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Craftsman is a well-regarded tool brand with nearly a century of performance under its belt. It was first sold at Sears, one of the U.S.’s most popular retailers for about a century. These days, Sears stores have all but disappeared from the retail landscape, but there’s a popular tool manufacturer behind Craftsman (and many other brands) keeping it alive. Stanley Black & Decker purchased Craftsman from Sears Holdings in early 2017. Since acquiring the brand almost a decade ago, Stanley Black & Decker has been releasing tweaked and new Craftsman products. The Craftsman V-Series was introduced in late 2021 as a premium line of tools every homeowner should have. However, to the dismay of fans of the line, Stanley Black & Decker made the decision to discontinue the V-Series tools just a few years later. Fortunately, there are a couple of other options to consider, including Tekton tools and Harbor Freight’s Icon tools.
With everything from screwdrivers and wrenches to ratchets, socket sets, and hex keys, the Craftsman V-Series was aimed at automotive repair technicians, mechanics, and similar professionals. However, to the dismay of fans of the line, Stanley Black & Decker made the decision to discontinue the V-Series tools just a few years later. You can still find some V-Series tools for sale at retailers like Ace Hardware and Lowe’s, and Craftsman still lists some V-Series tools on its website. Be wary of purchasing them — you may not be able to repair or replace the products if they break or get lost. When looking for alternatives, you’re likely trying to match the attractive prices V-Series tools sold for or the lifetime warranty offered by Craftsman on the line.
Tekton tools come with a straightforward lifetime warranty
Craftsman told ToolGuyd in mid-2025 that it will continue to honor the lifetime warranty on its V-Series tools. However, it won’t be able to send new V-Series tools to customers. Instead, they will be offered another Craftsman product of equal value. If the generous warranty on the V-Series Craftsman tools was a leading factor in why you invested in them, there are similarly backed tool sets out there. Tekton was founded in 1963 and manufactures a wide range of hand tools, including pliers, screwdrivers, sockets, ratchets, hammers, and much more. It’s a family-owned manufacturer headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Today, most of its products are made in Taiwan, with 14.5% of its products being U.S.-made.
Tekton offers a straightforward lifetime warranty on all of its tools. You don’t have to keep the receipt, give a detailed account of why a tool failed, or worry about how old it is. File a claim via a simple online form, and Tekton will send you a replacement tool. They even cover the cost of shipping. In a two-year-old Reddit thread on r/Tools, user ronaldreaganlive noted how they received a replacement handle breaker bar a week after sending the company a picture of their broken tool. Similar to Craftsman V-Series tools, Tekton’s offerings are widely considered high quality, professional-grade products. Mechanics, for example, use and recommend Tekton. “I’m a fan of Tekton stuff because, for the value, I think it’s very, very good,” said Mark DeCola, owner of specialist diesel shop MDD Performance, in a 2019 video on his YouTube channel. You can purchase Tekton tool sets at major hardware retailers, including Home Depot and Lowe’s, and on Amazon.
Save money with Harbor Freight’s Icon tools
If you loved the quality-to-cost ratio of Craftsman V-Series tools, the Icon brand from Harbor Freight may be a good replacement. In fact, some fans consider Icon tools an affordable alternative to another range of highly popular — and expensive — hand tools: Snap-On. In a three-year-old r/Tools thread on Reddit, multiple users suggested the Icon range as a V-Series alternative. This was, of course, before Craftsman announced the discontinuation of the series. Icon is one of Harbor Freight’s in-house brands, and Icon tools are only available at Harbor Freight. The retailer offers Icon-branded sockets, wrenches, impact sockets, pliers, screwdrivers, and more.
One of the mistakes everyone makes when shopping at Harbor Freight is assuming all the tools are low quality because they’re relatively affordable. However, it could be argued that the quality and availability of Icon products means they’re great for someone seeking professional-level tools for less — as multiple Reddit users opined on a late 2025 r/harborfreight thread. Plus, Harbor Freight offers a lifetime warranty on its Icon hand tools, so long as you purchase them from one of their stores. If a tool fails to properly work, Harbor Freight will replace it with the same or substantially similar product where the original isn’t available. Icon tools also have longevity on their side. Harbor Freight’s first retail store opened in 1980 and the retailer began selling Icon tools in 2019, a few years before the Craftsman V-Series was launched.
