Craftsman metric wrenches

[rugerman1970]

I've had these wrenches for over 25 years now and never had to have one replaced! Use them everyday.

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[PelicanPines]

Love how deep the lettering is stamped. Today's barely has an impression on a random wrench...

 

[Aqua-Andy]

Nice wrench set. I never liked the craftsman RP wrenches while working on cars. Now that I work on industrial machinery I'm finding that I like them more and more. I find the length of my SO and Mac wrenches is just too long and cumbersome for the majority of the work that we do.

 

[zcbauer89]

I have always like those wrenches. A lot on here don't care for the way they feel, but I have always thought they were very comfortable. Good set of wrenches.

 

[gdocktor3]

Love how deep the lettering is stamped. .

I absolutely love the lettering on my older Craftsman wrenches. They're so crisp, clean and deep.

 

[Dr Stan]

I miss old Craftsman quality.

 

[2oolhound]

Love how deep the lettering is stamped. Today's barely has an impression on a random wrench...

+1

 

[Budman01]

And you want how much for them?

 

[bigjeff94]

Nice wrench set. I never liked the craftsman RP wrenches while working on cars. Now that I work on industrial machinery I'm finding that I like them more and more. I find the length of my SO and Mac wrenches is just too long and cumbersome for the majority of the work that we do.

You can say that, I work industrial maintenance in the summers and my craftsman wrenches serve me just fine.

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[Empty Pockets]

I have 2 sets of Craftsman RP wrenches (metric and SAE) from the early 80s. Same deep stamping for lettering and sizes. Never a failure

 

[mbshop]

The 13 mm one looks broken.
still have mine from the 70s.

 

[BIG BACCHUS]

Love how deep the lettering is stamped. Today's barely has an impression on a random wrench...

THIS!! I got Craftsman wrenches when I started my classes in 2015 and the engraving indicating the sizes of the various wrenches have worn off from everyday use!

 

[Tim37]

Strange piece of trivia about the old can rp the 1 1/16 is the narrowest across the open end of any brand I have found. I compared about 10 wrenches at a pawn shop one day and the cman won

 

[MShaw]

I have had my Craftsman metric set for over 40 tears. Still like them.

 

[AntonLargiader]

Those were my main wrenches for years and I will always have a soft spot for them. They are a bit thick around the closed end so I work with SO and the Craftsman are becoming my home wrenches now (although most are still here at the shop).

 

[Adam.C]

The 13 mm one looks broken.
still have mine from the 70s.

Yup. That wrench is shot. Glad the OP likes them. I had them too. But they are **** wrenches. They were a big step up from Taiwan wrenches in their day which were either made from aluminum and painted silver, or were annealed steel. That's why we bought them. But just about every wrench save the Chinese craftsman lobster claws are better now.

I can see why guys who work with machinery likethem because they are sloppy and easy to put on and take off. As long as no bolt is too tight they work ok.

 

[sberry]

I put a 3 ft cheater on a 3/4, figured to see how much the wrench would take, bolts came loose with a loud snap.

 

[maxpower_hd]

My metrics at home are the same set I think. I got mine in the mid 80's. I have ASE wrenches from the early 70's. They have all held up too.

I never broke any wrenches I can think of. Sockets are another issue.

A guy at work bought a new CM metric socket set and the 10mm was marked as a 10 and in the 10 spot but was an 8mm. Figure that one out.

 

[sberry]

The 80's wrenches are tough but they are not fine tooling. It looks like they shipped the same die with the work to china. I will agree about the sockets but the wrenches are the same old junk they been making since sometime in the 70;s where they look to be made from an SK die?

 

[PelicanPines]

My metrics at home are the same set I think. I got mine in the mid 80's. I have ASE wrenches from the early 70's. They have all held up too.

I never broke any wrenches I can think of. Sockets are another issue.

A guy at work bought a new CM metric socket set and the 10mm was marked as a 10 and in the 10 spot but was an 8mm. Figure that one out.

