The decline of a Great American Tool Brand: What Happened to Craftsman Tools

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A hedge fund bought sears and milked the company until it failed. I’m 70. I have craftsman tools my dad bought me for my birthday in my mid teens. Always loved them.

Craftsman didnt fail, sears did...

I remember the first time I had any difficulty returning a Craftsman tool. The cashier told me the wrench was too old. Lifetime warranty. I told her "I bought that wrench new and I'm not dead yet!" I still have Craftsman tools I bought 50 years ago.

It is ironic that the company that pioneered the home delivery of thousands of products over 100 years ago was shuttering stores while an online bookseller was becoming a zillion dollar company.

Once a company goes public, it’s just a matter of time before the ethos moves from quality to profits.

My Grandfather was a carpenter/handyman. He had a lot of Craftsman tools that were passed down to my Dad. My Dad passed them to me and I will end up passing them on to my son. Years ago things made in the USA were made to last. If at some point we as a country do not return to this mindset, I'm afraid that we will continue to see a decline as a country.

I was a maintenance mechanic for 35 years before I retired 7 years ago. Craftsman was my go to tools for most of that time because of the quality and return policy. It was sad to see the slow decline of an iconic brand.

Many years ago, we did a brake job on a motor home with a Chrysler chassis. I was in a hurry and needed a line wrench. Went to a close auto parts store. Snapped! Went back for money. Instead, they grabbed another one of a few off the wall. Came back the last time, empty peg, handed over the parts. They handed me my money. Headed to Sears and finished the job. They were made different back then. Most mechanics can tell the quality of a wrench by listening to it dropped on a concrete floor. Just like a quality anvil, it will bounce a steel bearing high and have a unique ring. Cheaper ones don't. Yes, quality is long gone.

Just out of high school (1974) I was always working on my 1969 Triumph motorcycle at my friend Dan's house. His father had Snap-on tools he got from his father. While working with a 3/8 ratchet it slipped. The pawls were worn. Since I was always using his tools I said let me take the ratchet and find a Snap -on truck and I will pay for a rebuild kit. After a couple of weeks I saw a Snap-on truck at a tire dealer. I told him the story that I want to pay to fix my friends ratchet and he took it, looked at the serial number, and got a book out. He looked at me and said, my books serial numbers go back to 1947 and this ratchet was before then. He got out a rebuild kit, slapped it on, handed me the ratchet and said. "Guaranteed for life" I will never forget that!

Once the tools were no longer made in America, the quality went out the window.

As a 45-year employee of Sears I know when the demise of Sears started. Late 80s I was the lead appliance repair Technician at the time we were called into a meeting and management said we would no longer use the motto or honor it anymore. The Motto was Satisfaction Guaranteed or Your Money Back. Our repair guarantee was 1 year on any appliance repairs that changed to 30 days like the rest of the appliance industry. I knew then it was the start of the end. FYI back in the day they meant it no excuses when they said 1 year guarantee or your money back.

Dave, I'm 76 years young and I've been a Craftsman fan all my life. When I was a teen, my dad started buying Craftsman tools for me on every special occasion: birthday, Christmas, rewards for grades and perfect attendance, etc. I still have all of the tools he gave me, plus the Craftsman tools I bought for myself in adulthood. I've never had to exercise the original Sears warranty, but I knew I could if I needed to. Thanks for telling me how to pursue a broken tool replacement. As far as most recent purchases (you can never have too many tools) I've found Harbor Freight tools to be perfectly fine. I have every Bauer battery operated tool they sell, and have zero complaints about the tools or their lithium rechargeable batteries. I restore vintage cars, trucks and motorcycles and would love to take a run at a vintage farm tractor of any make or model. That's on my bucket list of "to-do" chores. Thanks for your great video on the decline of Craftsman & Sears. Signed, Yellow Rose of Texas

Okay, I'm 63 years old. As a child I remember my dad having nothing but Craftsman tools. One day my dad was all giddy about something and he recounted how he had broken a Craftsman tool and he was not so sure how this warranty would work. (This time period is probably the early 1970s.) So he comes home from Sears in a really good mood recounting how he showed the salesman the broken tool and he put a replacement in my dad's hand and that was it. Dad couldn't believe it. Fast forward to about 1990, and I'm in my first house, doing a lot of interior rehab. One day I broke a pair of needle-nose pliers. Remembering dad's experience I went to my local Sears store. After showing the sales lady my broken tool she looked at me with distrust. Nah! She looked at me with disdain. However, she did the exchange, but it wasn't as easy as in dad's day. Nevertheless, I got my new tool and paid nothing for it.

I have a garage full of Craftsman hand tools that I bought when I worked at Sears Automotive in the 70’s. I never needed to replace any, just the ones that grew legs. I’m proud of them to this day.

I was just a kid. This would’ve been 86 or 87. My dad was a mechanic and auto body repair man so his tools were his livelihood. One evening we went to our local sears and he picked out a whole brand new tool set. Large box and all sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, everything. It was a special moment and the only time I can remember my dad dropping that kind of money. We closed the place down that night as we waited for the staff to assemble everything. We went home and the next day I helped him unpack and organize all of the new tools. Almost forty years later my dad is 80 and still uses most of those tools he bought that night. A few have been replaced over the years and I remember a few trips to sears with a grocery bag of broken tools that were immediately replaced with no hassle at all. My dad eventually moved on to a bigger box and I now have that large tool box in my garage and will always cherish it and the memory that it holds.

The majority of my tools are (old) Craftsman. I have had most of them since the 1960s and 1970s. I once broke a socket; took it into a sears store; the salesman looked at it reached into a bin; handed me a replacement and said "thanks for buying Craftsman tools". When I croak, they'll go to my sons, whom I've taught to treasure and care for quality tools!

Craftsman’s lifetime guarantee is fabulous. When I was a teenager I broke one of my fathers needle nose pliers due to using it inappropriately. I quickly jumped into my car and drove to my local Sears store with the needle nose pliers and exchanged it for a new one. I was able to place the new pliers back in his toolbox before he got home from work. If I did not I would’ve had hell to pay. I never told my dad this story.

What happened to Crafstman? Sears got bought out by people that only cared about profits,not quality.

I have Craftsman hand tools that my parents bought me, for my 16th birthday. Have added tons of other tools, over the years. I recently moved, so I went throught a box of random sockets and end wrenches that were either cracked, broken or stripped. I had about 20 to 30 "broken" tools. I thought...what the hell, I'll take them in. Went to my local, small town Ace hardware who sells Craftsman. Mind you...some of these tools are 50 plus years old!! They replaced every one of them, without question!! I was surprised. What the store has... is a large display of used and broken Craftsman tools in the store, that have been returned. They call it "The Tools of the Heroes" collection. They are proudly displayed. Many of the tools have the stories of their demise displayed also. It is Sooo Cool!! I'm almost 70 now, and have shared stories with other guys, regarding the use...and mis-use of Craftsman tools. You gotta Love a small town, family run, Real hardware store!! You would never see that at a large, corporate box store.