# Stanley buys Craftsman brand



## begreen (Jan 5, 2017)

FYI
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-divestiture-stanley-black-idUSKBN14P1FI


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## festerw (Jan 5, 2017)

Considering the quality of Crafstman tools lately that's not a terrible thing.  Stanley owns a few decent quality tool brands.


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## sportbikerider78 (Jan 5, 2017)

Stanley is the Walmart brand of tools.  Almost everything is built in China.

That might be true for Craftsman as well, but I know I have a 20 yr old socket set, pliers, screwdriver set...ect.. that have lifetime warranty and still work great.


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## stee6043 (Jan 5, 2017)

sportbikerider78 said:


> Stanley is the Walmart brand of tools.  Almost everything is built in China.
> 
> That might be true for Craftsman as well, but I know I have a 20 yr old socket set, pliers, screwdriver set...ect.. that have lifetime warranty and still work great.



You're suggesting Porter Cable, Dewalt, Bostitch and MAC Tools are "Wal-Mart Brand"??   Yikes...I had no idea I could have been buying MasterForce all these years and get the same quality!


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## sportbikerider78 (Jan 5, 2017)

Have you been to Walmart?  All the cheap stuff is Stanley.


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## begreen (Jan 5, 2017)

Stanley/Black and Decker has grown into a mega company that has many brands under its roof. It sells all levels from the occasional use homeowner tool to top professional tools like MAC, Bostich, Porter Cable and Proto. And that is just their tools division.They are also into commercial security, hospital and healthcare services, fasteners, and even infrastructure and pipeline services.


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## peakbagger (Jan 5, 2017)

I have rarely if ever gone wrong buying Craftsman hand tools and if the tools did fail if was from abuse by me and up until this sale I couldn't beat the ease of them honoring the guarantee. Sure there are hyped brands that cost a lot more for marginal increase in quality (usually better deeper plating) but I expect that folks are buying these brands for the image more than real strength. Yes I know a few folks who have paid the Snap On guys mortgage a few times over by buying full sets on credit but I really haven't seen a functional difference.

I have had less luck with Craftsmen power tools that have been only average in durability. They work and you can usually order parts for a long time which is plus but I long ago when with other brands.

Craftsman has dabbled over the years on occasion with offshored tools. I have 30 year old set of Craftsman combination wrenches that are made in Taiwan. They definitely looked slightly different but have never failed me.


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## stee6043 (Jan 5, 2017)

sportbikerider78 said:


> Have you been to Walmart?  All the cheap stuff is Stanley.



As already stated Stanley BD is much, much bigger than just the Stanley brand tools.  I wasn't sure if you were including their other brands in your comment.  And no....I tend not to shop for tools at Wal-Mart.  Nor Harbor Freight for that matter.


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## greg13 (Jan 5, 2017)

Well, that should be about the final nail in the Sears coffin.


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## Lloyd the redneck (Jan 5, 2017)

It's a sad day that craftsman has become something else. I haven't bought a craftsman tool in 10 years, the ones I have are still prestine ! But I caught the Snapon flu in tech school, I have tried every brand under the sun and nobody's tools hold up like Snapon. In the professional world. I have a Stanley hammer that sucks and my bostitch nailers are sub par but work.


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## lazeedan (Jan 7, 2017)

Craftsman ratchets don't impress me.


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## moey (Jan 7, 2017)

The tools cant get worse. Last time I went in for a replacement when a older ratchet broke. The replacement lasted about a year which probably was 2-3 uses on the car.


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## xman23 (Jan 10, 2017)

lazeedan said:


> Craftsman ratchets don't impress me.



Yea the ratchets were bad years ago. They would give you a rebuild kit. But for me, Craftsmen tools were great. Hopeful Stanley doesn't ruin them.


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## greg13 (Jan 11, 2017)

Yea the ratchets were bad years ago. They would give you a rebuild kit. But for me, Craftsmen tools were great. Hopeful Stanley doesn't ruin them.

It may depend on which Stanley line they use. Stanley has multiple lines of varying quality, From the "elcheapo" Walmart to Mac tools pro lines.


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## mwhitnee (Jan 19, 2017)

sportbikerider78 said:


> Have you been to Walmart?  All the cheap stuff is Stanley.



I never buy anything Stanley or Black and Decker anymore, junk. 

All of my Craftsman tools have treated me well, and I have a lot of them.  Husky is a decent brand too.


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## Jazzberry (Jan 19, 2017)

I bought some Stanley tools last year and was impressed. Craftsman has been getting cheaper for awhile now. I used to love Craftsman but lately they seem to be no better than the china crap at the box stores.


