pendragon1998
Well-known member
I am curious to know who y'all think made the finest adjustable wrenches - fit, finish, function - back in the day.
Who made the best vintage adjustable wrenches?
- Thread starter pendragon1998
- Start date
Diamonds (with the green vinyl-coated handles) were always great. Though I just scored a 6" Vlchek, and it's pretty nice for it's age, too. Never seen a Vlchek adjustable in the wild before - must have been a real beaut when new.
DuroChrome
Well-known member
rlitman
Well-known member
I know what you mean!
RRmech
Well-known member
Diamond
Proto
Utica
Proto
Utica
four.cycle
Well-known member
I have 4", 6", 8", and 10" models of these;
Indestro 10" #3587A adjustable wrench
$10.00 incl. shipping OBO
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-358...236352?hash=item3f592fad00:g:ijgAAOSw5IJWccNg
... still working just fine 40+ years later.
(my 12" is an ancient "Diamalloy" made by Diamond Calk Horseshoe Co., Duluth, Minnesota, which still provides excellent service.)
Indestro 10" #3587A adjustable wrench
$10.00 incl. shipping OBO
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-358...236352?hash=item3f592fad00:g:ijgAAOSw5IJWccNg
... still working just fine 40+ years later.
(my 12" is an ancient "Diamalloy" made by Diamond Calk Horseshoe Co., Duluth, Minnesota, which still provides excellent service.)
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woody 73
Well-known member
Funny thing but I think I own them all, they are always for sale at garage sales. The best, of the best, of the best...wow tough call they are all top notch.
This is one tool that no matter which one you pick they are all well made back in the day, I myself like them all this is what I call a no-brainer any one is top notch in my book.
This is one tool that no matter which one you pick they are all well made back in the day, I myself like them all this is what I call a no-brainer any one is top notch in my book.
twertsy
Well-known member
Personally, I thin the Diamond Caulk still feel the most well put together. Still solid with very minimal play.
ssdave
Banned
I like Diamond, Proto and Williams about equally well. They are all great.
r_olson_06
Well-known member
If snap on can make the best tool they rebrand and sell it for triple the price
Sent from my XT1030 using Tapatalk
RayBob58
Well-known member
There's a reason millions of people just call it a "Crescent" wrench.
mitusa
Well-known member
I have a plvmb.......has a 3/4 box end on the end opposite the adjustable..
mikebaker1129
Well-known member
I like the chromed snap on ajustables.
I agree and still am buying old ones that are not beat up.
Here's my present collection. Finding them with the green intact is pretty tough.
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Farmall 1066
Well-known member
Diamond! Hands down!
RayBob58
Well-known member
Diamond, Proto, Snap-On, whatever. It's still a crescent wrench.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
J.P. Danielson BET'R Grip is my favorite vintage adjustable. It has a superior bite with the fixed jaw being at a true 90* angle. (On all the others - Crescent, Diamond, etc - the fixed jaw is at 60*, which never really fits a square fastener tightly.) Only other maker to do that was Utica, but Utica did not have a reinforced hanging hole broached with a hex opening, a feature that puts the BET'R Grip over the top for me.
If you have a 1950's or older Proto or Plomb adjustable, it was very likely made by J.P. Danielson.
If you have a 1950's or older Proto or Plomb adjustable, it was very likely made by J.P. Danielson.
Canoe50
Well-known member
A few already mentioned & I'm also partial to the older Crescents made in Jamestown, NY.
disston
Well-known member
I have several of various makes. There were many good ones. I like the Plomb.
Have never understood why the knurled adjustment gets stuck and the wrench eventually becomes useless. I can't see a problem but they don't last forever.
Have never understood why the knurled adjustment gets stuck and the wrench eventually becomes useless. I can't see a problem but they don't last forever.
ganymede
Well-known member
Fit : They all had good n bad. Up until a couple years ago my favorite was Proto. Every one I'd picked up by them seemed really well made. There was an 8" standard chrome model I had that was so tight I could barely get a .002" feeler gage between the jaw and slide.
The one I have now is annoyingly sloppy but turns bolts just as well. Slop only matters if it results in the jaws not being parallel . Another fav that I wish I still had.. An old SK Wayne.
I wonder if they made it or who made it for them.
Finish: The two tone satin n polished Williams with raised letters are my favorite.
I also like the fat, pre alloy Crescents with gun blue/black. All the ones I've had clean up well with good finish under the rust. They mus have used a good formula or I'm just lucky.
Function: All the brands I've used work well. Longevity is related to function I guess so I remember wrenches I've seen beaten on that still work. Diamond comes to mind more than any other. Williams with the square slide too.
