Carbon steel wrenches?

[Irishman1976]

I am just curious if anyone owns any wrenches made of carbon steel rather than chrome vanadium? Any input, likes/dislikes?

 

[Wakefield]

I think that over 100 years ago carbon steel was common even for expensive brands and then alloys became more complex.
I think big brands like Snap On and Wright may keep their alloy formulas as company secrets
Thousands of years ago-fancy expensive swords-did the smiths keep secrets about how they made the steel?
Might look up some histories on "Alloy Artifacts" there might be an account on how,say,Armstrong alloys changed over time

 

[neophyte]

I don't own any carbon steel wrenches that I know of, but some standard types of wrenches seem to occasionally be made from it, even from high end manufacturers. Armstrong's website says their check nut wrenches are carbon steel. I don't know whether they makes the wrenches themselves or whether they get them from another manufacturer. T. Williams Superslim wrenches from Britain were I believe also made from carbon steel. Maybe someone has some of these they've used hard and can give better feedback.

 

[rusty65]

Harbor freight still makes carbon wrenches.

 

[theoldwizard1]

All steel has a certain amount of carbon in it. The whole steel making process starts with scrap and/or iron ore. The "blast furnace" blows in air/oxygen to burn off excess carbon. After sampling to determine the amount of carbon and other trace elements are remaining, the melt is either "cooked" longer (too much carbon) or carbon and other elements are added.

So I don't know what "carbon steel" really is.

 

[sberry]

Making steel got so good that some of the cheap wrenches and the good ones come from the same blank. Its not worth reformulating a process anymore to save 20$ a ton for a few wrenches to go off to HF. Where they cut a lot is in middle of the market branding.

 

[Gmonkee]

I have and use lower end carbon steel wrenches. The newer ones are just workers and are holding up just fine in daily work use.
It seems the big difference is they are a bit thicker and heavier which does not bother me. Long term effects seem to be that in 50 odd years they will have worn more than a nickel/chrome/vanadium alloy steel would wear. I won't be wrenching much in 50 years.
Those observations are based on alreadly old wrenches I have from the 20's to the 50's. Even then there seems a difference by brands/models that some wear faster than others.

If they are just worker bee wrenches and the quality exceeds the anticipated use you should be fine, if they are to last 4 lifetimes of mechanics the better alloy stuff is suggested.
Eventually everything will wear out anyway it is really a matter of preference in what you would like to use.

Just for information, lower end sockets can also be cheaper carbon steel. A weekend warrior could make those lifetime tools easily given proper use over the years.

 

[woody 73]

Back around the turn of the Century kraeuter made their first wrenches out of carbon steel and they were works of art, but they would never hold up to todays high standards.

 

[Irishman1976]

I think of 09 tool steel when I hear carbon steel...but not sure that is what everyone would equate...there is 1056 and so many others....I am just used to seeing chrome vanadium in even cheaper old style craftsman. So much is in the heat treating, I am sure, as with most steel