# Replacement For Craftsman Hand Tools?



## Zeigh (Jun 20, 2012)

Craftsman Hand Tool Users,

What brand of hand tools are many of you gravitating to, especially since the Sears Craftsman brand has failed so miserably with their "famous warranty service" and utter customer service pitfalls with their financial woes?

The first hammer I ever picked up as a child with my carpenter uncle was a Craftsman tool. As an adult, my garage looked like a Sears marketing photo, with almost everything displaying the Craftsman name. This is sadly no longer the case. The stellar customer service of Sears or even the Craftsman brand has miserably failed. My last trip to a Sears store to get a warranty replacement for a shovel found absolutely no shovels in the store, not because of backorder issues, but because they no longer stocked this basic item under the sign that clearly read "Lawn and Garden Department". They were equally unwilling to order me a replacement. That is just one of many sad experiences over the last couple of years. Remaining a Craftsman tool customer would require too much Valium.

Therefore, I have been replacing hand (and power) tools as I need with Dewalt. The additional cost translates to a much more solid product so far. Apparently they also have a generous warranty policy, but I would prefer to never use it. I am an honorable man that simply wants the tools that I buy to last a more reasonable amount of time than the ridiculous one year that most warranties expire with. 


Peace,
Dr. Z.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Home Depot now owns Husky. I had a Husky breaker bar that I bought in 1969 or so. It recently broke. Home Depot gave me a new bar, no questions asked.


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## Gregsoldtruck79 (Dec 21, 2017)

I have had no complaints really with the Lowes Kobalt tools. Just have to sort of pick through them to be sure they fit the hand. I even broke over and bought a GASP ! Harbored Frieght 44" tool chest. Good bang for the buck when ever compared to the other 44's out here.


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

Zeigh for the same reasons I started buying Husky or Kobalt, Husky being preferred. All of the Sears stores are closing around us. I know ACE Hardware has Craftsman, but I don't know if you can exchange tools there or not.


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## Zeigh (Jun 20, 2012)

ZTMAN said:


> Zeigh for the same reasons I started buying Husky or Kobalt, Husky being preferred. All of the Sears stores are closing around us. I know ACE Hardware has Craftsman, but I don't know if you can exchange tools there or not.


My local Ace Hardware store has a pretty good stock of Craftsman tools, but has a limited policy on the lifetime warranty. They will only exchange tools with a receipt, REGARDLESS of it clearly having the Craftsman logo on the item. Yup, they expect customers to keep receipts for a "lifetime"...


Peace,
Dr. Z.


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## MTN REMODEL LLC (Sep 11, 2010)

Zeigh said:


> My local Ace Hardware store has a pretty good stock of Craftsman tools, but has a limited policy on the lifetime warranty. They will only exchange tools with a receipt, REGARDLESS of it clearly having the Craftsman logo on the item. Yup, they expect customers to keep receipts for a "lifetime"...
> 
> 
> Peace,
> Dr. Z.


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ZEIGH^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yeah..... That's practically a useless/worthless guarantee for me. 

(Guess I'll have to stop using my craftsman screwdrivers as a chizel.:sad


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## Oso954 (Jun 23, 2012)

Craftsman is no longer a Sears brand. It was sold to Stanley/Black and Decker.

You can try calling 1-888-331-4569 and asking them what they (craftsmen/B&D) will do for you when you run into the Warranty problems like "I bought it at sears but they no longer stock this item".

I wouldn't expect a lot, but it might be worth the call.


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## Zeigh (Jun 20, 2012)

Oso954 said:


> Craftsman is no longer a Sears brand. It was sold to Stanley/Black and Decker.
> 
> You can try calling 1-888-331-4569 and asking them what they (craftsmen/B&D) will do for you when you run into the Warranty problems like "I bought it at sears but they no longer stock this item".
> 
> I wouldn't expect a lot, but it might be worth the call.



This post was actually prompted by such a call to that very phone number. The wait time was in excess of 20 minutes, so I opted for an email concerning a 48-inch level where a bubble chamber had literally fallen out it's mount. 

It took me a volley of four messages with a representative who obviously had a reading and/or an attention span problem to remedy the situation. She initially stated that levels only had a one year warranty, so I sent her the Craftsman link showing that my level was not a laser unit and considered a hand tool. Then she needed an explanation for why the defect was such a serious issue. After that, she only wanted to exchange it with a 9-inch model. I had to essentially do her job for her and prove what model I had verses what the equivalent replacement was with links, photos, and more. We will see if I actually get what was promised.