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## mwhitnee (Jan 20, 2017)

Jazzberry said:


> I bought some Stanley tools last year and was impressed. Craftsman has been getting cheaper for awhile now. I used to love Craftsman but lately they seem to be no better than the china crap at the box stores.



I'm not saying that Craftsman is an amazing line of tools, but comparing it to China junk like the stuff you see at Harbor Freight or Wal Mart is a gross exaggeration.


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## Lcback (Jan 20, 2017)

I think selling it was the dumbest thing they could have done. The only reason my family or my fathers has been to a sears in years was to buy tools. What else do they make money from? Clothes? Might as well by Walmart. They are all made in some sweat shop regardless. The only think sears has now I guess is sports equipment and appliances?  That's a damn tough market place with lowes / Home Depot and dicks sporting goods. 


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## Jazzberry (Jan 20, 2017)

Wasn't comparing it to H/F china crap and Walmart sells Stanley. Was meaning Lowes Kobalt and Home Depot Husky. Thinking about it I stand corrected. I guess I was comparing it to China crap. Same quality now for Craftsman new china crap made tools. But much better than the disposable China crap from H/F.


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## Lloyd the redneck (Jan 20, 2017)

SNAPON!


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## Whitepine2 (Jan 22, 2017)

Cant beat Snapon for best tools but sometimes cheep tools to abuse


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## Lloyd the redneck (Jan 22, 2017)

True. Gotta have the craftsman to modify.


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## mcdougy (Jan 22, 2017)

I bought a craftsman riding lawn mower last year. I could be wrong, but I do believe craft an law mowers are the #1 homeowner mower in North America. My particular mower is a rebranded and upgraded husqvarna, that while on sale was cheaper than I could buy from Husqvarna. As stated about tools, the warranty was actually better from Sears than buying from the dealer. I read the article as it is Stanley picking up a hurting companies best seller. Lawn mowers.


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## dogwood (Jan 23, 2017)

Are there any brands of you folks think are competitive in quality with SnapOn but not so pricey? I've mostly Proto Professional wrenches which have fared pretty well, other than their ratchets. I'm most recently looking to buy a set of taps and dies, some larger 3/4 inch drive sockets, as well as a set of metric sockets. I'm appalled at the decline in quality of so many formerly highly respected brand names such as Stanley's woodworking tool line and Delta products among others. I'm lately finding Dewalt power tools to be suspect too. SnapOn is one of the few names that you still trust. Maybe the revived Porter-Cable name and Milwaukee are still worth something too.

I honestly wouldn't purchase a Craftsmen product. I've inherited a number of tools from both my Grandfaher and father, some dating back to the early 1900's. The Craftsmen brand ones are usually the one's that didn't stand the test of time. You shouldn't need free replacements, if their tools didn't break in the first place.


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## Lloyd the redneck (Jan 23, 2017)

I don't think anything can compete. The price is stupid. Plain and simple. But I pay it and my dealer makes sure to lube up before bending me over. Haha. Cordless tools I have all Milwaukee fuel. Dewalt had a bout of garbage and I apparently bought all of it so I switched to red. Matco tools suck. Plain and simple. I wear them out 3-1 Snapon. I have a few Mac and they are ok. And corn hole tools. Just China


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## dogwood (Jan 24, 2017)

I hear you Lloyd. In the hand power tool category I've fairly recently had to toss a Dewalt drywall screw driver, a Makita drill, and an inexpensive Milwaukee right angle drill, I replaced with the traditional Milwaukee right angle drill. I think Bosch still might be making good power tools. The Snap-ons I keep an eye out for on Ebay and Craiglist. I've heard good things about the Festool line of power tools but they seem to be as pricey as the Snap-on line of mechanics hand tools.


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## Lcback (Jan 24, 2017)

What do you guys do to wear out tools so much?
My father has a car repair shop. He has mostly snap on tools. But only since he quit the dealership and brought his big toolbox home. Before that he had a tool box full of harbor freight for his home shop. Has be broke them? Sure. Here and there. But certainly not enough to justify the penny snap on and Matco want for it. And for the record I have seen him break snap on wrarchets too. 
My grandfather had a farm tractor  repair shop. He bought all used proto tools from a closing mine. Haven't seen one worn out yet and when he passed they wee handed down to me.  


