I’ve had some of my M.I.T. Over 30 years now.

Agree. I started buying Craftsman in 1970 when working at Sears going to college. Virtually all my sockets and wrenches and bulk of my screwdrivers are the Craftsman 70-80s Craftsman. I do have some newer Tekton stuff like ratchets, screwdrivers and a couple of pliers... which are very nice. And I am glad Tekton has been making more USA items as time passes. While The jury is out on how they will match up for the long haul but so far, so good. Tekton gets a first look whenever I buy anything now....except pliers. I have become a Knipex snob. 😉

They are good tools, I've had a handful of them for a few years with no issues. That said it's hard to compare anything with the older tool's, but Tektons are solid and atleast for the last couple years have been very fair priced

Yes they are.

You mean if they pit/rust when you look at them sideways? Or do you mean when the screwdriver handles turn yellow? Or do you mean when the shitty pot metal Made in America box wrenches would snap off in your hand? Craftsman tools were CHEAP tools even back in the day. I still own mine(what's left anyway). The return policy of walking into Sears and walking out with a new tool was great...problem was you were always walking into Sears to get a new tool. Everyone acts like Craftsman tools were some top of the line professional grade tools...they flat out were NOT. They were cheap tools sold at department stores that had a good replacement warranty.

@@MoragTong_ You sound like someone who abuses tools and/or doesn't bother to take proper care of tools. No one ever said Craftsman were the best you could buy, but history has proven they were clearly a very good quality tool with an unmatched warranty at an affordable price for the average guy. I worked in a Sears hardware department in metropolitan Pittsburgh while in college. Most of the warranty returns were actually screw drivers that had been subjected to obvious abuse (used as pry bars mostly). I had the pleasure of packing the warranty returns so I saw them all at the store I worked. When I think of the volumes of tools we sold, the amount of warranty returns was negligible. It was usually 2 months before we had accumulated enough to even bother putting a package together. After screw drivers, a cracked socket was the most common item. Wrenches of any type were few and far between and then there was the occasional ratchet and even rarer, sometimes a plier of some kind would show up. Based on the markings on most of the ratchets and wrenches, they were likely abused to gain additional leverage. But we always exchanged them no questions asked. None of the tools were rusty. My own Craftsman tools, many approaching 50 years old now, show now signs of rust and I have never warrantied any of those hand tools. Oddly, the only Craftsman item I ever had to warranty was a hand pruner. The lock broke.

Old Craftsman was so good. We really lost out.

There's a couple brands that are pursuing that niche. TEQ and Gear Wrench both have a nice selection of speciality tools for a decent price. I think they're both made by Apex though.

No it didn't. Craftsman tools were shitty back then too. That's why they were sold at Sears. They had a good warranty, walk in and grab a new one...but that's it. But they were cheap tools even when they were "Made in America".

@@MoragTong_ about 10 years ago when I began my electrical apprenticeship I started with made in USA craftsman pliers… linesman, needle nose, side cutter etc… The journeyman I worked with told me to use his knipex pliers and I noticed how inferior my craftsman was. I then also bought husky pliers and even those were better than the craftsman they replaced… now Im all in on my knipex… they are well worth the money!

@@MoragTong_ Craftsman was all over the place quality wise. The 1990's really saw cheapened and cost cutting at the expensive of quality.

Yeah, CAL Ranch is where I first saw them.

Rural King in Kentucky and online carries techton: www.ruralking.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=Tekton

Rural king in Illinois has a very small selection. But they got it

Rural king in Pennsylvania has maybe two dozen tekton tools. Not much of a offering but it's there.

The RK stores in Ohio seem to have only 5 or 6 feet of aisle for Tekton and most of it is screwdrivers and hex keys.

@@stlyns not much

Where in the northeast? I live in Connecticut and I haven't seen tekton tools anywhere.

Well that was a downgrade.

@@timweb1510 😘😉

I don't have any Stanley Black and Decker (yeah, that is the current name of the company) sockets or ratchets but I do have a Stanley 22 inch tool box that I bought 6-7 years ago. It holds over 100 pounds of tools and the handle and latches held up well. The lock tab for a padlock snapped off but otherwise the box is actually pretty decent for the $20 I paid for it at a Wal-Mart. I also have a $15 or so 19 inch Stanley toolbox from the same era that has held up fine with 50-60 pounds of tools in it. I also like the current era Wal-Mart 19 and 22 inch tool boxes, I have one of each and they seem better built than the Stanleys. The Wal-Mart 19 inch tool box from 7-8 years ago looks exactly like the 19 inch Stanley I have with different coloring and has also held up fine. In my experience I think all but the cheapest toolboxes of a given size should hold up OK.

Also, you’re saving tax too. Unless you’re in Michigan or a no sales tax state. That is 8 percent here on my order, adds up!

No way amazon charges 40%

🥳

Meijer sells Stanley now.

I moved from Indiana like 27 years ago...I haven't heard (seen) the name Meijers in forever

@@zacharyoliver5332 Kentucky has Meijers all over the larger cities but none in the smaller ones.

That's the place to go for pew pews, even with everyone panic buying they still have stuff reasonably priced.

NDA's are a powerful thing.

I have three Orschelns stores close by in NE Kansas. The only Tekton tools I've seen at either one is an air hose reel. I haven't heard if TSC is going to keep the Orschelns name going or not. Two of the three have a TSC store just down the road from them.

....and thanks for the locator

Nothing wrong with Pittsburgh. Did you use the $5 off coupon?

@@lordrayden3045 on the third one. I happened to get the first two with 20% off (maybe it was 30%, it's been a while). I hit my limit and did a separate transaction on the third with a $5 coupon)

@@futon02 I always have the $5 coupon in the car It doesn’t have an expiration date

I live in the WV Northern Panhandle. Which locations(cities) have you seen them ?

The Do It Best Hardware in my area has a whole aisle full of Tekton tools. They are also on the chain's website. They must sell relatively well for the owner to carry them so long and in such abundant supply.

This is a great question. It seems Lowe's will be pushing a 3 way race on the, for lack of a better term, "prosumer" products with Kobalt, Craftsman, and seemingly now Tekton. Seems like three brands all meant to fill the same niche in one place.