Craftsman is a line of
toolA tool is a device that can be used to produce an item or achieve a task, but that is not consumed in the process. Informally the word is also used to describe a procedure or process with a specific purpose. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such...
s and lawn and garden equipment controlled by
Sears Holdings CorporationSears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...
; the brand is owned by KCD IP, LLC, a
special purpose entityA special purpose entity is a legal entity created to fulfill narrow, specific or temporary objectives...
created by Sears Holdings for
securitizationSecuritization is the financial practice of pooling various types of contractual debt such as residential mortgages, commercial mortgages, auto loans or credit card debt obligations and selling said consolidated debt as bonds, pass-through securities, or Collateralized mortgage obligation , to...
purposes.
The tools are sold in Sears,
KmartKmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
, and
Orchard Supply HardwareOrchard Supply Hardware LLC is a California-based "Do-It-Yourself" home and garden retailer. Headquartered in San Jose, California, OSH is a leading chain of home improvement and garden retail stores with nearly 100 locations throughout the state of California.OSH primarily serves retail DIY and...
stores (all three owned by Sears Holdings), as well as
FastenalFastenal Co is an American company based in Winona, Minnesota. Selling industrial and construction supplies and services including inventory management services, Fastenal refers to itself as an industrial supply company, but Reuters calls it an industrial distributor.-History:Founded in 1967 by...
,
US militaryThe United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
Army and Air Force Exchange ServiceThe Exchange is an agency of the United States Department of Defense. Its dual missions are to provide quality merchandise and services of necessity and convenience to authorized customers at uniform low prices, and to generate reasonable earnings to supplement appropriated funds for the support...
stores, and
Ace HardwareAce Hardware Corporation is a hardware cooperative based in Oak Brook, Illinois, United States. ACE Hardware Corporation, with 4,444 stores, does over $3 billion in retail hardware sales annually down from its peak of $12.5 billion in 2007.-History:...
.
The Craftsman Industrial line is sold by industrial supplier
W. W. GraingerW. W. Grainger, Inc. is a Fortune 500 industrial supply company founded in 1927 in Chicago, Illinois. Grainger's catalog includes such offerings as motors, lighting, material handling, fasteners, plumbing, tools, and safety supplies. Revenue is generally from business to business sales rather than...
.
Additionally, Craftsman Hand Tools are also sold at "The Craftsman Experience," the brand's retail venue in downtown Chicago.
General hand tools have been made by a variety of manufacturers over the years including
New BritainNew Britain Machine Company, was a tool company that was headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut. The company started to sell sockets and drive tools. New Britain was the main supplier for NAPA tools until its closure in the mid 80's. New Britain owned Husky and Blackhawk tools as well as making...
, Moore Drop Forge,
StanleyStanley Black & Decker , formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a manufacturer of tools and hardware and provider of security products and locks headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut...
, Easco Hand Tools, and most recently the
Danaher CorporationThe Danaher Corporation , is a large global company headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. Its products are concentrated in the fields of design, manufacture, and marketing of industrial and consumer products....
(
wrenchA wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning....
es,
ratchetA socket wrench is a wrench with interchangeable heads called sockets that attach to a fitting on the wrench, allowing it to turn different sized bolts and other fasteners. The most common form is a hand tool popularly called a ratchet consisting of a handle with a ratcheting mechanism built in,...
s, and
socketA socket wrench is a wrench with interchangeable heads called sockets that attach to a fitting on the wrench, allowing it to turn different sized bolts and other fasteners. The most common form is a hand tool popularly called a ratchet consisting of a handle with a ratcheting mechanism built in,...
s) and
Western ForgeWestern Forge is an American manufacturing company. The company manufactures hand tools to be sold under other brands, including private-label brands such as Craftsman and Husky. It is a subsidiary of Ideal Industries.- History :...
(
screwdriverA screwdriver is a tool for driving screws and often rotating other machine elements with the mating drive system. The screwdriver is made up of a head or tip, which engages with a screw, a mechanism to apply torque by rotating the tip, and some way to position and support the screwdriver...
s,
pliersPliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, for bending, or physical compression. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other...
, and adjustable wrenches). Many newer tool designs are now imported, mostly from China. Craftsman-branded
garage door openerA garage door opener is a motorized device that opens and closes garage doors. Most are controlled by switches on the garage wall, as well as by remote controls carried in the garage owner's cars, or more rarely, on keychains.- The electric opener :...
s are manufactured by
The Chamberlain GroupThe Chamberlain Group is a manufacturer of garage door openers and associated equipment headquartered in Elmhurst, Illinois. It is a subsidiary of The Duchossois Group, a family business owned by Richard L. Duchossois...
.
Consumers have ranked the Craftsman brand second (surpassed only by
Waterford CrystalWaterford Crystal is a trademark brand of crystal glassware, previously produced in Waterford, Ireland, though the factory there was shut down after the receivership of Waterford Wedgwood plc in early 2009...
