Dis'n Craftsman Wrenches

[theoldwizard1]

I grew up on US made Craftsman and still use what I own. If I see something at the ReStore or a garage sale, I buy it.

In a separate thread I mentioned I am looking for a set of metric, long pattern, non-offset, double box end wrenches. The few on eBay have ridiculous prices !

 

[Rabid Badger]

I've made a habit of stopping in ACE hardware stores when I travel on business to look for old stock pliers and sockets.

Yesterday I found a pair of duckbill pliers for $18. The same pair with green grips and an SK badge goes for $27 on Amazon.

 

[340wedge]

Something changed somewhere. It used too seem there were two types of tools. One professional auto mechanics bought that were too expensive and too large an investment for a DIY, so we used Craftsman and they worked just fine. At the time we moved from ranches and raised ranches to Mc Mansions and went from one or two moderate TVs to putting movie screen sized ones in that has to be at least an inch bigger than the neighbors. A brew wasn't good enough anymore, now we need bougie craft beers. No longer could you be deemed successful by wearing a blue collar but a Masters degree became a necessity and that of course makes you the smartest person in any room. Buy something from Harbor Freight or Craftsman and you are considered the equivalent of an idiot or at least trash. If you don't own Snap On or an equivalent you aren't relevant to the discussion. You probably still own a flip phone because we know the people who matter all have the biggest and newest phone available..Wait, were we talking about Craftsman tools?....

 

[Rabid Badger]

Something changed somewhere. It used too seem there were two types of tools. One professional auto mechanics bought that were too expensive and too large an investment for a DIY, so we used Craftsman and they worked just fine. At the time we moved from ranches and raised ranches to Mc Mansions and went from one or two moderate TVs to putting movie screen sized ones in that has to be at least an inch bigger than the neighbors. A brew wasn't good enough anymore, now we need bougie craft beers. No longer could you be deemed successful by wearing a blue collar but a Masters degree became a necessity and that of course makes you the smartest person in any room. Buy something from Harbor Freight or Craftsman and you are considered the equivalent of an idiot or at least trash. If you don't own Snap On or an equivalent you aren't relevant to the discussion. You probably still own a flip phone because we know the people who matter all have the biggest and newest phone available..Wait, were we talking about Craftsman tools?....

I just look at the Snap-On or nothing crowd as comic relief. Anyone that actually does work with their tools eventually develops a practical attitude towards them.

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

Something changed somewhere. It used too seem there were two types of tools. One professional auto mechanics bought that were too expensive and too large an investment for a DIY, so we used Craftsman and they worked just fine. At the time we moved from ranches and raised ranches to Mc Mansions and went from one or two moderate TVs to putting movie screen sized ones in that has to be at least an inch bigger than the neighbors. A brew wasn't good enough anymore, now we need bougie craft beers. No longer could you be deemed successful by wearing a blue collar but a Masters degree became a necessity and that of course makes you the smartest person in any room. Buy something from Harbor Freight or Craftsman and you are considered the equivalent of an idiot or at least trash. If you don't own Snap On or an equivalent you aren't relevant to the discussion. You probably still own a flip phone because we know the people who matter all have the biggest and newest phone available..Wait, were we talking about Craftsman tools?....

Sent from my Apple iPhone XS Max

 

[Handyandy23]

Something changed somewhere. It used too seem there were two types of tools. One professional auto mechanics bought that were too expensive and too large an investment for a DIY, so we used Craftsman and they worked just fine. At the time we moved from ranches and raised ranches to Mc Mansions and went from one or two moderate TVs to putting movie screen sized ones in that has to be at least an inch bigger than the neighbors. A brew wasn't good enough anymore, now we need bougie craft beers. No longer could you be deemed successful by wearing a blue collar but a Masters degree became a necessity and that of course makes you the smartest person in any room. Buy something from Harbor Freight or Craftsman and you are considered the equivalent of an idiot or at least trash. If you don't own Snap On or an equivalent you aren't relevant to the discussion. You probably still own a flip phone because we know the people who matter all have the biggest and newest phone available..Wait, were we talking about Craftsman tools?....

Evolution? Improvement? 300 years ago books were hand-written on parchment paper and only the successful and educated had them, then when the printing press was invented everyone has all these books! In the early 1900's only the rich or people who needed vehicles for work could afford them, and everyone else got by with horses. Then all of a sudden everyone has a car, and people with Porsche's frown at people in old beat up cars!