The older we get... things are just getting smaller.

 

[maxpower_hd]

The older we get... things are just getting smaller.

...AND being marked bigger by the manufacturer? Although I agree with your statement in general, I don't agree with it in this case. LOL

 

[bwringer]

The 13mm is upside-down and it's making me crazy...

Notice how the 11mm is rusty inside and probably has never been used.

Congrats to the OP for somehow hanging on to the little plastic rack all these years. I never can manage this trick.

To those looking for a modern replacement, check out the "Master Force" wrenches at Menards. Same raised panel design, nice normal sized heads, crisp markings, made in USA, and very reasonably priced.

 

[rugerman1970]

The 13 mm one looks broken.
still have mine from the 70s.

Not broken just a little worn.

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[rugerman1970]

Yup. That wrench is shot. Glad the OP likes them. I had them too. But they are **** wrenches. They were a big step up from Taiwan wrenches in their day which were either made from aluminum and painted silver, or were annealed steel. That's why we bought them. But just about every wrench save the Chinese craftsman lobster claws are better now.

I can see why guys who work with machinery likethem because they are sloppy and easy to put on and take off. As long as no bolt is too tight they work ok.

I've used these wrenches everyday in truck car garages and abused them, have a set of snap on standard and have had many of them replaced.

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[WWheeler]

I'm glad the OP still gets use out of them, but that set looks to have been rode hard and put away wet many times. I wouldn't toss them but I'd have been looking to replace them as my daily turners before they got to looking like that.

I've had mine for almost three decades now. This is my weekend warrior set, so they don't get used every day, but nary a weekend goes by when they haven't been put to some use. At times a lot more than others. I keep a rag hanging on the side of my box that every now and then gets a squirt of T-9 and try to wipe my tools off with it each time before I put them away.

 

[anndel]

Love those Craftsman RP wrenches. I have a bunch 30 years old + and still use them today as well.

 

[bigjeff94]

My set of craftsman rps at home. Have another set at work. Really like them. I like sk's recent usa push so eventually I like to think I'll buy some sk but for now my craftsman usa stuff is serving me just fine.

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[ssdave]

Well, those old wrenches have held up better than most of the Craftsman if you've used them in professional service for 25 years. I had those same wrenches, maybe a few years older, and gave up on them for better ones years ago. But, they got the work done when that's what I could afford.

Below is the Professional, Full Polish set they're shipping today, along with comparison to some other wrenches from my box. Sears, in their rush towards bankruptcy, gave me $58 in points last week, so I bought this set for about $50. The best they sell. Good thing it's the best, it's none too good. Poorly broached box ends, too much bevel to the box so you give up nearly 1/8" of grip on the nut. Lobster claw open end. The ignition wrenches they threw in with the set are pathetic. Bad part of that is that the big wrenches are Taiwan made, the ignition ones say USA made on the plastic bag they came in. Nothing stamped on the wrenches themselves.

The other wrenches have been in my box and in use for between 15 and 25 years, except I think the proto has been there for 3 or 4. The best are the Snap on ones. Next is the Williams made Kobalt and the Proto, similar quality but different style (matte vs full polish). Last is the Matco. The Matco, as thick and clumsy as it is, is still better than the new Pro Craftsman.

The last two photo's show the Snap-on and the Matco in comparison to the new Craftsman Full Polish Pro. I'll post pictures of the ignition wrenches compared to good ones in the nest post.

Here's the photo's.

 

[ssdave]

Here's pictures of the new Craftsman ignition wrenches compared to good ones. The bad part is the package says USA made for these little defectives.

The whole problem that I see is that Sears has elected to sell their stuff for almost nothing, and in my case give it away for free. 24 wrenches (14 full size and 10 ignition wrenches) for $45 or so, but I paid nothing because of free points they gave to me. So, about $3 per real wrench, and the little ones thrown in for free. That same wrench from Snap-on is $58.50 in long pattern. $28 from Proto in full polish, $17 in matte.

