Wright Tools ratchets - thoughts? (SK in disguise?)

[308guru]

I'm looking around for 1/2" drive ratchets in standard and long lengths. Not wanting to break the bank with SO, but I'd like something halfway decent that I can be confident in as I hang on the end of it.

The handle on these Wright ratchets looks pretty comfy. Could anyone offer thoughts on how they feel, both in hand and performance?

Also, I see mention of them being an SK equivalent. What is the tie to SK? Do they use SK ratchet internals or something?

If I ever need warranty repair/replacement, who is Wright Tool and how are they to work with?

Thanks.

Wright Tool 4490 1/2-Inch Drive 11-Inch Premium Double Pawl Wright Ratchet

Check out the deal on Wright Tool 4490 1/2-Inch Drive 11-Inch Premium Double Pawl Wright Ratchet at Royal Supply

www.royalsupply.com

Wright Tool 4494 1/2-Inch Drive 15-Inch Double Pawl Ratchet with Contour Grip

Check out the deal on Wright Tool 4494 1/2-Inch Drive 15-Inch Double Pawl Ratchet with Contour Grip at Royal Supply

www.royalsupply.com

 

[tool_scrounge]

I have a 1/2” long handle version of that ratchet that Wright made for Mac.I find the handle quite comfortable and works well. Wright is a tool mfg. who had been around for many years. I also really like their combination wrenches. As far as I know it is similar in head shape to SK but not made by SK.

 

[misterbill]

I have both the contour grip and knurled grip models. I find the contour grip to be a little slippery when I'm working on a super oily/greasy project. Otherwise, it is my preferred ratchet. No tie-in with S-K at all other than the knurled grip ratchets and their internals look vaguely similar to the traditional S-K round headed ratchets. I've only had to call Wright twice in the years that I've been using their products. Both times I spoke to a real human and the interaction was smooth and successful on the first try.

Bill

 

[tamaraw]

I'm looking around for 1/2" drive ratchets in standard and long lengths. Not wanting to break the bank with SO, but I'd like something halfway decent that I can be confident in as I hang on the end of it.

The handle on these Wright ratchets looks pretty comfy. Could anyone offer thoughts on how they feel, both in hand and performance?

Also, I see mention of them being an SK equivalent. What is the tie to SK? Do they use SK ratchet internals or something?

If I ever need warranty repair/replacement, who is Wright Tool and how are they to work with?

Thanks.

Wright Tool 4490 1/2-Inch Drive 11-Inch Premium Double Pawl Wright Ratchet

Check out the deal on Wright Tool 4490 1/2-Inch Drive 11-Inch Premium Double Pawl Wright Ratchet at Royal Supply

www.royalsupply.com

Wright Tool 4494 1/2-Inch Drive 15-Inch Double Pawl Ratchet with Contour Grip

Check out the deal on Wright Tool 4494 1/2-Inch Drive 15-Inch Double Pawl Ratchet with Contour Grip at Royal Supply

www.royalsupply.com

The square profile handle looks pretty uncomfy to me in the photos but obviously YMMV.

SK, Beta, Stanley Black&Decker (Facom, Usag, Proto, Mac, etc.), TOP Kogyo, and Ko-ken have quite a few round head options if that is your preference.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

So the Wright contour grip ratchets are pretty nice. They clean up nicely. A bit heavy overall but it is balanced well. They will get slippery versus a comfort grip or knurled handle but it isn't as bad as the smooth handles on my Williams ratchets. The heads aren't as large on the Wright ratchets as their SK competitor and the dual pawl mechanism, once broken in, is very smooth. Maintenance on the ratchet is really simple. Socket retention on the square drive is really good, though there is a bit more wiggle with my Wrights versus my SK ratchets. It might look uncomfortable, but I can assure you that the contour grips are very comfortable. The square drive on the Wright is chromed, so I know some dudes online have complained about that. I haven't had any issues with mine as far as flaking.

You cannot go wrong with either but I do believe the Wright ratchets are cheaper than the SK in price. Another option, and one I highly recommend, are the Proto round-head ratchets. Slimmer heads than the Wright or SK ratchets and they have better knurling than the SKs. The standard 1/2 is just under 10" I think while the longer fixed head is 15" and the flex head is 17". Italian-made, so if MiUSA is your thing they won't make the cut.

As far as the warranty, I have never had to use Wright for that so I cannot comment on it. SK is all over the board. I've gotten lucky and spoken to someone on the phone right away, other times I won't hear back for weeks or months if I send an email. Personally, I've not been a huge fan of SK's customer service and their consistency on their sockets and ratchets hasn't been on the same level as Wright's. Proto has been very good to me on the few occasions I have had to use their warranty.

 

[[CJ]]

I have the long and standard length versions. They are super comfy, quality is great and the chrome finish is superb.

 

[bonneyman]

I have a Matco comfort handle 1/4" drive that others have said is just like the Wrights you posted. It is very comfortable. Wish I could find a 3/8" and 1/2" but prices are in the stratosphere on ebay.

 

[ecotec]

I have the 1/2” 15” and the 3/8” 7”double pawl ratchets.

I was “done” buying ratchets when I picked this one up off a table at the flea market and started counting clicks… the contour handle is really good looking… so I knew I was going to buy it anyways… when I counted 90 clicks… I was really excited about it. He wanted $15 for it, and I think I talked him down to $12-13.

Since then, I got a 3/8” double pawl regular length.

