Lets talk best ratcheting wrenches

[TBEVO]

I have done so on 2 or 3 occasions, as I’m not a pro either and sometimes I feel bad just reaching out to my SnapOn guy just to warranty a tool. I will add that he tells me to please reach out and that servicing a warranty for me is NEVER an issue, but I have reached out directly to SnapOn about 3 times. Each time was COMPLETELY trouble free. I find SnapOn to have outstanding customer service and they’ve always made me feel like they value me as a customer. Part of why I’ve switched over to SnapOn as much as possible is because their customer service is so good, and I feel confident that they will be able to honor their warranty for the rest of my life. Don’t hesitate to buy from SnapOn just because you aren’t a regular stop on their route.

Thank you for taking the time to write this. Makes my decision process that much easier.

 

[Odd-job]

Sad to admit it, but craftsman v series is almost hitting the mark here for me. 6 pt on the high torque end, flex on the other. Kabo style reverse function would be nice and of course needs to be a complete set.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5KG7B8R/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[tdijunkie]

Sad to admit it, but craftsman v series is almost hitting the mark here for me. 6 pt on the high torque end, flex on the other. Kabo style reverse function would be nice and of course needs to be a complete set.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5KG7B8R/?tag=atomicindus08-20

They're facom made if I'm not mistaken. I've been eyeing these for sae to sit beside my gearwrench 120xp metric long box wrenches. What sizes do they skip?

 

[Odd-job]

They're facom made if I'm not mistaken. I've been eyeing these for sae to sit beside my gearwrench 120xp metric long box wrenches. What sizes do they skip?

SAE you might be ok if you aren't missing 3/4. A lot of Craftsman wrench sets have been skipping the 15 and 18 on the metric side.

 

[dnschmidt]

SAE you might be ok if you aren't missing 3/4. A lot of Craftsman wrench sets have been skipping the 15 and 18 on the metric side.

This is standard Taiwan practice. I fought with TOPTUL for five years to include 15 and 18mm in their sets. Apparently, they never heard of Ford or GM.

 

[F-22]

This is standard Taiwan practice. I fought with TOPTUL for five years to include 15 and 18mm in their sets. Apparently, they never heard of Ford or GM.

TBH those sizes are only used by the metric fasteners in the USA or by non standard fasteners. Ironically the USA metric fasteners are based on the international ISO standard, but most of the world relies either on the DIN german standard which is 13mm for m8, 17mm for M10 and 19mm for M12 (anything from Europe) or for Asia the JIS which is 12mm for M8, 14mm for M10 and 17mm for M12 (for flanged style fasteners but if they use a non-flanged fastener they also use DIN sizes).

I assume the sizes in the USA are such to allow more compatibility with SAE imperial tools? Just sad that it includes so much more sizes for no good reason. If things were more unified we'd need 4 wrenches for the most common fastener sizes (M6, M8, M10 and M12), but instead we need 10 of them to have the right one for every standard.

 

[ive]

Anyone have The German ratcheting wrenches?

 

[Pexto]

TBH those sizes are only used by the metric fasteners in the USA or by non standard fasteners. Ironically the USA metric fasteners are based on the international ISO standard, but most of the world relies either on the DIN german standard which is 13mm for m8, 17mm for M10 and 19mm for M12 (anything from Europe) or for Asia the JIS which is 12mm for M8, 14mm for M10 and 17mm for M12 (for flanged style fasteners but if they use a non-flanged fastener they also use DIN sizes).

I assume the sizes in the USA are such to allow more compatibility with SAE imperial tools? Just sad that it includes so much more sizes for no good reason. If things were more unified we'd need 4 wrenches for the most common fastener sizes (M6, M8, M10 and M12), but instead we need 10 of them to have the right one for every standard.

There's another place where 15mm is commonly found, even in the USA - on bicycles. Older square-taper bottom brackets typically used 14, 15, 16mm (rarely), or 8mm hex for the bolts that fix the crankarm to the spindle . In this application the bolt head size is limited by the size of the crankarm extractor thread and there were only two common sizes here (which I don't know off the top of my head). I still have 14 and 15mm sockets in my portable bike box, and the 15 is a Proto that has thin walls - thick-walled sockets often won't fit. Other than that I can't remember the last time I used a 15mm!

Edited to add, sorry, this has nothing to do with ratcheting wrenches, they won't fit here.

 

[ecotec]

I do have Gearwrench reversible ratcheting wrenches in both sae and metric (bought these about 8 years ago long before I got my Armstrong sets). The GW metric set skipped sizes so I purchased some Blackhawk (11 and 16mm) to fill in the gaps. The Blackhawks are differently shorter than the GW but they seem better built and are nicer in overall quality.

Not sure if this will help you OP, but the Blackhawk 11mm wrench is 6.5 inches in overall length while the 16mm is 8.25.

I don't have any Williams reversible ratcheting wrenches but I have one of there catalogs and in that the 1211MRC (1mm) is listed as 6-5/8 long while the 1216MRC is 8-3/16 inches long. That Williams catalog is dated March 2017 (CAT4).

I am not sure if the wrenches in this 2017 catalog are still the same version available today.