The condescending and judgmental attitudes have always been there since the beginning of time, it didn't take big TV's and post secondary education to create them. There will always be a percentage of the population that feels inadequate and has to try and look down their nose at you and what you have / have done.

 

[Jim C.]

No Cman “Dis’n” from me. At least 90% of my wrenches, sockets, ratchets, etc. are pre 1990 Craftsman. I’ve been very happy with them.

Jim C.

 

[Motorman55]

I've never broken a Craftsman socket or wrench. Never replaced a Craftsman tool to just upgrade to a so-called 'professional' one.

Used Craftsman tools as well as other USA brands like S-K are so inexpensive and easily found thru garage sales, flea markets and CL that you can have multiple sets at the cost of a couple of the professional brands like Snap-On.

I like Snap-On and have some of their specialty tools, but other then that I never felt the need to have to up-grade a 9/16 OE wrench because my Craftsman couldn't do the job.

 

[koenbro]

I just look at the Snap-On or nothing crowd as comic relief. Anyone that actually does work with their tools eventually develops a practical attitude towards them.

This.



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[sk farmer]

i always get a chuckle about the guys who say their old craftsman wrenches were the best and the last of the usa made craftsman were junk. i guess they never looked at them. the last of the raised panel usa wrenches were made by danaher and very good quality. if you look at them, they had a nice finish and were very smooth for a raised panel wrench. the sides of the wrenches had a milled surface, good chrome and off corner engagement.


i have lots of "premium" wrenches and while they are not as flashy as them they are more than adequate and i have no problems using right alongside those other wrenches.

 

[dr_clyde]

My wrench drawer in my main work box is full of Wright, Mac Knuckle Saver, Snap-On FD+, SO regular FD and a couple random SK, Matco and Proto, at least 2 sets each of metric and SAE. I have a full set of Proto SAE in my machinist box, and at home I have Snap-on metric and SAE.

When I put together the toolbox for the maintenance department where I used to work, I put SK SuperKrome wrenches in there.

I like the Wright best, but the SO is thinner and will fit in more places than the Wright. But the Wright has nice and thick beams, very comfortable to pull hard on and not have the beams bite into your palms.

The first set of wrenches I bought for myself was Snap-On, and that was in high school, I worked after school at a local car shop. My dad has mostly mix and match, so I was used to using whatever wrenches I could find around our farm. I was very excited to have a SET of wrenches, one that I could be proud of. My primary reason for buying SO was the truck came by regularly and my boss had SO wrenches from the 70's in his box, I had used his a bunch and liked them a lot.

When I graduated HS, my dad gave me $1000 to spend on tools for my career. I bought chrome sockets, impact sockets, screwdrivers and more wrenches. All of the SO truck. I have them all to this day, use them regularly. I probably could have gotten MORE tools if I had bought some other brands, but I am happy I bought SO. They have served me well.

I have some USA Cman, but they're average at best. The open ends spreading is my primary complaint, but I also like a full polish wrench, so the raised panel never has appealed to me. Since I started out with really nice wrenches, I never saw any point in going backwards.

I am not particularly brand loyal, I have lots of different tool brands. I do have my favorites, but so does everyone. I just try to buy the best I can afford, and that usually excludes Craftsman. I do have a few Cman tools that I like. In particular, I have a striking scraper that I have used and abused for years, and I love it.

I bought a Cman set for behind the seat of my truck in college, and it worked fine for what it was. Mostly all gone now, either lost to time or split up and moved around a bunch.

Buy what makes you happy, if that's Craftsman, buy Craftsman.

 

[DFB]

I started with Craftsman tools for basic wrenches, sockets and handtools and I still have it all too.

Sure not CM exclusive by no means and obviously you do get other brands over the years to round out and compliment your chest of tools to meet your needs though a lot of rebrand items were still sourced thru the Craftsman catalog,

Ha I remember how my younger brother after he got of the Army went out west (Nevada) and worked the graveyard shift in a diesel truck garage.

He come back home after a few years with a couple of old but rust free 60's Chevy's trucks...driving a stepside pickup, and towing a panel van.

I remember his aloofness well, I had mainly all Craftsman tools for sockets and wrenches and he starts "Ohhh you gotta have Snapon, or Cornwell or Mac."

