Not too thrilled with my Metric Wright grip wrenches

I just got my new Metric Wright grip set in from Epstein, and I must say, I'm less than thrilled. These wrenches do not represent the quality I've come to expect from Wright.

Even worse, there's a tag that says "Proudly inspected by...", if I had inspected these, I surely would not have been proud to send them on their way.

Just as some background, I've owned (and still do own) a good number of Wright tools, and have a certain expectation of quality. These do not meet that expectation.

At first look, they are very nice. They're packed in their usual high quality denim tool roll, nothing strange there.





Once you start to look closer, things get a little ugly. This 14mm has chrome peeling off all around the box end.





The 12mm has two large spots where the chrome has just peeled completely off, and a few water marks from improper cleaning before plating (which is why the chrome is peeling off). It isn't shown in the picture, but there's a spot alaong the beam where there's a forging ridge that was not cleaned off, and it is literally razor sharp. It would slice through your finger like butter if you tried to use the wrench.







Here's another water mark and a tiny bit of flaking chrome on the 13mm





The 9mm has the same water marks, but the chrome hasn't started to peel yet.






Just so everyone knows, this discoloration is not just the kind that will wash away. It's underneath the plating, and shows improper cleaning before the plating process.

I picked a sampling of blemishes, but there are more than what I have shown. I would say there are only 4 or maybe 5 wrenches in the whole set which I consider to be Wright quality.

I'm guessing that their final rinse baths were contaminated by too many wrenches passed through between cleanings.

I'm not worried so much about looks here, I'm worried about functionality. These wrenches will have essentially zero corrosion resistance, due to the faulty plating. Also, sharp edges on a hand tool are just plain inexcusable.

There's some other defects in the set, including heavy visible grind marks all up and down the 11mm wrench, to the point where the beam of the wrench is squared off on the side that was ground, and it no longer has a comfortable oval profile.

The largest and smallest wrenches in this set were all acceptable quality. To give an example of what I expect to see when I hold a Wright wrench:








I'm just a little irritated here, I'm not really sure what I plan on doing with these yet. I've been waiting literally for MONTHS and held back on buying any other Metric wrench sets, waiting specifically for the Metric Wright grip... being rewarded by this, is rather frustrating.

I recently bought a single 24mm wright grip from Epstein and it's perfect.

Im sure epsteins will make it right. I would also contact wright, peeling chrome out of the box is Terrible, with that said it's not the level of production that I have got to know over the last couple years.

I'd see if perhaps epstein would process a return/exchange or if you could deal directly with wright on the issue, being that it was a new item and it looks like that.

Hiball said:

Im sure epsteins will make it right. I would also contact wright, peeling chrome out of the box is Terrible, with that said it's not the level of production that I have got to know over the last couple years.

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Yeah, this is completely atypical compared to what I've come to expect from Wright.

I haven't been buying Wright as long as you have, but nearly every single piece I've gotten has looked like someone really cared personally, about how that individual piece looked.

The exact opposite is true with this set. I was quite frankly shocked when I started pulling wrenches out of the roll.

Can you please take a close up picture of the open end? I'd like to see the Wright Grip teeth. Thanks,

Fedwrench said:

Can you please take a close up picture of the open end? I'd like to see the Wright Grip teeth. Thanks,

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http://store.harryepstein.com/dailydispatch/2011/09/750-wright-wright-grip-metric-wrench-set/

This is the second thread that I have saw with the same issue. Keep us updated with the outcome.

Hiball said:

http://store.harryepstein.com/dailydispatch/2011/09/750-wright-wright-grip-metric-wrench-set/

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Thanks, do you know if the teeth are towards the open end on the other side? How long is a Wrightgrip 13mm Wrench? Are full polished Wrightgrip metric versions available?

Fedwrench said:

Thanks, do you know if the teeth are towards the open end on the other side? How long is a Wrightgrip 13mm Wrench? Are full polished Wrightgrip metric versions available?

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Id say Slipjointed is the man you need to talk too, I dont own a set yet as they just came out.

