A certain adjustable wrench

[rtz]

Have you ever had or seen one in which the movable jaw didn't wobble side to side?

 

[Wamsutta]

Yes. High quality adjustable wrenches like Klein and Proto.

 

[OccupantRJ]

Williams superjustable.

 

[plinker]

The older US made Kleins were very smooth with very minimal wobble/movement, they are now made in Spain like most all others, Irega OEM (still a good wrench).

The Channelock (also Irega) are almost as good, but toloreances are not quite as tight, IMO. Not really an issue if you're wrench never gets the dirt/crud cleaned out or work in a dusty/dirty enviroment.

 

[gatlibs]

The only current U.S. made ones are produced by Western Forge. I have several rebrands and they all have no visible slopm I only use them on large and low torque situations, though.

 

[B_Bimmer]

Old proto's are everywhere and most are still very snug. The new one's appear to just be western forge rebrands and although decent, are not the same level.

 

[JBH]

 

[jasonphelps]

Irega
Channellock 808PW is a great wrench made by Irega in Spain. Also like the super wide opening wrenches.

 

[jasonphelps]

Where did you get your VBW stuff? All the pliers in this picture are not able to be shipped to USA from German tool retailers from what I can see.

 

[JBH]

Where did you get your VBW stuff? All the pliers in this picture are not able to be shipped to USA from German tool retailers from what I can see.

It’s been a while, but Amazon I think. Stahlwille is the same and available at KC Tool.

 

[Wamsutta]

The older US made Kleins were very smooth with very minimal wobble/movement, they are now made in Spain like most all others, Irega OEM (still a good wrench).

That's disappointing to find out that Klein no longer produces their own adjustable wrench; they made some of the best.

 

[TwoInch]

Williams superjustable.

I have some old Williams adjustables that are absolutely great. Smooth, tight, beefy jaws where it counts, and they just look good.

I have Protos, USA craftsman, I think an SK, and other industrial brands I can't think of at the moment. I believe I have an old Klein or two floating around too..

Most good quality adjustables are like real tools. Unlike the China junk and Crescents/channellock offerings of the last decade or two. I've given away or semi-purposefully lost most of the second group type... And i certainly don't regret it.

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[Mecha]

Wilde in Kansas still makes a nice one I believe.

https://www.wildetool.com/product/12-adjustable-wrench/

 

[davethorik]

Yes. High quality adjustable wrenches like Klein and Proto.

Williams superjustable.

Wilde in Kansas still makes a nice one I believe.

https://www.wildetool.com/product/12-adjustable-wrench/

All those mentioned are WF (except Klein)

 

[jasonphelps]

It’s been a while, but Amazon I think. Stahlwille is the same and available at KC Tool.

I tried Amazon.de but they won't ship to USA. I realize Stahlwille is a rebranded VBW but I prefer the color of the VBW handles.
I figured the import restriction listed on Amazon.de was due to an agreement between VBW and Stahlwille but that's strictly conjecture.

 

[joshmodelskidoo]

I have an old “do it best” hardware one that’s great. I just picked one up a red handle one from HF that was tons better than everything else I looked at.

 

[SilverDeck]

That's disappointing to find out that Klein no longer produces their own adjustable wrench; they made some of the best.

I could be wrong, but don’t think Klein ever had “in house” production of their adjustable wrenches. I’m pretty sure Klein adjustables were rebrands made by other manufacturers. I think Western Forge was the producer for awhile. For a time Klein adjustables were coming out of a Japan and were marked as such. The quality on those was prettty decent. I’ve got one with a blue transparent handle cover.

 

[plinker]

I could be wrong, but don’t think Klein ever had “in house” production of their adjustable wrenches. I’m pretty sure Klein adjustables were rebrands made by other manufacturers. I think Western Forge was the producer for awhile. For a time Klein adjustables were coming out of a Japan and were marked as such. The quality on those was prettty decent. I’ve got one with a blue transparent handle cover.

