Older Craftsman Raised Panel Ratcheting Wrenches.

balane · Jan 19, 2013

My head must have been in the sand because I didn't even know these existed. They are =V= series and stamped USA. I found them at a garage sale this morning.

Were these short lived or something? I've never held or even seen a set of these before. They seem very well made but only have 30 teeth so maybe a little clunky in the mechanism.

I guess I'm asking if I'm alone in not knowing this style of ratcheting wrench was ever available from Craftsman. I really like them.

.

87Pomona · Jan 19, 2013

First time seeing some old V craftsman ratcheting wrenches. They look new.

balane · Jan 19, 2013

My bad, they have -V/\- stamps on them. So, a little newer. But still, I've never seen a raised panel ratcheting wrench from Craftsman before. I didn't even know they had released USA made ratcheting wrenches other than the old style with two flat pieces of metal riveted together with the working bits sandwiched in the middle.

I looked on eBay and couldn't find a single set for sale, either active or old auctions. They must be fairly unusual.

kunkernator · Jan 19, 2013

They still stock those at my local Ace Hardware. The goal of them I believe is to provide a ratcheting wrench that is just as strong as a box end (thus the low tooth count). My Ace has them open stock and in sets, all USA made. I personally would never truly use them because it is such a low tooth count and need a bit more pressure to turn.

byoungblood · Jan 19, 2013

There are still a few in stock at my local Sears. I thought the local Hometown store was closing them out (they had them all in a big box up front) and was putting together a metric set for my road box, came to find out they were still full price at $10+ each.

I think with the finer tooth Gearwrenches and Craftsman's own full polish ratcheting wrenches these just didn't catch on very well. I'm guessing everything on the shelves is old stock, and once it is gone, it is gone.

fivespdcat · Jan 19, 2013

I believe they also had US made ratcheting RP combo wrenches. I personally bought a set of US made full polish ones and rounded out the set with all the extras. I think I have the full set 7-19mm no skips. Really very nice wrenches, wish they were a bit longer, but you can't have everything.

fivespdcat · Jan 19, 2013

Here they are:

nine4gmc · Jan 19, 2013

those markings are newer, I don't think they made the RP ratcheting until more recently

fivespdcat · Jan 19, 2013

Yeah that was a stock picture from the website, but they have been around a while. Here is a VA example on ebay:

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=261157352139&index=22&nav=SEARCH&nid=62953287568

metaldad · Jan 19, 2013

I have a set of the RP SAE ratcheting boxes, a set of RP SAE combos, and a partial of RP Metric combos. All are -v^-. (i have them because of the sickness that is rampant here))
There is a Sears repair location near here that has sets of RP combos (SAE and Metrics)for sale....... like $75 for 8 pcs. If anyone is interested.
I do have an extra RP 1/2, 11/16, and (2) 13mm new available for trade.

Chadwilliam1 · Jan 19, 2013

yup, co worker had them. Craftsman also made reversible ratchet wrenches that were nice and stamped USA.

fourtythree · Jan 20, 2013

I've got a few of the us made combo wrenches. They're decent, but low tooth count compared to gearwrench. They seem pretty robust though. They were also sold as Kobalt before they switched to asian tools.

metaldad · Jan 20, 2013

Remember that there was another RP style. Ratchet box/ quick action (whatever you call it) open end. Shown are 1/2 RP"s for size comparison.
I also noticed someone grabbed a 9/16 ratchet end/open end from me. Anyone have one available? I do have some new unused spares available for trade.

Skin · Jan 20, 2013

those "pawless ratcheting wrenches" were probably one of the worst products available through the Craftsman brand. They were not stronger, they are very course tooth, very short, and if you put a very small side load on the wrench while you're attempting to ratchet it you can get it to free spin. Total junk. Only value in them is collectability, other than that its a terrible tool. The kicker is they were around $60-$80 for a set of 7-8 wrenches and basically never went on sale.

Kev442 · Jan 20, 2013

Skin said:
those "pawless ratcheting wrenches" were probably one of the worst products available through the Craftsman brand. They were not stronger, they are very course tooth, very short, and if you put a very small side load on the wrench while you're attempting to ratchet it you can get it to free spin. Total junk. Only value in them is collectability, other than that its a terrible tool. The kicker is they were around $60-$80 for a set of 7-8 wrenches and basically never went on sale.