I also bought a set of the wright grip metric wrenches from Epsteins yesterday. Some of my wrenches from the set also have the same staining as Slipjointed posted. I don't see much flaking after a quick once over, but some definite staining on some of them. My 19MM is by far the worst. On the box end it looks almost brown on one side.

I really wonder what wright or epsteins can do in this case. They aren't up to the normal wright quality. That being said, I'm sure the wrenches will work as expected, but not sure about the longevity before rusting.

Jori, anyone on here from wright that can speak to this?

I had a wright adjustable that I didn't like and the rep took it back, you should be able to return those!

They wont know they have a quality control issue unless you send them back.

Marmaduke said:

They wont know they have a quality control issue unless you send them back.

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Ive Already sent a Email to Wright, linking the Thread. Im sure Slipjoint will send them back, I know i would.

I bought a new SAE set off eBay a few weeks ago. No chrome peel but the water marks are there on some of them. So you're not alone.

How much did you pay for this set if you don't mind me asking?

Fedwrench said:

Thanks, do you know if the teeth are towards the open end on the other side? How long is a Wrightgrip 13mm Wrench? Are full polished Wrightgrip metric versions available?

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I'm not sure if the full polish are available yet, but I may consider them if I continue to have problems with the finish on the satin version.

I can somewhat forgive the finish issue on the satin wrenches as they're a bit cheaper and intended as the maintenance version, but the full polish are the premium version and I would expect an immaculate finish, just like I have gotten on other full polish Wright tools.

There are teeth on both sides of the open end, but they are not directional, they have the same profile on each side.

Hiball said:

Ive Already sent a Email to Wright, linking the Thread. Im sure Slipjoint will send them back, I know i would.

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Thanks for doing that.

Every indication I've had so far is that Wright really cares about its tools and its customers, so I'm not incredibly worried about getting this problem solved.

My main worry was that I was overreacting, so I posted here first to see if others agreed with me that this is beyond me just being too picky.

One thing that does concern me is that if I send this back to Epstein for replacement, any wrenches they currently have in stock probably are from this same bad plating batch. I'm more inclined to see if I can get a replacement direct from Wright.

Not all of the wrenches are bad enough to send back, but enough are that it probably makes sense to exchange the whole set.

larryq said:

I bought a new SAE set off eBay a few weeks ago. No chrome peel but the water marks are there on some of them. So you're not alone.

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I have done a good bit of plating myself, and it can be very challenging and time consuming getting parts properly clean before plating. The watermarks under the chrome may not have been visible until after plating.

I can see the dilemma for Wright, because it's hard to tell whether the wrench is clean before plating, and then all of a sudden you have an otherwise perfectly good wrench that is trash.

The first thing you do though, when you have contamination issues in your plating, is shut it down, clean out the tanks, and fix your problems. It disturbs me that these made it all the way into packaging.

MastoidPress said:

How much did you pay for this set if you don't mind me asking?

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These cost around $100. It depends on where you're shopping.





edit: I'd like to add in Wright's defense, cleaning satin objects before plating is VERY difficult. I've had to do satin chrome and nickel plating, and it seems no matter how many times you wash something, it still ends up with spots from microscopic **** that's hiding in the nooks and crannies of the satin finish.

We eventually ended up having to go to a multi-stage ultrasonic cleaning system with a alchohol vapor degreaser to get some parts clean.

I recently bought an SK wrench set that had some flaws, but not as bad as these Wrights. None of the SK wrenches had peeling chrome, but they had a few rough spots under the chrome. And the 9mm was improperly stamped.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112130

I also noticed flaws on the beloved USA-made Craftsman pro wrenches at Sears.

MastoidPress said:

How much did you pay for this set if you don't mind me asking?

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Sure, it was $60 shipped for a 3/8" - 1" set. Here's the link:

http://bit.ly/nauwOH

I like the wrenches but there are some of those stains slipjointed showed in the photos. Luckily all my chrome is fine, no peeling.

stephen9666 said:

I also noticed flaws on the beloved USA-made Craftsman pro wrenches at Sears.

