Gearwrench vs the new Chinese Craftsman sockets. (Lots of Pictures**)

So I JUST picked these up today, and they haven't even touched a bolt yet.
So this is strictly a fit and finish review. Time will tell how they hold up.

These are s-AC Chinese Craftsmans, and the Gearwrench is from Taiwan.

Personally, I'll give the edge to Craftsman, which I honestly wasn't expecting.
The Gearwrench feels just a HAIR narrower, but the Craftsmans are quite a bit shorter.

The chrome is very nice on both of them.

<a href="http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/kirbot/media/DSC_0013.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j455/kirbot/DSC_0013.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC_0013.jpg"/></a>

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<a href="http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/kirbot/media/DSC_0006.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j455/kirbot/DSC_0006.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC_0006.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/kirbot/media/DSC_0012.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j455/kirbot/DSC_0012.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC_0012.jpg"/></a>

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The sizes are stamped a good bit deeper in the Craftsmans, but it's certainly visible on both.

<a href="http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/kirbot/media/DSC_0023.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j455/kirbot/DSC_0023.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC_0023.jpg"/></a>


And just as a bonus, the ratchets.
There's really no comparison here. It goes to the Gearwrench without hesitation. (although I will say the Chinese Craftsman is a big step up from the last of the USA production) The fit and finish is a bit nicer, and there's no plastic.

<a href="http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/kirbot/media/DSC_0018.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j455/kirbot/DSC_0018.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo DSC_0018.jpg"/></a>

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Kirbot,

Thanks for posting this comparison. Your photos are of excellent quality. The quality of the current Craftsman Chinese sockets is of definite improvement compared to end production run of the USA made sockets. However, I have not read anything here about the durability of the steel used to manufacture the new Chinese sockets. The comments I have read here about the durability of Gearwrench sockets are mostly positive.

One feature I like about the Gearwrench sockets is the two horizontal stamped rings at the bottom. It makes pulling the socket from the drive end of a ratchet easier when working on an auto oil change for example.

Please continue with these type of posts. I enjoyed reading and learning from it.


Dave

to make it fair, compare Taiwan Gearwrench to Taiwan Craftsman - in that contest, the Taiwan Craftsman ratchet actually is nicer built.

also, compare six point to six point or 12 to 12

.......X2 Thanks for taking the time to post the comparison / Great pics...Would like to add...i think the China RP rats are much nicer than the USA ones were towards the end...Hate to say that..but it is what it is...

I just compared what I bought. I'm not going to buy duplicates just for the sake of fondling them.

Is there even such a things as Taiwan Craftsman?
Everything I saw was either USA or China

Edit
Never mind
I assumed you were talking about sockets. They didn't stock any of the Taiwan polished ratchets in this store

Kirbot said:

Is there even such a things as Taiwan Craftsman?
Everything I saw was either USA or China

Click to expand...

sure, here is an example of a really nicely made Craftsman ratchet made in Taiwan

www.craftsman.com/craftsman-3-8-in-drive-full-polish-long-handle/p-00944833000P

by the way, what kind of camera are you using, your macro photography is really good!

wild cowboy said:

sure, here is an example of a really nicely made Craftsman ratchet made in Taiwan

www.craftsman.com/craftsman-3-8-in-drive-full-polish-long-handle/p-00944833000P

Click to expand...

Yeah I edited about that.
I had sockets on the mind when I posted.

And...
An old Nikon D200 DSLR, with a 16-85 lens.
A tripod would have even improved the shots quite a bit, but I just didn't feel like lugging it out.

Going with GearWrench...

Santa's going to bring me the 3/8" and the 1/2" Metric and SAE socket sets, for Christmas...

If I'm lucky...

There'll be the 84 and 120 teeth ratchets to go with them...

The GearWrench looks nicer to me based on the photos. The chrome looks better and the etching looks nicer.

It's the square drive end of a Craftsman socket that ***** majorly.

Kirbot said:

An old Nikon D200 DSLR, with a 16-85 lens.

Click to expand...

Dang it! - Now I have to go get on ebay and get one of those!

dede2897234 said:

Kirbot,

The quality of the current Craftsman Chinese sockets is of definite improvement compared to end production run of the USA made sockets. .

