Cresent brand made in china now too?

[cgv69]

I was going to pick some Cresent brand adjustable wrenches for my sons tool kit the other day but stopped once I realized that these were made in China now?

When did this happen? Are there any sources left for US made Cresent wrenches? Is there a better US made alternative now? Thanks

 

[Buckgnarly]

Adjustable? For US, get Cman.

 

[SCscoutguy]

As far as I know they have been made in China for about 10 years now if not longer.

 

[kissmeimgerman]

Get a Wright,
Toolup

 

[NastyNate]

Get a Wright,
Toolup

just sold a wright. Nicest adjustable IMHO. I like the made in spain channellock too.

 

[Fordman7795]

As far as I know they have been made in China for about 10 years now if not longer.

No, it just changed recently

 

[mikew13]

You can blame Cooper for causing this AKA Apex tools after the merger.

 

[plumber84]

There was a thread on this about a couple of months ago, an employee of Apex tool group confirmed that Crescent brand wrenches will continue be made in Sumter SC, for both Crescent and Armstrong, extra capacity has been added in the far east however, the USA wrenches will be available mainly in industrial outlets such as Grainger and the chinese ones mainly in places like Home depot and Lowes. Ive recently taken delivery of 10+12" black oxide Armstrong wrenches from tool marque in the UK and the quality seems very high.

 

[stricht8]

I love the extra capacity excuse. I've heard that one before. I wonder what's next on the outsourcing agenda?

 

[volunteers]

I remember they are made in Spain?

 

[SMKS]

Western Forge and Klein are the only other companies I know of making adjustable wrenches in the US.

I really haven't been impressed with the Crescent brand adjustables in recent years. The lower jaw always seems sloppy.

I'd look at WF. They make the adjustable wrenches for Craftsman and many other brands. I like them more than Crescent.

Also, as another member mentioned, the Spanish-made Channellock adjustable wrenches are also very nice. I believe they're made by Irega.

 

[mikew13]

Western Forge and Klein are the only other companies I know of making adjustable wrenches in the US.

I really haven't been impressed with the Crescent brand adjustables in recent years. The lower jaw always seems sloppy.

I'd look at WF. They make the adjustable wrenches for Craftsman and many other brands. I like them more than Crescent.

Also, as another member mentioned, the Spanish-made Channellock adjustable wrenches are also very nice. I believe they're made by Irega.

I believe the channelock spain made ones are the same as snap on

 

[thesilverone]

the cresent adjustables were bad to begin with

 

[SMKS]

I believe the channelock spain made ones are the same as snap on

The Snap-On adjustable wrenches may be made by Irimo, which is a Spanish tool company owned by Snap-On.

http://www.snaeurope.com/our-brands/irimo

Snap-on does not own Irega, who makes the adjustable wrenches for Channellock.

 

[bobcatdan]

Craftsman adjustable wrenches are about the last of craftsman tools I would still buy. I bought some cresents a few months back (USA made) to replace a 12 and 15" craftsman in my road box. Side by side, I kept the craftsman in the service truck and took the cresent home. Does anybody know, the new SK still have USA made adjustables?

 

[plumber84]

Craftsman adjustable wrenches are about the last of craftsman tools I would still buy. I bought some cresents a few months back (USA made) to replace a 12 and 15" craftsman in my road box. Side by side, I kept the craftsman in the service truck and took the cresent home. Does anybody know, the new SK still have USA made adjustables?

SK use western forge adjustable wrenches, same as the craftsmans only twice the price. The best USA adjustables today are the kleins hands down, the fit and finish are second to none even as good as the Irega/Channellocks, the only advantage the Channellocks have is the wide beam handles.

 

[american lockpicker]

Just buy another brand.

 

[Larwyn]

I just found out about the Chinese Crescent too. Recently I got home with a brand new 12 inch Crescent wrench before I noticed that they too are now made in China. Next time I was in the same store (Home Depot), only a couple of days later I noticed that the one remaining 12 inch Crescent hanging on the display was clearly marked USA. I bought that one on the spot and returned the Chinese made one a day or two later.

