The stuff that is 'made in the USA' is mostly made elsewhere and brought here, then assembled. That lets them get around the made in USA rules. The sad part is all the good brands, Craftsman, Harley-Davidson and there are many more. The brands were bought out by someone, ran into the ground, then banks bought them. The banks are now runn…
The stuff that is 'made in the USA' is mostly made elsewhere and brought here, then assembled. That lets them get around the made in USA rules. The sad part is all the good brands, Craftsman, Harley-Davidson and there are many more. The brands were bought out by someone, ran into the ground, then banks bought them. The banks are now running them the rest of the way into the ground. Craftsman used to last, now the tools break sometimes on first use. Hubby and I were talking about a new brand we hadnt realized had been hit yet. We call it being Craftsmaned and never buy the brands again if we can.
Interesting comment about Craftsman. In the ‘70s, craftsman meant something as did Sears. My father built his first home from a Sears & Roebuck kit in the very early 1950’s. It was a solid two story starter home. It sat on a full acre lot that he cleared by hand - not power tools. As I grew up and used Craftsman, I noticed their sockets started to crack with normal use. Yes, they replaced them but the hassle of time and trouble made it not worth the investment.
Sears wised up and stopped giving their tool manufacturing to the lowest bidder and they recovered somewhat. Then, it fell off the cliff and never returned. Neither did I return and now Sears is gone.
I was surprised - and disheartened - when Lowes substituted their Kobalt brand with Craftsman. I won’t buy Craftsman ever again. I won’t be fooled twice. I now see a return of the Kobalt brand to Lowes with Craftsman for some tools, but now I can’t trust either now.
A brand is a promise. Break it once, and you are finished.
We had a garage full of Craftsman, so I know what you are talking about. It really sucked. I dont remember the one we talking about a few days ago. When I remember or talk to hubby (he's driving in pouring rain), I'll let you know.
Its not the one from a few days ago but the Revere ware pots, the good ones are gone. I inherited a couple from my Aunt and wanted to fill the couple I am missing in. The reviews were enlightening. Everything from thin, easily scorched to not the same heavy bottomed pot from before. I dont know when they went cheap but I keep a look out in yard sales now for the old ones. I didnt even bother to try any of the new ones.
Bad storms in mid-us. Hope he's OK in the heavy rain, snow, etc. from now through Thursday. My mom had revere wear from the '50s. Yes, it was very good. Flea markets, yard sales, Goodwill and other second hand stores should have some from time to time. Good stuff - copper bottom.
Still have many from the 80’s & 90’s. Well made with rubber covered handles. A few JC Penney analon sauté & fry pans also. New stuff is crap but costs a fortune. Flea markets, thrift shops like Goodwill to hunt for cookware & most of my unmatched dinnerware & coffee mugs come from there. My neighbor used to say, “you buy unmatched dinnerware & coffee mugs from Goodwill? Somebody used those already.” I said have you ever eaten at a restaurant? Many have eaten from those plates. And he was an educated chemist with no common sense.
Same here. Most of the brands I used for work started to be made more cheaply & less reliable. Craftsman, Carhartt, Red Wing boots, OshKosh bibs. Klein tools still were dependable. I gave my daughter a 17 yo Weber grill that still worked and bought a new one in 2016. It was still made well except the hood does not fit as tight as the previous one. Push button still fires up but when I browsed a few models 3-4 years ago they had lower end models made in China. Poor quality. I found out Weber-Stephan’s was bought by private equity I believe. Hopefully this one lasts long enough so my wife can cremate me in it.
I looked at Webers, trying to get one hubby would like that would last. I gave up. The $20 one (probably $40) from walmart lasts a season and does everything he needs. Just crazy that the owners trade on that name and us not paying attention.
Our original would have been 25 years old this year & cost us $450. That was a ton of money but my neighbor said his was 10 years old & still fired up when hitting the starter button, & he didn’t maintain anything he owned. Our replacement which we have now was purchased in 2016. It was $850 originally but Weber had sales on them because they were introducing several new colors & a new style. We opted for the copper/brown color. We got $125 off and a $125 rebate card from Ace Hardware so it set us back $600 in the end. I would still buy the higher end models as they are still well made but the entry model Spirit is meh.
TJ, that is a most accurate comment. I was always a big buy American for automobiles. I’ve owned 71 Chevelle,Volkswagen Scirocco, Jeep Renegade, Mercury Sable wagon, Chevy Astro van, Z-34, GMC Envoy & Lincoln MKX. My wife had a Mustang & it was the last American car she owned. After that it was a Toyota Celica, Nissan Maxima, & Nissan Murano. I estimate she put in $500 total for repairs on all 3, excluding normal maintenance. I on the other hand I could have bought a new car with the money I spent on repairs for the Jeep, Sable, Astro, & Z-34. The Envoy was one of the best & my MKX is doing fine.