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The kicker is you can most likely walk into Sears and exchange the wrench. For 99% of people thats probably not possible in any way shape or form with Wright. You get to enjoy playing the mailing game.

I dont know why people like to complicate things. Cman Pro are a great wrench and they're cheaper then these "budget" Wrights. Heck for damn near what these cost you can shop for a SO set off ebay.

slipjointed said:

edit: I'd like to add in Wright's defense, cleaning satin objects before plating is VERY difficult.

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Hazet does it. Stahlwille does it. Gedore does it [even back when they were made in India ]. Armstrong does it. They dont have these problems. Dont be an apologist for their shoddy production. Heres an interesting thought, perhaps Wright isnt the epitome of tool perfection some people here make it out to be.

These experiences with Wright quality problems regarding the wrench finish is very disturbing. I've always been a great fan of Wright and own quite a few of their tools. All of the items and sets that I own are of excellent quality. I expect the USA made Wright products to be good quality and I'll be very disappointed if Wright does not make good on replacements for the imperfect tools.

Please keep us all informed on how Wright addresses your situation. And, hopefully, they will get their quality control back up to par.

Skin said:

The kicker is you can most likely walk into Sears and exchange the wrench. For 99% of people thats probably not possible in any way shape or form with Wright. You get to enjoy playing the mailing game.

I dont know why people like to complicate things. Cman Pro are a great wrench and they're cheaper then these "budget" Wrights. Heck for damn near what these cost you can shop for a SO set off ebay.

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Craftsman Pro wrenches are now Chinese made, and don't deserve to be included in this conversation. The very last of the remaining open stock wrenches are USA, but that's only until they run out.

In fact, Wright was the replacement for my Craftsman pro's (which I owned two full sets of), once I found out they had gone to China, and I could look forward to recieving an ugly, lobster claw looking piece of **** with horrible box and open end broaching as warranty replacement.

Saying everyone should just buy Craftsman is equivalent to saying that everyone should just drink box wine from the grocery store because it's much easier than driving to the wine seller 30 minutes away.

Furthermore, Wright and Craftsman are not even close to being in the same leauge. Yes, I could buy a worn set of Snap-ons with someone else's name scratched into them, and that have had half of the life beaten out of them, for the same price that I purchased this brand new set of Wrights.

Any brand other than Craftsman is approximately equal in warranty hassle, save maybe Armstrong which is absolutely abysmal unless you happen to have a Fastenal nearby, and even then it is hit and miss.

What's most important to me though, is performance, and Wright is the only wrench save perhaps the Williams supercombos that has a thick oval beam, as well as high quality, precise, and consistent open and box end broaching combined with a flank drive style open end.

Skin said:

Hazet does it. Stahlwille does it. Gedore does it [even back when they were made in India ]. Armstrong does it. They dont have these problems. Dont be an apologist for their shoddy production. Heres an interesting thought, perhaps Wright isnt the epitome of tool perfection some people here make it out to be.

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Yes, many toolmakers that don't have to deal with draconian EPA regulations that attempt to strangle the last bit of life out of the American plating industry, have no problem applying a quality chrome finish.

What appears to be a single bad plating batch from a new line of tools does not retroactively cause the entire 80 year history of Wright's production to become "shoddy".

Every major tool manufacturer has had bad runs of Chrome, and I've seen account of it time after time here and elsewhere. Only when it turns into a repetitive pattern does it become cause for concern. Even the beloved Snap-on has from time to time sold ratchets, sockets, and wrenches where the chrome peels off in sheets.


Being that this latest wrench run is the first time I have EVER consistently seen bad chrome on a Wright tool, I'd say they've been doing pretty well.

Plating isn't the easy 1 + 1 = 2 that you're making it out to be, especially when you're an American company that is constantly having the rule book on plating regulations changed on them, and trying to still stay profitable at the same time.