The Kleins were a Japanese design (they swapped designs with somebody, wrench for pliers IIRC). I dont know about the early ones being made in Japan, I dont doubt it though. As far as I am aware they were made in house by Klein, not by Western Forge (no "W F" markings, differnt style overall).

Either way, I've used the **** out of my 10" Klein and the jaws are still pretty tight overall. One thing I really liked about the Klein wrenches was the jaws are not tapered like pretty much all others.

Looks like it's either NOS or Western Forge for US made adjustable wrenches.

 

[visionguru]

Have you ever had or seen one in which the movable jaw didn't wobble side to side?

Surprisingly, after this many years, all those tool makers still can't come up with a design that eliminate the wobble.

Knipex's plier wrench is interesting, but still not a fixed jaw wrench because it still needs the pressure from the handle to keep the jaws in place.

Maybe smarter people should work on tool design.

 

[Alpine4x4]

Snap-on/Bahco are great.

 

[crane_guy]

Snap-on/Bahco are great.

Probably the best ones I have used.

 

[plumber84]

Snap-on/Bahco are great.

I’m really quiet surprised people rate the current Snap-on/SNA adjustable wrenches so highly, I find the Spanish made wrenches to have very poor tolerances and plating compared to older wrenches. I have both bahco and Snap-on wrenches from the 50s-80s and find them to be of much higher quality. In terms of recently made adjustables I find Irega, Klein-USA and TOP-Kogyo of Japan to be superlative to any others.

 

[plumber84]

Though not very scientific (I can’t be bothered finding my feeler gauges) I quick glance at the Klein 507-10 (USA vintage), Snap-on FAD12 (USA) and the TOP-Kogyo HM-38 shows how snuggly the moveable jaws are. The TOP is the tightest fitting followed by the now discontinued Klein. Frankly the only thing saving the Snapon from being used as a chrome plated hammer is the flank-drive serrations on the jaws

 

[plumber84]

Pictures

 

[visionguru]

I’m really quiet surprised people rate the current Snap-on/SNA adjustable wrenches so highly, I find the Spanish made wrenches to have very poor tolerances and plating compared to older wrenches. I have both bahco and Snap-on wrenches from the 50s-80s and find them to be of much higher quality. In terms of recently made adjustables I find Irega, Klein-USA and TOP-Kogyo of Japan to be superlative to any others.

I'm surprised that people rate ANY traditional adjustable wrenches even decent for automotive work. The design is the problem, not the brand. A SnapOn is not much better than $5 ones in terms of the lateral wobble, which may result in rounded fasteners. They are only good for home maintenance.

This adjustable wrench (found in Homdepot) seems to be a much smarter design, using vise-grip like mechanism to eliminate wobble. IMO, better than Knipex plier wrench that costs $50+, which is a glorified straight jaw plier.

 

[2manytools]

Surprisingly, after this many years, all those tool makers still can't come up with a design that eliminate the wobble.

Knipex's plier wrench is interesting, but still not a fixed jaw wrench because it still needs the pressure from the handle to keep the jaws in place.

Maybe smarter people should work on tool design.

Buy a pair of Milwaukee's, and you will change your tune. I often find myself having to loosen it because I can't get it off the nut easily. Instead of only 3 ridges on the adjustment screw, they have 5. Only adjustable wrench I will use now, other than using my old ones to use as hammers & pry bars (or practicing dodgeball).

 

[rlitman]

...Knipex's plier wrench is interesting, but still not a fixed jaw wrench because it still needs the pressure from the handle to keep the jaws in place...

You can use it while pushing on just one handle (it does not actually require squeezing the two handles together), so how is it not up to a task?

...This adjustable wrench (found in Homdepot) seems to be a much smarter design, using vise-grip like mechanism to eliminate wobble. IMO, better than Knipex plier wrench that costs $50+, which is a glorified straight jaw plier.

I have the Stanley version of that tool (there's a craftsman version too). It is in NO way equivalent to (and certainly not superior to) a Knipex pliers wrench.