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## dogwood (Jan 25, 2017)

LcBack, I've had good luck with all my Proto wrenches just like your Grandfather. Couldn't tell you why the torque adjustment on the Dewalt drywall screwdriver went bad. The drills I tossed were consumer items and not up to the rigors of building and remodeling. I've got some much older power tools bought second hand, built of steel not plastic, that I'll pass down to the next generation. I'm sad to see the decline in quality of brand names that used to mean something and stood for quality like Stanley once did. I refuse to buy poor quality merchandise anymore, even though that's a lot of what you find at the big box and chain hardware stores .

Along the same lines, The body of my expensive John Deere riding mower (not one of the Lowes' John Deere models either) is made of plastic. It broke after the first year. The "made in China" carburetor on my Stihl weed eater has had to be replaced twice. Dealer said that's par for the course. A name like Stihl or John Deere used to mean something too.

I'm sick of all the junk that comes out of China, or God knows where else, from doorknobs to pipe fittings, that are constantly in need of repair. For example last evening I had to replace the handle on our toilet again for the second time. That's ridiculous. Went to Lowes and Home Depot and couldn't find one not made with plastic parts or the cheapest metal.  The wheels and brackets on the racks of our KitchenAid  dishwasher have all broken off. I fixed one again today. The replacement soap dispenser in that same dishwasher lasted only a couple months, The hanging bracket holding up the drawers in our expensive GE Cafe model refrigerator's freezer broke off. Turns out it was made of plastic.  A Chinese made Bluetooth transmitter from Best Buy I replaced yesterday after only three months use. A salesman from there and another at True-value said everything in their stores is from China. I even had to rewire my Tarm Solo Innova wood boiler when brand new.  I purchased it thinking it was manufactured in Denmark, only to find out later manufacturing had been transferred to Turkey by a conglomerate that bought Tarm out.

So, I'd like to learn who is still making quality tools. And which company and brand names you can trust nowadays. The fact Craftsman is being bought up by Stanley is part of the mess of conglomerate ownership and meaningless brand names. I try and research stuff I purchase and often come across inferior products being made by a single factory somewhere in Asia and rebranded with former high quality company names. Don't get me wrong, I am happy to purchase quality, reliable products from overseas from companies like Bosch or Toyota (though they might have lost a step of late). Hell, even Breyer's ice cream was bought out, is no longer "all natural", and does taste like crap. Is nothing sacred?

Mike


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## greg13 (Jan 25, 2017)

Proto is now owned by (you guessed it) Stanley. Again I think it will come down to if they maintain the brand names the quality of the brands.


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## festerw (Jan 25, 2017)

greg13 said:


> Proto is now owned by (you guessed it) Stanley. Again I think it will come down to if they maintain the brand names the quality of the brands.



Proto has been owned by Stanley since 1984, so I'm guessing the quality is probably safe.


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## Brian26 (Feb 4, 2017)

Found this 1955 Craftsman catalog in my basement. They used to make really good tools...


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## Easy Livin’ 3000 (Feb 4, 2017)

begreen said:


> FYI
> http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sears-divestiture-stanley-black-idUSKBN14P1FI


Some businesses get started because of the passion of the founder. Once they are gone, whoever ends up with the business is in it for the buck.  The formula that seems to be most widely applied by private equity is to run on the momentum of the original quality of the brand, cut costs as much as possible (inevitably lowering the quality), and then sell the business to someone else when the numbers look good.  The buyer pays based upon the increased profitability that resulted from the cost cutting, and eventually the consumers catch on that the quality has declined and go elsewhere.  Destroys the brand, and the only real winner are the private equity guys who build fortunes on such tactics.

 Today's world is full of these people, most have MBAs.  Eddie Kampert is one such guy who bought Sears and Kmart for the value of the real estate, and he is slowly stripping out every last bit of value from the companies, Craftsman is just the latest.  Soon the real estate will be all that's left, and that'll get sold off, too.


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## Jazzberry (Feb 4, 2017)

Man $93 for a circular saw in 1955 seems outrageous. Seems like $93.00 would buy 15 of 20 of them or like a Volkswagen maybe.


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## dogwood (Feb 4, 2017)

ED 3000, appreciate your insight in how these formerly reputable companies end up going to the dogs the way they do. Its really a crying shame. 

Mike


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## blades (Feb 5, 2017)

In my area he has already been dumping the real estate based on the traffic value of commercial areas. About a year ago I was in the sears store that always was one off the main anchors of the first enclosed mall in the area- other than the gardening tool section the rest of the store has gone to the dogs. Just could not believe how shabby it looked. I will bet the bottom dollar that  location is being shopped as we speak.


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