Uniform satin chroming is one of the most difficult plating processes that can be done.

Satin finishing (aka beadblasting) is a superb way to achieve a uniform finish on your tools after forging and final finishing, but it is also a superb way to trap contaminants and make plating a nightmare. What had been working perfectly for Wright on their latest full polish runs, may not have worked on their latest satin runs.

Also, don't confuse satin with raw forged, they're two totally different surfaces. Raw forged is essentially full polish as far as plating is concerned.

I'm not saying Wright didn't screw up here, I'm saying that this one screw up doesn't reflect on the quality of Wright tools in general, it only reflects as a breakdown in their quality control system.

I have bought a lot of tools over the years, and Wright has been one of the only brands save Snap-on (and for the most part, pre-bankruptcy SK) that I truly had not a single worry about the quality of the tool I was about to recieve. That is how good their track record is with me.

I can't imagine that you've ever personally held a large number of Wright tools, because if you had, you'd see that each and every tool is hand finished with great care. I'm not sure what is going on with these wrenches, but obviously Wright either overlooked something, or made a change in their production process, and it bit them in the *** (although they might not know it yet).

This could be caused by all kinds of things... they may have changed the lubricant they use on their forging dyes, or even one of the detergents they use in their pre-plating prep process. Generally once a plating system is dialed in, it doesn't start just going to **** out of nowhere without a variable having changed.

FYI... You can search for Authorized wright retailers via wrights website, the brick and mortar stores don't offer the best prices but you can utilize there warranty service still the same.

I'm not trying to say it's easier to warrant a wright tool versus a craftsman but I'm also not naive enough to think sears has a endless supply of US made professional wrenches in storage. We all know that's not the direction there heading.

My Wright rep lives 2 minutes from my house, funny because as far as I now he is the only rep in Western Canada!

slipjointed said:

Satin finishing (aka beadblasting) is a superb way to achieve a uniform finish on your tools after forging and final finishing, but it is also a superb way to trap contaminants and make plating a nightmare. What had been working perfectly for Wright on their latest full polish runs, may not have worked on their latest satin runs.

Also, don't confuse satin with raw forged, they're two totally different surfaces. Raw forged is essentially full polish as far as plating is concerned.

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Interesting info, thanks. Anyone know where I can learn more about satin vs full polish finish and how each is done? Have no idea at present.

larryq said:

Interesting info, thanks. Anyone know where I can learn more about satin vs full polish finish and how each is done? Have no idea at present.

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There's actually a few ways to do satin chrome... it depends on the target plating thickness, and the material the chrome is going on. It can be done with chemical etch as well as pre-plating surface prep.

The general rule is that whatever the part looks like before plating, is how it looks after.

If you take a lot of care and polish a part as smooth as glass before plating, chances are you'll get an amazing finish (assuming everything else is in order). Plating is a lot like painting... the better the prep work, and the better the "primer" coats, the better the finished product.



Most of the plating I've done has been in the scientific/research field, but it's all the same stuff give or take. I also have a lot of experience working with plating shops in my business, so that's where I got a lot of my knowledge on the subject.

There are some companies that specialize in hobby electroplating, such as caswell, and they have videos and such to help people get started. That's a great place to begin, and even better, it's fun to do some of your own plating and anodizing at home... even though in general it's a couple notches below the processes done in a full scale shop.

slipjointed said:

Yes, many toolmakers that don't have to deal with draconian EPA regulations that attempt to strangle the last bit of life out of the American plating industry, have no problem applying a quality chrome finish.

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The other brands mentioned are all made in Germany. I'm no expert, but European countries are generally pretty concerned about the environment. I would assume Germany has pretty stringent environmental regulations.

Plus, many other companies produce very nice chrome in the US. The SK set I linked to earlier had beatiful chrome with no chipping. There were some flaws in the metal underneath the chrome, but the finish itself was very nice.

I think the problem with these wrenches was an issue with Wright. They may have had a bad run or something, but I don't the the EPA is to blame.

