51 Years…

…a/k/a When Sears Tools Were a Real Thing

Like almost all Testosterone-Americans of my vintage I began my journey into the inexorable gravitational universe of Toolism at the local Sears store, buying Craftsman tools when they were the standard of excellence,

My very first purchase at Sears was my black Cub Scout folding knife (I did not last even a year in Cub Scouts due probably to my antipathy towards organizational authoritarian constructs, but I’ve still got the knife) when I was 11 years old.  It was $2.95 if I remember correctly.

My first power tool, purchased with yard work/handyman money was this hand drill when I was 14, for$19.95 (I got the “Best” from the Good/Better/Best delineations you may remember) , a princely sum to a kid from a poor family making fifty cents or a buck for mowing the neighbors’ yards or helping to clean out a garage.

In the intervening years the only service/improvement the drill ever received was replacing the original keyed chuck with a keyless chuck about 30 years ago.

While working on some new decking at our daughter’s house we needed two drills so that we could both be productive, so I pulled this old beauty out of semi-retirement.  Still works like a charm, but I probably need to replace the brushes and lubricate everything inside.

51 years, people, for an ordinary off-the-shelf hand drill.  51 years.  Are you listening, Makita/DeWalt,/Craftsman/Bosch/Ryobi?

51 years.