 

[visionguru]

You can use it while pushing on just one handle (it does not actually require squeezing the two handles together), so how is it not up to a task?

For situations where a normal adjustable wrench works, yes, the Knipex works well, and seems more convenient/flexible.


But when dealing with rusted fasteners, a lot of torque maybe needed. You need to squeeze Knipex hard while wrench it hard. At one point, your hands may not be able to hold it tight.

I have the Stanley version of that tool (there's a craftsman version too). It is in NO way equivalent to (and certainly not superior to) a Knipex pliers wrench.

In terms of not allowing slacks between the jaws, I don't know if it's possible to get tighter than the vise-gripped jaw wrench.

I guess the OP was asking for a wrench that doesn't have slacked jaws. Actually, thanks to this thread, I'm going to get this style of adjustable wrench in case I need it when doing auto repair. Are you aware of any professional grade ones with the same design?

 

[rlitman]

...But when dealing with rusted fasteners, a lot of torque maybe needed. You need to squeeze Knipex hard while wrench it hard. At one point, your hands may not be able to hold it tight.

In terms of not allowing slacks between the jaws, I don't know if it's possible to get tighter than the vise-gripped jaw wrench...

The mechanical advantage of the Pliers Wrench handle is greater than in the vise-grip style adjustable. i.e. you get more crushing force on stuck fasteners with the Pliers Wrench. All I can say is if you've handled both, you'd feel the difference immediately.

The ONLY advantage of the vise-grip style is that it locks on, so I've used it in one hand, with a Pliers Wrench in the other. But if you can only have one, the Pliers Wrench wins hands down.

 

[visionguru]

^^
Got it!

Originally, I thought a squeezing force is needed to keep the Knipex jaws on the fastener when either tightening or loosening. Now, I realized that when tightening (for a bolt facing us), use the Knipex this way:
View media item 89344
When loosening, flip the Knipex around:
View media item 89345
Have to get my hands on one of those. Thanks.

 

[rlitman]

Yep, exactly. It will work backwards, but then you need to really squeeze the **** out of it. However, the self-tightening advantage gives you more grip in the end, and if you want, you can always squeeze the handles more, for even more grip.

With the vise-grip style, you only have to squeeze once, but you may want to use a lot of force to get a better grip on something iffy, and then you're fighting to release it. That's ok if you're just spinning the tool around the fastener, but when there's an obstruction and you're just turning an arc and resetting, it gets old very fast.

 

[visionguru]

Buy a pair of Milwaukee's, and you will change your tune. I often find myself having to loosen it because I can't get it off the nut easily. Instead of only 3 ridges on the adjustment screw, they have 5. Only adjustable wrench I will use now, other than using my old ones to use as hammers & pry bars (or practicing dodgeball).

Thanks for bringing my attention to the number of ridges on the adjustable wrenches, but no matter how many ridges on the adjustment screw, the old Crescent design (be it Milwaukee or Snap On or whatever) still allows slack, because nothing prevents the adjusting jaw from moving back slightly. In cases of tight fasteners, the slack could result in rounded fasteners.

After some research, currently there are some smart designs available to minimize the slack:
(1) vised-gripped adjustable wrench;
(2) adjustable straight jaw pliers, such as Knipex.
Or cheaper alternatives if marring a nut won't be an issue, such as this Kobalt ($15 for 2 @Lowes):

 

[aburkhardt]

^^
Got it!

Originally, I thought a squeezing force is needed to keep the Knipex jaws on the fastener when either tightening or loosening. Now, I realized that when tightening (for a bolt facing us), use the Knipex this way:


When loosening, flip the Knipex around:


Have to get my hands on one of those. Thanks.

I also vote for the pliers wrench. To the contrary of what was said earlier about someone smarter designing a new version -- this is that version.

Also, i think your first image needs to be flipped left-right. Both of those images show the same thing, essentially. You want to always push down on the handle that leverages the moveable jaw.