So, in a price comparison mode, they're a great bargain. But, they're not Pro quality, and really, to me, not even acceptable quality. Not where I would spend my money, but since they were free, I took the best they had, thought I would gift them to someone. Not sure that I'm doing the recipient any favors, though. Wish I had a HF one to put alongside, it might compare well.

 

[B_Bimmer]

They have been giving those ignition wrenches away with the boxed wrench sets for at least twenty years. I have several sets and although the open ends are slightly less useful than long nose mini vise grips the box ends have been used for ignition type things like setting points many times successfully... ya get what ya pay for I guess, right?

 

[Infinia]

So yeah the OP's 25 old USA craftsman RP and your newer imported lobster claws are worlds apart.
FWIW the 25 year old long pattern CW pros are beautifully made, that is if you desire shiny and smooth. Sears has hooked one of its brand names on the 'race to the bottom' we all know this, why poop on this thread ssdave?

 

[Jim C.]

I have about 150 Craftsman raised panel wrenches in all configurations that were manufactured anywhere between the 1960s and about 2000. All USA made. No problems with any of them. If I ever work on anything "metric" these are generally the wrenches I use. They're similar to the wrenches posted by the OP.

Jim C.

 

[someofusgotfarmingtodo]

I have about 150 Craftsman raised panel wrenches in all configurations that were manufactured anywhere between the 1960s and about 2000. All USA made. No problems with any of them. If I ever work on anything "metric" these are generally the wrenches I use. They're similar to the wrenches posted by the OP.

Jim C.

Nice set of -V- metric. I'm a fan of the old grey and black crown logo metric tools. I have a set like that myself, looking for an old DBE metric set but they rare and expensive.

 

[Fedwrench]

Who would have ever thought that people would get excited over the old Craftsman raised panel wrenches

I guess the bar has been sufficiently lowered

 

[four.cycle]

They're okay... not that bad. I picked up a metric set way cheap from a guy on Craigslist and keep them in the truck for a "just in case" set. I think mine are VΛ production - fairly recent production but still US made. Can't complain considering the price.
My old =V= SAE open-ends are really much nicer and clearly of better quality and workmanship.

They have been giving those ignition wrenches away with the boxed wrench sets for at least twenty years.

Ahhh... thanks.... that would explain the multitude of them listed on Ebay daily, mostly unused with ridiculous asking prices.

 

[Fedwrench]

I think the V series Craftsman were the last of the best series if that makes sense. Tool quality I think was more important then than profit margins

 

[FlushingDIYer]

I picked up a set of new USA metric wrenches off eBay for $20/25 shipped about three years ago. (They're V^(2nd V inverted) = Danaher, Armstrong Division, ca. 1992 - 2010.) I've been filling in the missing pieces with USA KDs from Cripe (that seem to have almost the same exact finish...) and with Duralasts from the Autozone down the street. I think I have a Chinese 25mm Craftsman in there somewhere. They all seem to be about the same quality. My 17mm has gotten a fair amount of action, but again, nothing crazy. But it's in the worst shape of all my wrenches. And looking at it closer, it looks like someone's taken a bite out of it. I tapped it to see if it made a different sound (indicating a stress fracture) but it sounds the same all around. I think I'll hold off replacing it till I round something... Just did a quick run through eBay for 17mm replacements. Don't really think I need to spend $10 on an SK. Not yet anyhow!

 

[Jim C.]

Who would have ever thought that people would get excited over the old Craftsman raised panel wrenches

I guess the bar has been sufficiently lowered

What the heck was I thinking? I guess I misjudged you......

Jim C.

 

[KnurledNut]

Rugerman,
Your set of used wrenches has a personality new ones dont.
Thanks for sharing a pic.

 

[four.cycle]

hey, and just by coincidence.... a nice set of =V= metric combinations was just listed about 45 minutes ago. looks pretty cherry:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Cra...:g:nO8AAOSwo4pYQz35&item=232163381926&vxp=mtr