Sears long ago stopped making tools. They finally got out of the holding business with the products and sold them to Stanley Black & Decker. While under Sears, they would lease the brand-name to pretty much the highest bidder, if that bidder was also a company that made Harbor Freight Sears could care less as long as the check did not bounce. It like many companies made them money and were just a clerks job once a year to send out the invoice.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craftsman_(tools) Beginning in 2010, hand tools manufactured for Craftsman by Apex Tool Group such as ratchets, sockets, and wrenches began being produced overseas (mainly in China although some are produced in Taiwan), BTW Stanley B&D is also another 'holding' company. Some stuff made here, some in China. - Craftsman <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craftsman_(tools)> – private-label hand tools for Sears <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears>, up until the mid-1980s. Reacquired by Stanley in 2017 All these companies spend millions on federal lobbying and are very very non aligned to any political party, they "contribute" to the highest bidder to keep the country of origin off the label. For me new tools pretty much come for European companies, from estate sales, or the few US companies that still care about their reputation which usually means not yet acquired by the above and I keep my eye on eBay for driver bits in bulk that are from when their respective company gave a crap. Getting harder and harder to find. On Sun, Jul 2, 2017 at 2:15 PM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk < [email protected]> wrote: > On 07/02/2017 01:33 PM, Fred Cisin via cctalk wrote: > > > But Sears got SO bad for a while that in my Honda book I said, "better > > to have a few good tools . . . than a lifetime supply of scrap metal > > tools, ready and waiting to hurt you." (p 236) > > I recently had the retainer ball (that holds sockets) on my 3/8" > Craftsman ratchet fail (wouldn't hold onto sockets) and I took it to > Sears for a replacement. > > I wasn't offered a replacement, but rather a "refurbished" ratchet. I > declined that and accepted a free refurb kit, which I installed myself. > It's not quite as good as the original part, but it works. > > What with Sears teetering on insolvency, any of the "free replacement" > guarantees will likely be history. > > Curiously, a lot of Menard's Master Force tools are made in the USA, by > Allen, so, if you're careful, you can get some pretty decent stuff from > a big-box store. > > I think a lot of USA-made Craftsman hand tools are made by Armstrong, > which can often be purchased for less than the same Craftsman product. > At least the two lines *look* the same. > > I like SK and Proto and many swear by Mac. > > I have a few tools from Sears that are celebrating their 50th birthday, > as well as a few with the Power-Kraft brand from the long-defunct Monkey > Wards. > > Some brands have suffered badly under the shadow of acquisition. Klein > used to be the best source for small pliers and cutters, but my > experience with them lately has not demonstrated that. > > --Chuck > > > > >