The stuff that is 'made in the USA' is mostly made elsewhere and brought here, then assembled. That lets them get around the made in USA rules. The sad part is all the good brands, Craftsman, Harley-Davidson and there are many more. The brands were bought out by someone, ran into the ground, then banks bought them. The banks are now running them the rest of the way into the ground. Craftsman used to last, now the tools break sometimes on first use. Hubby and I were talking about a new brand we hadnt realized had been hit yet. We call it being Craftsmaned and never buy the brands again if we can.
That’s a good term TJ, I preferred to use the term Bidened!
Yeah but the decline of Craftsman happened better than 15 yrs ago, maybe closer to 20, way before Biden was VP or Pres.
Interesting comment about Craftsman. In the ‘70s, craftsman meant something as did Sears. My father built his first home from a Sears & Roebuck kit in the very early 1950’s. It was a solid two story starter home. It sat on a full acre lot that he cleared by hand - not power tools. As I grew up and used Craftsman, I noticed their sockets started to crack with normal use. Yes, they replaced them but the hassle of time and trouble made it not worth the investment.
Sears wised up and stopped giving their tool manufacturing to the lowest bidder and they recovered somewhat. Then, it fell off the cliff and never returned. Neither did I return and now Sears is gone.
I was surprised - and disheartened - when Lowes substituted their Kobalt brand with Craftsman. I won’t buy Craftsman ever again. I won’t be fooled twice. I now see a return of the Kobalt brand to Lowes with Craftsman for some tools, but now I can’t trust either now.
A brand is a promise. Break it once, and you are finished.
We had a garage full of Craftsman, so I know what you are talking about. It really sucked. I dont remember the one we talking about a few days ago. When I remember or talk to hubby (he's driving in pouring rain), I'll let you know.
Its not the one from a few days ago but the Revere ware pots, the good ones are gone. I inherited a couple from my Aunt and wanted to fill the couple I am missing in. The reviews were enlightening. Everything from thin, easily scorched to not the same heavy bottomed pot from before. I dont know when they went cheap but I keep a look out in yard sales now for the old ones. I didnt even bother to try any of the new ones.
Bad storms in mid-us. Hope he's OK in the heavy rain, snow, etc. from now through Thursday. My mom had revere wear from the '50s. Yes, it was very good. Flea markets, yard sales, Goodwill and other second hand stores should have some from time to time. Good stuff - copper bottom.
Please take care.
Still have many from the 80’s & 90’s. Well made with rubber covered handles. A few JC Penney analon sauté & fry pans also. New stuff is crap but costs a fortune. Flea markets, thrift shops like Goodwill to hunt for cookware & most of my unmatched dinnerware & coffee mugs come from there. My neighbor used to say, “you buy unmatched dinnerware & coffee mugs from Goodwill? Somebody used those already.” I said have you ever eaten at a restaurant? Many have eaten from those plates. And he was an educated chemist with no common sense.
yep, I know a few brilliant people that cant tie their shoes.
Thank you, he is. Just the bad squall line ran right up the road he was on and so followed him the 90 min home.
Of course I then forgot I needed to ask him questions, lol.
Same here. Most of the brands I used for work started to be made more cheaply & less reliable. Craftsman, Carhartt, Red Wing boots, OshKosh bibs. Klein tools still were dependable. I gave my daughter a 17 yo Weber grill that still worked and bought a new one in 2016. It was still made well except the hood does not fit as tight as the previous one. Push button still fires up but when I browsed a few models 3-4 years ago they had lower end models made in China. Poor quality. I found out Weber-Stephan’s was bought by private equity I believe. Hopefully this one lasts long enough so my wife can cremate me in it.
I looked at Webers, trying to get one hubby would like that would last. I gave up. The $20 one (probably $40) from walmart lasts a season and does everything he needs. Just crazy that the owners trade on that name and us not paying attention.
Our original would have been 25 years old this year & cost us $450. That was a ton of money but my neighbor said his was 10 years old & still fired up when hitting the starter button, & he didn’t maintain anything he owned. Our replacement which we have now was purchased in 2016. It was $850 originally but Weber had sales on them because they were introducing several new colors & a new style. We opted for the copper/brown color. We got $125 off and a $125 rebate card from Ace Hardware so it set us back $600 in the end. I would still buy the higher end models as they are still well made but the entry model Spirit is meh.
TJ, that is a most accurate comment. I was always a big buy American for automobiles. I’ve owned 71 Chevelle,Volkswagen Scirocco, Jeep Renegade, Mercury Sable wagon, Chevy Astro van, Z-34, GMC Envoy & Lincoln MKX. My wife had a Mustang & it was the last American car she owned. After that it was a Toyota Celica, Nissan Maxima, & Nissan Murano. I estimate she put in $500 total for repairs on all 3, excluding normal maintenance. I on the other hand I could have bought a new car with the money I spent on repairs for the Jeep, Sable, Astro, & Z-34. The Envoy was one of the best & my MKX is doing fine.