Adventures in wrenching.....who makes a decent tool these days?

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H

H Monster

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Was going over some of the tool threads, and decided not to muddy those waters with my troubles. Long story short, 90% of my tool inventory says Craftsman on the side....and has been accumulated over past 50 years. Sears was it for guys like me that don't wrench for a living, but still need some decent tools to fix stuff. Now that Sears is belly up, trust in anything Craftsman these days is gone. I don't buy / won't buy Harbor Freight or any of the current box store stuff. I do have a Carlyle ratchet from NAPA and am neutral on those. I'm a nobody to a tool truck guy........them not interested in me or me in them. So for the legions of guys like me, what is left?

This quest started a few weeks back when I found myself in need of a decent torque wrench. It has opened my eyes to a whole slew of tool brands I never knew existed. Names like Wright, Williams, Proto, SK, maybe Tekton. Apparently there is a local place that sells several of these brands........an actual brick and mortar store I drive by all the time.........that stocks and sells these high end tools. A land between the cheap box store China stuff and high end tool truck stuff.

Anything else I'm missing?
 
For a torque wrench look at CDI they make them for Snap on and when on that line New holland the tractor store has a line exactly like snap on but 1/2 the price.
 
My "Gearwrench" ratchet wrenches scare me when I put too much pressure on them.
Just like my "Craftsman" ratchets do.
I have had too many strip teeth.
I need a better torque wrench.

John Force swears by Cornwell, not so sure I believe that story line.
 
Seems like loads of people miss or skip right over cornwell tools. Last I checked, completely US made/tested and warrantied. Am I missing something about them? Saw a video once where they claimed 1/2 inch ratchets were usually tested to 500lbs, but they would do 750 and proved it. Interesting if nothing else.
 
Hyper_pak said:
My "Gearwrench" ratchet wrenches scare me when I put too much pressure on them.
Just like my "Craftsman" ratchets do.
I have had too many strip teeth.
I need a better torque wrench.

John Force swears by Cornwell, not so sure I believe that story line.
Click to expand...
I was writing my post at the same time. That's two for cornwell.
 
H Monster said:
BTW, to anyone who knows.........who made the Craftsman tools for Sears?
Click to expand...
They never manufactured tools themselves and with all the different tools they had available, many major manufacturers produced and branded them for the Craftsman name. Stanley own's and produces them now.

For the homeowner/ car guy/ non professional, most any tool now days is pretty good quality as long as they have a warranty and a store that will handle broken tools. Now, I am talking about forged tools like sockets and wrenches. For instance, I like Channellock pliers best, MAC screwdrivers, and MAC/Stanley hammers. Thinks like wire strippers and crimpers, I like MAC or Klein. The cheap brands aren't good. Oh and Vice Grip brand only regardless what country they come from. Of course, the old Made in USA ones were the best.
 
Believe it or not I like the Husky Rachets from HD. My craftsman ratchets suck.
Someone told me the people that make Craftsman also make Snap on, but I don't know if it's true.
 
Cuda416 said:
Seems like loads of people miss or skip right over cornwell tools. Last I checked, completely US made/tested and warrantied. Am I missing something about them? Saw a video once where they claimed 1/2 inch ratchets were usually tested to 500lbs, but they would do 750 and proved it. Interesting if nothing else.
Click to expand...
Not bad quality but they have a real thin dealer network.
 
Good to know. CDI another brand I've never heard of. But to clarify, it appears CDI is also owned by Snap On, so makes sense they would be making tools for Snap On.

cditorque.com

Maybe has always been this way, but tool industry seems really screwed up. Hard.....if not impossible......to find out who owns what and where anything is actually made.

Was at an engine shop a while back and asked those guys what brands to look for in addition to Snap On, Matco, etc. One guy told me he had held Snap On and Proto torque wrenches side by side and they seemed to be identical......probably off same factory line. So several brands may actually get their start in life off same factory line?
 
Did a quick check and it appears Cornwell is also sold off trucks?

On the Proto, they appear to also be part of the Stanley tools stable......which now includes Craftsman? What I always try to avoid is some brand that was good, then is sold and buyers go from good product to crapola product, but are able to ride the name into the dirt before too many people wise up. My assumption is that is where Craftsman is now. I have a new modern Craftsman tool chest upper drawers, which is now setting on an older vintage bottom cabinet, and the two are not anywhere close in terms of quality. Old was good.....new sucks pond water by comparison.
 
