cornwell "good"ness?

[krusty the clown]

there have been a few threads recently about cornwell wrenches and how great they are. here's a mini review from where i'm standing.


i bought a set of angle wrenches from rickster a while back that was missing the 7/8 and 15/16. no biggie.......the price was great as always with rick. i had my dealer order me the two wrenches to fill the set out. the wrenches listed for $49.70 ea. a lot of money but i'm $150 into a $4-500 set so thats cool. got them today here are some pics.......

two new wrenches with the vintage set (pre 50's)

notice the finish, it's not polished well but thats ok. BUT the grind mark from the belt sander is a little much. i can live with it since these are working tools but it shows very little pride in workmanship to me.

the wrench was polished but not enough to make it look good

this is an angle wrench i bought in 1994. no attempt at all to polish the beam..........i think it looks better than the half a$$ job.



while i'm at it................

this is a 1/2 wrench bought in the early 90's. notice the chrome peeling? i suspect it peeled due to the open end flexing.

for comparison a snap on 9/16 that i bought in 81 or 82..........no flex or chrome peel. in fact the dealer told me it was guarateed not to "rip, rot, peel or smell bad".

ok........in conclusion.

i'm happy overall with the purchase, but if i was shopping for new wrenches they would NOT be cornwell.

the comaprable snap on wrenches were only $7 more (per wrench) and from what i see, worth every penny.

 

[bchee]

Thanks for the honest review. Which one smells better?

 

[Hiball]

I must say im dissapointed in the condition of the those new wrenches, I realize they are indeed tools and nearly impossible to keep from getting scratched after use but would expect more being new.

 

[krusty the clown]

Which one smells better?

the one that i dipped in panhead oil

 

[tatra]

we don't have cornwell here but from what i have seen on here and the few that have made it north of the border, meh, nothing special...........thanx for the review Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofski.........

 

[bushhawg73]

Thanks for the review. The ones I have look really good, extra long box ends. The polish job was a lot better on mine than yours from the pics you posted. I am unsure if it is because of the style of wrench and the form they use to make it. The form or cast may be a lot older and not as smooth so to speak. This is no excuse mind you. I would not be happy and would ask my dealer about it. I understand about working tools not being prom queens but 100.00 bucks ought to get some good polished chrome. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Merkava_4]

Turn the sum ******* in!! Those people need to know they screwed up and you can tell them that their screw-ups are plastered all over the internet right now. They should be embarrassed to death about that.

Apparently, MAC has Cornwell beat to a pulp on angle wrenches.

 

[J.A.F.E.]

Nice review and great snaps - thanks for the writeup.

I would have thought the one dropped in the Hellmans would smell best.

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

I also have a set of angled wrenches havent found a use for them yet.

 

[krusty the clown]

I would have thought the one dropped in the Hellmans would smell best.

NOTHING smells better than panhead oil...........in fact it's the main ingredient in black bean salsa.

 

[krusty the clown]

I also have a set of angled wrenches havent found a use for them yet.

well i have lived without them for years, except the two sizes i use for ford/navistar injector pumps. i have found them handy on a/c lines and a few other tight spots where you can't get a box end in and the 15* by flipping a combo just ain't enough where the 60* will do the trick.

 

[Fedwrench]

Yeah, those look rough for the money. I bet you could polish up the older ones to look that good.
Oh well, they'll get scratched, dropped and used so, what the hell?

 

[bmwpower]

NOTHING smells better than panhead oil...........in fact it's the main ingredient in black bean salsa.

Damn, no wonder I always get the runs when I eat that stuff.

 

[wreckercologist]

Apparently, MAC has Cornwell beat to a pulp on angle wrenches.

That's kinda funny because ******** claims to be the first to produce that style of wrench.

I do like my Mac angle wrenches better than my set of Snap-ons because of the square beam. The rounded, smooth beam of the Snap-on's are a real pain to hang onto when covered in hydraulic oil. Though to be fair to Cornwell, some of my older Mac's have the pebble finish and chrome peel, but none of the newer ones do...........yet.

