Stanley Black & Decker currently owns the Craftsman brand, which it bought from Sears in March 2017. However, a legal dispute arose shortly after Sears declared bankruptcy, when Stanley sued Sears over the launch of the Craftsman Ultimate Collection brand.

Although Sears retained a limited license to sell Craftsman tools, Stanley had control over the brand everywhere else. The issue between Stanley and Sears was centered around the way Sears marketed the new tools, with Stanley arguing that it implied their Craftsman products were somehow not genuine. The lawsuit was quickly resolved, and as of now, Craftsman Ultimate Collection is no longer available on Sears.com.

As for Stanley’s Craftsman tools, the company opened a factory in Fort Worth, Texas in 2019. This move aimed to bring back the American-made status of the Craftsman brand after Sears had relocated manufacturing to China. Unfortunately, the facility had to be closed in March 2023 due to problems with the machinery and costs. Consequently, manufacturing returned to China. Despite these changes, Stanley still fulfills the lifetime warranty on legacy Craftsman hand tools.

Current reviews of Craftsman tools are varied, as highlighted in a 2020 ToolGuyd article. The author of the article expressed that while Stanley’s Craftsman tools might not be as good as the older, American-made versions sold by Sears, they were superior to the later, Chinese-made versions.