Flashdiaz said:
Sears sold Craftsman to Black and Decker in Jan 2017.
Black and Decker and Lowes closed on a deal in Oct 2017.
I wonder how solid Craftsman tools will remain when they're made by B&D.
Black and Decker is an umbrella company that owns several tool brands, including MAC, Proto, Craftsman, DeWalt and others. They are like any other company in that they have various lines of price and quality.
Craftsman has always been a high end mid tier, lower upper tier tool. What made them great was the fact that they had a lifetime warranty on hand tools and that Sears stores used to be located in every town in American just about, so access was always relatively easy. The Craftsman Professional series of tools (I think that was mainly a Sears line?) is no longer, but they have their Industrial line of tools still out there that are hell for stout. I hope the line they sell at Lowe's and Ace is on par with the Sears quality of tools, they would be silly to not keep that level of quality up.
It all comes down to price though - the overwhelming majority of folks don't want to pay what it costs for good tools. They want cheap quality prices, high quality manufacturing. Doesn't work that way. I don't make my living with tools, so no need for a special salesman with Snap On or MAC for me, Husky, Kobalt and Craftsman are all along the same lines of quality and availability.