I never used to worry about Craftsman tools. My brother was tightening a bolt the other day, and the Craftsman wrench ratchet stripped its internal parts, landing his knuckles on a hard surface, causing bleeding and lots of pain. He took it in to Sears to trade it in, and the gal at the tool counter said that the knucklebleed ratchet was a common occurance since shortly after K-Mart took over Sears.-Jitney
Did you ask if she would testify at the product liability trial?
How does the ratchet know the ownership of it's birth mother?
I thought Sears bought Kmart? I've got a Sears 3/8" drive ratchet that broke in the same way.... and it's at least 10 years old.
They still make a decent product.
"Sears Holdings Corporation, the publicly traded (NASDAQ: SHLD) parent of Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., ..."
"The merger of Kmart and Sears as Sears Holdings Corporation closed on March 24, 2005, following affirmative shareholder votes of both companies. The company's corporate headquarters is in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. Kmart maintains a headquarters office in Troy, Michigan. Sears Holdings operates Sears and Kmart stores, and began opening a combined format named Sears Essentials during the second quarter of 2005. The company continues to market products under brands held by both companies."
The gal is sorta' backwards in her understanding, apparently.
How old was the ratchet handle and what level of use/abuse had it had? Ratchets _do_ wear from use and such a failure isn't unheard of from any brand.
And, I was always taught to be thinking ahead about where your knuckles would be "just in case" -- your brother probably (and hopefully) will be from now on. It's always far better to try to pull as oppose to push as well if at all possible--prevents or at least minimizes that particular form of injury even in case of a failure or a slip.
I recommend a few sessions removing bicycle pedals. If you think running your knuckles into a flat, hard surface is bad, you've obviously never encountered greasy dirty bicycle chainrings on a power stroke with your knuckles....
I can testify that Pavlovian conditioning is very effective and now I plan where my knuckled will hit if the ratchet breaks/slips or if the bolt lets loose suddenly. :-)
--Yan
I don't think that had anything to do with it, other than a possibly sales clerk's bias or opinion. Most of the construction of Craftsman products hasn't changed since the buyout. Chances are that the tool in question was actually manufacturered before the K-Mart acquisition of Sears. Sears did however manufacturer cheaper (price & quality) products under the Sears name but they weren't Craftsman. One difference I have noticed (also before the buyout) was that when you came in to return a tool, rather than just replace the whole tool they would, in some cases, repair the tool right there and give it back to you. This happened to me when a 1/4 inch ratchet failed.
Another difference, since the acquisition, was seeing Craftsman tools sold in K-Mart stores. As for a potential suit .. I can't say but I don't buy it being that K-Mart taking over had anything to do with it but then as with many other things I could be wrong.
Which is why my friend the mechanic refers to "pulling wrenches". So you don't smash your hand on the vehicle.
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