My local Sears location did not stock this very basic item, nor would they order me a replacement from the store. Ace Hardware wanted a receipt. Ugh, I miss the "old days" when there was some sense of customer service, not to mention an employee who had pride in their job. Craftsman is doing their best become the best advertisement for their competition.


Peace,
Dr. Z.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Craftsman had some good points but they made the worst screwdrivers in the entire world especially Phillips head.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

Guap0_ said:


> Craftsman had some good points but they made the worst screwdrivers in the entire world especially Phillips head.


I disagree. 35 or so yrs ago I replaced all my elcheapo screw drivers with Craftsman. While I've had to exchange one or two of the slot head screwdrivers, all my phillips work just as good as they did when new - although I got a cordless drill shortly there after and they don't see the use my previous screwdrivers did :wink2:


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## CodeMatters (Aug 16, 2017)

My Dad was a Sears Craftsman guy. I have no allegiance. Buy different brands 
wherever they're on sale. Although, I do have a lot of Milwaukee tools.


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## chandler48 (Jun 5, 2017)

I use Empire levels as they seem to be more accurate, have shock proof ends, come with a good warranty, and even an engraved name plate in case you "lose" it on a jobsite.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Mark, it was 47 years ago that I had problems with Craftsman Phillips. Apparently, you were able to buy a better product from them 12 years later but it makes me wonder what screwdrivers you replaced with Craftsman. I can't imagine what was worse.


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## Canarywood1 (May 5, 2012)

Harbor freight maybe.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Did Harbor Freight exist 35 years ago?


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## ZTMAN (Feb 19, 2015)

Harbor Freight started in 1977, was curious so I had to look it up.


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## Scottg (Nov 5, 2012)

Back in the day Craftsman was my no brainer go to. The Sears tool area was like magic to me as a little kid and as a young adult, most of my stuff came from there. But their quality obviously went to pure crap as did their warranties; which makes sense because your lifetime guarantee gets expensive when you make garbage.

For power tools, I now own mostly DeWalt and some Bosch. I find these to be at about the same level. DeWalt, (owned by Black & Decker I believe), is also one of the few manufacturers that produces a lot in the USA still. Not everything, but you see a lot of their stuff is either made or at least put together in U.S. Love my Bosch table saw. One thing I went a bit cheap on was my Ryobi miter saw. And I kind of regret it. It's "ok" but... just ok.

For screwdrivers, I've been partial to Whia. They're expensive. But quality. If the U.S. thing matters, I think Ceannelock is a a U.S. mfg and I do get some stuff from them.

For levels, I've got three. A Stabila 3' a Johnson 5' or so and an Empire torpedo level.

Various woodworking gear comes from Kreg or Jessem, clamps from Bessey/DeWalt. (I found the Irwin ones are getting rusty faster than the others. Still several years, but... worse than the others.)

My socket set? Craftsman. It was my Dad's. It's probably 50 years old. And it's fine. Maybe that's why they went down hill. They couldn't make money selling stuff that never went bad.


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## mark sr (Jun 13, 2017)

I started buying from HF about 37 yrs ago, back then they were called Harbor Freight and Salvage. Still have quite a few tools that I bought from them back then although I never bought any screwdrivers.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

Not counting a set of HF sockets that I recently bought to supplement the ones in my truck, my sockets are split between S-K and Craftsman, all but some special application wrenches are Craftsman, and I have a lot of other Craftsman hand tools, the bulk of them purchased around 40-45 years ago. As far as I can recall, I am completely satisfied, and never regretted any of those purchases, with the exception of the one and only set of screwdrivers that I bought there. I think that I still have all of them, so they're not like a set I bought from HF around 30 years ago, which I clearly remember the day I had enough and tossed that set in the scrap metal pile. Those Craftsman ones are in the drawers with my other screwdrivers, but I almost never pull one of them out because there was something in the composition of the steel that they did not perform like they should have.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

HF started in California in 1977 but didn't make it to parts of the east coast until much later.


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## Glassit (Jan 30, 2016)

I find Craftman is still higher quality than most of their competition, even if they've outsourced most production overseas. We started with I think 4 or 5 Husky ratcheting 5/16" wrenches for our last mid sized job, several were slipping immediately, all were toast by the end of it. The craftsman set I kept in my box for that job but have used on dozens of others still works perfectly. Have had Neiko and other Chinese "impact" sockets crack and fly apart on the big wrench but never lost any from Craftsman. I still shop at Sears occasionally.

