husky ratcheting wrenchs
- Thread starter bobg03
- Start date
They’re both made by Apex and appear to come off the same assembly line.
I recently decided to get a new set of metric reversible ratcheting wrench set to replace the random mishmash I had been nursing along. My two criteria was that the set should have at least the 8mm-19mm size range without skipping sizes, and that the wrenches would be reasonable lengths, which eliminated a lot of options out there. I also avoided anything that seemed to be junk. Virtually all of sets I looked at appeared identical to the Gearwrench wrenches, so I had to assume they were all made by whoever makes Gearwrench.
After shopping around, I decided to order the 13pc Husky brand reversible ratcheting combination wrench set from Home Depot. The price of $98.97 was the best for the size of the set and the wrench lengths (the lengths are virtually identical to GW). When I received them, I compared them to the GW wrenches I have and the Husky appeared and worked identical to them, so I've no doubt they are the same tools. I've come to the conclusion that any wrenches with the brand name on the beam in outline letters are GW-made. The set also came with a surprisingly high quality canvas roll-up pouch.
I also encountered some interesting obstacles when trying to research the lengths of the various brands. The stores themselves are absolutely clueless, so I had to directly contact the CS dept. of each brand. They were mostly clueless as well--these people have no idea precisely what they are selling! Anyway, I thought I'd recount my experiences here in case it's helpful and saves somebody else the wild goose chases.
Husky CS could not provide me with the lengths, but they had someone email me several hours later with a nice chart showing all the lengths, which were basically identical to the GW branded wrenches. Seems like someone actually wanted my business.
GW did not have the lengths on their site, but a CS rep was able to read the lengths off to me over the phone. Interestingly, she was reading them off a copy of their earlier website before the whole site cracked (or was hacked). She said that so much work was being done on getting the current site fully operational and showing all the available items that no one has had the time yet to add the length dimensions to each listing.
Napa shows the 12pc GW set at $135, but the photo shows the old model with the capstops, which is supposedly no longer made. CS was clueless to whether the capstop style is what they actually sell.
HD has the 12pc Dewalt set for order for $126m, but Dewalt CS was clueless as to the lengths, and never got back to me with an answer. My impression was that they didn't care about my business.
Urrea looks to have the style with the sliding switch like the extra long Icons (I forget the mfr, but several brands sell the identical wrenches), but pricing and availability seemed unobtanium.
The WEN set (can order through HD for $96) was the most comprehensive with size range from 7mm to 22mm with no skips, but the wrenches appear noticeably shorter than the others, which may explain the cheap price for so many wrenches. WEN CS was also clueless as to the lengths, and told me they'd have to c9ontact an engineer in Calif. and get back to me (they never did). Also, the WEN site showed these sets to be sold out. When I informed the CS rep that HD has up to 4 sets available for order, the rep told me that was impossible, since HD has the sets drop-shipped directly from WEN. It's not the first time for me that one of these chain-store sites have something listed as available, only yo be told after ordering the item that it's actually unobtainium.
The HF 10pc ICON set skips the 8mm and 9mm. HF, however, was the only company that not only listed the lengths of each wrench (imagine that...how revolutionary...actually providing the customer with the lengths of the tools!!!!!), but that also had them in stock at the retail store. An added bonus of the ICON set was that the wrenches are measurably longer than everybody else's sets. However for my purposes, the extra 1" to 2" lengths on the wrenches and the skipped smaller sizes did not justify the $169 price--I'm strictly a DIYer these days.
Anyway, these are most of the details from my 'what the hey are you guys actually selling" adventures. Below is the link to the Husky set, which is to my reckoning identical to the GW except for branding:
After shopping around, I decided to order the 13pc Husky brand reversible ratcheting combination wrench set from Home Depot. The price of $98.97 was the best for the size of the set and the wrench lengths (the lengths are virtually identical to GW). When I received them, I compared them to the GW wrenches I have and the Husky appeared and worked identical to them, so I've no doubt they are the same tools. I've come to the conclusion that any wrenches with the brand name on the beam in outline letters are GW-made. The set also came with a surprisingly high quality canvas roll-up pouch.