 

[DOUGD]

I have the long handle Wright contour grip ratchet in both 3/8" and 1/2" drive. They are excellent tools that will outlast you. The question you need to answer is if you prefer a round head design to a pear head design.

 

[VolvoRyan]

Wright has become the refuge for a lot of us since SK has become a question mark. Mid-priced, USA-made tools.

I have a #3440(?) "Compact Palm Sized Flex Head Ratchet". It's a nifty little ratchet. I suspect it's the 3/8" drive in the 1/4" tool kinda thing. Perfectly comfy to use... and I've wailed on it a bit.

As with all this stuff, get something basic to try before you jump into a brand. Feel it out and see how it works for you. We're all different, and work on different things. One "size" doesn't fit all.

-Ryan

​

 

[Fly YX]

These are pretty much my go to at work. If they had a quick release, they would be perfect.

 

[kngelv]

I have those in 3/8. Very comfortable and my most used ratchet.

James

 

[mr.reed mr. ruh]

Welcome to the initiated, after initiation you will at some point buy more Wright tools in the future! Lol just messing…You Probably won’t even ever need the warranty but if you do it’ll be replaced in a timely manner which is more than I can say for SK as I’ve got emails getting back a year to replace a single chrome 1/2” drive 12pt 36 mm socket, no joke it’s been tedious to say the least but enough about SK and their Chinese warranty …In all seriousness Wright is top notch and make tools at the highest level… Their wrenches compete with the best ll to the even snappy or anything I’ve ever used haven’t used the new set of Mac’s new RBRT Wrenches yet tho but I’m hopeful for them…. While Snap on & SK etc heavily market themselves and try to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible doing all they can to attract a following of customers and while there is nothing wrong with that, it has been proven to work but that’s just one of many ways of doing things… Then there is the “Wright way” pun intended which would be to keep your nose to the Grindstone and keep quietly forging away and pumping out some of the best tools on the planet and supplying tools to Juggernauts in many of the world’s most demanding industries.
They are the best kept secret in tools in my book but that’s just my 2 pennies

 

[ecotec]

Wright is the last family owned hardline tool forge in the USA.

SK is owned by a chinese conglomerate. There is zero evidence, at this time, that SK is manufacturing anything in the USA right now.

If you don’t know which one is better, I guess I have questions about you.

 

[carmantl]

Ironworker here. We are HARD on impact sockets. One of my shallow MAC 1&1/4 finally broke after a SWAG of over 200,000 bolts tightened. MAC driver just happened to be at the alignment clinic when I was having my work truck aligned. He just smiled and said that he would have to order it. About a week later it showed up. That is the only socket out of that set that has broken in over 20 years. I've owned the Wright set just about as long and have never broken one. That Wright has also tightened over 200,000 bolts. When we are connecting bridge beams there may be from 96 to 192 bolts in each connection. Sometimes over 40 connections on an average bridge deck beam.

 

[carmantl]

For the uninitiated, SWAG is acronym for Scientific Wild Assed Guess!

 

[Etchase]

Ironworker here. We are HARD on impact sockets. One of my shallow MAC 1&1/4 finally broke after a SWAG of over 200,000 bolts tightened. MAC driver just happened to be at the alignment clinic when I was having my work truck aligned. He just smiled and said that he would have to order it. About a week later it showed up. That is the only socket out of that set that has broken in over 20 years. I've owned the Wright set just about as long and have never broken one. That Wright has also tightened over 200,000 bolts. When we are connecting bridge beams there may be from 96 to 192 bolts in each connection. Sometimes over 40 connections on an average bridge deck beam.

Out of curiosity, what impact wrench are you using? Do you get a year out of them? You get a really impressive view of reliability.

 

[dnschmidt]

Wright has made the same ratchet for about 100 years. If it sucked, which it doesn't, we would have found out by now.

 

[ecotec]

Wright has made the same ratchet for about 100 years. If it sucked, which it doesn't, we would have found out by now.

I wouldn’t even look at the non dual pawl ones.

 

[Crabman]

HJE, which supports the GJ site, has a lot of Wright. They do a sale for the GJ folks around 4th of July.

Epstein’s Day 2023

Haven’t seen a dedicated post about this year’s Epstein Day. I figured I’d start her up. Looking forward to seeing which company partners up with HJE this year! I think it’s been Wright for every Epstein’s Day I’ve participated in but I’ve seen Wera, Ko-ken and others begin to feature...

www.garagejournal.com

Here is the ratchet page:

Wright Tool

Wright Tool

www.harryepstein.com

The Wright folks usually send them some cool stuff and some swag for the sale.

 

[RedneckWelder]

You can’t go wrong with Wright. Good stuff.

 

[MarkH]

We use Wright as our number one hard tool purchase for our business. They were and are designed more for the industrial market. So may be slightly larger than the very small and thin ratchets for getting in tight spaces for automotive use. For large farm use we use these in the main shops and on the service trucks. They have been one of the fastest ratchets we have when we look at doing yearly maintenance on ratchets.

In the 45 years we have used them the only breakage has been ones we have done with extreme abuse. So we have never had warranty replacement for any. For ratchets they have multiple types of handles for different uses.

As a remaining US built tool company we support it since the products do what we need them to do. It is good to have this resource that does not have to be shipped through the South China sea a vulnerable area of the world.

 

[carmantl]

Etchase, we use Milwaukee 2767's and most have outlived the 5 year warranty. One failed with broken nose case in 3 years. Warranty claim was no hassle.