I said "Well I don't see you coming home with big tool collection here little brother"

Ya guess what...yup he swapped out the engine in that truck, replaced the front axle, rebuilt the steering box, and pulled the entire truck apart for painting... rear box fenders, doors, hood, seats, tank with my Craftsman tools and even built a new hardwood bed floor with Craftsman stuff

 

[AceofSpad3s]

Philips screwdrivers ****,36 tooth ratchets ****, wrenches are serviceable but not wonderful, rather have something satin and have a plain smooth beam like a superrench than a raised panel but it's not like it's a big deal, sockets are fine.
It's all serviceable for the most part, but for something as universal and frequently used as a ratchet, having something as clunky,loose and unergonomic as one of the 36 tooth RP's actively makes working with them less enjoyable.

 

[JJ99SS]

Tekton, Williams, even crappy Chinese Sunex or Gearwrench full polish wrenches are 100 times better than garbage Craftsman raised panels.

They work, they were cheap on sale, they had a good warranty. Otherwise they were uncomfortable, ugly garbage.

$500 is a fair amount of money, that I will grant you. However the median home price in the US is almost $300,000 so you are being rediculous.

Nobody is 'hating' on Craftsman. But they are pointing out that the nostalgia is irrational.

I like the comparison of $500 wrenches to a 300k house. But even better is when the average mortgage is $1200+- a month, the $500 wrenches looks less appetizing. Ignorance is bliss for me, I've only ever used CMRP wrenches going on 30 years now, and never once had an issue.

I know there are better too but mine aren't broke so no fixing here. I do however have a ton of Tekton ratcheting wrenches that I flat love...for the price.

I love that my hand tools are my fathers, however I replaced all my ratchets with Tekton and a few Koken.

 

[turnthewrench 2.0]

All the great spanners available these days and you all still go on about those old things?

I went to my Lowe's last week and they're selling those "inhumane" RP wrenches - this time made somewhere else.

When the market is there, nostalgia becomes a commodity.

 

[Two Door]

I went to my Lowe's last week and they're selling those "inhumane" RP wrenches - this time made somewhere else.

When the market is there, nostalgia becomes a commodity.

Are they actually selling them, or do they just have them out *to* sell?

 

[turnthewrench 2.0]

Are they actually selling them, or do they just have them out *to* sell?

You got me there...

 

[Citation]

I started life using my father's Snapon wrenches. In college some friends gave me the start of my wrench collection, a RP set from something like 1/4” to 1-1/4”. I later added metric wrenches to complement the set. After more than two decades of use I can say that RP fall behind Dad's SO wrenches in only two areas. They are thicker in profile so it's harder to use them on jam nuts. They are shorter so it's harder to get that tight bolt. The jaws seem to have held up well enough. These were Dahner made tools for what it's worth. Some of the later RP wrenches were inferior in fit but no evidence they don't work as well.

So if I lost my wenches today would I replace them with more Cman stuff? No. Even if the wenches today we're identical in quality to mine, I'm not sure Cman is the value it used to be. I think there are some other brands (Crescent for example) that are a better valve. However, in the mass market tools you can do worse. I have a Kobalt full polished SAE set. I bought it on sale for $7 (likely an online pricing mistake as it's normally $45 or so). Anyway, while they look better (and are longer) the jaws aren't formed as crisply. It's clear they used a lot of electropolishing. The result is rounded jaw corners. The jaws don't seem as hard either. They were dented the first time I used them. Not impressed. Anyway, it used to be I had no trouble recommending Cman as they represented at least an acceptable level of quality for a reasonable price and sometimes a great value. Now I'm a bit less certain about the minimum standard and lots of other brands offer good quality. Finally, with the decline of the Sears tool section there is no longer a one stop shopping place for tools. Lowe's might have Cman tools but nothing like the complete lineup that Sears used to have.

 

[TangoFoxTrot]

The Craftsman stuff that was about 20 years ago I thought was still pretty solid. That's around the era of most of my hand tools. Maybe not the "golden years" but on sale it was a great value and I like buying American made tools.

What's funny is I had the raised panel and never had a single issue. I also had the "pro" line of Craftsman wrenches that "supposedly" was the same as Matco. Only wrench I've ever broken was that line.

If I was starting a tool collection from scratch, I'd probably buy GearWrench. Truthfully the GearWrench is better made than most of my Craftsman stuff.

 

[finn]

Pulled the snow blower off the front of the tractor today, since we probably got our last snowfall for the season Wednesday night.
Needed a 21mm wrench to put the grill guard on before I mounted the loader.

I used a 36 tooth rp ratchet, and a Snapon combination wrench.

The bolt turned with both of them without issue.

It had no brand preference.

 

[Y00PER]

Pulled the snow blower off the front of the tractor today, since we probably got our last snowfall for the season Wednesday night.

I sure hope so...