I also encountered some interesting obstacles when trying to research the lengths of the various brands. The stores themselves are absolutely clueless, so I had to directly contact the CS dept. of each brand. They were mostly clueless as well--these people have no idea precisely what they are selling! Anyway, I thought I'd recount my experiences here in case it's helpful and saves somebody else the wild goose chases.
Husky CS could not provide me with the lengths, but they had someone email me several hours later with a nice chart showing all the lengths, which were basically identical to the GW branded wrenches. Seems like someone actually wanted my business.
GW did not have the lengths on their site, but a CS rep was able to read the lengths off to me over the phone. Interestingly, she was reading them off a copy of their earlier website before the whole site cracked (or was hacked). She said that so much work was being done on getting the current site fully operational and showing all the available items that no one has had the time yet to add the length dimensions to each listing.
Napa shows the 12pc GW set at $135, but the photo shows the old model with the capstops, which is supposedly no longer made. CS was clueless to whether the capstop style is what they actually sell.
HD has the 12pc Dewalt set for order for $126m, but Dewalt CS was clueless as to the lengths, and never got back to me with an answer. My impression was that they didn't care about my business.
Urrea looks to have the style with the sliding switch like the extra long Icons (I forget the mfr, but several brands sell the identical wrenches), but pricing and availability seemed unobtanium.
The WEN set (can order through HD for $96) was the most comprehensive with size range from 7mm to 22mm with no skips, but the wrenches appear noticeably shorter than the others, which may explain the cheap price for so many wrenches. WEN CS was also clueless as to the lengths, and told me they'd have to c9ontact an engineer in Calif. and get back to me (they never did). Also, the WEN site showed these sets to be sold out. When I informed the CS rep that HD has up to 4 sets available for order, the rep told me that was impossible, since HD has the sets drop-shipped directly from WEN. It's not the first time for me that one of these chain-store sites have something listed as available, only yo be told after ordering the item that it's actually unobtainium.
The HF 10pc ICON set skips the 8mm and 9mm. HF, however, was the only company that not only listed the lengths of each wrench (imagine that...how revolutionary...actually providing the customer with the lengths of the tools!!!!!), but that also had them in stock at the retail store. An added bonus of the ICON set was that the wrenches are measurably longer than everybody else's sets. However for my purposes, the extra 1" to 2" lengths on the wrenches and the skipped smaller sizes did not justify the $169 price--I'm strictly a DIYer these days.
Anyway, these are most of the details from my 'what the hey are you guys actually selling" adventures. Below is the link to the Husky set, which is to my reckoning identical to the GW except for branding:
Husky Master Metric Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set (13-Piece) HRRW13PCMM - The Home Depot
Accomplish your hardware fastening application easily with the selection of this excellent Husky 12-Master Metric Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set
www.homedepot.com
The icon and DeWalt wrenches are actually just the standard and long version of the infar made ratcheting wrenchI recently decided to get a new set of metric reversible ratcheting wrench set to replace the random mishmash I had been nursing along. My two criteria was that the set should have at least the 8mm-19mm size range without skipping sizes, and that the wrenches would be reasonable lengths, which eliminated a lot of options out there. I also avoided anything that seemed to be junk. Virtually all of sets I looked at appeared identical to the Gearwrench wrenches, so I had to assume they were all made by whoever makes Gearwrench.
After shopping around, I decided to order the 13pc Husky brand reversible ratcheting combination wrench set from Home Depot. The price of $98.97 was the best for the size of the set and the wrench lengths (the lengths are virtually identical to GW). When I received them, I compared them to the GW wrenches I have and the Husky appeared and worked identical to them, so I've no doubt they are the same tools. I've come to the conclusion that any wrenches with the brand name on the beam in outline letters are GW-made. The set also came with a surprisingly high quality canvas roll-up pouch.
