Cheap "Feeling" European Tools?

[cavalry]

First off this is not a blanket statement, I own far more Knipex, Wera and Wiha than I care to mention. I buy a lot of machines from Europe and they always come with a toolbox with an obligatory set of double and single open end wrenches. Common brands are USAG, Beta, Unior and a few others. First off are double open ends the standard for everyday tool use? I cannot stand them. The wrenches have generally overly large heads but thin heads and bodies and feel "cheap", akin to something from China.
These are big brands in europe from my understanding. Are there different tiers of quality and I got the low ones because they are "free" or is this just the tools used there?

 

[dutchgray]

1. Open end wrenches made in Europe are generally thinner but wider in the head than US made patterns.
2. When has a toolkit supplied with anything ever been more than the cheapest barely functioning option.
3. DOE wrenches are not the standard for everyday use, most people use sockets or combination wrenches.

 

[VolvoRyan]

It's the nature of freebies. They really just get you going. We have bio-med equipment that comes with "meh" tools.

It's inconceivable now, but Volvo used to ship a set of tools (wrenches and screwdrivers) with the cars in plastic tray that was part of the car's interior. Other markets used carbs/points and finicky FI. The tools weren't great, but they were serviceable.

-Ryan

 

[Dave455]

Yes, many European tool manufacturers cater to all levels. Most of them will make pretty much anything to order.

The German “DIN” pattern wrenches are basically the cheapest that work. Note how the design incorporates more metal where needed, and less where it isn’t. These actually work fine, provided the steel is decent.

Unfortunately, the biggest market is kits supplied with machines, and even the ”DIN” wrenches are probably considered a bit too good in some cases, hence the tools you have found.

Double open ends are just the cheapest way to supply the sizes needed!

 

[richfinn]

First off this is not a blanket statement, I own far more Knipex, Wera and Wiha than I care to mention. I buy a lot of machines from Europe and they always come with a toolbox with an obligatory set of double and single open end wrenches. Common brands are USAG, Beta, Unior and a few others. First off are double open ends the standard for everyday tool use? I cannot stand them. The wrenches have generally overly large heads but thin heads and bodies and feel "cheap", akin to something from China.
These are big brands in europe from my understanding. Are there different tiers of quality and I got the low ones because they are "free" or is this just the tools used there?

Pretty much the same quality you get in a wheel change tool kit, just barely adequate to get you out of a jam.

typically we don't use them professionally.

Stahlwille are a good bet if you want a quality spanner in Europe.

 

[matthew]

The DIN pattern wrenches for machine tools also make a bit of sense given that they are often used on jam nuts and areas where thin or open ends are needed.

I kind of like them. Would I use them in place of my combination wrenches on a car - no. Would I buy one to tighten clamps on my drill press or for my saw arbor - yes. Especially the single open end pattern.

 

[Steve_P]

Definitely not limited to European tools. I worked as a small engine mechanic in the 80s-90s and I still somehow have a handful of DOE Japanese 8 / 10 mm wrenches that came with freebie type stuff, or equipment back then. They are functional, but that's it.

 

[finn]

Ever look at a Ford 8N or Model T tool kit? Granted, those tools are antiques now, but they were pretty clunkyI also have some double open end wrenches and other tools that probably came from my grandfatherwho was a foreman in a copper concentration plant in the twenties until the late fifties. Those tools are better, but still not something you would use, given a choice. They look like the tools in Dave555’s picture, but cruder.

One of my suspicions about tools shipped with machinery is that they are deliberately designed to be suitable for the specific job, and not attractive for general use.

Sort of a way to control “shrinkage “

Imagine how long a set of SnapOn tools would last in a production, three shift operation enviroment.

 

[four.cycle]

An open-end wrench fits almost every nut. That's not always the case with a box-end wrench.

There's a possibility that the OEM tool kits are designed with more in mind than simply economics.

 

[Lassen Forge]

It's like the "tool kits" shipped with most motorcycles in the 70's and 80's. It was supposed to be a huge selling point to include a "tool kit", which were functional in a pinch, but just. BMW always had a decent set, but then again, they also included a frame mounted tire pump for when you got that flat on the road.

Then again, those Honda combo OE wrenches (10/14 and 12/17, and the obligatory 19 or 21 for the rear axle nut) were like iron - Hell, I probably still have a couple in my toolbox somewhere... of course it didn't do anything for wallering out the phillips/fillister/JIS screws on the engine covers (yes, japanese screws and screwdrivers and they wallered out screws) so you always threw an impact driver in the tool box, but... yeah, we adapted and overcame.

 

[dchawk81]

Not all tool kits are created equal. I find the one that came with my exercise bike to be rather fabulous.

I'm thinking I can sell off all my other tools, as they seem to have become redundant.

 

[neophyte]

European open end wrenches tend to have thinner heads.
The thinner heads are sometimes important for thinner fastener heads and locknuts found on some machinery etc.
The European wrenches are actually prized for this by some users.
In the USA, f you need a thin head open end wrench, you usually need to find the correct Tappet Wrench, or Snap-On Slimline wrench, or Check Nut wrench, and none of these options are really cheap, especially now that the older USA made (by Armstrong) Craftsman Tappet wrenches are no longer available.
The Check Nut wrenches made by Martin are the thinest of the forged wrenches I have, and absolutely necessary for some uses, but way more expensive than you would think by looking at the wrenches.
The Single Open End DIN pattern wrenches are useful were needed, and the design looks like it was intentionally made do that it could be ground thinner easily for thinner nuts were needed.
The USAG version of the DIN patter is slightly nicer, and actually plated for corrosion resistance.

 

[cavalry]

The USAG version of the DIN patter is slightly nicer, and actually plated for corrosion resistance.

I think in a round about way my question has been answered. There is a DIN standard that all these manufacturers are copying for their tools (or just a low end line) that is why all the wrenches I get even from different brands are all the same crappy wrenches.
These are all different brands but the same pattern. The smaller chrome wrenches I am guessing are another standard?

 

[dutchgray]

I think in a round about way my question has been answered. There is a DIN standard that all these manufacturers are copying for their tools (or just a low end line) that is why all the wrenches I get even from different brands are all the same crappy wrenches.
These are all different brands but the same pattern. The smaller chrome wrenches I am guessing are another standard?

Not copying the DIN standard, the German manufacturers are required to comply with the standard.

You know all German machine tools are the same horrid shade of green, another DIN standard.

 

[Sumboodie]

Lot of the equipment is like that too.
USA made would use 3/8" plate, they use maybe 1/4"

 

[pfaustus]

Note. There is more than one DIN standard for wrenches. There is a standard for nicer combo wrenches. Din 3113? There is a standard for double box end wrenches. etc. There are also DIN standards for wood chisels and other tools. There is a reason all German tools tend to look alike.