Posted on 01/05/2017 8:00:47 AM PST by Leaning Right
Sears Holdings will sell its Craftsman tool brand to Stanley Black & Decker for about $900 million, the companies announced Thursday.
The deal will provide another cash infusion for Sears, but it comes at a cost — broadening distribution of the well-known brand gives consumers one less reason to choose to shop at the struggling Hoffman Estates-based retailer.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
The hand tools might actually be made in the US then. Either way I’m still irritated with them, I’ve snapped two socket wrenches on the newer model set. I got fed up and got a Husky which immediately felt a lot beefier.
I’ll have to admit I’ve bought a few HF hand tools and for the little I’ve used them, they held up.
They are mostly the black finish wrenches and a 1/2 socket set.
Since 1960 B&D has owned DeWalt. Almost all of my tools are DeWalt. They are not the very best in any category, but they are more than "good enough".
Out here on the West Coast if you go to any job site DeWalt is the most common tool brand. While I don't personally do a lot of construction work any more, I hire people to do it for me.
Almost every time some doofus shows up and then can't get to work, because his battery isn't charged, or he left his whatsit home. Of course he still wants to be paid for his time. I can just hand him my battery, tool, or whatever he left and tell him to get started. It works every time, and he can't complain about tool quality because all of his buddies use the same one.
Thanks for the information regarding Husky.
I stopped buying Craftsman after it became another piece of “Made in China” junk.
I like the fact you can buy a set of sockets and they always have both metric and SAE included, and you can’t beat the prices.
About the same thing can be said of *Stanley Tools*; back in the day, when they were made in New Britain, CT, B4 they moved their production to China.
New Britain, CT used to be called the *Hardware Capital of the World*. Meh.
When I find Stanley Tools at estate sales, I pick them up for cheap. Curiosities now.
I have a 12 v cordless drill model CXS from Festool. You can remove the chuck with one hand and put on the angle chuck attachment 360 deg.
Very handy.
I could never justify $250 for a drill though. A buddy who used to work for them gave it to me.
Most Snap On tools are made in the USA and clearly labeled so.
Wow! At least they could have gone with Snap-On or something...
PORTER CABLE!! Plant located in Jackson, TN!
Sears sold the tower in ‘94
Now Festool makes some seriously fine tools. Expensive? Yep. Then again between the quality and the design features, well worth the money for those who depend on their tools for their livelihood.
Then again, they are made in Germany.
So they have to be good. Vince told me.
It’s actually a great drill.
Stanley was making stuff in foreign countries long before anyone heard of China.
Also, a lot of their stuff was not made in New Britain, but in other US cities after acquiring different companies and their product line. Stanley excelled at buying their way into different markets this way.
Prior to WWII, they had major manufacturing operations in Roxton Pond, Quebec and Sheffield, England. After the war, they were in Mexico, Australia, and elsewhere.
The company was at the top of their game for over 100 years until around 1970 when they started making junk and garage door openers. The death spiral away from their former quality has continued uninterrupted since then.
The sale to K Mart was a strategic move by the Sears Board of Directors. By selling themselves to K Mart Sears was able to cabcel their Defined Pension for their employees, thus shedding all that liability they had accrued. Since almost no corporation ever had their Defined Pension programs fully funded they were all liable for the shortfall.
Selling to K Mart allowed them the opportunity to dump that liability.
It's already there.
The last thing I bought from them was a nice little spare set of ratchet/sockets for a great sale price.
The chrome wasn't its usual beautiful look. It had an obvious ugly brown tinge. Stuff rusted like crazy. I've got Craftsman sockets from 40 years ago that look like new.
I agree with the Husky/Kobalt tools. A lot of them are better than the latest Craftsman tools and certainly at a lower price.
Well, there goes my only reason for still going there.
If you want to do some research on tool brands take a look at Garage Journal website and forum. Lots of good info there.
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