Used Snap on I'm sure its out there but even used its like gold for the seller. It's important to remember though 25 years ago a set of Snap on wrenches was 3-400 dollars etc. But IMO any old antique tool made out of quality metals is the way to go.
A few suggestions if searching older used stuff.

Snap On
Mac
Matco
Cornwell
SK
USA tool

Torque wrenches get something that can be serviced and calibrated if they even make them any more.
 
H Monster said:
Did a quick check and it appears Cornwell is also sold off trucks?

On the Proto, they appear to also be part of the Stanley tools stable......which now includes Craftsman? What I always try to avoid is some brand that was good, then is sold and buyers go from good product to crapola product, but are able to ride the name into the dirt before too many people wise up. My assumption is that is where Craftsman is now. I have a new modern Craftsman tool chest upper drawers, which is now setting on an older vintage bottom cabinet, and the two are not anywhere close in terms of quality. Old was good.....new sucks pond water by comparison.
Click to expand...
Snap Off, Mac, Matco, and Cornhole are all moble tool truck brands. You can buy their products off their website as well. It made sense that Stanley bought up Craftsman when Sears was having issues. Craftsman and Stanley tools are used by the same demographic of customers. Stanley is the largest tool company in the world. Proto is their industrial line Mac is their mobile tool line and Stanley and Craftsman are the homeowner line.
 
The idea of buying used Snap On was my first plan, so did buy one off eBay. Arrived promptly, clean, little sign of use, and broken. Would not click. First plan was to find a Snap On dealer.....which as it turns out, is nearly impossible to do. So left it with mechanic friend. His S/O guy looked at it, pronounced it broken and unable to fix, so toss it on the scrap pile. That was probably not true, but what I was told. Again, a guy like me is a nobody to him and that is his prerogative. But lesson learned is their warranty is not unconditional lifetime like some brands are......which is not a bad thing......it just is what it is. Wrench itself is being returned for full refund.

I'm not hard on my stuff like some are, so in all those years, I've only returned on Craftsman wrench I ever broke. It may have been my 1/4" ratchet. They handed me a new one, no questions asked. But the extension of that is if I buy decent stuff to begin with, it will last me a lifetime......so warranty is not all that important. If it breaks, I'll buy a new one.....so I buy stuff I can't or won't break, then not abuse it.
 
And so far, have heard no love for Wright. Never heard of them either.....then noticed they were being sold by Summit Racing.......and not cheap. So did some looking............and seems they might be worth considering too, if you can find them.
 
I have many ratchets but the ones I use most are from Harbor Freight. They just work and have had less failures with those I have from Craftsman. I'm not a tool snob so what ever works and does the job is the winner.

At work I am a tool snob and prefer Wera tools and assembly bits.
 
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I have a 250ft lb torque wrench from Wright, it's a nice tool and I've probably had it for 10 years now using it professionally without issue. I bought it kind of randomly and haven't tried any other tools made by them though. I've also bought a couple torque wrenches by tekton, sold to me by the local Napa owner. the 1/4" in lb one is really nice and compact, but my 3/8" band style one doesn't seem to function consistently on much under 25ft lbs.

I've used harbor freight ones too. for me they either function for many years without issue or break/don't work right away. Either way they break eventually.

I have a husky 3/8" I've been using for a few years now that actually has been fine. The handle is falling apart but still functions normally. I wouldn't really recommend any of they're stuff normally, the tools just feel cheap and clunky, but I bought it in a pinch and it's been good enough to keep using.

I could speak on Cornwell and all the other tool trucks but I think we're talking about affordable stuff available to the home auto tech.
 
I've done mechanical after-sales service in Africa, the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean, the USA, Canada, and Europe: you can find average-quality tools everywhere without any problems. If you need good-quality tools, it becomes more difficult everywhere.

FWIW, here in old Europe we rely on brands like Facom (#1 in quality, lifetime warranty, best available tools ever here), Beta tools (Italian made , good alternate choice), then some old German brands (Gedore). Everything else is made in China, with different levels of quality from poor to quite good. They often put "german-like" names on it, but chinese crop.

My personal toolbox : all the metric is Facom, including torque wrenches. Sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, allen, combination, flare, crowfoot, pliers, hammers, no exception. I buy new when needed, second hand when available. My torque wrenches still are calibrated after 35+ years of use, and I still use my first set of sockets I bought with my 1st salary...