I also encountered some interesting obstacles when trying to research the lengths of the various brands. The stores themselves are absolutely clueless, so I had to directly contact the CS dept. of each brand. They were mostly clueless as well--these people have no idea precisely what they are selling! Anyway, I thought I'd recount my experiences here in case it's helpful and saves somebody else the wild goose chases.
Husky CS could not provide me with the lengths, but they had someone email me several hours later with a nice chart showing all the lengths, which were basically identical to the GW branded wrenches. Seems like someone actually wanted my business.
GW did not have the lengths on their site, but a CS rep was able to read the lengths off to me over the phone. Interestingly, she was reading them off a copy of their earlier website before the whole site cracked (or was hacked). She said that so much work was being done on getting the current site fully operational and showing all the available items that no one has had the time yet to add the length dimensions to each listing.
Napa shows the 12pc GW set at $135, but the photo shows the old model with the capstops, which is supposedly no longer made. CS was clueless to whether the capstop style is what they actually sell.
HD has the 12pc Dewalt set for order for $126m, but Dewalt CS was clueless as to the lengths, and never got back to me with an answer. My impression was that they didn't care about my business.
Urrea looks to have the style with the sliding switch like the extra long Icons (I forget the mfr, but several brands sell the identical wrenches), but pricing and availability seemed unobtanium.
The WEN set (can order through HD for $96) was the most comprehensive with size range from 7mm to 22mm with no skips, but the wrenches appear noticeably shorter than the others, which may explain the cheap price for so many wrenches. WEN CS was also clueless as to the lengths, and told me they'd have to c9ontact an engineer in Calif. and get back to me (they never did). Also, the WEN site showed these sets to be sold out. When I informed the CS rep that HD has up to 4 sets available for order, the rep told me that was impossible, since HD has the sets drop-shipped directly from WEN. It's not the first time for me that one of these chain-store sites have something listed as available, only yo be told after ordering the item that it's actually unobtainium.
The HF 10pc ICON set skips the 8mm and 9mm. HF, however, was the only company that not only listed the lengths of each wrench (imagine that...how revolutionary...actually providing the customer with the lengths of the tools!!!!!), but that also had them in stock at the retail store. An added bonus of the ICON set was that the wrenches are measurably longer than everybody else's sets. However for my purposes, the extra 1" to 2" lengths on the wrenches and the skipped smaller sizes did not justify the $169 price--I'm strictly a DIYer these days.
Anyway, these are most of the details from my 'what the hey are you guys actually selling" adventures. Below is the link to the Husky set, which is to my reckoning identical to the GW except for branding:
Husky Master Metric Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Set (13-Piece) HRRW13PCMM - The Home Depot
Accomplish your hardware fastening application easily with the selection of this excellent Husky 12-Master Metric Reversible Ratcheting Wrench Setwww.homedepot.com
Good to know. Never heard of Infar before--looks like they make a Geartech brand that seems to be a knockoff of Gearwrench. My point is that, in reference to the Dewalt set, any company that refuses to publish the lengths of their wrenches, and whose customer service is incapable of providing that info, does not care that much about our business. I guess that the set is intended for the Dewalt fan who will buy them just because they are Dewalt, or that you're supposed to order them first and then find out how long they are. No thanks. At least HF publishes the Icon wrench lengths.
BTW, here's what Husky emailed me on the wrench lengths of their 13pc set:
| 8 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 5.5 in. | |
| 9 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 5.75 in. | |
| 10 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | HRRW10MM | 1001381391 | 6.25 in. |
| 11 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 6.5 in. | |
| 12 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | HRRW12MM | 1001381393 | 6.75 in. |
| 13 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | HRRW13MM | 1001381396 | 6.875 in. |
| 14 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | HRRW14MM | 1001381398 | 7.375 in. |
| 15 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | HRRW15MM | 1001381400 | 7.75 in. |
| 16 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 8.25 in. | |
| 17 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 8.875 in. | |
| 18 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 9.25 in. | |
| 19 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 9.75 in. | |
| 21 mm 12-Point Reversible Ratcheting Metric Combination Wrench | | 11.5 in. |
Crazyjake8493
Well-known member
I'd say the quality is nearly identical. The majority of my ratcheting wrenches are from a GearWrench set, with some duplicates and other sizes filled in with Husky and Kobalt. All feel and operate the same.