I got the wright 952 (15 Pc. Full Polish wrightgrips) and can't find an issue, so hopefully this is an isolated incident

stephen9666 said:

The other brands mentioned are all made in Germany. I'm no expert, but European countries are generally pretty concerned about the environment. I would assume Germany has pretty stringent environmental regulations.

Plus, many other companies produce very nice chrome in the US. The SK set I linked to earlier had beatiful chrome with no chipping. There were some flaws in the metal underneath the chrome, but the finish itself was very nice.

I think the problem with these wrenches was an issue with Wright. They may have had a bad run or something, but I don't the the EPA is to blame.

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I've seen runs of SK with severe peeling chrome also. Even the best of them, including the beloved Snap-on, have had bad batches of chrome. That in itself doesn't bother me, because of the tempermental nature of plating.

Normally, Wright's chrome is at least on par with SK's, I would say that in certain cases it rivals Snap-on.

I'm not an expert on the regulations myself, but from what I've been told by those in the industry, our EPA's regulations are amongst the most stringent in the world.

It's not a matter of whether quality chrome can still be done in the USA, it's whether it can still be done without going bankrupt.

I actually know one guy that is in the printing press business, that was hit so hard by the increasing regulations, that he started to have to send his American made parts sent overseas and back for plating.

tricker said:

I got the wright 952 (15 Pc. Full Polish wrightgrips) and can't find an issue, so hopefully this is an isolated incident

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Where did you source those from?

slipjointed said:

My main worry was that I was overreacting, so I posted here first to see if others agreed with me that this is beyond me just being too picky.

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I'm picky myself and I wouldn't be happy with that at all.

The first thing you do though, when you have contamination issues in your plating, is shut it down, clean out the tanks, and fix your problems. It disturbs me that these made it all the way into packaging.

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....and the sticker said it was inspected by someone before final packaging. Maybe a robot places those stickers instead.

edit: I'd like to add in Wright's defense, cleaning satin objects before plating is VERY difficult. I've had to do satin chrome and nickel plating, and it seems no matter how many times you wash something, it still ends up with spots from microscopic **** that's hiding in the nooks and crannies of the satin finish.

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Wright made the decision to send these out to the end user and that goes to show that they don't really care about their quality control. QC is maintained by each individual working along the production line. It's not just Wright and the various section supervisors, but the operators/packers themselves should play a vital role in the QC system. Those wrenches weren't handled by just one person who may have a bad day, they were handled many individuals before final packaging. Did they all have a bad day? Do they care about the end user or are they just thinking about their next pay cheque?

It should've been caught before they exited the factory, but it didn't.

slipjointed said:

Craftsman Pro wrenches are now Chinese made, and don't deserve to be included in this conversation. The very last of the remaining open stock wrenches are USA, but that's only until they run out.

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Because you dont think they "deserve" to be included doesnt change the point that i made. Either its a quick phone call for a replacement wrench or you walk into a store. A Cman "Pro" were never made in China. They can still be readily purchased online.

The kicker is you're acting like import wrenches couldnt even be compared to these Wrights with giant chunks of chrome coming unstuck.

In fact, Wright was the replacement for my Craftsman pro's (which I owned two full sets of), once I found out they had gone to China, and I could look forward to recieving an ugly, lobster claw looking piece of **** with horrible box and open end broaching as warranty replacement.

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I've said it time and time again, if you're worried about breaking comination wrenches perhaps you need to look at yourself and stop using production changes as a scapegoat for either not purchasing or replacing perfectly good wrenches. Stop worrying about what you'll do for replacements if you decide to put a pipe on your 14mm Combination wrench and snap the box end off. With the correct application, and even suffering some occasional smacks from a deadblow, a combination wrench set should last a lifetime of service if not more so.

Saying everyone should just buy Craftsman is equivalent to saying that everyone should just drink box wine from the grocery store because it's much easier than driving to the wine seller 30 minutes away.

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And in this case the "wine seller" is making worse wine.

