My wife bought me a set of small pliers for a gift from Sears Craftsman Hand Tools. They stayed in their case for 4 years or so till I used them on rebuilding an electric guitar. I used the side cutters to cut the guitar strings and much to my surprise, there were indentations in the side cutters, which tells me that the steel was not strong enough. Sears would replace the pliers, but not the set. The replacement was not the same.
They just lost my business.

I sent a letter of complaint to Sears-Craftsman Hand Tools customer services, and received the same response - any tool with rust on it is not covered by the guarantee.

Since Sears-Craftsman has decided to modify their policy in such a way, I will no longer purchase from them.
there are other companies out there, who are well known, and more honorable about offering the same type of guarantees. shop around first.