Speaking of ********, I just bought a set of extra long SAE combo's last week for $189.00. Compair that to Mac's at $275.00 or Snappy's.

 

[autoace]

Turn the sum ******* in!! Those people need to know they screwed up and you can tell them that their screw-ups are plastered all over the internet right now. They should be embarrassed to death about that.

Apparently, MAC has Cornwell beat to a pulp on angle wrenches.

I agree, but I have never, seen tools in that poor "new" condition on the truck. Stuff those right back to the dealer, they are seconds, you paid for firsts.

 

[bmwpower]

Is that a polishing problem or an actual problem with the forging? Looks like the latter.

 

[krusty the clown]

That's kinda funny because ******** claims to be the first to produce that style of wrench.

they may well be.....early 20's cornwells. note the angle wrenches.

Though to be fair to Cornwell, some of my older Mac's have the pebble finish and chrome peel, but none of the newer ones do...........yet.

thats because of a common link between cornwell and mac the wrenches were made on the same machines, hence the common look and charachteristics (mac split from cornwell in 38)

Speaking of ********, I just bought a set of extra long SAE combo's last week for $189.00. Compair that to Mac's at $275.00 or Snappy's.

on promo?

http://www.cornwelltools.com/webcat/products.php?product=WCP17LST-%2d-7pc.-X%2dLong-Wrench-Set

$274.16

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...4&group_ID=525&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

$290.15



$15 difference..............

 

[Flash21]

thanks for the thread and pictures Krusty, it reminds me to think long term on my tool purchases and not just how they look and feel after a few short uses.

I'm with the others, I think the finish on your new angle wrenches is unaccepatable for the price paid. I understand they will wear with use but they should start out at least looking top quality since you paid a top price for them.

I have to admit, if I'm buying something expenisive and I like the snap-on the same or more than the others and the price difference isn't huge, I go snap-on. Because after all, I would say they are the one company that I feel I can count on to be around 50 years from now to warranty my tools (if they were ever to look like that cornwell combo, I would be talking to my dealer)

 

[Bolster]

Huh. Welp, thanks for the expose. I am surprised.

 

[wreckercologist]

they may well be.....early 20's cornwells. note the angle wrenches.

thats because of a common link between cornwell and mac the wrenches were made on the same machines, hence the common look and charachteristics (mac split from cornwell in 38)


Right. It's my understanding a few Cornwell people left to form Mac.

on promo?

You better believe it! Last day of the sale!

http://www.cornwelltools.com/webcat/products.php?product=WCP17LST-%2d-7pc.-X%2dLong-Wrench-Set

$274.16

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...4&group_ID=525&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

$290.15



$15 difference..............

As a general rule, I prefer Snappy's wrenches, but in this case it was a "oh, hell! that's cheap! I better get a set!" kind of impulse buy. I have been wanting a set for a while and........well............at least I'm not addicted to drugs!

 

[Vinko]

Is that a polishing problem or an actual problem with the forging? Looks like the latter.

Why do you think it's a forging problem?


As to the wrenches, about $50 per piece has got to hurt if they ain't perfect, or near.

I just watched that Cornwell video awhile back in which they tour the foundry and all the finish production. Hell, I'd send management these pics and let them decide for themselves.

 

[bmwpower]

Why do you think it's a forging problem?


As to the wrenches, about $50 per piece has got to hurt if they ain't perfect, or near.

I just watched that Cornwell video awhile back in which they tour the foundry and all the finish production. Hell, I'd send management these pics and let them decide for themselves.

Maybe not directly a forging issue, but it looks like it was never ground down or whatever they do after it's forged. I can't imagine those marks are normally taken out by polishing. Or at least that's what I was trying to get across.

 

[oldtools]

Those Cornwell shank look pretty thin.