Their older tools and appliances were awesome. I have some older Craftsman tools, mainly 80s/90s, that have always been durable. I do have some more recent Crapsman ratchets and sockets that are currently broken, and back in the day you could walk in with a busted ratchet and walk out with a brand new one - these days, they literally take your busted tool into the back, rebuild it if possible, and bring it back to you... And good luck with that, because it'll break again soon.

That being said, I'd rather have old-school Craftsman than new Crapsman. I used to work for Lowe'* (in a distribution center) and Kobalt tools are pretty high-quality. Friends of mine swear by, and not at, their Kobalt hand tools.

Stanley? EFF THAT. Today I broke two Stanley picks pulling pieces of plastic coolant elbows out of an Intrigue belt tensioner. I have several bent screwdrivers, one of which bent while trying to REMOVE A HUBCAP. Seriously! And the screwdriver tips all strip out, wrenches flex, sockets crack, extensions snap, and wire crimpers never stay aligned, but their ratchets seem to still be good.

I am actually pleasantly surprised with the build quality of most AmPro and AutoCraft tools (Advance Auto). I have a few AmPro wrenches and an AutoCraft socket set that have survived quite a bit of abuse with no problems.

I have some old Craftsman tools, from my grandpa that date back to the 40s and 50s. Those are some of my favorite ratchets. They still work and I have never broken one.

I have a new set of craftsmen tools from the 1970s. If you can even call those new still... I just got them out a couple of years ago, and they are great. The action on them is still sound even after sitting for almost 40 years.

I have a 1/4 drive set I bought two years ago, and I have broken those ratchets pretty easily. The new stuff is terrible. With a free warranty I just take them in and get a free replacement so you can't go wrong.

I didn't know you got replacements, they rebuilt my last 2 ratchets.

Whenever I go into sears, I grab a new ratchet or socket whatever is broken. Go up to the register and they swap out the tools free of charge.

Nice tip! Saves time and trouble.

I can just imagine what would happen if I were to try that. I'd be accused of stealing tools or some other BS.

You dont stand in line up like this... do you Mike.. ???

Well, that might have something to do with it.

new craftsman is crap. i had a 157 pc set i bought in 2008. every ratchet broke. (the half inch ratchet snapped removing an axle nut torqued to 118 ft/lbs. i then got out my kobalt set and did this.



i have yet to break anything kobalt. even they're 12 point sockets are better. ive used a 12 point on an impact and it didnt strip out the bolt i was removing.

my only complaint about kobalt is they're small wrenches. (4mm-8mm sets for example). they work as advertised, but they look like kids toys stamped out of a sheet of metal.

Ha ha reversing car to loosen axle nut, firmly planted with extension into concrete!
Brilliant!

I can see why a warranty is best in your "gentle" applications..Sorry General...