China Cman vs USA, pics in here!

[rjvjeepster]

Picked up a China 3/8" flex head ratchet today for $15 on sale. (I prefer the handle shape of this one over HF). It actually feels nicer than a USA Cman one that I got back in 2012. Now- that's not really a hard standard to beat but it is an improvement and feels like a good tool.

Here are some pics. Both are internally the same, for the most part. You can switch the assemblies around.

China:


USA:


Handles:
China:


USA:


The spring for the selector in the Chinese one feels stiffer, so it doesn't feel remotely close to popping out of gear. The switch is also metal compared to plastic on the USA one and has less slop in it. The USA one feels like it's always on the verge of coming out of gear.

The USA one doesn't have the rod coming out of the square drive- which means more strength in that area and I'm not really sure what the rod pushes against on the Chinese one.

Both engage 3 teeth on the pawl. Not sure how that compares with anything.

I don't know if it's good for the Chinese one that it beat the USA one or sad that the USA one couldn't beat the Chinese one. Either way, the China one seems comparable to other imported offerings at a similar price point. I actually like it quite a good deal. Used it today to take my winch off my Jeep to paint the mount and it did fine.


Hopefully this is a good write up.

 

[gdocktor3]

Yes they are the exact same. Now if you were smart and you really think the Chinese one is superior, you would take the guts and selector switch and put it in the better made, USA ratchet head/handle.

If you want to feel a real difference, buy the 84t low profile ratchet Craftsman offers. I bought one for cheap when they were on sale and was extremely impressed. They are comparable to the MAXX 88 ratchets.

Remember, that USA ratchet has been put through its paces and spring is weaker than the new Chinese version. You can also see the bottom of the pawl on the USA ratchet is rounded. That is why the Chinese ratchet feels stiffer. If you got yourself a rebuild kit from Sears and applied some grease to the gear, the old one would feel just as good. Grease or lube alone makes a big difference.

 

[rjvjeepster]

I have the 84 tooth one, I love it. I wish they made a flex head one.

 

[Wakefield]

The second one is not quick release?

 

[rjvjeepster]

Both of them are.

 

[DSLTRK]

The reason the Chinese one feels better is due to the pawl design, that's it. The Chinese steel is inferior to USA forged variants.

The late model USA versions had a rounded cammed pawl, and the pawl tended to auto reverse/freewheel. I assume Danaher did this to try and remove spring tension from the gear to reduce notchiness.

The best solution I have found is to use an older pawl with the sharp pointed cam, and a weak/cutdown spring. Makes any year Craftsman rp ratchet purr with great feel and engagement.

 

[rjvjeepster]

I'd be interested in trying that, is there a certain rebuild kit to order that would have the right pawl?

 

[Mechanical Noise]

The USA one doesn't have the rod coming out of the square drive- which means more strength in that area and I'm not really sure what the rod pushes against on the Chinese one.

The first generation of USA Craftsman quick release pearhead ratchets also had the QR rod coming out of the end of the drive. I think Craftsman made some goofy extension bars which had their own QR rod operated by the QR rod on the ratchet. I never owned any of the extensions.

The main advantage I see in enclosing the end of the drive is that it keeps dirt out.

 

[bobcatdan]

The sad thing is the later USA made craftsman had slipped in overall quality over time to meet a never changing price. There is night and day difference between 1990 craftsman and mid 2000 craftsman. Shipping production wouldn't have been too hard to actually make a better tool for the price. Personally a few warranty pieces have not impressed me so I feel once again sears missed the mark.

 

[DSLTRK]

The sad thing is the later USA made craftsman had slipped in overall quality over time to meet a never changing price. There is night and day difference between 1990 craftsman and mid 2000 craftsman. Shipping production wouldn't have been too hard to actually make a better tool for the price. Personally a few warranty pieces have not impressed me so I feel once again sears missed the mark.

I dissent on that. The late USA forged ratchets were CNC'd with a smaller and more precise head/handle vs the hand ground variants. The CNC machining is also cleaner with less galling/roughness.

