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craftsman thin profile ratchet

bayoutoolguy

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 17, 2011
Messages
357
Location
Golden Meadow, Louisiana
anyone own or have used the thin profile ratchets? they look to be pretty good quality, even though theyre taiwanese made. do they use the same 60 tooth mechanism as the armstrong ratchets? the handle seems pretty robust.
 
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puttsy

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Joined
Nov 22, 2011
Messages
277
Location
Iowa, USA
Use the search function. If that doesn't work, use google.

A quick note on searching GarageJournal on google

Code:
site:garagejournal.com craftsman thin ratchet

That should get ya there. And just in case:

GJ Cman This Ratchets


But, rumor on the forum is that they are pretty darn decent ratchets, even though their Taiwan. I would look into an Armstrong as well though. They really are a great tool for the money. And Amazon has some nice prices on them.
 

Super Sport

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Joined
Jun 30, 2011
Messages
4,081
Location
West Michigan
I got one when warrantying a different teardrop full polish ratchet (3/8"). I didn't realize it was not USA-made until I saw something about that on here. I'm a little bummed about that, but I'm still impressed with it. I haven't used it much, but it seems very well built and smooth.
 

Zeppe807

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Joined
Dec 25, 2009
Messages
372
Location
Sonoma County, Ca.
I never realized the thin profile ratchets were not US made. Although, I do have the 3/8" vs and love it. I have had it since they came out in the 90s. I was breaking the normal cman ratchets and I was temped to go SO, but Sears warranted the normal one for the slim, and I have been happy since!

Joe
 
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Joined
Apr 6, 2011
Messages
6
I never realized the thin profile ratchets were not US made. Although, I do have the 3/8" vs and love it. I have had it since they came out in the 90s. I was breaking the normal cman ratchets and I was temped to go SO, but Sears warranted the normal one for the slim, and I have been happy since!

Joe

I didn't realize that some weren't USA made until I read it here. I picked up 3 (1/4, 3/8, 1/2) at my local Sears and they are all stamped USA.

I got them to replace/augment my 80's teardrops. I like them.
 

Jim85IROC

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Joined
Sep 15, 2010
Messages
333
The production must have just recently moved. I was fortunate enough to find that all of the thin profiles at my local Sears were still USA. I'd lost my 1/4" a while back, so I picked up a replacement while I still could.

That said, at $25 for a 1/4" ratchet, I'd hardly call it a bargain. For a Taiwan version, I'd definitely look elsewhere. I paid less than that for my 1/4" Gearwrench flex head, which has the same guts, plus the flex head, and the same COO.
 

thedeatons

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Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
372
I checked them out quite a bit, and they are nice to hold, and feel like the mechanism is good. I ended up with Wright ratchets though. I planned to just get their combination wrenches but a couple clicks of their ratchet mechanism and I was sold! (plus you can get cheap used ones!!)


James
 

pipsters

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Joined
Sep 1, 2010
Messages
4,899
Location
USA
At my local stores, the Craftsman thin profiles went Taiwan right around Xmas, maybe just shortly afterward. Same with the RP ratchets (going Chinese). Must be a 2012 "goal" for Sears to swap out all their stuff. I wonder when the RP wrenches and sockets will be swapped.
 

Hootbro

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Joined
Dec 8, 2011
Messages
1,465
Location
Delaware
I have the complete set but my 3/8 was the only one that was Taiwan made. Overall they are fine but I can get the Taiwan 3/8" one to lock up if I move the selector just a red pubic hair in distance. The other two USA made ones do not do this.

I think the Bulk 3 packs are still showing up with the USA made ratchets but the peg board singles are slowly converting over to the Taiwan made stuff. You maybe still able to find the USA made ones if you dig through the peg board racks toward the back ones as they restock on top of old stuff all the time.
 

amolaver

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
834
i used them almost exclusively for probably 5 years and they all held up great. the QR managed to bite me a couple of times (time to break out the magnet), but they were durable and never once reversed or jammed on me. for the last year or so i've been using the premium ones and much prefer the handle profile. but the thin profiles seem to be damn good ratchets for reasonable money. after a few years i finally opened them up and lubed them and i wish i had done it earlier; a little bit of super lube made a huge difference in how smooth they are.

ahm
 
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