To work on my Harleys and on the Duster, as well on friends bikes and US cars I have some nice and shiny Craftsman wrenches, sockets, etc. that I bought in the late 90s when I was in the USA, Facom (yes, they do make very good non-metric tools), a set of Stanley sockets, some Beta, some Snap On, everything dating from late 90's.
I do have also sockets, ratchet and combination wrenches that are "Harley Davidson" labelled, very good quality but I don't know who made these?
 
H Monster said:
Was going over some of the tool threads, and decided not to muddy those waters with my troubles. Long story short, 90% of my tool inventory says Craftsman on the side....and has been accumulated over past 50 years. Sears was it for guys like me that don't wrench for a living, but still need some decent tools to fix stuff. Now that Sears is belly up, trust in anything Craftsman these days is gone. I don't buy / won't buy Harbor Freight or any of the current box store stuff. I do have a Carlyle ratchet from NAPA and am neutral on those. I'm a nobody to a tool truck guy........them not interested in me or me in them. So for the legions of guys like me, what is left?

This quest started a few weeks back when I found myself in need of a decent torque wrench. It has opened my eyes to a whole slew of tool brands I never knew existed. Names like Wright, Williams, Proto, SK, maybe Tekton. Apparently there is a local place that sells several of these brands........an actual brick and mortar store I drive by all the time.........that stocks and sells these high end tools. A land between the cheap box store China stuff and high end tool truck stuff.

Anything else I'm missing?
Click to expand...
As far as wrenches go, stay with your old craftsman or sears. I actively look for sets of them at yard sales or pawn shops. the best wrench ever made.

20250827_072025.jpg
20250827_072113.jpg
Thorson is also a solid wrench but I don't think they exist anymore. Everyone here at the dealer has a couple old craftsman in their box and use them pretty regularly.

The set in the gray box is a blue point rachet wrench set. my boss has had his set for ten years and has broken one I think. Williams is snap-on's industrial branch, but cheaper.

Rebrands — Tool Truck Rebrands

This site has all the tool truck brands other smaller branches like williams, proto, OTC, etc. way cheaper.

As for torque wrenches, I have a wright tool 1/2 inch click torque wrench. I've tested it many times and its always been within a pound accurate. Its also 15+ years old.

Hand ratchets are always hit and miss in my opinion. I have broken a $200 matco ratchet by dropping it from 2 feet off the ground. right after I had gotten it back from getting it fixed. I just threw it in the trash I was so pissed. I broke my snap on 3/8 rachet after a week; I returned one of my mac ratchets after a week because the switch broke.

The only ratchets I have yet to break from normal use is Icon and pittsburgh pro. I have stood on my 3/8 extended ratchet and its totally fine after 4 years.

There is no "good" tool company all the way around anymore. Everyone mechanic I know now has a mixed bag of tools since almost all brands can't make a reliable tool anymore.
 
My son buys all snap-on from the snap-on truck that comes to the shop. I have all my old craftsman and gave him all the snap-on I had.

If I need a special tool now I just go to Harbor freight. At my age they will probably out live me anyway.
 

snap-on ratchets, harbor freight sockets. tough combo to beat. carlyle/napa wrenches are okay and their sockets (and impacts) aren't bad, but i can't stand their 1/4" sockets. too clunky. snap-on & mac make the absolute best screwdrivers. cornwell makes good screwdrivers, but good luck running down a cornwell truck! icon screwdrivers are surprisingly not trash.

i like snap-on and mac pliers. doyle & icon are okay. irwin and channel lock still make good stuff too.

don't over look gearwrench. i like their sockets, but the chrome seems to jump off them. the standard wrench sets are nice and their ratcheting units are tops.

a lot of this is purely subjective. for me, because i have tools in my hands all day every day the feel matters more than the brand does.

a hobbyist can do well with the icon & doyle stuff from HF and not break the bank.
 
HF is ok for homeowner one time non pro daily use etc. Ill tell a story I used to lose snap on hammers I dint know where I was leaving them,in cars under sars on the frame etc. but they never came back so i started going to HF for my ball peen hammers when I was wrenching. funny thing is I have the last HF 24 ounce ball peen i bought LOL!
 
With the exception of cheap crap you find at a grocery aisle with the motor oil ...All of them make something good.
My toolboxes are full of anything from sk ...to Cornhole and snap off, KD, proto, crapman etc.
 
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