Sears

[joegrizzy]

fwiw, Lowe's still honors their Kobalt lifetime warranties; at least they did a few months ago when i had a ratchet seize up. they just told me to go get another one. the one i had was from a bundle, so i wasn't able to get the exact one. i told the guy working at customer service as much, and he said "it's okay, just go grab one".

so, let's just say i got myself a bit of an upgrade when it comes to replacing a super basic 3/8'' ratchet. I asked the guy if since Lowe's was really pushing Craftsman stuff if they would still stock and continue to honor the Kobalt stuff and he said yes.

in my experience kobalt is chinesium, but it's been better chinesium than most. and if you can replace and upgrade when they break, there's really no downside. i've got a bunch of their stuff from hand tools like planes and coping saws to power tools like miter saw and table saws. so far they've all worked well and i've had zero issues.

 

[AKguy1985]

Several years ago I had a very old craftsman 1/2" ratchet that something in the mechanism was broken, I took it to Ace hardware and they replaced it no questions asked.

 

[radarmonkey]

fwiw, Lowe's still honors their Kobalt lifetime warranties; at least they did a few months ago when i had a ratchet seize up. they just told me to go get another one. the one i had was from a bundle, so i wasn't able to get the exact one. i told the guy working at customer service as much, and he said "it's okay, just go grab one".

so, let's just say i got myself a bit of an upgrade when it comes to replacing a super basic 3/8'' ratchet. I asked the guy if since Lowe's was really pushing Craftsman stuff if they would still stock and continue to honor the Kobalt stuff and he said yes.

in my experience kobalt is chinesium, but it's been better chinesium than most. and if you can replace and upgrade when they break, there's really no downside. i've got a bunch of their stuff from hand tools like planes and coping saws to power tools like miter saw and table saws. so far they've all worked well and i've had zero issues.

I bought kobalt 80v yard tools and so far I'm pleased with them. The lawnmower, blower, edger and string trimmer. Last year was my first lawn season using them and they function as advertised.

 

[Snattlerake]

Stanley tools bought Craftsman in January 2017 from Sears. That's why you see everybody and their dog selling Craftsman now, except for Sears. It's all marketing now.

FWIW, Stanley owns Black & Decker and the brand name legally speaking nowadays is Stanley Black & Decker.

Guess what all else they own? DeWalt, Irwin tools, Porter Cable, Lenox, Mac Tools, Bostitch, Proto Tools, and a few others I don't recognize the name.

And the news is they are buying MTD, which is the huge ginormous lawn mower and stuff company.

Kinda big, isn't it?

Oh, and by the way, Stanley is building a huge plant in Fort Worth to build, are you ready for this shocking news? American made hand tools!

Funny thing, a company like Stanley buys POS Black and Decker and their reputation hits the skids. Then all the others which were at the time top named tool brands. It used to be a running joke on jobsites if you don't want your tools stolen to paint them orange and black.

 

[joegrizzy]

I bought kobalt 80v yard tools and so far I'm pleased with them. The lawnmower, blower, edger and string trimmer. Last year was my first lawn season using them and they function as advertised.

yeah their electric tools are pretty good imo.

 

[Buzzdraw]

For many years the Sears stores in smaller towns sold only appliances, mowers and the like. No clothing, jewelry or anything similar. Those type stores of years back did sell Craftsman tools if I recall correctly. The big conglomerate that bought the Craftsman name is apparently trying re-establish it as a quality tool line. Sears in its last years had turned Craftsman into poorly made China junk.

That same big conglomerate is killing off the Porter Cable tools, at least for the meantime. I suspect they think they have enough labels on the shelf to try to support and advertise for.

 

[joegrizzy]

it's another "illusion of choice" issue. you get the same products made on the same assembly with a different label and box. and then everyone goes around saying "x brand is better than y brand" when it's the same brand.

 

[Preacherman]

Its a shame. once upon a time you could return a tool for any reason and get a new off the shelf replacement. then quality went out the window and replacements were supposedly rebuilt from a box under the counter. no more craftsman quality. if you can't afford the big truck brands might as well shop harbor freight. then throw it away after two uses.

When I was in high school I tried to return a craftsman impact gun that I rescued from a barn fire. It was fairly melted and the manager said no. As I was walking away the employee working in tools pulled me aside and advised "have your dad return it. They will replace it then."

 

[yukonjack]

it's another "illusion of choice" issue. you get the same products made on the same assembly with a different label and box. and then everyone goes around saying "x brand is better than y brand" when it's the same brand.

Yep. All made in the same factories. Only the colors and labels are different.

 

[trekrok]

fwiw, Lowe's still honors their Kobalt lifetime warranties; at least they did a few months ago when i had a ratchet seize up. they just told me to go get another one. the one i had was from a bundle, so i wasn't able to get the exact one. i told the guy working at customer service as much, and he said "it's okay, just go grab one".

so, let's just say i got myself a bit of an upgrade when it comes to replacing a super basic 3/8'' ratchet. I asked the guy if since Lowe's was really pushing Craftsman stuff if they would still stock and continue to honor the Kobalt stuff and he said yes.

in my experience kobalt is chinesium, but it's been better chinesium than most. and if you can replace and upgrade when they break, there's really no downside. i've got a bunch of their stuff from hand tools like planes and coping saws to power tools like miter saw and table saws. so far they've all worked well and i've had zero issues.

Yep, I've had decent luck with kobalt. I have one of their fine tooth ratchets and it's pretty nice. I prefer it to today's craftsman for sure.