It appears that Craftsman is bringing back a number of their Professional-branded tools. Previously, certain tools – Craftsman Professional pliers, adjustable wrenches, and other hand tools – disappeared from Sears stores and their online catalog. Others, such as the wrenches and mechanics tools were stripped of their Professional branding and labeled Craftsman full polish.
The shift from Craftsman Professional to Craftsman full-polish happened to coincide with a shift away from USA production. It is unclear whether the return of the Craftsman Professional brand indicates a return of manufacturing back to the USA, but we’ll work to find out.
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We reached out to Craftsman for more information but have not heard back from them yet.
If you spot Craftsman Professional tools in stores, please let us know! At the moment it looks like they’re online-only exclusives.
gman
I bought one of their professional diagonal cutters and was not impressed. The hinge pin became sloppy within a week of standard use and were just nothing special compared to my lost Kliens. Luckily, I found the Kliens and tossed the Craftsman cutters into the house laundry room tool box. Hopefully they are coming back with some better equipment.
Andrew
I’ve always liked the craftsman pro pliers.. I’ve scooped up quite a few on clearance and think they are great.
jesse
I think the Craftsman Pro pliers were made in USA by Western Forge.
Harry
To me it looks like they found new old stock laying in a warehouse and are selling it off. I don’t see evidence here of the “return of Craftsman Pro tools”. I just see the core Craftsman line becoming imported and full of more gimmicky tools than a core hard line of stout tools but, that’s just me.
Stuart
I sincerely hope that’s not the case. They rebranded the former Craftsman Professional wrenches from “full polished” back to “Craftsman Professional,” leading me to believe that they didn’t just discover NOS. Plus, wouldn’t NOS be sent off to liquidators rather than be readded to the online catalog?
Humberto
Thanks for the tip. I just ordered those linesman pliers. I’m sure they are clearance priced at 12.59. I had bought a craftsman three piece professional plier set years ago that didn’t include these linesman pliers. These are hard to find, so get them while you can for this bargain price.
peter
Went to Sears today, and saw that they are indeed made in the U.S or atleast the screwdrivers I looked at. If I was to be honest I think they dont feel special the grips are hard, and even some of the black coatting on the tip of some of them were worn off? Anyways I think Wera or Wiha are going to be my next screwdriver, or possibly the DeWalt one to keep the color going.lol
Stuart
I believe the screwdrivers are the only Craftsman Professional tools that remain in stores when all others disappeared.
Kurt
I was not impressed with craftsman pro pliers either. I had the needle nose version snap in half while bending a small tab on an metal electrical single gang box after only minor usage. Not only that, the action is a bit sloppy. I have used mostly kleins for electrical projects and have been very pleased with the quality. I’ve had a good experience with channellocks too. Between Klein and Channellock there is little need for me to look anywhere else for quality USA made pliers. Then again, Knipex and NWS make some interesting things too if I feel the urge to splurge.