German Tool Reviews also liked the Gedore 62 series adjustable wrenches made in South Africa. Should be a video up that shows the jaw tolerances, as well. You can pick them up at KC Tool in a few sizes. I'd post links, but i'm too green.

 

[theundermount]

Check out Bahco. The same adjustable wrenches Snap On rebrands (Bahco makes for Snap On). I have a few of them, great prices on Amazon.

I have a set of these, amazing wrenches so smooth and very tight, really comfortable to grip aswell, plus the quality is very sturdy

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[theundermount]

this is the set I have

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[speed bump]

Due to the design there is always going to be some movement, if there wasn't any movement it would be very difficult to adjust. The magic in an adjustable is in the how well the adjustment wheel and the jaw teeth mate up.

As far as quality, the old Diamonds, Protos, and Bahco wrenches seem to be about the best. Once you get you up to 12" or so wrench it doesn't matter as much, just pick something that seems reasonably tight.

 

[KDoug]

I realize this thread is more focused on looking for an adjustable wrench that has less slop, but what I have to say still has a place here.

Somebody mentioned that Western Forge is the only manufacturer currently making adjustable wrenches in the USA. What about Crescent? I looked a while back and they have a handful a USA Made options (4"-24") in chrome and black oxide finishes. My boss has one of these newer style USA Made Crescent adjustable wrenches and I like the weight and feel to it. I'm not sure how old it is though. As far as slop though, I don't recall it being any better than other USA Made wrenches.

I looked the other day and supposedly they still have these wrenches in stock:

http://www.crescenttool.com/wrenches/made-in-usa/yes/show/50

https://www.zoro.com/crescent-adj-w...TGsR-yDsNxzs3S3IxoCDzEQAvD_BwE#specifications

 

[cgarison]

I went with a set of Bahco adjustable wrenches when outfitting my truck last summer. The decision was based on my experience when my Kobalt, Craftsman, and even Crescent adjustable wrenches all failed to remove an oil drain plug on my wife's car that had been over tightened at the "steelership" on its prior oil change. I did not want to carry a full set of combination wrenches in the truck, but I wanted an adjustable wrench that work very well in the toughest of situations.

After having used the Bahco wrenches over the last 5 months, I am ready to let go of all my old adjustable wrenches and just use the Bahco. They have worked perfectly on every task I have used them.

 

[Alpine4x4]

I’m really quiet surprised people rate the current Snap-on/SNA adjustable wrenches so highly, I find the Spanish made wrenches to have very poor tolerances and plating compared to older wrenches. I have both bahco and Snap-on wrenches from the 50s-80s and find them to be of much higher quality. In terms of recently made adjustables I find Irega, Klein-USA and TOP-Kogyo of Japan to be superlative to any others.

Being I wasnt born until 89 I have limited experience with tools from the 50s-80s They Snap-On is much better than any of the other ones I have used, but also admittedly my first "high end" unit.

I'm surprised that people rate ANY traditional adjustable wrenches even decent for automotive work. The design is the problem, not the brand. A SnapOn is not much better than $5 ones in terms of the lateral wobble, which may result in rounded fasteners. They are only good for home maintenance.

This adjustable wrench (found in Homdepot) seems to be a much smarter design, using vise-grip like mechanism to eliminate wobble. IMO, better than Knipex plier wrench that costs $50+, which is a glorified straight jaw plier.

It is a last resort and used mostly for around the house. I grabbed it just the other day to go swap something out on my truck quickly where I didnt recall the fastener size. After about 30 seconds of frustration it returned to the drawer and a 1/2" combo wrench came out. I guess the sizings on the side made it easy to decide what combo wrench to grab, but it will be the last time its grabbed for awhile.

 

[maxpower_hd]

Check out Bahco. The same adjustable wrenches Snap On rebrands (Bahco makes for Snap On). I have a few of them, great prices on Amazon.

Ditto. I have the Bahcos and I use them all the time. No wobble.