Adjustable wrench

[VinceG]

Looking to purchase a set of good adjustable wrenches. What brand do you have?

 

[BarryWells]

Irega. Nothing else comes close

 

[sberry]

It wasn't so back in the day but China now makes some as good as any, they can be found white box at fleas and at auto parts under semi brand name like ATD. I had a bunch laying on my bench and someone picked one up and made a comment on how well built it looked. Its a first choice for me if I got to be on the road with limited tools, especially in 8 and 12 inch.
I bought 4 pc sets at Auto store,,, ATD on sale for 16$ at one point, I think they can still be had for 20 and we bought them for trucks. They soon got mixed in, now cant tell them apart.
They improved them over the Protos which were our standard for a long time, in those 2 sizes opened the jaw a little wider and they put 4 turns in the screw vs 3 on most old designs.
We brutalized them over the last 20 years now,,, NEVER had so much as a loose screw from one.

 

[Dave455]

Well, as I see it, with the exception of the Japanese tools (few of which are readily available in the U.S.) every adjustable out there will be made by Western Forge (if it originates in the U.S.) or Irega (if it originates in Spain) or be generic Chinese!

What I don't know, and maybe others can assist here, is whether the quality of these tools varies according to the customer. I have an Irega that I bought probably 20 plus years back. It's an O.K. tool for the plumbing tasks I use it for, but it's not as good as the Swedish made Bahco of the same era. A colleague has a modern Stahlwille branded adjustable made by Irega and it's definitely nicer. Whether this is due to a different spec, or the passage of time, I couldn't say!

My own tools are mostly older. I have some British made Garringtons, a couple of the traditional King Dicks, an old pre war Crescent that belonged to my Grandfather and a 4 inch Japanese ETC that I was given as a child! All of them appear to be superior to the modern ones. The only exception to this is probably the Nepros, which I suspect to be a superb tool, but don't own... yet!

 

[nicks78camaro]

I just ordered a set of Channellock, I believe many on the forum say they are made in Spain by Irega.

 

[GirchyGirchy]

Klein.

 

[visionguru]

In terms of sloppiness between the jaws, these Milwaukees will beat most (including truck brands). Pay attention to the number of threads on the thumb screws. Try them at a HomeDepot, you will know.

 

[oak_park]

Head on over to the Menards in Merriville and buy the Channellock's that are made in Spain by Irega. Take each out of the package and test them. 11% rebate this week too. You will be very satisfied. I prefer the wide-azz with the grips, but all are good.

https://www.menards.com/main/search.html?sf_categoryHierarchy=&search=channellock+adjustable

 

[NoahG]

Klein.

Which are now all made by......Irega!

 

[Stuey]

+1 for Channellock/Irega.

There are some other decent brands too, but Channellock's are my favorite.

 

[plinker]

As mentioned, Western forge and Irega make most of what is available currently (other then what is from china). Cant really go wrong with either.

Older Kleins are very nice, TOP (Japan) & Klein traded designs back whenever. Very smooth & minimal jaw play.

Channellock has the wide jaw models, the 8" with 1.5" jaw is ideal.

 

[Ingram306]

just bought a bunch of proto adjustables. Felt like they were priced fairly. Very happy with the fit and finish. Not sure if they’re made in house by proto or not.

 

[paulsomlo]

I've got Allen, Craftsman, and Epstein's house brand - they're all pretty much the same, made at Western Forge. If you're going to order over the internet, Epstein's is a good bet:
https://www.harryepstein.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/index/?p=2&q=adjustable+wrench

 

[Nineeightyone]

I'm a pretty big fan of my TOP Hyper Monkey Zero, Amazon has them for not awful pricing.

 

[dwasifar]

I have four Craftsman and one Channellock/Irega, and the Channellock is far better than the others.

Interesting that nobody so far has said Crescent, seeing as they invented the darn things.

 

[LS3]

Spain channellock hands down!

 

[bobcatdan]

Pretty much anything that isn't a cheap import. From there just about everything made in the USA is made by Western Forge. For an adjustable they work just fine. I wouldn't buy a new import Cresent wrench out of principle, however I found a imported one and honestly it works just fine. Pretty much anything that doesn't have CHINA stamped larger than the brand name will work just fine. Even then I have seen guys beat the **** out of 18" cheapies and hold up just fine.

 

[dwasifar]

This guy seems to have too much fun ruining an expensive wrench along with a cheap one:

 

[Wrench97]

But the Irega's are metric I need SAE ones.....................

 

[Parrothead]

I just ordered a set of Channellock, I believe many on the forum say they are made in Spain by Irega.

They are. I picked up some closeout Craftsman Professional and Ridgid from Harry Epstein’s and really like them. All made by WF in the USA. I also picked up a Brigade from Cripe and it’s very nice too, with minimal slop. At 15” I really didn’t care too much but its not there.

 

[designer485]

Bahco Wide Mouth. The extra-wide jaws in a smaller frame is great. I find myself grabbing one of these before one of my larger Snap-On variants.

 

[bwringer]

Hey, has anyone else mentioned the Irega/Channel-Lock adjustables yet?

They're pretty good.

 

[PelicanPines]

Hey, has anyone else mentioned the Irega/Channel-Lock adjustables yet?

They're pretty good.

Like button pressed...

 

[BarryWells]

But the Irega's are metric I need SAE ones.....................

LOL. It's an adjustable wrench. You dont need any numbers but if you cant figure 6 is 1/4 9 is 3/8 13 is 1/2 19 is 3/4 25 is an inch etc....you have a whole lot more to worry about then the numbers in an adjustable wrench......or a vice grip.

 

[PiperCub49]

I know Snap-On has an adjustable wrench with teeth. Does anyone else? Maybe in Bahco's lineup?

 

[JRas]

I know Snap-On has an adjustable wrench with teeth. Does anyone else? Maybe in Bahco's lineup?

They're made in Spain, likely from the same company. Are you talking about Flank Drive Plus?

 

[jimmyin3D]

I know Snap-On has an adjustable wrench with teeth. Does anyone else? Maybe in Bahco's lineup?

I think they were made specifically for Snap On.

I don’t use adjustables much but TOP from Japan is very well made. Especially the bent thin jaw.

 

[uncwstudent]

I personally like the old Craftsman USA adjustables as well as the Channellocks (made in Spain). But I'm not a pro. Just a DIY'er.

 

[jasonphelps]

ChannelLock / Irega

 

[PiperCub49]

They're made in Spain, likely from the same company. Are you talking about Flank Drive Plus?

That's the one. I wish I could find an alternative. I'll pay up, but geez...

 

[mrspeed]

I know Snap-On has an adjustable wrench with teeth. Does anyone else? Maybe in Bahco's lineup?

Those are Bahco's I believe and Snap On relabels them. Craftsman also has adjustable wrenches with teeth, they're the vice grip style adjustables they have.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

 

[GirchyGirchy]

I also like ones with creatures on them, such as Bahco and Lobster.

 

[dwasifar]

LOL. It's an adjustable wrench. You dont need any numbers but if you cant figure 6 is 1/4 9 is 3/8 13 is 1/2 19 is 3/4 25 is an inch etc....you have a whole lot more to worry about then the numbers in an adjustable wrench......or a vice grip.

I think it was a joke, and you missed it.

 

[jeffmoss26]

I like my old US made Crescent adjustables.