) in terms of quality. In 2007, Craftsman was named "America's Most Trusted Brand" and brand with "Highest Expectations". In 2009, the readers of
Popular MechanicsPopular Mechanics is an American magazine first published January 11, 1902 by H. H. Windsor, and has been owned since 1958 by the Hearst Corporation...
named Craftsman their favorite brand of hand tools in their Reader's Choice Awards. Craftsman is the official tool brand of
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
and the
DIY NetworkDIY Network is a channel owned by Scripps Networks Interactive that focuses on do it yourself projects at home.Television stations air local versions with local hosts with segments produced by the network. Branded DIY Network programming is also broadcast in Japan and the Philippines...
.
History
The Craftsman trademark was registered by Sears on May 20, 1927. Arthur Barrows, head of the company's hardware department, liked the name Craftsman and reportedly bought the rights to use it from the Marion-Craftsman Tool Company for $500. The brand's early customers were mostly farmers. Barrows' successor, Tom Dunlap, upgraded the quality of the tools and added
chrome platingChrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...
to them as America moved into the
automobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
age.
Sears' tool line, like many of its other product lines, uses a "good, better, best" pricing structure, with the Craftsman brand as the middle tier and Craftsman Professional as the highest tier. Craftsman Professional is often considered close to but less than brands like S-K, Snap on, Mac, and Matco. Craftsman are comparable in quality to other mid-price brands including UltraPro (NAPA), Westward, and Gray.
The lowest tier was originally branded Sears. The company also used the Dunlap name for its lesser quality tools from the late 1930s until the late 1950s. The Sears tool line was discontinued in the late 1980s and replaced by the Companion tool line. The Companion tool line was itself discontinued and replaced by the Evolv tool line in 2008, with a focus on homeowners and
DIYersDo it yourself is a term used to describe building, modifying, or repairing of something without the aid of experts or professionals...
. Evolv tools also have a lifetime warranty but require that the customer have the original dated receipt to enact it.
Since 1991, Sears has run the Craftsman Club customer loyalty program, one of the oldest such programs by a retailer.
Warranty
Craftsman hand tools have an unlimited lifetime
warrantyIn business and legal transactions, a warranty is an assurance by one party to the other party that specific facts or conditions are true or will happen; the other party is permitted to rely on that assurance and seek some type of remedy if it is not true or followed.In real estate transactions, a...
. This lifetime warranty program was instituted by Sears when they began selling the Craftsman line in 1927. This warranty program requires no
receiptA receipt is a written acknowledgment that a specified article or sum of money has been received as an exchange for goods or services. The receipt is evidence of purchase of the property or service obtained in the exchange.-Printed:...
or dated proof of purchase. If the owner takes the item into a local retail store, it may be replaced or repaired free of charge. In some cases, such as
ratchetsA socket wrench is a wrench with interchangeable heads called sockets that attach to a fitting on the wrench, allowing it to turn different sized bolts and other fasteners. The most common form is a hand tool popularly called a ratchet consisting of a handle with a ratcheting mechanism built in,...
, the customer may be offered a repair kit with which to repair the item.
The full text of the warranty is as follows:
The hand tool lifetime warranty is also in effect on many Craftsman non-powered lawn and garden products including
rakeA rake is a broom for outside; an horticultural implement consisting of a toothed bar fixed transversely to a handle, and used to collect leaves, hay, grass, etc., and, in gardening, for loosening the soil, light weeding and levelling, removing dead grass from...
s,
shovelA shovel is a tool for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Shovels are extremely common tools that are used extensively in agriculture, construction, and gardening....
s, clippers,
broomA broom is a cleaning tool consisting of stiff fibers attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. It is thus a variety of brush with a long handle. It is commonly used in combination with a dustpan....
s,
trowelA trowel is one of several similar hand tools used for digging, smoothing, or otherwise moving around small amounts of viscous or particulate material.-Hand tools:...
s, pruners,
hoseA garden hose is a flexible tube used to carry water. There are a number of common attachments available for the end of the hose, such as sprayers and sprinklers...
s,
sprinklerIrrigation sprinklers are sprinklers used on farms, golf courses, and yards, to provide water to vegetation and plants in the event of drought. They may also be used for recreation, as a cooling system, or to keep down the amount of airborne dust....
s, hose nozzles, and other small gardening hand tools. The lifetime warranty does not include precision hand tools, such as calipers and torque wrenches, with the exception of beam-style torque wrenches.
Power tools have a one-year warranty.
After the merger, Kmart began selling Craftsman products and honoring the hand tool lifetime warranty.
Legal battles
Craftsman tools came under fire in 2004 in a lawsuit accusing Sears of false advertising and consumer fraud for questionable use of the "Made in USA" slogan.
While most Craftsman hand tools are manufactured in the U.S., many power tools and accessories are manufactured overseas, sometimes with the final assembly taking place in the U.S.
External links