SK vs CM / CM Pro, and price?

[atlm]

There's a pawn shop near me selling a set of 12 SAE SK combination wrenches, from 1/4" to 1". They're polished and in a blue vinyl rollup pouch with a USA tag, and look new. The smallest 3 are 6 pt. The other 9 are 12 pt.

I read that SK has a patented design on their 12-pt box end that grips bolts in the middle rather than on the edges. Is it effective? Have they always had that, or is that something new these wrenches might not have?

What are these wrenches worth? I went to Ace and found a similar looking set (new of course) in a plastic holder for $190 plus tax.

How do these compare to Craftsman or Craftsman Pro, as far as strength and bolt head fit?

 

[Ed_EOD]

Pretty much every wrench and socket has that feature these days. Snap-On calls it flank drive, but everyone has it.

For strength, I would put them in the same class as the US made C-man pros, and well above the regular C-man, but as far as fastener fit, they will all be similar.

 

[ducati]

Craftsman Pro's are made by Klein tools or so I'm told by the fact that some wrenches came in from Klein stamped Craftsman at where I get my tools. You can get Klein cheaper than Craftsman Pro's or at least I can at my local tool supplier.

 

[Davefr]

SK is very close to SO in quality and higher then CM. However the older CM Pro were good tools and I think some of them were even made by SK.

I'd get that SK set if the price is right.

 

[mrholeshot]

Like SK the Craftsman USA pro series are history. Given a choice at the same price I rather have the last series of Craftsman Pro. The First Craftsman Pro were made by SK, the Cman Pro line wrenches were always made by SK. As far as the ring end Bonney actually invented the drive end you speak of. SK may have switched it up just a hair but it's all the same in the end. It keeps the wrench off the sharp corners of the bolt. Almost every wrench maker uses their version of it, like Flank drive,maxx drive,C drive, etc

 

[atlm]

He said $90 for the set, out the door price. My current non-ratcheting combination wrenches are v series Craftsmans I bought about 20 years ago. They've never been a snug fit on fasteners, but have gotten the job done. Worth replacing, or just keep the CMs? Or go to Sears to see if they have any of the USA made CM Pros hiding somewhere?

 

[fourfeathers]

Are the wrenches the shorter pattern or long?

 

[mrholeshot]

I'd need a photo to make that call

 

[atlm]

Are the wrenches the shorter pattern or long?

I don't understand the question. If you mean the length of the wrenches, they look normal, not extra long.

I'd need a photo to make that call

I'm 99% sure they're the same as this set being sold on eBay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400167916232

 

[mrholeshot]

I'd say 90 dollars is a decent price

 

[fourfeathers]

Those appear to be the shorter version. The Cman pros were the long pattern when SK made. I would want the longer ones, personally.

 

[atlm]

So not that great of a deal, and about the same as these?:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00945963000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

 

[Fedwrench]

Are you located close to a large military base? If so, they were probably liberated from there. $90 seems high to me but, I'm cheap. Check ebay for completed auctions.

 

[jon619]

So not that great of a deal, and about the same as these?:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00945963000P?prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=G2

Make sure they are USA made and not China. They recently switched over, probably because SK went bankrupt.

 

[Fedwrench]

Make sure they are USA made and not China. They recently switched over, probably because SK went bankrupt.

SK hasn't made the Carftsman professional series combination wrenches for about 10 years now. They swithed to PRC made wrenches for one reason, profit.

 

[MrMark]

I'm confused now. Did SK make the Craftsman Pro when they first came out? I purchased my set back in around 90-92 time frame, IIRC.

Did Danaher make the Craftsman Pro wrenches in very recent times, just prior to the Chinese wrench switch over?

 

[fourfeathers]

Bahco made them for a time in between SK and Danaher.

 

[Fedwrench]

I'm confused now. Did SK make the Craftsman Pro when they first came out? I purchased my set back in around 90-92 time frame, IIRC.

Did Danaher make the Craftsman Pro wrenches in very recent times, just prior to the Chinese wrench switch over?

Yes, the first generation Craftsman Professional wrenches were made by SK. They were rebadged SK long series. You can tell them apart by the wide hip area by the boxed end.
Craftsman switched to a raised panel fully polished type around 1998-1999 maybe. I'm not sure who made those but, they were only available in sizes up to 18mm and 15/16 and only stuck around for a year or so. Over those sizes, you still got a rebadged SK wrench.
Sears swithced to Danaher supplied wrenches around 2000 which look an awful lot like current Armstrong wrenches until the recent move to PRC made wrenches with the fat open ends. There are still plenty of US made sets around but, they'll probably dry up over the next year.

 

[MrMark]

Thanks Fedwrench, I never knew that i had SK wrenches! Are the SK better than the more recent Danaher/Armstrong? I'll have to check this "wide hip area" to confirm that I have these SK variants if I'm able to determine what you mean there.

 

[dabirdguy]

Offer him $50. If he doesn't bite no harm. $50 is a deal.
EVERYTHING in a pawn shop is NEGOTIABLE.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

Craftsman Pro's are made by Klein tools or so I'm told by the fact that some wrenches came in from Klein stamped Craftsman at where I get my tools. You can get Klein cheaper than Craftsman Pro's or at least I can at my local tool supplier.

Klein bought the wrenches from whomever was making the Cmans at the time... be it danaher, SK, PRC, whatever...Manufacturer screwed up and packed Cmans in w/ Kleins...

From my understanding, look for a "K" stamp on the Cman pro polished to know if they are made by SK or not... SK made the cman pro flare wrenches up until a couple years ago, at least.

Either w/b a good tool choice, both are well made wrenches. If the Cmans are longer, and you want longer, then the choice is clear. $$$ is not that great a deal, imo.

 

[atlm]

I'm kinda confused now. One reply says they're almost as good as Snap On, and others say different. Are they significantly better in strength and fit/finish than my v series CMs? If so, then I'll make him an offer around $50, which seems to be what they're going for on eBay. He was asking $110 plus tax and said he'd do $90 otd, so I don't think he'll go that low. If they're not significantly better than my CMs, what would be (besides SO)?

 

[Ben Iv]

Buy them, I just recived a set of SK metrich wrenches I bought today and they are very nice, and made in usa. I didnt realize they had stopped making them in the us. I also have a set of snapon and the chrome on the snapon is nicer but the so wrenches are alot thinner than the sk.