went for the Delta, or Moen fixtures for the "lifetime warranty" That's all well and good, but if you have to do redo a couple hundred dollars worth of work, and all the time, to replace a $60.00 dollar fixture. It's not worth it. I went with Grohe fixture and haven't touched them in 20+ years. he was replacing those cheap fixtures every 3-4 years. ( It was kind of funny when the standardized to 3/4" pipe, from 1/2" pipe . He was a little "tight".:eek:)

[Kev Williams]

Warranties, lol...

Last June I bought 2 Craftsman adjustable pattern lawn sprinklers, which are rainbirds with an adjustable plastic ring below the head, the ring can be raised/lowered in about 10 places around the ring, raising the ring raises a collar that blocks and shortens the water stream. Works really well on my rectangle lawns.

'Worked' really well I should say. First try a month ago, I push the ring up, and-- it broke. Pushed it up in a second spot, it broke. Both sprinklers rings broke at all 10 places. Less than one year old...

I passed on the Gilmour and Melnor versions of this sprinkler because this was a Craftsman. Ads state "new for 2015", and already it's "no longer available". And it actually had a 'limited lifetime warranty'. Whoopie.

[Stan Calow]

So, as far as handtools go, what is the brand to go for these days?

[Mike Henderson]

So, as far as handtools go, what is the brand to go for these days?

Snap-on has been good for my use. I'm sure there are many other good tool makers.

Mike

[John Lanciani]

So, as far as handtools go, what is the brand to go for these days?

Yard sales and flea markets. Lots of top quality vintage tools available for pennies on the dollar.

[Eric Keller]

I'm pretty sure Sears made money off of their warranty, because you'd go into the store, get the broken tool replaced, and buy more. Although I think the only people that ever used it were those of us that had their crummy ratchet handle fail. They also had the breakaway screwdriver tip design. Thank goodness we can get Wiha and Wera screwdrivers now.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I moved away from home in 1989 to attend University. My Father gave me a socket set purchased by my Grandfather, a tool and die maker. Sadly, when he was older, he was buying junk for as cheap as he could get it. The first time I tried to use it, and I think I was the first to use it, the wrench let go and I scraped up my knuckles. I went promptly to Sears and purchased a nice socket set.

If the Craftsman socket sets are now junk, I would not even know what to look at if I wanted or needed another set. I always heard that SnapOn was a good brand, but they are really pricey (or so I am told).

[Greg R Bradley]

You might be shocked at the price of new Snap-On tools. One of the businesses that I own is an auto restoration business. I have a large Snap-On tool box full of mostly Snap-On tools. Most of these were purchased LONG ago and even the upper and lower box was purchased in the 1970s. I doubt I've bought a single item in the last 20 years. Replacement cost for the box and contents is listed on the insurance at $68,000 and it all fits in one box. A large set of combination wrenches is $1000. A single Snap-On 1/2" ratchet is $250. I can't imagine who is buying these items today.

I recently wanted a 1/4" drive socket set for personal use. I bought a Wera set in a case for $200, which is less than half what that would be in Snap-On. I would take it over the Snap-On if the price was the same but the Snap-On would hold up better if being used by employees in an industrial setting.

[Mike Henderson]

You might be shocked at the price of new Snap-On tools. One of the businesses that I own is an auto restoration business. I have a large Snap-On tool box full of mostly Snap-On tools. Most of these were purchased LONG ago and even the upper and lower box was purchased in the 1970s. I doubt I've bought a single item in the last 20 years. Replacement cost for the box and contents is listed on the insurance at $68,000 and it all fits in one box. A large set of combination wrenches is $1000. A single Snap-On 1/2" ratchet is $250. I can't imagine who is buying these items today.

I recently wanted a 1/4" drive socket set for personal use. I bought a Wera set in a case for $200, which is less than half what that would be in Snap-On. I would take it over the Snap-On if the price was the same but the Snap-On would hold up better if being used by employees in an industrial setting.

Wow, I had no idea that Snap-On was that expensive. I haven't bought any Snap-On in a long time. I know they used to come by in a truck and maybe their price reflects the cost of doing that.

Mike

[Jerome Stanek]

I have ha good luck with Wright tools I got mine free from where I used to work

[Matt Meiser]

Wright and Proto have good reputations still. Gearwrench has a decent reputation akin to the Craftsman of years past but not as easy a warranty process. Even Harbor Freight is starting to get a decent reputation, especially the Pittsburgh Pro line of hand tools. I would definitely buy Pittsburgh Pro over Craftsman today. Michigan Industrial Tools (MIT) relaunched as Tekton and they too are getting a pretty good reputation and stellar warranty support--basically email them a pic of the bad tool and you get a replacement a few days later.

Related, Sears Canada filed for the rough equivalent of Chapter 11 this morning. Rumor has it that will end up in liquidation very shortly. Sears Holdings owns 12% so that's probably a pretty big hit on their books too.

[Matt Meiser]

Wow, I had no idea that Snap-On was that expensive. I haven't bought any Snap-On in a long time. I know they used to come by in a truck and maybe their price reflects the cost of doing that.

Mike


They aren't cheap, but the most expensive 1/2" ratchet is $259. That's a "1/2" Drive Soft Grip Long Locking Flex-Head Ratchet". Your run-of-the-mill 1/2" chrome ratchet lists at $160. There's some wrench sets north of $2K but a pretty decent set of metric combination wrench set (10-22 if I recall) is just over $500. You can find all this stuff used in excellent condition at roughly 1/2 list and if you don't mind a version old, some scratches, or *gasp* engraving, you can find it for much less. That said, I don't have any. I wouldn't mind getting a top-notch set of metric combination wrenches though--something I can implicitly trust in a tight spot with my knuckles on the line.

[paul cottingham]

I have my grandfathers set of Grey tools. They are pretty old (at least 60, as I'm 55 and he sold his farm well before I was born) and the only tool that has failed is a ratchet driver. All the rest are still pretty much perfect. Since they were used on a 600 some odd acre wheat farm, I assume they saw hard use before my dad acquired them.