Click to expand...

What?! Chinese Craftsman better than Craftsman USA? lol

But yes, Chinese Craftsman is top notch.

The ratchets are still the worst on the market - American or Chinese. Someone decades ago decided to make the cheapest ratchet possible to meet the needs of the homeowner and hence came up with the RP Craftsman ratchet. It works just fine, but I always feel a little cheap after using one.

Cato said:

What?! Chinese Craftsman better than Craftsman USA? lol

But yes, Chinese Craftsman is top notch.

The ratchets are still the worst on the market - American or Chinese. Someone decades ago decided to make the cheapest ratchet possible to meet the needs of the homeowner and hence came up with the RP Craftsman ratchet. It works just fine, but I always feel a little cheap after using one.

Click to expand...

I have to agree with this in my experience. I had an older USA made 1/2 ratchet that had a broken switch on it. Brought it to my local Sears (which is now gone) and they radioed to the back. Word came back "they didn't have anymore rebuild kits" so they gave me a new, off the shelf Made in China model. Cool, so I thought. It was shiny and new. But when I left and compared it to my 3/8", the gears in my new wrench sounded like they were plastic.

I am a carpenter / general contractor by trade, so I don't wrench other than out of necessity on personal vehicles, odd projects, etc. but this wrench seemed inferior to my older model.

More seasoned members may chime in, I don't know much about the logistics of the newer Craftsman ratchets, but I suspect my new one isn't as robust as its predecessor.

I see the Craftsman sockets still suffer from the indentations where the ball detents/retainer is formed. While it might help to depress the ball when attaching sockets, what I don't like is it created a bind when attaching the socket and you have the driver/extension 45 degrees off. It a first feels like you have engaged the square recess properly, but instead the corners of the drive end have fallen into the retainer notches instead. These notches showed up on seemingly all Danaher made sockets including Kobalt during the last run of US manufacture. In some cases, the socket actually manages to jam onto the driver and become difficult to remove, or feel it is properly installed only to fall off when applied to the fastener or with any torque applied. I never understood why that feature was implemented like it was.

Otherwise, they appear decent, good for homeowner or serious DIY use, and if materials quality is solid, be used for every day work. A shame they can't be arsed to make them in the US.

oldldh said:

Going with GearWrench...

Santa's going to bring me the 3/8" and the 1/2" Metric and SAE socket sets, for Christmas...

If I'm lucky...

There'll be the 84 and 120 teeth ratchets to go with them...

Click to expand...

Is the 84 tooth ratchet the one that can have matco 88 tooth guts put in it? If so you should do the conversion and let everyone know. I have a couple 88s for home use in 3/8 drive. (My most used drive size) and would love to have a half inch drive and a quarter inch drive, but can't seem to pull the trigger just for home use when the matco guy stops at work.

I must be about the only person in the world who doesn't mind the double detents on the Craftsmans. I can't tell them apart in use.

They were a bit of a surprise to me though, I thought I read somewhere that the Chinese sockets went back to the normal detents.

maxwage said:

I have to agree with this in my experience. I had an older USA made 1/2 ratchet that had a broken switch on it. Brought it to my local Sears (which is now gone) and they radioed to the back. Word came back "they didn't have anymore rebuild kits" so they gave me a new, off the shelf Made in China model. Cool, so I thought. It was shiny and new. But when I left and compared it to my 3/8", the gears in my new wrench sounded like they were plastic.

I am a carpenter / general contractor by trade, so I don't wrench other than out of necessity on personal vehicles, odd projects, etc. but this wrench seemed inferior to my older model.

More seasoned members may chime in, I don't know much about the logistics of the newer Craftsman ratchets, but I suspect my new one isn't as robust as its predecessor.

Click to expand...

Some grease would improve the feel of the ratchet quite a lot. Mine came bone dry.
But, certainly it will never be as nice as an OLDER American ratchet. They were reasonably nice before they switched to the plastic selector and started leaving them covered in sharp edges.

toolslut6.0 said:

Is the 84 tooth ratchet the one that can have matco 88 tooth guts put in it? If so you should do the conversion and let everyone know. I have a couple 88s for home use in 3/8 drive. (My most used drive size) and would love to have a half inch drive and a quarter inch drive, but can't seem to pull the trigger just for home use when the matco guy stops at work.

