Craftsman Elbow Wrenches (made in PRC)

[Stuey]

My review of Craftsman's elbow wrenches went live this morning.

I've got to say, I was surprised at the quality of the wrenches. I've used other Craftsman tools that were made in China (most notably their mini pliers), and the quality sucked. I don't know what I was really expecting, but the wrenches are made very well.

Actually, the finish on the wrenches is better than that of some of my USA-made craftsman wrenches.

They're strong, and they get the job done exactly as advertised. The price is a bit high - if I recall correctly, they were introduced at $80 but now cost $100. Craftsman's other made-in-PRC wrench sets also increased in price by about 25% since they were launched.

It's upsetting that the wrenches aren't made in the USA, but aside from that, the wrenches are great.

I'm waiting to hear from Craftsman to see if the set needs to be returned or if I can give it away.

 

[Stick Figure]

I'll have to read the full review later, but these wrenches intrigued me when they came out. It wasn't really the China factor that kept me from buying them, but the amount of money for the China factor. While i know first hand that the product quality out of any country can very greatly, China included. My first instinct when i see certain Asian COO is to check HF for a similar product at usually a far cheaper price, and often of pretty equal quality.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

Moose is intrigued..

 

[ryan_289]

They look neat. I hate to see craftsman manufacture another tool overseas. If these sell well it just gives them incentive to move more production from the USA. For that reason I will probably pass.

 

[Indy_500]

I'll have to read the full review later, but these wrenches intrigued me when they came out. It wasn't really the China factor that kept me from buying them, but the amount of money for the China factor. While i know first hand that the product quality out of any country can very greatly, China included. My first instinct when i see certain Asian COO is to check HF for a similar product at usually a far cheaper price, and often of pretty equal quality.

HF doesn't have any wrenches like that but they do have an elbow ratchet.



And i inspected those wrenches pretty closely in the store. I really like em. The finish i thought was great, the ratcheting i thought was great, and so was the little "lock" mechanism.

 

[Mike83]

I bought a set of the double open end ratcheting wrenches and they are also very nicely made and seem to perform as intended. Maybe if these elbow wrenches ever go on sale I'll pick them up.

 

[Stuey]

I know a lot of people are against the made-in-PRC factor of these wrenches, but as long as Craftsman doesn't start shifting their existing production lines overseas, I'm okay with it.

I don't think I've seen anyone else come out with elbow wrenches.

I have some more time with the wrenches. If anyone wants additional pics posted or testing done, let me know.

 

[Monte]

For the nice review you made i guess you can keep the wrenches !

 

[Stuey]

For the nice review you made i guess you can keep the wrenches !

I just received the go-ahead to give them away on ToolGuyd. =)

Review samples that aren't returned are typically donated, given away, or in some cases I'll continue to test the tool or shelve them for future benchmark or comparison purposes.

 

[mrholeshot]

I like them but the China part just turns me off to them. If they were 30 dollars and made in China I'd be all over them.

 

[philw]

I like them but the China part just turns me off to them. If they were 30 dollars and made in China I'd be all over them.

I agree. I'm not throwing that much money at any PRC tool unless it's my only option.

I have been fine without them all these years so I think I can pass on them.

 

[Moose-LandTran]

How much are they?

 

[Stuey]

How much are they?

Now, $100 per set. iirc, they were $80 at release.

If you wait for a sale, they might be as low as $50-60 or so, maybe as low as $45 if Sears offers another 1/2-off wrench sale.

 

[Teken]

That was a great read and review as always there Sir. Please do follow up with us as to whether the wrench is indeed bent on purpose.

 

[JohnFreeman]

Not going to knowingly send more money to China. Sorry C'man.

 

[tpolley]

where/what is PRC??

 

[Mike83]

people's republic of china

 

[jeepnut24]

HF doesn't have any wrenches like that but they do have an elbow ratchet.

They will soon enough....


They look nice, but Im with the rest. Too much $$$ for import tools.

 

[Monte]

where is PRC??

next to ROC

 

[Stuey]

next to ROC

I had to google that one. That's where many Gearwrench tools are made. =)

 

[ATTappman]

I don't think I've seen anyone else come out with elbow wrenches.

They're in Gearwrench's 2010 catalog, starting on page 232. They call them indexing ratcheting wrenches. I haven't yet seen anyone selling the new Gearwrench tools online yet, though.

Possibly they're identical to the Craftsmans, except for the name on the side.

 

[Stuey]

They're in Gearwrench's 2010 catalog, starting on page 232. They call them indexing ratcheting wrenches. I haven't yet seen anyone selling the new Gearwrench tools online yet, though.

Possibly they're identical to the Craftsmans, except for the name on the side.

Thanks, I'll have to check that out! I'm sure I have the catalog around here somewhere.

That was a great read and review as always there Sir. Please do follow up with us as to whether the wrench is indeed bent on purpose.

My contacts are looking to see if they can connect me with a product manager to discuss this feature or issue.

 

[wafrederick]

Gearwrench has patents on them still.Most of our scrap steel has been going over to China,building new cities and have not taken any lately

 

[Teken]

They're in Gearwrench's 2010 catalog, starting on page 232. They call them indexing ratcheting wrenches. I haven't yet seen anyone selling the new Gearwrench tools online yet, though.