View media item 55680
The one I have now is annoyingly sloppy but turns bolts just as well. Slop only matters if it results in the jaws not being parallel . Another fav that I wish I still had.. An old SK Wayne.
I wonder if they made it or who made it for them.
Finish: The two tone satin n polished Williams with raised letters are my favorite.
I also like the fat, pre alloy Crescents with gun blue/black. All the ones I've had clean up well with good finish under the rust. They mus have used a good formula or I'm just lucky.
Function: All the brands I've used work well. Longevity is related to function I guess so I remember wrenches I've seen beaten on that still work. Diamond comes to mind more than any other. Williams with the square slide too.
View media item 55680
Hammer1963
Well-known member
Proto for me
Bryan Burns
Well-known member
I have many vintage brands, Diamond, Crescent, BetRGrip, Craftsman, J.H. Williams, even Keen Kutter.
Sorry for the huge images. I've given up on Photobucket and am back to google photos and still learning the ropes.
My favorite is the Dunlap made in Germany. The tightest action is on the Klein Tools wrench although it's a recent vintage.
Sorry for the huge images. I've given up on Photobucket and am back to google photos and still learning the ropes.
My favorite is the Dunlap made in Germany. The tightest action is on the Klein Tools wrench although it's a recent vintage.
jakemac
Well-known member
I've always loved Utica's offerings. It has a thiner head than many other brands, so can slip into tighter areas to grab the nut.
Mechanical Noise
Well-known member
Don't have expirence with all the brands but my favorite adjustable is a green handle Diamond. The Diamond has very little slop and has a better grip on small flare nuts than my RP Craftsman flare nut wrenches (I'll admit, not the highest standard).
The current production Craftsman from Western Forge are also quite good.
The current production Craftsman from Western Forge are also quite good.
I've got so many I lost count. Stanley are nice, old craftsman, Diamond, some crescent, but not the stupid "Crescent rapid-slide" with the vertical thumb slide one...most ridiculous adjustable wrench I've ever seen and nearly useless.
thehorse13
Well-known member
I have a nice set of Diamond adjustable wrenches but the green covers came off decades ago.
I'm satisfied for life.
I'm satisfied for life.
Private Lugnutz
Well-known member
I don't collect foreign-made tools, but I did snap a photo of this 8" BAHCO adjustable at a flea market last week, because I liked the toothed jaw grip on the other end. It does illustrate that BAHCO, which claims to have the first patent on a wrench with an adjustable jaw, also made their adjustable wrenches with a 90* shoulder.
DuroChrome
Well-known member
Off-Street Parking
Well-known member
What's the one in the back with the squeeze handle?
Fixed
Well-known member
I don't have nearly as much of a collection as some of the guys here do, but I have a few of my grandfather's old Gray Tools adjustables, one's a heavy-duty offset, and the other couple are mid-size.
They've been used heavily, sat for years in storage, and they still adjust beautifully and have perfectly parallel jaws, so I'm pretty impressed.
They've been used heavily, sat for years in storage, and they still adjust beautifully and have perfectly parallel jaws, so I'm pretty impressed.
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Renchi
Well-known member
Farmall450
Well-known member
I agree, Diamond kicks ***!
Still have a nice black oxide set. One of my first tools as a kid was a 10" one.
Sam'sAutoParts
Well-known member
Dave455
Well-known member
.I have a vintage crescent that belonged to my grandfather.
Lovely tool, and I still use it, especially for stuff like brass gas fittings, because it's thicker jaws are much less likely to mark them than a modern wrench! Design, manufacturing, and fit are all first class! Love the finish too - a sort of green parkerising like a wartime 1911.
I don't think any of the modern wrenches come close, except perhaps the Nepros! Sounds like I need to see a Diamond though!
Here in the U.K. most of the adjustables have similar Spanish origins!
Is it my imagination though, or are some better than others? I see Bahco's most weeks at my local store and they're nothing special. Certainly not a patch on my old Crescent. A colleague has a Stahlwille branded Irega and it seems to be way ahead in terms of fit and finish?
Lovely tool, and I still use it, especially for stuff like brass gas fittings, because it's thicker jaws are much less likely to mark them than a modern wrench! Design, manufacturing, and fit are all first class! Love the finish too - a sort of green parkerising like a wartime 1911.
I don't think any of the modern wrenches come close, except perhaps the Nepros! Sounds like I need to see a Diamond though!
Here in the U.K. most of the adjustables have similar Spanish origins!
Is it my imagination though, or are some better than others? I see Bahco's most weeks at my local store and they're nothing special. Certainly not a patch on my old Crescent. A colleague has a Stahlwille branded Irega and it seems to be way ahead in terms of fit and finish?
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