Chinese vs. USA Craftsman RP ratchets (PICS)

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For those people who don't know, Sears has started replacing the USA made Craftsman ratchets with imported ratchets. The raised panel (RP) ratchets will now be Chinese. There have been posts on another site showing that the 60-tooth thin profile model is now made in Taiwan and the regular RP ratchets are now being made in China. All these ratchets had been USA made.


I went to my local Sears to see if they had any of the new Chinese raised panel ratchets. They only had them in ¼” drive. All the other ratchets were still the USA made variety. They did not have any of the Taiwanese fully polished ratchets.

NOTE- In all pictures but one the Chinese ratchet is on the left.

Packaging
The packaging is almost identical on the USA made and imported ratchets. After the recent redesign of Craftsman tool packages, they moved the “made in the USA” marking to the back in small print and removed the “Made in the USA” badge from the front of the packaging. Note in the second pic that the ratchets have the same part number (44807), but the SKU is different.
Rat1.jpg

Rat2.jpg





Initial impressions
The Chinese ratchet is definitely chunkier. This is especially obvious at the head of the ratchet. If you didn’t have them side by side, you might think they were identical, because the shapes are very similar.
Rat3.jpg

Rat8.jpg

Rat4.jpg

Rat9.jpg




Mechanism
The mechanism appears to be identical, but the USA ratchet had far more lube. The parts are interchangeable. I swapped gears between the two ratchets and the Chinese pawl worked fine with the American gear and vice versa. One obvious difference is that the Chinese quick release is slightly different. When you push the button the retainer ball retracts, but a small shaft also pops out of the end of the gear to help push off the attachment. Both mechanisms seem to work about the same. The USA ratchet is slightly quieter, but I believe that is because it has a thicker lube than the Chinese ratchet. The Chinese ratchet has a metal selector switch. The selector on the USA ratchet is plastic.
Rat6.jpg


NOTE - in this pic the USA gear is on the left. The gears have some cosmetic differences. The drive end of the Chinese gear is slightly longer. The profile of the gear teeth is also slightly different. The USA gear has the teeth flattened on the end.
Rat7.jpg




Measurements
Rat10measure.jpg

Rat11measure.jpg


Rant
I’m really disappointed to see Sears allow the basic Craftsman hand tools to be imported. I used to work for Sears in college and I have a soft spot for the company. When people were criticizing Sears for outsourcing the Pro wrenches, pliers and other tools, I always assumed they would keep a core of USA made, basic tools. I assumed the sockets, ratchets and RP wrenches would stay USA made. I guess I was wrong.

I believe the USA made sockets and RP wrenches are by far the best bargain in USA made tools. While my local store still has USA made RP wrenches and sockets, I assume it will only be a matter of time before those are replaced with imported copies.
 
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As someone who knows a few higher ups at sears, expect that all Craftsman products will be imported....with most being made in china.

This is happening for two reasons:

To save money and add profit...as these products will pick up more at Kmart, and offered to other retailers (like Meijer for example). Most of their major brands are stand alone now....


And...the quiet phaseout/phasedown of the Sears chain itself. Either it will get phased into Kmart, or Sears will just sell what it is best at-appliances, tools, and auto......
 
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Well i gotta tell you one thing that should make every man cry and be very worried is the fact that companies are leaving America to go overseas for cheaper labor. One day jobs will be next to impossible to find because everything will be in China . Good luck raising a family with no job. This is very sad and dissapointing . I always applauded craftsman being American made. Good to know ill eventually be working on my car with a foreign wrench I guess it fits seeing as in 20 yrs we will be driving prius looking things. This is very sad. I'm glad to see you take the time to show us the differences though. Thanks
 
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
there's a big difference between "made in China" and Made in Taiwan. unbelievable.



Yep...
 
Originally Posted By: FXjohn
there's a big difference between "made in China" and Made in Taiwan.


I agree. I generally have no problem buying Taiwanese products if USA products aren't available.

But, I don't like buying Chinese products, although sometimes I have to because there are no other options.

I avoid Chinese tools as much as possible and I'll definitely stop buying anything Craftsman unless this move is reversed.
 
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A nation that doesn't manufacture things ceases to be a viable nation.

Your best bet is to write Sears and let them know how you feel about this move. If enough folks complain and refuse to buy the inferior Chinese slave made product they will reverse their decision.

We MUST bring manufacturing back home to the US in a big way, and part of that is imposing huge tariffs on nations that do not play fair, China is job #1.

When China stops treating their citizens like slaves and paying them like slaves maybe things could be different, but not until then. FREE TRADE IS NOT FAIR TRADE.
 
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Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
I won't but any more craftsmans either that's for darn sure



No sure if I would let that be the reason...since nearly ALL tools (regardless of brand) will be imported.
 
I suppose it is inevitable, but sad really. I have used Craftsman tools since the late 1970s and never really had a "deal breaker" problem with them and the problems that I did have were corrected by a "no-questions asked" warranty that was honored in any Sears store.

At this point, making a change is likely hopeless, and I suspect it is a matter of time before there is little remaining that has a "Made in USA" moniker on it.

The passing of an era soon to come...
 
Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: chevyboy14
I won't but any more craftsmans either that's for darn sure

No sure if I would let that be the reason...since nearly ALL tools (regardless of brand) will be imported.

True; anyone know if Snap-On is still made in the USA? For that matter, what hand tools are? Cannot be many left at this point...
 
Snap on is American as far as I know....... And I will buy American tools until there isn't a such thing in which case ill have to keep my old American tools working or learn to build my own tools.
smile.gif
 
I took a scredriver in with a broken tip. I was dissapointed that I couldn't find a replacement that was forged, like my orignal screwdriver.
 
China ratchet looks terrible. Thank you very much for the comparison. Hand tools section will eventually be skipped on my visits to sears.
 
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