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Thread: Craftsman at Lowe's and Ace

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by fritz eng View Post
    A Lowe's salesman told me that there are 2 lines that bear the Craftsman name: the Lowes line and the Sears line (stores that remain opened as SEARS). The 2 are NOT the same. I was told the Craftsman line sold at Lowe's is the better/original quality line while the other line is not. Cannot verify. I also read there is a law suit by Lowes claiming that SEARS is violating a branding infringement. Cannot verify either. Good luck
    Finding information on such things is all in how one searches. Using as few variables as possible and narrowing word construction, this > lowes sears lawsuit < finds a few stories. Using 'suit' instead of 'lawsuit' will bring up a lot of superfluous articles, mostly advertising.

    It looks like Lowes name is involved due to Stanley, Black & Decker is using them as one of the major markets for their Craftsman tool sales.

    Sears is marketing a different line of tools using the Craftsman name in the brand:

    But two weeks after Sears emerged from bankruptcy Feb. 8, the reorganized retailer “launched its own new line of professional-grade mechanics’ tools under the sub-brand ‘Craftsman Ultimate Collection,’” states the lawsuit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
    https://www.baltimoresun.com/busines...307-story.html

    Further along in the article:

    After Stanley acquired the Craftsman brand, the company “invested heavily” to rapidly expand sales, in part, through a strategic alliance it announced in May 2018 with Lowe’s to carry certain lines of the product. And in September, Stanley launched a full line of Craftsman tools, “including the introduction of over 1,200 new tools and products” to be released through an expanded network that includes Lowe’s, Ace Hardware and Amazon.com.
    If Stanley wins the lawsuit the Craftsman Ultimate Collection tools may be pulled from the market. This could make them the ultimate collectible.

    jtk
    Last edited by Jim Koepke; 07-15-2019 at 2:19 PM.
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  2. #32
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    I just saw Craftsman brand power washers at Menards*. Didn't notice anything else.

    *Menards is a midwest big-box competitor to Lowes/Home Depot.

  3. #33
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    I lived in Kansas City 70 years ago, both Missouri and Kansas side.
    I remember those years fondly. Maybe I will plan a trip to visit.

  4. #34
    Craftsman is a tarnished brand thanks to Eddie Lampert, and Black and Decker is another company that I have no use for, for that reason do not own any DeWalt power tools, when Craftsman was domestic I used to buy their sockets, price was decent & the warranty was better then Snap On, who I like, just don't like their prices, while Stanley Black & Decker is to be commended for removing production from the ChiComs and returning it to the US, for me it's too late.

  5. #35
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    Sears was with me throughout my childhood, and who didn't love getting the Christmas catalog. Our local store had a few appliances, but was mostly catalog orders. I got my first craftsman tool nearly 50 years ago. It was a Craftsman circular saw from the catalog. I wanted to learn how to make stuff. I still have and use it. In my early 20's (I'm 66 now) I bought a 3rd hand Craftsman table saw, and one at a time ordered a bandsaw, drill press, and belt disc sander at the local catalog store. All of these are still in operation along with a large collection of hand tools. I always got good use out of my Craftsman tools.
    I was introduced to other tool brands when I went to trade school to be a machinist. Our shop did a lot of work for Stanley Tool's Shaftsbury Vt division, where they made framing squares, levels and utility knives.
    Well, that's my nostalgia for the morning.

  6. #36
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    No tingle here, just disgust. My local lowes used to have the best "only tool store open on a Sunday" selection. They carried Bosch, Dewalt, Crescent, Estwing, Bessy, etc. Now it's just kobalt and craftsman and I no longer even bother stopping by on our weekend runs to the big town.

    Luckily we have the internet.

  7. #37
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    Quote Originally Posted by Steve Rozmiarek View Post
    No tingle here, just disgust. My local lowes used to have the best "only tool store open on a Sunday" selection. They carried Bosch, Dewalt, Crescent, Estwing, Bessy, etc. Now it's just kobalt and craftsman and I no longer even bother stopping by on our weekend runs to the big town.

