Sanny81
Well-known member
I recently bought one of these from Amazon and when it arrived noticed there’s no USA markings. Not a big deal but now I’m just curious, are there now non-USA made SK?
Newer SK adjustable wrenches USA made?
- Thread starter Sanny81
- Start date
I recently bought one of these from Amazon and when it arrived noticed there’s no USA markings. Not a big deal but now I’m just curious, are there now non-USA made SK?
Odd-job
Well-known member
Would be too good to be true... am curious too.
Made in China by GreatStar, same as the Duratech brand on Amazon. In fact when these were first posted on Amazon they were labeled Duratech.
In the other items listed by the same seller, the adjustable wrenches are labeled SK but the item title says Duratech
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
SK is now just overpriced Duratech chinesium. The brand is dead as far as I'm concerned.
Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
where have you guys been? 
There are several threads and much knashing of teeth over the new Great Star owned SK.
SK is now rebadged Duratech tools from the PRC for the most part. I never ever envisioned that happening to SK but, it has.
SK speaks of different lines, some being US made but, I think it's smoke and mirrors.
There are several threads and much knashing of teeth over the new Great Star owned SK.SK is now rebadged Duratech tools from the PRC for the most part. I never ever envisioned that happening to SK but, it has.
SK speaks of different lines, some being US made but, I think it's smoke and mirrors.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
I don’t know how they perform but they sure look cheap to me.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
How does one determine that any adjustable wrench is "cheap to me." from a catalog picture? I get my adjustable wrenches from TOPTUL, for obvious reasons, and they work fine but look like every other adjustable wrench ever made. Now with women on the other hand, as Rod Stewart sang, "Every Picture Tells a Story."
If it's clearly a CGI picture I don't hold my breath on the quality of the tool.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
Just look at the thing, Denny. Put your glasses on. Geez.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Nut, I've had Lasik and have 20/20 vision. But, I don't have X-ray vision. That picture looks like an adjustable wrench to me. S-K's, to me, lame *** ratcheting wrenches have the same holes in them and nobody complained about that. If a ratcheting wrench isn't reversible it's dogshit is my view. We waited three years for S-K to introduce their ratcheting wrench from it's introduction at SEMA. Why anybody considers this outfit worth their concern is a mystery to me.
nicks78camaro
Well-known member
Is Duratech any good?
ihateminimumwage
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Made in Spain by/for Bahco. They are fantastic adjustables.
Absolutely agree. I have 4 of them, including the wide jaw 12". I wish they made 15" or larger. But I use them constantly. Expensive, but worth every dollar.
Can't speak to S-K, but I've noticed the cheaper wrenches have terrible build quality (fit, finish, rough machining) and/or excessive slop in the head. Also soft metal deforms under pressure.
On the cheaper side, I found the Doyle to be decent for the price. Better than the Pittsburgh offering for sure. I like the Milwaukee (I have the 12" and 15"), but they are a bit expensive. The Husky and Crescent brand are terrible.
ihateminimumwage
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Same here; The 12" wide jaw has been awesome for hydraulic and large fuel fittings. Have that and the 8" wide mouth and 6" wide mouth slim jaw that now lives in my pocket while working.
KnurledNut
Well-known member
The Snap-on ADxC series adjustables are made in USA.
They may be the only current domestic manufacturer of a standard pattern wrench.
They may be the only current domestic manufacturer of a standard pattern wrench.
Brett in KS
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I bought a couple of the channellock and the 8”, 10”, & 12” Carlyle adjustable wrenches last month. I’m really liking the Carlyle. They feel good and the jaws are tighter than the channellock. They were about $5-8 higher, but worth it.
neophyte
Well-known member
Not always.
I’ve seen Spanish Bahco wrenches that were poorly machined.
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
As always, used tools are hit or miss. I've some awesome USA-Blue-Point ones from the 1970's that have loads of life left in them after decades doing flat rate. Similarly, I have some properly old-school (and collectable) USA adjustables that are kinda junk in practice.
It's a drag, but not surprising that these SK adjustables are super generic imports. When SK was making them in the US, they were super generic Western Forge tools. Problem/blame here isn't SK or Great Star, but the all-American company Ideal, who shuttered Western Forge.
Getting around the Western Forge problem has been the elephant in the room since before the sale of SK was announced.
-Ryan
dnschmidt
Well-known member
Is there a purpose for an adjustable wrench now that the Pliers Wrench has been invented. I can't think of any.
neophyte
Well-known member
Yes.
“Squooshy” plumbing fittings.
The Plier Wrench only adjusts in ranges.
Crappy chrome plated zinc fittings, and plastic fittings are way less stiff than brass, iron, or steel fittings.
If you try using a Knipex or similar Plier Wrench on these squooshy fittings, the Plier wrench will squeeze the fitting, making the fitting much harder to turn.
A set screw to fine tune the exact haw opening when closed would fix the issue, but I haven’t felt like drilling and tapping a $50+ pair of pliers yet.
Regular adjustable wrenches don’t squeeze the fastener, so they don’t have the same issue.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I've yet to find a pliers wrench that works as well as my 18" and 24" adjustables on large fasteners. They just don't go big enough.
I also find adjustable wrenches superior to the pliers wrench for any job that requires a large amount of leverage, a cheater pipe or more torque than your grip strength. Sometimes I can wedge the adjustable between the fastener/union/whatever and the wall or table and the wrench holds itself so I can pull with both hands on the other wrench. Can't do that with a pliers wrench.
There's a hole on most adjustables that allow me to hang the wrench on a dedicated machine. I have a wrench on most every machine that uses strap clamps or some kind of hex fitting, most of them hang on a hook.