They make the Milwaukee wrenches too.
Where is that information published? I didn't see the Milwaukee I-beam design on the Infar website so you might try to see if they are the same wrenches. I couldn't find the tpi on the Milwaukee site either (looks like Infar is 72 tpi). Doesn't appear that Infar is mentioned on the Milwaukee site or listed on the packaging. So where do you find this information?
The teeth are infar it's just a matter of recognizing the Taiwan oems they all have a few tells and the Milwaukee teeth are infar, just like kabo has the button on the side to change direction
Are you talking about the internal teeth in the gearing mechanism?
No on the open end infar makes there combination wrenches and probably their ratcheting but not sure
Understood. I guess the main theme of the thread was OP wanted to know whether the Husky ratcheting wrenches are the same quality as the Gearwrench. My additional comments in post #3 regarded my experiences in trying to find out the precise length of wrenches in the mentioned brand sets, and how these companies responded. Outside the Husky/Gearwrench relationship, it didn't really matter what mfr made these other sets, be it Icon, Dewalt or Milwaukee. It doesn't matter who made the Dewalt set, for example, if Dewalt cannot/will not provide the wrench lengths, then who made them is of no use. None of the sellers for the Milwaukee set provides them either--you have to go to the Milwaukee site and look at the set page. The set page doesn't tell you either, but if you click on the link for each individual wrenck listed on that page, it will take you to a page that tells you the length. Which means on the Milwaukee 11pc metric set, you have to do this 11 times to come up with the lengths for the entire set. That's not very customer friendly either. The lengths stated in the Infar e-catalogs (that are so tiny onscreen that even with their magnification its almost impossible to read) may not be relevant at all to the Milwaukee set, since this set is obviously custom made with the unique I-beam construction. Who knows whether the Infar lengths are relevant to the Dewalt set for certain either. HF Icon tells you the length of each wrench right on their site. To me, HF wants to sell me their set more than the other brands want to sell me theirs, regardless to who made each. .
Count the number of marks/teeth on the jaws top and bottom on the Milwaukee and on the gear tech. Compare the shapes and positions, read the number of teeth on the Milwaukee and on the gear tech TIP, 144. Infar has the patents for those designs. The I-beam looks like a modified or inverted type A (instead of a raised panel, a sunken one).
Last edited:
Very good information, thanks for taking the time. Easy to see now what dstblj52 was explaining to me.
Count the number of marks/teeth on the jaws top and bottom on the Milwaukee and on the gear tech. Compare the shapes and positions, read the number of teeth on the Milwaukee and on the gear tech TIP, 144. Infar has the patents for those designs. The I-beam looks like a modified or inverted type A (instead of a raised panel, a sunken one).
Interestingly enough, these examples help illustrate my point as to how these brands make finding info about the lengths of the wrenches in a set more difficult instead of user-friendly. Take the Infar site. Every ratcheting wrench listed under the Geartech category shows 72tpi, no sign of these 144s. When you look in their online e-catalog, the 144tpi are not there, only the 72tpi. It doesn't help that its most recent catalog version is dated 2018. Not user friendly at all. You have to look under its new product link to find these wrenches. You'd figure they would be included in the Geartech category link by now--I guess the customer is supposed to be psychic. Very counter-intuitive. You might find it if you already knew it must be there somewhere and so drill down into every possible location, but otherwise it appears it doesn't exist and is not yet for sale. And guess what? The copy of the brochure under new products does NOT show the lengths either!!! Can't go by the old catalog (as difficult as it is to decipher all the lengths from) because the product isn't in there. Thanks a lot, Infar.
