Craftsman Tools: From American Icon to Made in China Junk
Craftsman was once in every American garage. A name worth trusting. Built on a simple promise, buy the tool once, keep it for life. No receipt. No questions. Just bring it back. Then the suits arrived. This video breaks down the full story of Craftsman tools: how a $500 trademark purchase in 1927 became one of America's most iconic tool brands, how Sears quietly outsourced production to China through the 1990s and 2000s, how hedge fund operator Eddie Lampert systematically stripped Sears Holdings of billions in assets before its 2018 bankruptcy, and how Stanley Black & Decker now controls Craftsman alongside DeWalt, Black+Decker, Irwin, Lenox, Porter-Cable, and a dozen other brands you think are competing against each other. We cover the chrome-vanadium steel engineering advantage that built the brand, the lifetime warranty that no store fully honors anymore, the DOJ complaint against Stanley Black & Decker, and the 7,000 jobs cut since 2023. Craftsman tools. Private equity. Corporate consolidation. The real cost of cheap tools made overseas. Sources & Further Reading 1. Wikipedia — Craftsman (tools) 2. Chicagology — Full Craftsman Brand Timeline 3. ToolGuyd — Craftsman USA Hand Tool Legacy Destroyed 4. ToolGuyd — Craftsman V-Series Discontinued 2025 5. The American Prospect — How Sears Was Gutted By Its Own CEO 6. Retail Dive — Sears $175M Settlement With Eddie Lampert 7. U.S. DOJ — Complaint Against Stanley Black & Decker (CPSC Reporting Delay) 8. CoStar News — Stanley Black & Decker US Plant Closings 2024 9. Alliance for American Manufacturing — SBD's Plan to Bring Craftsman Back to US 10. SlashGear — Is Craftsman's Warranty As Good As It Used To Be?
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