I bought the Kobalt ones, which are longer. Very disappointed in that free spin with a little side load. I thought they were going to be a very beefy wrench that I could abuse, up to and including cheaters. No way when they can pop into free spin with no warning. The coarse teeth mean it won't ratchet on a loose nut either, where my GW will no problem.
Thankfully they were bought with a Lowes card I won in a contest.

metaldad · Jan 20, 2013

all mine sit in a drawer. generally unused.

cide1 · Jan 20, 2013

I have both SAE and metric sets of USA made ratcheting RP. I bought the at a significant discount when local sears clearanced them out a few years back. There are a few additional sizes made that were not included in the sets.

They work great, take abuse, but are a tiny bit big, and quite course.

Super Sport · Jan 20, 2013

Some of those came in one of the large closeout sets I bought a few months back. Sold them on Ebay because I had no use. I think I got $3/wrench.

metaldad · Jan 20, 2013

Super Sport said:
Some of those came in one of the large closeout sets I bought a few months back. Sold them on Ebay because I had no use. I think I got $3/wrench.

got a 9/16 left over?

Super Sport · Jan 20, 2013

No sorry, I sold them all.

Chadwilliam1 · Jan 20, 2013

if I recall they were not very expensive to begin with.

frankush · Jan 20, 2013

I had both the SAE and metric sets. Sold them both on Ebay last week because I never used them.

Skin · Jan 21, 2013

Chadwilliam1 said:
if I recall they were not very expensive to begin with.

they were expensive for Craftsman. Gearwrench sets would go on sale for $30 while the raised panel ratcheting wrenches never went below $50 for the 7-8pc sets as far as im aware. I use to keep an eye on them, until I actually used one. Still have a metric set stuffed in the way back portion of my cart.

fourtythree · Jan 21, 2013

I picked mine up when my Sears went under. Iirc, the original price was in the 25 dollar range per wrench, so they weren't cheap. This was for the flex head combos.

melliott28 · Jan 21, 2013

I remember seeing both metric and sae sets of those wrenches on clearance about a year and a half ago. I almost bought them because they were made in the USA, but I decided against it because the sets only had 8 wrenches and I already had some Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches.

er3456df · Jan 21, 2013

Tried it, didn't like it. Package mine came in actually called the side-load slip thing a "feature", but I couldn't for the life of me figure out why I would ever want such behavior from a wrench.

Bought the GW-made full-polish reversible Craftsmans, never looked back. I use em for anything I'd use a 3/8" ratchet on, and haven't broke one yet.

zakmartin · Jan 22, 2013

I bought a metric and SAE set of those on clearance on the Sears website about 6 months ago. I used them to take apart a mailbox, and they worked just fine. Nothing fancy, but they get the job done and they're made in the USA.

Rickenbackerman · Jan 22, 2013

I've got a full set of them. They ****. The side-load-slip-and-bust-your-knuckles-feature, the sloppiness of the ratcheting mechanism and the low tooth count just makes them terrible. That said, I've had them for a while and do use them, you just gotta be careful not to side load them when you do. I've gotta get something better.

TJKamp · Nov 23, 2019

So, reviving a super old thread. Hope no one gets too bothered by it:

I purchased a full set SAE and Metric combination ratcheting wrenches (like the ones pictured in post #7) while I was in high school. -v^- USA label. And while I cuss them on a regular basis, I have grown to love them. Yes they are stupid course, and if you side load them they will free spin, but they were the first real addition to my tool set that I purchased on my own. I still have them, use them dang near every time I use my mechanics tools. I’ve owned them for right around 17 years. Haven’t ever had any problems with them.

About 5 or 6 years ago my 10mm went missing (shocking right?) anyone know where I might find a good condition replacement? Don’t care if the manufacturer mark (or whatever you call that) is the same, just want the same wrench. Haven’t been able to come across one in 10mm on eBay, don’t want to pay for a full set.

Thanks,

Trevor

Older Craftsman Raised Panel Ratcheting Wrenches.

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