Click to expand...

I'm 90% sure that's true. The 120 ratchets have a different/thicker head.

It would be a complete waste of money though, unless you actually needed a rebuild kit.
Nobody could tell the difference between an 84 and an 88 tooth gear.

I have a hard time adjusting my eyes to see the size on gearwrench. I grew up on craftsman. I don't even have to look at size most of the time I just grab the right one. I have some gw and their chrome is nice for budget tools.

The double detents on the square end of the socket were intended for a different type of engagement system. There were a couple threads about it on here years ago. It never panned out, but they kept the detents. Personally I don't like them but they haven't given me any trouble.

Just a quick update.

It's only one job so far, but I just changed the rear u joint in my Jeep.
And that's the toughest job I ever do with 1/4" drive. There's no room for 3/8", and it means leaning into that little 1/4" ratchet for almost all I'm worth.

I used the 5/16" Craftsman and it held up fine. I wiped it down afterwords, and there's not weird mushrooming or anything like that.

Greatbear said:

I see the Craftsman sockets still suffer from the indentations where the ball detents/retainer is formed. While it might help to depress the ball when attaching sockets, what I don't like is it created a bind when attaching the socket and you have the driver/extension 45 degrees off. It a first feels like you have engaged the square recess properly, but instead the corners of the drive end have fallen into the retainer notches instead. These notches showed up on seemingly all Danaher made sockets including Kobalt during the last run of US manufacture. In some cases, the socket actually manages to jam onto the driver and become difficult to remove, or feel it is properly installed only to fall off when applied to the fastener or with any torque applied. I never understood why that feature was implemented like it was.

Otherwise, they appear decent, good for homeowner or serious DIY use, and if materials quality is solid, be used for every day work. A shame they can't be arsed to make them in the US.

Click to expand...

I got rid of my old Cman sockets for this reason. That is the most annoying thing that can happen when your working under a car when changing sockets.

Maybe because I own some CM pre 1990 that I never noticed the double detent to be an issue. Kept a few CM RP around as loaners or gifted them to a few budding diy mechanics and heard no complaints.

I have the older 299 piece USA made Craftsman socket set in my garage. New China craftsman in my shed and gearwrench in the back of my car. Gearwrench 120xp ratchets are starting to take up more space in my main tool cabinet. Great design. Yes grease helps all of these rats it's the first thing I do when I bring one home these days.

As far as wrenches the USA made Craftsman are leaps and bounds over the Chinese counterparts.


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Don 18 said:

The double detents on the square end of the socket were intended for a different type of engagement system. There were a couple threads about it on here years ago. It never panned out, but they kept the detents. Personally I don't like them but they haven't given me any trouble.

Click to expand...

It would be an excellent reason to buy the GearWrench sockets instead, which is why I mentioned it.

if you have a ratchet that is needing lube, and you do not have time to open it up, blast it quickly with mild solvent like MAF cleaner to make sure the head is clean of any grit or gunk, then soak the head end overnight or longer in a mix of Kroil and ****** fluid.

I have not used a plastic ratchet yet. Not looking forward to it if my current old craftsman dies. Plus the Sears stores are disappearing.
I hate 12 point sockets. Wish you could buy sets in only 6 point.

Nice pics. And thanks for taking the time to post them.

Kirbot said:

I just compared what I bought. I'm not going to buy duplicates just for the sake of fondling them.

Is there even such a things as Taiwan Craftsman?
Everything I saw was either USA or China

Edit
Never mind
I assumed you were talking about sockets. They didn't stock any of the Taiwan polished ratchets in this store

Click to expand...

Thin profile ratchets are Taiwan


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xyster101 said:

I have not used a plastic ratchet yet. Not looking forward to it if my current old craftsman dies. Plus the Sears stores are disappearing.
I hate 12 point sockets. Wish you could buy sets in only 6 point.

Click to expand...

Sears clothing department is going. Tools lawn mowers and manly stuff still standing upright. That info all came from my friend whom he works there...


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