Worst US made "crescent" wrench ever? - Canton Malleable Iron

[Leviton]

I find mentions of the Canton Malleable Iron Company name from when it first went out of business around 1870, up until the 1970's.

I bought this Canton Malleable Iron adjustable open end wrench because because I couldn't believe how bad it was.

It looks and feels like it came straight from China. It's soft, it's ugly, it's sloppy.

The movable jaw has almost 0.150" of play in the adjustable direction and many degrees of back-and-forth slop in the transverse direction. The screwdriver slot for the worm screw pin is very shallow - looks like it was just scribed in.

Great rattle, crappy screwdriver.

There goes $0.25.
-

 

[rusty65]

That’s funny I keep one around just to laugh at it also. It’s the only adjustable I own that you can tell the jaws are sprung halfway across the room.


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[davethorik]

Funny, I have one and posted a thread about these...crickets. I guess I should have tried the complaining angle if I really wanted info. Lol

Mine is also very sloppy, but I work in Canton, so I thought it was neat to find. As with all my other neat finds, might as well throw em in the trash.

 

[Leviton]

Funny, I have one and posted a thread about these...crickets. I guess I should have tried the complaining angle if I really wanted info. Lol

Mine is also very sloppy, but I work in Canton, so I thought it was neat to find. As with all my other neat finds, might as well throw em in the trash.

Hi Dave, being local, do you know much about the company?

I'm definitely keeping mine. Regardless of quality, it's part of tool history and is made in the USA. I thought it was neat to find as well. I preferred finding it to finding yet another Diamond Calk Horseshoe adjustable.

 

[MisterEd]

Had seen posting about the Canton Malleable Adjustable and then found one amongst other, dare we say, higher quality tools and had to have it!

None of the previous pictures do justice to the “quality” of the tool.

 

[Re-Tired]

As Henry Royce said, "Quality is it's Own Reward"

 

[CoogarXR]

You can tell it's soft when the hole you hang it with has as much wear as the business end.

 

[Lassen Forge]

We had those issued to us at work. Something about "low bid being good enough"... Oh, wait, you actually thought you needed to USE those things???

 

[psu8865]

I picked up a 6" at a flea market in NJ today- it's covered in grease and moving really slow- it will go in the project pile. I had never seen a Canton tool before

 

[rusty65]

I picked up a 6" at a flea market in NJ today- it's covered in grease and moving really slow- it will go in the project pile. I had never seen a Canton tool before

That sounds cool id like to see a picture if you could please

 

[psu8865]

That sounds cool id like to see a picture if you could please

Here it is in as found condition Gummed up and dirty- will be awhile until I can get to it and clean it up properly but for a buck I couldn't pass it up.

 

[genog]

I knew that I had one of these goofy adjustables....
Yeah, Malleable is right!
More like soft....
This one has a wobbly lower jaw


Found it in the box of tools that I keep available as loaners to the Brothers in Law
Stuff that I don't care if I never get back.....and since it's those guys...stuff which I won't get back

 

[rusty65]

I knew that I had one of these goofy adjustables....
Yeah, Malleable is right!
More like soft....
This one has a wobbly lower jaw


Found it in the box of tools that I keep available as loaners to the Brothers in Law
Stuff that I don't care if I never get back.....and since it's those guys...stuff which I won't get back
after seeing a picture I think i got a bent jaw version also at one point

 

[d42jeep]

I’m not unhappy that one of those isn’t in my collection. This modern 4” example may be the worst “Crescent” wrench I‘ve run across. BK and I both bought one of these and came to the same conclusion independently.
-Don

 

[four.cycle]

This modern 4” example may be the worst “Crescent” wrench I‘ve run across. BK and I both bought one of these and came to the same conclusion independently.

^ I sold that POS on ebay for about $25 bucks. Buyer left great feedback saying he loved it and that it was "better than it looked in the photos".

 

[Etchase]

^ I’m curious, what is troublesome about those? The fit of the jaw, or slop in the thumb wheel, or…?

 

[four.cycle]

Just a total failure on Crescent's part on that one. It completely changed my opinion about the company.
I believe that Don used the expression "How far the mighty have fallen".
The adjustment wheel would bind up about every quarter turn- no spring.