Northern Tool vs Craftsman

[ToocoolZ28]

I have a set of Craftsman stubby SAE combination wrenches, the set only goes up to 5/8, today I went to Northern to get an 11/16 and 3/4 to complete the set, these are KLUTCH branded, they look EXACTLY like the Craftsmans except the name. Turn them over and you cant tell them apart. I was very surprised how similar they are. The craftsman have been good, I expect these to be as good.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Don't have a Northern around here, so I order online. Still yet to see the new Klutch branded stuff.

 

[basspro]

My dad bought a Klutch impact set, great quality for the money!

 

[ToocoolZ28]

There you go, pics.

 

[cburnscrx]

Truthfully I don't think they look all that similar.

 

[basspro]

They look nice, but I agree, not too similar in my eyes. Im sure they work great as stubbys though.

 

[Fedwrench]

Ok, they're both chrome stubby combination wrenches but aside from that, I don't see any similiarities but, that's just me.

 

[ToocoolZ28]

They look nice, but I agree, not too similar in my eyes. Im sure they work great as stubbys though.

OK, to me they do, but it doesn't really matter. The Craftsmans are made in USA the klutch made in China.

BTW, today I bought a 10 piece set of metric stubbys from Northern for $9.00.

 

[CWP1616L]

They look different to me; especially in the beam portion.

 

[SC-AW11]

How are the northern wrenches? Im in CA so looks like warranty would be a problem?

Saw this the other day: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Northern-In...967?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af3d03bf7

 

[Illini Pete]

You can't judge a wrench by what it looks like unless you look at it under a high powered microscope. Years ago my brother was taking a materials course in engineering school. One of the lab projects they were assigned was to bring in a piece of steel which the class would do tests on. People in the class brought in all kinds of stuff and one girl in the class brought in a Snap-on end wrench she got out of her boy friend's tool box. My brother asked her if she knew how much that wrench was worth and that it would be destroyed in the lab project! They cut up the various samples people had brought in, including the Snap-on, and did strength, hardness and other tests including examining them under a microscope. According to my brother, the Snap-on was tops in all categories and had a grain structure that was much more dense and tight than all the others. I understand the girl dropped out of engineering and is looking for a new b/f!

 

[imanaddict]

Close? Maybe. Exact? Not in a million years.

 

[tyheuser]

looks like a kobalt or pittsburg stubby I honestly don't think it looks anything like the craftsman other then being chrome and stubby. I love the usa craftsman stubbies there my favorite craftsman wrench and are every bit as good as my snappy set. The open end is more narrow and the box is alot tighter and the beams thinner the china wrench

 

[firebox40dash5]

Ok, they're both chrome stubby combination wrenches but aside from that, I don't see any similiarities but, that's just me.

This... almost every detail looks at least a little different.

 

[RCStocker]

My bet is that the Craftsman are a much better tool

 

[ToocoolZ28]

My bet is that the Craftsman are a much better tool

Probably. I really have never had any complaints with my Craftsman tools, probably 80% of my tools are Craftsman.

 

[Bikes&Bowties]

The craftsman looks way more slender (good thing while talking stubbies)

 

[PT Doc]

these are KLUTCH branded, they look EXACTLY like the Craftsmans except the name.

Now come on. Are you sure? I asking jokingly with respect but they might be similar but EXCTLY, no way.

 

[ToocoolZ28]

Now come on. Are you sure? I asking jokingly with respect but they might be similar but EXCTLY, no way.

OK....

 

[TwoInch]

not a single aspect of those two wrenches are similar, other than the fact that they are both stubbies.

head profile, different
box profile, different
beam, different
chrome/color, different

??

 

[TwoInch]

those are SK made stubbies if im not mistaken...

 

[SMKS]

those are SK made stubbies if im not mistaken...

It looks like Danaher to me.

The OP's wrench has a -vv- marking and the beam isn't quite wide enough leading up to the box end to be SK made. SK made Craftsman wrenches have a "K" marking, I believe. And, the OP's style were made until very, very recently. The only SK-made Craftsman wrenches I'm aware of recently were the flare nut wrenches.

The stubby Danaher Craftsman Pro wrenches do look a little more SK-esque than the regular length Pro wrenches made by Danaher, though.

 

[TwoInch]

i have a few SK made craftsman pro's, the long patterns.

SK also made some RP fully polished chrome long pattern pros for craftman as well.

they were very similar to those fully polished RP stubbies, that could be why i might be confused.

also, they wouldnt look like todays SK stubbies, they would be an older style.

 

[TwoInch]

here are some SKs.

and you are right, those are not the SK stubbies which look like this

and the SK long patterns i have are the same as these. very thin box end hoops, but thick flare leading up to it. box end is not bent to 15*, but forged that way, unlike the danaher style
View media item 25082

 

[Skin]

i'd be willing to bet the Chinese replacement has a much closer resemblance.

 

[TwoInch]

i'd be willing to bet the Chinese replacement has a much closer resemblance.

i was going to say that, but caught myself. the northerns dont have the outrageous lobster claw. so they would be a match either. probably very similar to the kobalts. i have some, ill check.

 

[thesilverone]

yeah they look nothing alike, except that they're both stubby wrenches