Craftsman adjustable wrenches - chrome vanadium vs. black oxide?

lithdoc · Mar 26, 2012

Hello,

I'm looking at some adjustable wrench sets from craftsman. The deals are decent, and I would basically pick up the whole line of 8" to 18".

They're available in both chrome vanadium (some yellowish stuff) and black oxide. I'm rather torn between the two, as the difference is cosmetic first and foremost.

Any opinions? Which ones would you go with? Any superiority of either coating? Thanks!

bobcatdan · Mar 26, 2012

I would say it is totally which you perfer. The black oxide may be FOB, but I don't know for sure. Both styles should hold to rust about the same as neither are chrome plated.

geologist · Mar 26, 2012

If your black oxide wrenches rust, you can simply boil them and then card the rust with a very fine steel wool. Afterwards, a hot oil treatment of spraying them down (and giving them a wipe) will take care of anything else. The boiling process does exactly the same thing as when you slow-rust-blue a firearm.

SMKS · Mar 26, 2012

lithdoc said:
Hello,

I'm looking at some adjustable wrench sets from craftsman. The deals are decent, and I would basically pick up the whole line of 8" to 18".

They're available in both chrome vanadium (some yellowish stuff) and black oxide. I'm rather torn between the two, as the difference is cosmetic first and foremost.

Any opinions? Which ones would you go with? Any superiority of either coating? Thanks!

Do you have any pictures of the "yellowish" finish?

Chrome vanadium should be the type of steel used to make the tool, not the finish.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6130902_properties-chrome-vanadium.html

lithdoc · Mar 26, 2012

stephen9666 said:
Do you have any pictures of the "yellowish" finish?

Chrome vanadium should be the type of steel used to make the tool, not the finish.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6130902_properties-chrome-vanadium.html

I've seen them in store, and they do look yellowish.

I'm referring to these. In person, they do look yellowish, not really your mirrored silvery chrome.

nanofrog · Mar 26, 2012

lithdoc said:
I've seen them in store, and they do look yellowish.

I'm referring to these. In person, they do look yellowish, not really your mirrored silvery chrome.

From the description, it sounds like nickel plating.

The left side is nickel, and the right is chrome.

gonefirefighting · Mar 26, 2012

I have noticed the black coating isn't as slippery as plated chromes or nickel finishes

lithdoc · Mar 26, 2012

nanofrog said:
From the description, it sounds like nickel plating.

The left side is nickel, and the right is chrome.

"This [TT_Wrench] set features tough chrome vanadium coating that binds so tight it makes chipping and peeling virtually impossible. Minimizes wear and abrasion also."

Link

nanofrog · Mar 26, 2012

lithdoc said:
"This [TT_Wrench] set features tough chrome vanadium coating that binds so tight it makes chipping and peeling virtually impossible. Minimizes wear and abrasion also."

Link

Chrome plating usually has a nickel plate underneath it though, and in some cases, there's a copper layer beneath the nickel. The nickel layer is thicker than the chromium layer, and adds the "shine" to the chromium layer.

If it was made with a cost-cutting mentality, the chromium layer is likely a bit too thin, and the nickel is showing through (overwhelming the chromium's blueish hue), which would give a yellowish appearance.

lithdoc · Mar 26, 2012

Interesting! I think it will be the black oxides that I go with...

On a side-note I want to comment on the bluish tint. I recently had bough the Craftsman thin profile ratchets - only to return them because they were made in PRC (LA series). I had one older one (KX series) thin profile one that I could compare it to.

What was interesting is that they would look identical in picture, in person they had major differences, one of which was a markedly darker and bluish tint of the old USA one (KX), while the PRC looked pale mirrored white (LA). The dimensions were also quite different - the only thing that was similar was the overall shape.

Mr_fixit · Mar 26, 2012

It's much easier to lose black than others.

Wakefield · Mar 26, 2012

Those the W F ones? The 15" job seems to be much more massive and built than the smaller ones. I think mine was advertised as Nichol plated. Kind of grey matte finish.

nanofrog · Mar 27, 2012

lithdoc said:
Interesting! I think it will be the black oxides that I go with...

On a side-note I want to comment on the bluish tint. I recently had bough the Craftsman thin profile ratchets - only to return them because they were made in PRC (LA series). I had one older one (KX series) thin profile one that I could compare it to.

What was interesting is that they would look identical in picture, in person they had major differences, one of which was a markedly darker and bluish tint of the old USA one (KX), while the PRC looked pale mirrored white (LA). The dimensions were also quite different - the only thing that was similar was the overall shape.

You can thank the EPA for the differences in the chromium finish.

What we usually think of chrome, is hexavalent chromium (Cr VI), but due to recent changes in EPA regulations (has to do with groundwater contamination), US manufacturers have switched to trivalent chromium (Cr III) as it's cheaper to work with.

Hexavalent is still allowed with proper handling, equipment, and disposal, but is more expensive to use as a result. So it's usually only found in specialized areas in the US, such as primer paint used in aerospace and automotive industries.

As it happens, trivalent Cr has a duller, grayish appearance vs. the nice shiny hexavalent Cr we're familiar with.

lithdoc · Mar 27, 2012

nanofrog said:
You can thank the EPA for the differences in the chromium finish.

What we usually think of chrome, is hexavalent chromium (Cr VI), but due to recent changes in EPA regulations (has to do with groundwater contamination), US manufacturers have switched to trivalent chromium (Cr III) as it's cheaper to work with.

Hexavalent is still allowed with proper handling, equipment, and disposal, but is more expensive to use as a result. So it's usually only found in specialized areas in the US, such as primer paint used in aerospace and automotive industries.

As it happens, trivalent Cr has a duller, grayish appearance vs. the nice shiny hexavalent Cr we're familiar with.

Hm... so were the Chinese hexavalent while the USA one was trivalent?

nanofrog · Mar 27, 2012

lithdoc said:
Hm... so were the Chinese hexavalent while the USA one was trivalent?

Very likely.

Older USA made tools will have hexavalent, but if it was was made recently, the US version is trivalent.

SMKS · Mar 27, 2012

Several people here frequently blast the EPA when a tool has bad chrome. But several US companies still produce tools with beautiful chrome.

nanofrog · Mar 27, 2012

stephen9666 said:
Several people here frequently blast the EPA when a tool has bad chrome. But several US companies still produce tools with beautiful chrome.

I've seen a few posts on that as well.

Not sure about the specifics in those cases, but the manufacturer has the choice of which variant they can use. But because trivalent is cheaper (Cr III is the form found in vitamins BTW), that's usually what they opt for.

As per a bad finish, either the tool wasn't clean when it went to plating, or they didn't get a thick enough layer on it (applicable to either form).

lithdoc · Mar 28, 2012

Got the black oxides today... I must admit, they look much much worse than they do in pictures. They look dirty and oily. Will return them all and reorder the vanadium ones...

geologist · Mar 28, 2012

lithdoc said:
Got the black oxides today... I must admit, they look much much worse than they do in pictures. They look dirty and oily. Will return them all and reorder the vanadium ones...

Are they real black oxide or are they that stupid black paint ******** that Sears tries to play off as black oxide? Real black oxide should wipe down relatively easy. They'll be dirty at first, but will clean up with a simple wipe down.

lithdoc · Mar 28, 2012

It could be the paint... Out my my disappointment, they're all put away already.

Craftsman adjustable wrenches - chrome vanadium vs. black oxide?

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