I have a thirty-year-old Craftsman combination 1/4" & 3/8" drive socket set that I alway carried in my drivers bin when it was my daily driver. Both the ratchets in the set are frustrating to use now because the directional levers have become "mushy" from use, and this has resulted in the ratchets failing at the wrong time. I looked at the prices for new sets and realized I won't be around long enough to wear them out, thought about the "lifetime" warranty Sears had on their Craftsman tool back in the day when I bought the set. Long story short, I went to Ace Hardware because they carry Craftsman tools and asked if they honored the lifetime warranty and they said "sure do." Walked out with two new ratchets and a smile on my face.

 

I did that back when there was still a Sears in town about 10 years ago. After that I just get stuff at Harbor Freight, because its all made in China now anyway.

 

Lowes also carries Craftsman and I've taken them back there before. Very easy process.

 

With my USA ratchets, I'd always see if Sears had a rebuild kit (which they seemed to have on hand) as there was no way I was swapping those out. It may be my imagination, but there is a significant weight difference between my 3/8" ratchet stamped USA vs the Z-? when they went overseas.

Good to know ACE will honor the warranty, however.