Yes, yes....the Milwaukee wrench set (that are now obviously made by Infar because of the illustrations in your excellent post) list the wrench lengths--if you jump through the previously mentioned 11-step hoop by having to click on the separate links for each individual wrench (smh). But because the Milwaukee set is obviously custom made for them because of the distinct I-beam design, there's no way you can conclude that the Infar-branded versions are actually the same lengths. You might try to call infar CS for the answer, but it looks like you'll need to call Taiwan and hope you find an English speaking person. You can try to email and hope you get a reply (in English) but the fact that they haven't updated their online catalog in 4 years doesn't bode well for them caring about a consumer inquiry.
Funny thing about these Milwaukee wrenches on their site. Its Infar-made metric set has 4 reviews, all 1-star maximum negative. Seems they have a problem with the new-fangled 144tpi mechanism locking up and breaking. There's a consumer question on the SAE set page asking where the wrenches are made--take a look and see what kind of a song and dance spin-doctor politician answer Milwaukee gave, a long dissertation without ever answering the customer's question. Ridiculous. Another observation is that the oldest review on the Milwaukee wrenches is 3-years old--so why doesn't Infar yet have this version under its Geartech category on its site and instead is still listing it under the ambiguous new products link? Apparently, it's not yet for sale from them...or is it?
All this instills a lot of confidence in us tool-users to go out and buy these wrenches, doesn't it? How inept.
You are right. It makes no sense to hide your products or their specifications (especially if you plan to sell to professionals). Not mentioning a brand might be due to a non disclosure agreement. Something not related at all, but totally funny is this picture.
Where have I seen it before?
Professional Tool User
Well-known member
A lot of these Taiwanese tool companies sell most of their tools through rebranding agreements, not their own brands. So they are less likely to put the extra effort into marketing and catalogs to consumers.
Professional Tool User
Well-known member
Gearwrench and Husky ratcheting wrenches should be of similar quality. IIRC Husky is one of those brands that contracts Apex tool group to make their ratcheting wrenches. The Husky ratcheting wrenches should have Gearwrench stamped on the beam.
rick carpenter
Well-known member
I've got Gearwrench 8-10-12 mm 0 degree fixed head and Husky 10-12-14 non-locking flex head ratcheting wrenches. They appear to be the same quality -- plenty good -- but my GWs are much older. The ratcheting mechanisms on both feel nice and tight. Bonus for the Huskys is that HD keeps these in stock so no need to wait on mail order. The're good but I must say I don't care for them too much. When two-handed wrenching it's difficult to hold onto the beam of the GWs with one hand if the nut and therefore the beam is on a flat surface. When two-handed wrenching with the Huskys, the heads flex too freely and tend to come off the nut easily. I don't hate them though, they're still in my cart.
Badgerstate
Well-known member
Both are made by Apex and probably come off the same line. Given the choice between the 2, Id see no reason to choose Gearwrench over Husky, especially considering the no-hassle warranty policy with Husky.
javyLSU
Well-known member
I’ve owned both, set them side to side and they are indistinguishable aside from the Husky or Gearwrench branding. The benefit to Husky over Gearwrench is cost and local availability. Benefit of Gearwrench over Husky is the breadth of sizes available. Of course, you could always supplement your Husky set with additional Gearwrench sizes, but that usually winds up being more expensive than just buying the Gearwrench set (always on sale somewhere) to begin with.
Ton ton
Well-known member
Gear wrench is more readily available for me locally. My home Depot has an extremely poor hand tool selection.
rick carpenter mentioned above that his local HD stocks the Husky ratcheting wrenches. My local HD did not stock them (at least the reversible ones) and I had to order them through the website. I had them delivered to the store so I could pick them up in paerson and double-check that the wrench lengths were actually the same as the specs emailed to me (they were). So, yes, what's in-stock can vary quite a bit depending on which store you're checking.
guitarbutt
Well-known member
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2017
- Messages
- 237
Husky tools have been great for me professionally. If/ when they need warrantied, Home Depot has been really easy to deal with the 3 times I needed them. I bought individual sizes that I would need and they've been just fine, though I don't use them a lot or for really forceful nuts and bolts
Last edited: