Craftsman serves me well at home and work. I have a mid-80's combo Craftsman wrench set made in Japan. I also have a circa 1960's set that are very thin, well machined, high quality steel much different than today's.
For those interested in tool background, here is a re-post of my thread from September:
Go to this forum thread and read the info posted by Mr. John Garner (2 or 3 threads) Disclaimer, I'm just the messenger:
http://www.practicalmachinist.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=023986;p=0
An excellent review of the major U.S. tool makers. For instance, I didn't realize that S.K. is once again a U.S. owned private company (not French Facom), and that Cornwell and Wright are also still private owned companies. There is also spirited discussion about which tools share the same "parentage".
An excerpt:
"In general terms, there are four tool-brand players in the business of selling to US auto mechanics through "tool truck" dealers: Snap-On, Mac, MATCO, and Cornwell. None of these companies run their own fleet of trucks, although Mac tried for a while before going back to independent dealers. Of the MAKERS of these tool brands, only Cornwell is privately held, the others are brand names owned by the Big Three of the mechanics' tool world, Snap-On, Stanley, and Danaher, respectively."
"Armstrong (primarily industrial, Danaher owned)
Cornwell (primarily automotive, private corporation)
Mac (primarily automotive, Stanley owned)
MATCO (primarily automotive, Danaher owned)
Proto (primarily industrial, Stanley owned)
SK Tools (primarily automotive, private corporation)
Snap-On (automotive and industrial, Snap-On owned)
J H Williams (primarily industrial, Snap-On owned)
Wright Tools (primarily industrial, private corporation)"
Here is a tool maker timeline dating back to the 1800's:
http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/tool-timeline.html
Check out the links to "Alloy Artifacts" tool collectors web site if interested. Some crazy dudes there (like us).