Take for example, a 1997 CM ratchet vs a 2007 ratchet, and the lower profile head is clearly evident. Makes a difference when you need to remove a bolt in a restricted location.

 

[lazer50]

I have late run cm ratchets and also chinese production.used them in the same situations basically same performance but have had to warranty the chinese ones several times.and cut the handle on a us to use as a stubby confident that i won't have to warranty.

 

[gbh]

$15 for a 3/8 ratchet annnnnd it can be used for more than just hammering stuff?
What a world we live in!

 

[JoeFin]

The Chinese steel is inferior to USA forged variants.

DING DING DING - Thread Winner

 

[Gttrucker]

I wouldnt waste $5 on craftsman ratchet. After a little use, the mechanism wears and gets sloppy and then when you break a tight loose it slips, reverses direction on you and free spins in the direction your pulling and you get the unpleasant surprise of smashing your knuckles. This is a common problem with them.
Buy a good ratchet (all mine are snap on) and then use what ever sockets you can afford. Most of mine are Cman and work just fine but their ratchets are ****.

Same thing goes for their extensions.
Put 2 Cman extensions together and watch them fall apart with nothing but gravity pulling on them. And just try spinning the smooth shaft of a Cman extension with greasy fingers.
I don't recommend snappy tools for everything. A lot of their stuff is overpriced and no one (including full time mechanics) really needs the slight difference their product offers, but in a few things you do.
Such as
Ratchets
Extensions
Universal sockets (and impact universals)
Just to name a few.

You can't beat Vice grip brand on their products and channel lock brand is pretty good on theirs. And my cable cutters are the green electrical brand (forget the name at the moment).
So buy decent to good based on your need but Never buy a Cman ratchet ha ha

 

[1950mercury]

I wouldnt waste $5 on craftsman ratchet. After a little use, the mechanism wears and gets sloppy and then when you break a tight loose it slips, reverses direction on you and free spins in the direction your pulling and you get the unpleasant surprise of smashing your knuckles. This is a common problem with them.
Buy a good ratchet (all mine are snap on) and then use what ever sockets you can afford. Most of mine are Cman and work just fine but their ratchets are ****.

Same thing goes for their extensions.
Put 2 Cman extensions together and watch them fall apart with nothing but gravity pulling on them. And just try spinning the smooth shaft of a Cman extension with greasy fingers.
I don't recommend snappy tools for everything. A lot of their stuff is overpriced and no one (including full time mechanics) really needs the slight difference their product offers, but in a few things you do.
Such as
Ratchets
Extensions
Universal sockets (and impact universals)
Just to name a few.

You can't beat Vice grip brand on their products and channel lock brand is pretty good on theirs. And my cable cutters are the green electrical brand (forget the name at the moment).
So buy decent to good based on your need but Never buy a Cman ratchet ha ha

Modem vise grip brand is garbage

 

[rjvjeepster]

x2. I have an old Peterson Vise Grip pair I got at a garage sale for 50 cents, no comparison to anything in stores today.

 

[DSLTRK]

Same thing goes for their extensions.
Put 2 Cman extensions together and watch them fall apart with nothing but gravity pulling on them. And just try spinning the smooth shaft of a Cman extension with greasy fingers.

I don't recommend snappy tools for everything. A lot of their stuff is overpriced and no one (including full time mechanics) really needs the slight difference their product offers, but in a few things you do.
Such as
Ratchets
Extensions
Universal sockets (and impact universals)
Just to name a few.

Never had an issue with Craftsman Extensions, the retention balls are very strong in mine. I do agree about the knurling, the Mac and HF extensions I have are great in that regard.

But for impact swivels, the Craftsman are actually much better than the pinned Snap-on variants, and quite a bit cheaper also.

About the only tools Snap-on makes that are worth it to me are Ratchets, bit sockets, scanners and their specialty tools. Everything else is much too expensive

 

[pstemari]

... And my cable cutters are the green electrical brand (forget the name at the moment)...

Greenlee? Klein's colors are all over the map.