I'm done with Craftsman

[LKeithR]

I had to check too when I saw that. I've got quite a bit of Mastercraft stuff and it's been fine for what I need--definitely better than Princess Auto tools.

A little side story: For years back in the 80s we were involved in tractor pulling. The "local" club was actually down in Lynden, Washington just across the border from Langley. In the earlier years the focus was on antiques more than modifieds but, even though we were building a modified, my brother and I went to all the meetings. I remember sitting at one meeting surrounded by all the "good 'ol boy" farmers and hillbilly's when one of the younger members mentioned that he'd been in to a Sears store to replace some tools and that the replacement stuff he had gotten was all Chinese made. I think for a few seconds you could have heard a pin drop.

The first response was shock, followed by an inquisition. "Are you sure?" "Couldn't be!" "There has to be some mistake." "Craftsman would never do that!" It was pretty much the end of the meeting--nobody wanted to talk about anything else. But, sadly, it was true. The guy had some tools in his truck and was immediately sent out to retrieve them and they were passed from man to man till everyone had taken a look. And there it was, that little phrase: "Made In China." I swear some of the old guys had tears in their eyes because, well, the world had come to an end...

[mccutter]

I might have belonged to the "Craftsman Club" at one time decades ago. They'd send you a catalog from which you could order tools and get special "deals". I ordered a metric combination wrench set and was aghast when they arrived and I noticed they said "Made in Japan" on them...

[Scratch]

Sorry, yes I meant Masterforce, not Mastercraft.

[Matt Shade]

I have a few masterforce brand tools and think they are pretty good. I have a dremel type tool and a 6 inch oscillating sander that have been very good so far and were priced a lot lower than the name brand stuff.

The long handle side cuts I bought to keep in my horseshoeing box, I did break the points off of slightly but I was cutting a horseshoe nail with the very tip and the horse jerked away at the same time. They have cut hundreds of nails back farther into the jaws with no mishaps. One of these days I might try to take them in for replacement but they still work ok as they are.

[dubby]

Originally Posted by Lew Hartswick

Knipex tools; here is a set of tools I bought in the fall of 1955 or the spring of 56 (I made two trips) in Germany, I believe it was in Frankfurt just before I came home. They were for the kind of electronic work I was doing in those days. Been using them off and on ever since. I just went out to the garage and took that pix a few minutes ago. What sort of other tools are they making.
I will admit the second from the right hasn't been used very much but it did do a job once that at the time probably couldn't have been done any other way. :-)
...lew...

You've got quite a little prize there Lew. In recent years, Knipex has really grown popular with the tool-snob-fan-boy crowd. They make a little bit of everything now, some of it gets imported and some doesn't.

Guys will make and watch videos like this on youtube all day long, just to fawn over the tools.

There is likely a super-collector out there that would lose his mind over your photo alone.

[LKeithR]

Originally Posted by dubby

...Guys will make and watch videos like this on youtube all day long, just to fawn over the tools...

The problem is that Youtube is monetized and guys have figured out that they can make money from videos. The more they post the more they make so, sometimes--perhaps more all the time--the videos get more and more stupid just to keep money rolling in.

There are several channels that I used to watch a lot that I don't bother with now because the toobers are just pimping themselves to make more money. Abom79 is a good example; his earlier videos were always interesting and often gave you real insights on how to do different things. It seems to me that the majority of his stuff is now about merchandise, sponsored products and "gimmicky" stuff--not a lot of "real" content.

He's done very well for himself--I'm sure a lot of the new equipment in his shop is there courtesy of Youtube--and that's fine but I'm not going to help him pay for it by watching dumb stuff...

[tenkara500]

Originally Posted by Lew Hartswick

Knipex tools; here is a set of tools I bought in the fall of 1955 or the spring of 56 (I made two trips) in Germany, I believe it was in Frankfurt just before I came home. They were for the kind of electronic work I was doing in those days. Been using them off and on ever since. I just went out to the garage and took that pix a few minutes ago. What sort of other tools are they making.
I will admit the second from the right hasn't been used very much but it did do a job once that at the time probably couldn't have been done any other way. :-)
...lew...

nice set of vintage Knipex tools there Lew Hartswick...
a pic of some that I have- also have picked up a pair of the small bolt cutters and a larger pair of the Water Pump pliers...
The one on the bottom is FRN (Fiberglass reinforced Nylon) and is entirely non- conductive. They are more robust than one might think...

[Matt Shade]

Originally Posted by LKeithR

The problem is that Youtube is monetized and guys have figured out that they can make money from videos. The more they post the more they make so, sometimes--perhaps more all the time--the videos get more and more stupid just to keep money rolling in.

There are several channels that I used to watch a lot that I don't bother with now because the toobers are just pimping themselves to make more money. Abom79 is a good example; his earlier videos were always interesting and often gave you real insights on how to do different things. It seems to me that the majority of his stuff is now about merchandise, sponsored products and "gimmicky" stuff--not a lot of "real" content.

He's done very well for himself--I'm sure a lot of the new equipment in his shop is there courtesy of Youtube--and that's fine but I'm not going to help him pay for it by watching dumb stuff...

Several channels that I used to watch a lot when they were posting jobs they worked on, i quit checking in when they became full time youtubers and it just seemed to become videos about what they spent their youtube money on. Seems to be the nature of the beast.

[Scratch]

So I did find an Ace hardware store about 20 minutes from my house that carries Craftsman tools. I called them and they said they replace them easy peazy.

I went there today and they had a huge selection of individual tools. I brought mine in and they replaced them all super easy, no questions asked. Just like Sears used to.

I guess I’m not completely done with Craftsman yet. I may get a set of flex head ratcheting wrenches…

[mccutter]

My cousin sent me a pic of a local ACE that had these Cman std socket sets on sale for $6. Up to 1". He bought me a set so now I have quadruples of these sizes... Apparently they didn't have metric.

His pics shown--I've yet to handle them. They do have the sizes engraved on them which is a nice touch... I may swap them out with some Huskys I put into rotation. I bought a 200pc Husky socket only set for $80 a few BFs ago. It was a smattering of std and metric 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" shallow and deep sockets mostly 12pt. A lot of those filled in empty holes in other sets and I gave away a couple metric sets to my dot's long-time BF. He has been working as an apprentice at a Hyundai dealership.