If high quality, made in the USA mechanics hand tools are what you're after you can look into Armstrong, SK, and Wright. You will pay for them if you buy new but they'll be there for your kids, unlike most stuff Harbor Freight. I just the other day picked up 3 (6 sizes) Armstrong tappet wrenches off Ebay for less than a set of imported stamped steel tappets cost on Amazon. Some imports like the chrome-moly Chicago Pneumatic impact set have been impressive. Sheet metal hand tools I like Midwest and Malco, also USA made.


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

I was going to mention SK but for some reason, I thought that they had gone out of business. I still have a few 1/4" drive sockets from 48 years ago. There was also a truck with Mac tools. They were a somewhat less expensive than Snap On. However, both Mac & SK were geared toward automotive. I don't know if they have tools for carpentry & plumbing.


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## Mike Milam (Mar 3, 2017)

I have a SK 1/2 inch drive ratchet (16 inch long) I use regularly that I bought probably 40 years ago if not longer. MAC tools salesman carried them on his truck at the time.


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## Zeigh (Jun 20, 2012)

Zeigh said:


> Craftsman Hand Tool Users,
> 
> What brand of hand tools are many of you gravitating to, especially since the Sears Craftsman brand has failed so miserably with their "famous warranty service" and utter customer service pitfalls with their financial woes?


I started this post three years ago and am interested in new feedback from users concerning Craftsman tools and/or alternatives. This is because most all Sears stores have finally closed around the country and retailers like Lowes and True Value Hardware have panned out somewhat in how they honor the "new warranty policies".

Overall, I bought some Dewalt hand tools then my Craftsman items needed replacement (and I couldn't find anyone locally to honor the lifetime warranty). Sadly, Dewalt doesn't seem that much better in quality or getting warranty service. Just by chance I noticed someone returning a Craftsman tool any my local Lowes and it looked like a seamless process, well, as long as a Lowes receipt was involved. Maybe I can change my habits to actually save such receipts for years at a time in order to go back to Craftsman. My needs don't warrant buying Snap-On or MAC, but certainly disqualify buying almost anything from Harbor Freight.

So, what tool brand are you using for shop tools (ratchets, wrenches, etc.)?


Peace,
Dr. Z.


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## Glassit (Jan 30, 2016)

In most states you can sign up for email receipts at lowes and home depot, sent automatically at Lowe's or by prompt at hd after you link your credit card. Some states don't allow it for some reason, even though they don't spam. At Lowes you have to sign up for their "club" or whatever, free and not a credit card. If using Yahoo Mail, all receipt words are searchable, at least for hd

Oh and I actually bought another Craftsman wrench just the other day. Anyone ever tried the roto-ratchet type? When you twist the handle it moves the socket. Really handy sometimes, was missing mine doing a timing belt on a transverse-engined hybrid the other week. Used to have a USA made Husky but lost in a fire and they're not made anymore. Craftsman might be done with them too, got mine on ebay. Stanley still makes one as do Proxxon and Truper


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## Fix'n it (Mar 12, 2012)

i have HF pro deep 1/2 impacts. fit & finish is as good and my snap-on, mac, matco. and they are just as good.
i beat the crap out of them with 3/4 impacts, no problems. i also have some Earthquake air tools, they work great for the money. i've had some snap-on air tools that were crap.


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## SW Dweller (Jan 6, 2021)

The OP was a bit vague about what the tools were used for. I have a 4 gear wrench sets.
My sockets are a mixture of old SK and Thorsen. I use wrenches a lot more than socket
Anything I buy for impact sockets is disposable and if I get a year out of them I am happy.

I have a set of wrenches I bough from HF for a transformer job. We need 1 3/16 and 1 1/2 open and box. The craftsmen died with spit boxes and so did all of the other tools. The set I bought had the black oxide finish which the transformer oil took off. Set is rolled up in my box and ready to work ~20 years later.


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## turbo4 (Jan 30, 2021)

Zeigh said:


> Craftsman Hand Tool Users,
> Therefore, I have been replacing hand (and power) tools as I need with Dewalt. The additional cost translates to a much more solid product so far. Apparently they also have a generous warranty policy, but I would prefer to never use it. I am an honorable man that simply wants the tools that I buy to last a more reasonable amount of time than the ridiculous one year that most warranties expire with.


I have done exactly the same. After using Craftsman for many years I now buy Dewalt screwdrivers And socket sets along with any other power tool i need to be up the job. I also never had to use their warranty which is a very good sign.


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