Adjustable wrenches are also awesome for bending and straightening sheet metal parts and shapes.
In a pinch, you can use an adjustable as a hammer. They make mining wrenches with a hammer head built in for this express purpose.
Pliers wrenches are nifty tools, but they're more suited to smaller fasteners that don't take a lot of gronk.
I have piles of adjustable Crescent, Williams, and Diamond adjustable wrenches in drawers, hanging on pegs, and in truck toolboxes that work just fine. Nearly all of them are like new, and few, if any, cost more than a couple of dollars.
You are correct, however, that there are scads of "quality" American made wrenches that just plain ****.
dnschmidt
Well-known member
OK, you've got me there. I've never worked on anything that required me to hang on a wrench with a cheater pipe. My 400 mm Pliers Wrench is more than big enough to handle anything I've ever encountered in my garage or home. You Paul Bunyan types working the oil fields, coal mines and places like that could use them I'm sure. Somebody has just made a post asking where he can buy a 24" adjustable wrench. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't fit in either my Toyota or Porsche.
Wyoming09
Well-known member
I have a couple of pair of the Doyle from Harbor Freight for about 3-4 years. They really surprise me. Holding up very well.
cherrybomb
Well-known member
I guess after reading this post,I'm pretty lucky to have a few Diamond and Proto clicks in my tool box.Its a shame what SK did to a once well respected line of made in America tools.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
I'm wondering if they are currnelty made in USA, or if Snap-on stocked up on domestically-sourced wrenches while they still could.The Snap-on ADxC series adjustables are made in USA.
They may be the only current domestic manufacturer of a standard pattern wrench.
Theronswanson
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SK doesn't even have a wrench that looks like that on their website. https://sktools.com/collections/wrenches-sets/adjustable I know they were bought out a while back, but I recall an article or video (can't remember which) that said SK is still making tools here in the US.
CHI_Tool&Die
Well-known member
Yeah it’s been confirmed by numerous people that SK Professional Tools will be their MiUSA line and consist of sockets and ratchets. They’ll also have a Chinese-made line and I think that is what is confusing people. I hope this doesn’t turn into a Snap-On is owned by HF and makes all their tools in China rumor thing for SK.
I have been gathering tools like a Magpie for last 30 years… I have the majority of what I will ever need or have the space to store. I still have 22 individual sockets and a few sets on my list…
At one time… I went to Lowe’s and bought about 10 Non-USA Craftsman and filled spots on some trays… I have to admit that I resent looking at them. I will always know that I was in such a hurry to fill those spots… I wish that I had slowly sourced vintage USA onesie twosie… what was the hurry?
I did buy 2 16mm 1/4” drive shallow sockets from SK. Everything else was NOS or used. SK has gotten less than $20 of my money ever. If you are in the Midwest and have time to search, there is tonnage of SK for very little. I have probably had about 15 sets of NOS SK… most went onto socket trays… but I still have a few examples of NOS SK. I am aware that location and having two stores that have NOS SK in close proximity to my house is not a universal experience.
Duro-Indestro is the same way. I find it often NOS still in the Cellophane and cheap. Cheaper than Harbor Freight… but I would argue that the Harbor Freight are technically better sockets. The Duro-Indestro was made in USA and stamped accordingly… so only you can decide what is better…
I bought three SK extensions yesterday. 100% of the money went to Americans…
At one time… I went to Lowe’s and bought about 10 Non-USA Craftsman and filled spots on some trays… I have to admit that I resent looking at them. I will always know that I was in such a hurry to fill those spots… I wish that I had slowly sourced vintage USA onesie twosie… what was the hurry?
I did buy 2 16mm 1/4” drive shallow sockets from SK. Everything else was NOS or used. SK has gotten less than $20 of my money ever. If you are in the Midwest and have time to search, there is tonnage of SK for very little. I have probably had about 15 sets of NOS SK… most went onto socket trays… but I still have a few examples of NOS SK. I am aware that location and having two stores that have NOS SK in close proximity to my house is not a universal experience.
Duro-Indestro is the same way. I find it often NOS still in the Cellophane and cheap. Cheaper than Harbor Freight… but I would argue that the Harbor Freight are technically better sockets. The Duro-Indestro was made in USA and stamped accordingly… so only you can decide what is better…
I bought three SK extensions yesterday. 100% of the money went to Americans…
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For more than twenty years, when I was younger, you could walk into Kitts Industrial and buy this set of deep 1/4” metric for between $12 and $15… I have had about 4 of these sets, and should have bought every set they had with no rust. Kitts Industrial is one of my two favorite local stores for NOS treasure hunting.
It was all made by union workers in the Midwest and France.
Mike Kitts still has some Facom era NOS SK, but nowhere near what he used to have. It is on the shelf above the Grey Pneumatic.
It was all made by union workers in the Midwest and France.
Mike Kitts still has some Facom era NOS SK, but nowhere near what he used to have. It is on the shelf above the Grey Pneumatic.
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KnurledNut
Well-known member
One of the new SK adjustables is listed on ebay with actual pics.
They are using the X-Frame trademark on these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2852738221...vBbi7C/Iqs39+A/MWTCDAkh/w=|tkp:Bk9SR-yKmPOCYg
They are using the X-Frame trademark on these.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/2852738221...vBbi7C/Iqs39+A/MWTCDAkh/w=|tkp:Bk9SR-yKmPOCYg
There would be a GIANT American flag on that packaging if that was the case (and forged indicator)
I don't bet much, but I'd put a wad on NOT USA
People are wrong all the time.
Yes. I posted in haste. After I posted that I enlarged all the pictures in the listing and saw no evidence of Made In USA. Wishful thinking on my part, I suppose.