I, obviously, have a different Blackhawk set than you.

Mine is a 7pc 10mm-16mm NOS set that I found at a local industrial supplier years ago. I have no idea what time period they are from.

They are a little shorter than the Gearwrench, and a lot shorter than the Williams.

 

[jsmeece]

I, obviously, have a different Blackhawk set than you.

Mine is a 7pc 10mm-16mm NOS set that I found at a local industrial supplier years ago. I have no idea what time period they are from.

They are a little shorter than the Gearwrench, and a lot shorter than the Williams.

The Blackhawk 11 and 16mm I was talking about are reversible, not sure if that makes a difference on the overall length. The part numbers are 11mm BW-1461 and the 16mm BW-1466. I also have two Flexhead ratcheting wrenches, non-reversible, that are Blackhawk 11mm BW-3260AL (5.6 inches long) and 18mm BW-3267L (8 inches long), both of these are shorter than the reversible ratcheting wrenches. To be honest, I am not really sure if they are USA made or Taiwan, I would have to get the wrenches out and check.

 

[Odd-job]

This is standard Taiwan practice. I fought with TOPTUL for five years to include 15 and 18mm in their sets. Apparently, they never heard of Ford or GM.

SBD just missing their customer base here I think. V Series stuff is supposed to be marketed to the more serious side of the spectrum with 6 pt wrenches. Same demographic who would miss the 15/18 in theory.

I think they might have done this to create parity between an SAE/Metric sets offering 7 wrenches each @ $180, so maybe they let a bean counter make the call?

At least Toptul consciously doesn't care about the US market it would seem.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

SBD just missing their customer base here I think. V Series stuff is supposed to be marketed to the more serious side of the spectrum with 6 pt wrenches. Same demographic who would miss the 15/18 in theory.

I think they might have done this to create parity between an SAE/Metric sets offering 7 wrenches each @ $180, so maybe they let a bean counter make the call?

At least Toptul consciously doesn't care about the US market it would seem.

The SAE side of the V Series stuff is pretty complete. My ratcheting combo wrenches cover all the most used sizes and it seems that SAE is still the preferred set used by people buying Craftsman stuff, judging from the number of reviews posted and which ones are typically empty on my store's shelves. The metric stuff skipping sizes in the US market is kinda dumb and I don't know why Craftsman did it, especially because their sister brands offer the same metric ratcheting sets with all the sizes.

 

[dnschmidt]

At least Toptul consciously doesn't care about the US market it would seem.

Of that I can assure you.

 

[Dakotadadv8]

Definitely have used 15mm and 18mm, wrenches and sockets with no skips are an advantage.

 

[Odd-job]

and it seems that SAE is still the preferred set used by people buying Craftsman stuff

Good point. Maybe GJ members skew towards the metric world. Wonder what most of the SAE purchasers are working on. Older American made cars? Household and US industrial stuff? Maybe they don't even know there is a difference between SAE and metric.

 

[M635_Guy]

Anyone have The German ratcheting wrenches?

I have a Hazet set I like just fine, but I think they're made in Taiwan.

 

[lwlobo]

I really like my Craftsman full polish made in USA reversible ratcheting wrenches. Not sure who made them, maybe the same as Armstrong? There are probably better wrenches out there, but I've always used and loved these.

This was from back when Sears Craftsman was a force in the tool market with a lot of quality USA tools at reasonable prices.

 

[redragoon]

I've been using a set of Gearwrench flex heads. Sometimes I use them more than my ratchets.

 

[oilslick]

I wish the snap on were more affordable.

 

[dnschmidt]

I wish the snap on were more affordable.

I don't. I like my SNA dividend.

 

[F-22]

A fairly abused "LIV Postojna" vise we have at work. 70's or 80's model. The company does not exist anymore but the NIV castings look identical so there's probably some relation.



LIV no longer makes vises. I think the same company is well known for making cement mixers and they seem to still make those.







EDIT: LOL miss-posted and just noticed it isn't in the vise thread?!?

 

[M6erfan]

Makes me wonder, are the KTC wrenches made in Japan?

Probably Taiwan, right?

I have them. Yes Taiwan. Very good wrenches.

 

[M6erfan]

Not yet mentioned is Gedore 7 UR ratcheting combos. Made in Germany and ratcheting end is serviceable. Get your wallet out . . .

Gedore 7 UR-012 Combination ratchet spanner set, reversible 12 pcs 8-19 mm | Gedore at KC Tool

Gedore 7 UR-012 Combination ratchet spanner set, reversible 12 pcs 8-19 mmCombination reversible ratcheting wrench: 8mm Combination reversible ratcheting wre...

www.kctool.com

 

[Ricky Joe]

Following as I am down this rabbitt hole of research too. I would like the snapon but I dont have the truck stop by my house that often and warranty is of concern. Has anyone ever warrantied right through the snap on website?

I have a few year old gearwrench set that has multiple broken ratcheting mechanisms and they flop around. Tried to get them warrantied. I did not have the original receipt and they declined the warranty.

Buy another set. Warranty with the receipt from the new set. Return the new unopened set. Misssion accomplished.