    Luckily we have the internet.
    If I need a real tool store I go to Performance Line Tools in Waterford Mi, just a half hour drive. They carry the full line of Makita, Milwaukee, Bosch, Dewalt, PC, Sawstop, Performax, Delta, Powermatic, Occidental Leather and so on. And case upon case of Bosch, Amana and Freud router bits. A tool addict’s candy store.
    Last edited by Ole Anderson; 07-19-2019 at 1:51 PM.
    NOW you tell me...

  8. #38
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    My mother passed away a couple of months ago and I wrote and gave her eulogy. I relied on her personal history a great deal. She grew up in Fairfield in the 1930s and 40s. She mentioned that it was a great place to grow up, on a farm with no running water, no electricity, or indoor plumbing. The had an outhouse and used a Sears catalog when doing the 'paper work' after each visit.

    My impression of Craftman tools goes right in line with what they used the Sears catalog for, if you get my drift.
    I am in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection, but with Montana it is love.... It seems to me that Montana is a great splash of grandeur....the mountains are the kind I would create if mountains were ever put on my agenda. Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans. Montana has a spell on me. It is grandeur and warmth. Of all the states it is my favorite and my love.

    John Steinbeck


  9. #39
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    Snap On owns Williams not the other way around. Another lesser known but high quality tool is Armstrong. Williams was a common wrench in the machine shop on the engine lathe. It had the square box end for tightening the tool post lock bolt and an open end for loosening and tightening the compound slide angle adjustment.

  10. #40
    We have an Ace Hardware store locally that now sells Crapsman tools. I took a cabinet screwdriver in for a "defect exchange", the first question was, did you buy it here? I answered no, their answer was no also, if you didn't buy it here we don't exchange it! Nice guys...
    Ed

  11. #41
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ed Edwards View Post
    We have an Ace Hardware store locally that now sells Crapsman tools. I took a cabinet screwdriver in for a "defect exchange", the first question was, did you buy it here? I answered no, their answer was no also, if you didn't buy it here we don't exchange it! Nice guys...
    Ed
    I asked at my local Ace, and they said they would exchange, regardless of where the tool was purchased, if it's a tool they carry. But they won't break into a set. Fact is, they don't carry a lot of Craftsman hand tools that aren't in sets - so, probably not so useful.

    Doesn't matter much to me, at least in the short term. There's a Sears store in the same shopping center that still has a good selection of open-stock tools.

  12. #42
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roger Feeley View Post
    Ole, I don’t consider it a grudge......
    Back in the early 50's my Dad bought a washing machine from Sears that never worked, and they wouldn't repair it, and etc etc. So my Dad loaded it on the back of his pick up and backed up to the doors of the Sears store and pushed it off and thru the doors. (good thing he played golf with the Police Chief) From then on Sears was his go to term for anything that was a POS. Where'd ya buy that - Sears? Where did ya hear that - Sears? Who cooked this - Sears? Who cut your lawn - Sears? I remember my sister brought a guy home for the first time in high school. First thing my Dad asked him was You don't work at Sears do ya? Got to be quite the family joke. (wow - just writing this - I miss him)
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  13. #43
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ronald Blue View Post
    Snap On owns Williams not the other way around. Another lesser known but high quality tool is Armstrong. Williams was a common wrench in the machine shop on the engine lathe. It had the square box end for tightening the tool post lock bolt and an open end for loosening and tightening the compound slide angle adjustment.
    Unfortunately, Armstrong Tools ceased production in March 2017. The website was still up for a year or so, but now it tells you to purchase Crescent or Gearwrench as alternatives.

  14. #44
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    When I grew up it was Montgomery Wards stores, we did not have Sears.

  15. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by lowell holmes View Post
    When I grew up it was Montgomery Wards stores, we did not have Sears.
    Lowell, I hope you mean WHERE you grew up! (Sears was founded 127 years ago.)

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