Possibly they're identical to the Craftsmans, except for the name on the side.

Yes that is correct!

 

[Thumper]

I don't think I've seen anyone else come out with elbow wrenches.

I think Snap-on has something very similar but with a longer "T" type handle.

 

[Bran Diezel]

got them last nov. for my bday and have yet to find a use for them... one day though

 

[iandh]

I really like the design, but if I'm going to pony up that kind of cash, it'd better be made in the USA.

I own gearwrench stubbies and standard flexes, but I paid $29.99 and $34.99 respectively... that's about as much as I'm willing to pay for a Chinese made wrench set.

 

[boybacon]

My review of Craftsman's elbow wrenches went live this morning.



They're strong, and they get the job done exactly as advertised. The price is a bit high - if I recall correctly, they were introduced at $80 but now cost $100. Craftsman's other made-in-PRC wrench sets also increased in price by about 25% since they were launched.
.

You'll see all Made In China products going up in price as China revalues the Yuan to a more reasonable level. The other storm brewing is a labor crisis. Many factories are losing employees to other factories that are paying better and offering more benefits. Everyone who sources product from China is feeling the pinch, although I've got a feeling that Craftsman has a lot of margin (hidden and normal) built into their pricing structure.

 

[Fedwrench]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46989&highlight=elbow+wrenches

We talked about these awhile ago. Gearwrench debuted theirs at SEMA last November but, Craftsman released theirs last October. The main advantage of the Gearwrench set is that it doesn't skip any sizes. It runs 8-19mm.
http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.co...E-4109-450E-BF8A-64289AB88DC9}/qx/product.htm

Aside from the name and available sizes, it's the same wrench. Notice that most of the new tools aren't US made?

 

[iandh]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46989&highlight=elbow+wrenches

We talked about these awhile ago. Gearwrench debuted theirs at SEMA last November but, Craftsman released theirs last October. The main advantage of the Gearwrench set is that it doesn't skip any sizes. It runs 8-19mm.
http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.co...E-4109-450E-BF8A-64289AB88DC9}/qx/product.htm

Aside from the name and available sizes, it's the same wrench. Notice that most of the new tools aren't US made?

Well, here's to hoping they keep at least the standard combos, sockets, and ratchets USA made.

If they want to sell a bunch of China **** at USA prices, then I'll be moving on. I've made it a point to send them quite a few emails stating so as well.

That's what their evolv line is for.

I can see stuff like these kind of oddball ratcheting wrenches, and things that don't sell as much like flare nut wrenches getting sent to China, but if they start doing it with their mainline tools, I'm not sure if they realize just how much it will alienate their loyal customer base.

Sure, there will always be suckers willing to pay the same price for a product stamped China, but normally the people with MONEY are the ones who visit their store to buy some USA wrenches, and then walk out with a TV.

If Sears wants to ensure that they go out of business, the best way to do so is move the entire Craftsman line to China and completely remove any meaning the name still has.

 

[TireTracks]

I'm waiting for them to go on sale, i think they would do the same job those Half moon and S wrenches do, along with being a normal ratcheting wrench

 

[iandh]

I'm waiting for them to go on sale, i think they would do the same job those Half moon and S wrenches do, along with being a normal ratcheting wrench

Don't get me wrong, I think they're very cool, but I just can't abide paying full price for something stamped China.

If they go enough on sale I might pick up a set. It's going to be hard though, as all of the Craftsman stuff I currently own has a USA stamp on it.

 

[Bart Simpson]

I think Snap-on has something very similar but with a longer "T" type handle.

Yes Snap On has sold the T-Handle wrenches for a long time now but there quite a bit different.

Metric
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=all&Group_ID=545&store=snapon-store

Standard
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/tools.asp?tool=all&Group_ID=544&store=snapon-store

 

[Bart Simpson]

i think they would do the same job those Half moon and S wrenches do, along with being a normal ratcheting wrench

I don't think so , there really not offset very much.

 

[ZRX61]

I have a 1/4in drive ratchet that works like those wrenches

 

[bchee]

We talked about these awhile ago. Gearwrench debuted theirs at SEMA last November but, Craftsman released theirs last October. The main advantage of the Gearwrench set is that it doesn't skip any sizes. It runs 8-19mm.
http://www.nationaltoolwarehouse.co...E-4109-450E-BF8A-64289AB88DC9}/qx/product.htm

I seem to recall you saw a set of Gearwrench that had the elbow on BOTH ends.

 

[Merkava_4]

It actually says "CHINA" on the back of one of the wrenches in Stuey's picture. I thought stamping COO directly on a tool wasn't a requirement anymore.

 

[kythri]

So, the GearWrench branded ones come in a 12pc Metric set and an 8pc SAE set?

That seems odd.

http://www.tooltopia.com/kd-tools-85488.aspx
http://www.tooltopia.com/kd-tools-85498.aspx

 

[Ghostrider]

May I be the first out there to say that I'll take them if they're a give away. Lol but seriously they look like a good idea I'm just not sure I have a need for them. Would like to find out though.

(wink wink)

 

[Fedwrench]

I seem to recall you saw a set of Gearwrench that had the elbow on BOTH ends.

No, at the Gearwrench booth they had a prototype that had a fixed boxed end (instead of the open end) on the other side opposite the ratcheting elbow. It looked promising.