Furthermore, Wright and Craftsman are not even close to being in the same leauge. Yes, I could buy a worn set of Snap-ons with someone else's name scratched into them, and that have had half of the life beaten out of them, for the same price that I purchased this brand new set of Wrights.

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You may want to go look at the going rate for a nice set of OEXM wrenches there chief.

What's most important to me though, is performance, and Wright is the only wrench save perhaps the Williams supercombos that has a thick oval beam, as well as high quality, precise, and consistent open and box end broaching combined with a flank drive style open end.

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The extra few thousanths of an inch you gain on your beam thickness wont be much comfort when the chrome starts digging into your hand. If you pull on a wrench hard enough for it to hurt buy a longer wrench with more leverage. Cornwell, MAC, Snap-On, Toptul, they all make very long double box wrenches as well as extra long combos that make these Wrights look like midgits. Buy the right tool for the job and remember that beam thickness is no substitute for leverage.

Yes, many toolmakers that don't have to deal with draconian EPA regulations that attempt to strangle the last bit of life out of the American plating industry, have no problem applying a quality chrome finish.

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Go look up German regulations. There every bit as strict if not more so. Armstrong has also been doing it for a long time, go look at the Danaher Kobalt combos.

What appears to be a single bad plating batch from a new line of tools does not retroactively cause the entire 80 year history of Wright's production to become "shoddy".

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I dont see a bad batch, i see bad production. You have multiple people who have purchased wrenches from vastly difference places and in different sizes who have chimed in saying they have similar cosmetic issues.

I can see you're determined to play the apologist so i think this will end here.

Skin said:

A Cman "Pro" were never made in China.

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You happen to be wrong about this. The most recent production is Chinese.

williaty said:

You happen to be wrong about this. The most recent production is Chinese.

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they're not branded Craftsman Professional. You will not find a wrench branded as such made in China because they've never been made there.

I've seen the same thing with the chrome on multiple SnapOn screwdriver sets. Just goes to show it happens to the best of companies. Isolated issue I hope because I really like Wright alot.

Cheers
SF

I also bought a Wright metric 752 set recently. While they feel very nice overall, I definitely noticed some problems with the finish on them. My 12 mm is peeling just the same way as yours is and several of the other wrenches have these water spots, but not quite as bad as yours. One of the edges drew blood when I was somewhat carelessly handling it (I still blame myself for this).

After seeing that I'm not the only one with this problem, I am contemplating returning the set. I really don't want to do this because I like the overall feel of the wrenches a lot, but if I'm paying good money for a professional wrench set, I want professional quality in every way.

I just went to make a more thorough inspection of my set and was appalled at what I found. The 21 mm wrench is already rusting !

All of the wrenches also have scuffs on the polished heads (I don't know at what point these are considered normal vs. being a manufacturing defect). These are wrenches that are BRAND NEW in the package and have never seen a second of use. I am thoroughly disappointed. My set has a different inspector number than the OP's, so I don't think we can blame a single inspector either.

slipjointed said:

Where did you source those from?

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tooldiscounter

Obviously Wright has some issues with there New production wrightgrip metric wrenches, I don't believe anyone here will deny that. Let's remember... Wright has been in business for 75+ years and you don't stay in business by sending out wrenches with peeling chrome out of the box. Secondly you vary seldom here the good stories, it's normally the poor QC stories that populate the internets.... And it's almost comical that we have some members who think because of 3-4 instances on a "brand new production tool" equates that wright is the big bad wolf. The truth of the matter is that wright has produced some of the finest tools for nearly a century and Id be willing to bet they will make these concerns go away if the consumers give them a opportunity to do so. I agree whole heartedly that whomever inspected those wrenches needs a different profession but people have bad days including everyone here at Gj.

I have yet to own a Wright tool that I've been disappointed with, and I have quite a few ranging from 30+ years old to 6 months old. I'm certain Wright will take care of the issue if given the opportunity.

Yikes! I thought Danaher's economy USA wrenches were bad but this is by far the worst case.