On comparison, the Chinese made wrench was slightly thinner and lighter than the USA one, it did seem to have a smoother finish (maybe they polished off all that extra thickness). The moving jaw of the import did not line up well with the stationary one and was longer and the contact surface was slightly curved from end to end and sloped to one side. The USA made wrench was clearly the best tool of the two as more attention was paid to getting the jaws of the wrench right than polishing the handle.

 

[Altec]

I like the made in spain channellock too.

 

[shoturtle]

I would skip the crescent adjustable. Even their older stuff were pretty poor compared to craftsmen. They always auto open on me, while the craftsmen stay put. I like the channel lock ones also. Very nice adjustable wrenches.

 

[el tanque prohibido]

 

[plinker]

As said Western forge makes a nice wrench, (S-K, Armstrong, Napa and C-man & others are rebranded as noted, They have a small "WF" stamped on them).

The Klien wrench is Very nice, it is actually a direct clone of a Japanese wrench made by TOP (Klien and TOP swaped some designs).


The Channellock is also a nice wrench. It even has metric size marking's on it


I would not hesitate to buy any of these three brands, all are very good.

 

[monster1]

Mine are made in the USA. The jaws are rather sloppy but I've always just considered that the nature of the tool. I don't use cresent wrenches on anything I can't afford to round off anyway.

 

[4x4gearhead]

My favorite adjustables are the cmans and the j-h williams.

 

[HandyManny]

I was going to pick some Cresent brand adjustable wrenches for my sons tool kit the other day but stopped once I realized that these were made in China now?

When did this happen? Are there any sources left for US made Cresent wrenches? Is there a better US made alternative now? Thanks

I wouldn't be to heart broken over it. Cresent brand adjustable wrenches haven't been all that great of a tool for the last 30 years anyway and I'm talking about the USA made junk that Cooper was trying to pass off since the early 1980's. Like many others it was just another USA brand riding on the shoulder of it's older well earned and regarded reputation, but the newer stuff was really nothing special. Maybe the Chinese could do the brand some justice and refurbish its reputation.

I'm actually kind of glad that Cooper gave Diamond a reasonably quick death, rather than drag Diamond's well earned reputation through the mud for the next several decades. Cooper never could have produced as high of quality as that old Diamond Calk company did.

These days Channellock is selling one of the best wrench at the best price point. Spanish made Irega wrenches. Really great stuff. Wish one day that the few USA makers of adjustables will wake up and smell the coffee, but by then there may not be anymore domestic makers of adjustables.

 

[HandyManny]

As far as I know they have been made in China for about 10 years now if not longer.

No they weren't, they just seemed like it. They didn't actually move production to China until last year (2011).

 

[Brian_B_]

Crescent adjustable wrenches have been junk for a lot of years.

I have no clue where they were made, but my mom bought a set for dad (their anniversary) a long time ago. She thought they were a great gift since they were a name she knew. Dad never had the heart to tell her just how badly made they are.

He got the pretty orange handles all greasy and they are in the back of the drawer in his tool box. I don't think he uses them at all (but she does not know that).

 

[HandyManny]

I believe the channelock spain made ones are the same as snap on

Nope, same country of origin, but different maker. I forget the name of the company but it is a facility run by or owned by Bhaco. In fact most Bhaco adjustables are now made in Spain.

 

[Danny304]

I recently found USA made Crescent wrenches at Home Depot. Must have been old stock left of the shelf. !0" and 6" combo pack, black finish with red handles.

 

[Notwerk]

Just get the Western Forge-made Craftsman pliers. They're better anyway.

 

[HandyManny]

Just get the Western Forge-made Craftsman pliers. They're better anyway.

Western Forge makes decent adjustable wrenches, and can make excellent adjustables if the customer required more stringent specifications, but I personally don't think they make all that tough of pliers. Channellock makes higher quality more durable pliers, more durable than the WF ones, just my experience having used both brands quite often.