Question to German tools afficionados.

[AutomatiquE]

Hello, i'm planning to buy a new 10" adjustable wrenche. I want one 100 % "Made in Germany". Are Hazet, Gedore, Stahlwille and Heyco adjustable wrenches all German made ? Thanks for answering. Regards.

 

[Rigmaster]

Hard to say without seeing the wrench you plan to purchase.

From what I've seen, most of the Gedore stuff is made in India (at least the combo wrenches I see all the time are). Not sure about the other stuff, but I think even the German tool companies have been making stuff in other countries just like the rest of them.

 

[Fedwrench]

Just curious but why do you want a German adjustable wrench? I prefer German made screwdrivers and pliers but, I never really thought of adjustable wrenches as real tools and the need for German quality in them.

 

[welderwink]

what are some german tool companies and sites in english to look at them. I know nothing about the german tool world.

 

[y20dth]

As far as I know, Hazet and Stahlwille are produced in Germany.
I have a lot of Hazet and haven't seen any "made in ...." marks on mine.
I do suspect that some tools are rebranded (pullers, etc...), but cannot tell where they came from.

 

[y20dth]

what are some german tool companies and sites in english to look at them. I know nothing about the german tool world.

http://www.hazet.de/

http://www.stahlwille.com/

http://www.gedore.com/


http://www.heyco.de/dseiten/werkzeuge.html

http://www-us.wera.de/

http://www.walter-tools.com/

http://eshop.hoffmann-group.com/index.php?langFromUrl=NL
(click on "gastgebruik").

http://www.facom.com/com/home.php



http://www.pbswisstools.com/index.php?id=162&L=4

http://www.parat.de/e/1084/

http://www.lindstromtools.com/index.htm

http://www.kukko.com/

http://www.peddinghaus.de/

http://www.knipex.com/

http://www.witte-werkzeuge.de/?con_lang=3


A list of one of the more common brands used in carworkshops in Belgium and The Netherlands: http://www.toolspecial.com/tooldownload.php?osCsid=a7a78fc835dbf6cc75ac51c3febffabe

 

[welderwink]

thanks for that list.

 

[poprockcrusher]

I have a lot of stahlwille

 

[Jononon]

Stahlwille and Hazet are rebranded from the same Spanish source, hence no 'Germany' marking:



I have no idea about the other two, but buying from a German supplier may be a fool's errand, since Bahco produce excellent (arguably the best) adjustable wrenches in Europe (Sweden and Spain.)

Having said that, personally I'd buy a Knipex pliers wrench and consign adjustable wrenches to the dustbin of history.

From what I've seen, most of the Gedore stuff is made in India (at least the combo wrenches I see all the time are).

Those date back quite a long way. Gedore had a relationship with an Indian company which they subsequently acquired, but that company was sold off in '86.

 

[fatfillup]

Iv'e had a few Swedish made Bahco's and was very impressed with the quality. You can't go wrong with Stahlwille if its German made.

Fedwrench, adjustables work great in certain industries. I use them daily for pipe and hose fittings. Not a ton of apps for autos, but a quality adjustable is indispensable for what I do.

 

[billymade]

Do you think allot of the German brands use Irega as their OEM?
http://www.irega.eu/
Model .99 looks pretty much identical to the above pic!

 

[fatfillup]

Stahlwille and Hazet are rebranded from the same Spanish source, hence no 'Germany' marking:





Having said that, personally I'd buy a Knipex pliers wrench and consign adjustable wrenches to the dustbin of history.



.

It just depends on what you are working on. I use the knipex pliers and adjustables everyday and wouldn't be without either.

 

[Jononon]

Do you think allot of the German brands use Irega as their OEM?

That's Hazet and Stahlwille's OEM supplier.

There's nothing whatsoever wrong with them, but I would be annoyed to pay the generous premium some US suppliers charge for German tools, only to discover I could buy the same thing, under another brand, in Home Depot.

 

[Monte]

To my knowlegde there is no longer a german made adjustable wrench. "Irega" makes a great product and is the OEM for most other manufacturers. Gedore i think was the last producer of german adjustable wrenches here so you might find a NOS german made Gedore wrench. The recent Gedore adjustable wrenches are made in Gedores own factory in Brazil due to lower manufacturing costs.
Heyco also uses the Irega model 92 + 99 wrenches.

 

[AutomatiquE]

Thanks to all of you guys. Regards.

 

[superautobacs]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28242&highlight=makers+adjustable+wrenches

"Then there's another famous Spanish manufacturer, Irega. They seem to be the OEM for USAG, Signet, Hazet, Beta, Stahlwille, and Channelock (even more?)
Their site seems to be (temporarily?) down: http://www.irega.eu/"

 

[lekkousa]

here you go

http://www.bloomertool.com/AdjustableWrenches.html

I just bought two of these last week and they are excellent, Made In Germany too!

 

[superautobacs]

here you go

http://www.bloomertool.com/AdjustableWrenches.html

I just bought two of these last week and they are excellent, Made In Germany too!

Are you sure?

Your Elora is a dead-ringer for a Spanish-made Irega model 92:

 

[Jononon]

Your Elora is a dead-ringer for a Spanish-made Irega model 92:

No doubt about it.

I had a look earlier at Heyco, they're also Irega:

 

[superautobacs]

Thanks Jononon. Another brand to include into my list.

 

[lekkousa]

Are you sure?

Your Elora is a dead-ringer for a Spanish-made Irega model 92:

Yes, thy came in a box that said Made In Germany, for what that's worth...

 

[Monte]

@lekkousa:
do you have a pic of the tool and the package ?

 

[Monte]

"Walter" wrench. Looks like Irega model #77

"Matador" wrenches

the top one looks like Irega model #77

Irega, Beta and Beta.
The second Beta looks like the second Matador wrench. I dunno ? Also from Irega or import ?

The second Beta seems to be an older model. The new one looks like this:
i guess imported ? Or an extra forging for Beta ?? hmmm... i bet Taiwan..

 

[MattT]

I have no idea about the other two, but buying from a German supplier may be a fool's errand, since Bahco produce excellent (arguably the best) adjustable wrenches in Europe (Sweden and Spain.)

They may be the best "crescent" wrenches made anywhere. I've been using Bahcos 20 years and wouldn't trade 'em for any other brand.

 

[superautobacs]

@lekkousa:
do you have a pic of the tool and the package ?

The Irega model #77 seems to be the economy line in their lineup. Probably similar to what you'd find in your local hardware store.

Hrmm, I don't know about that second Beta and the newest one. Doesn't look very "refined" in design....so perhaps your guess is right? One thing to note with between the second Beta and the other two is the direction of the worm gear. One is more common than the other. It might be the Scandinavian pattern where the direction is reversed.

 

[Hawk321]

Try the Knipex adjustable wrench....can't round fastener heads and is german made.

 

[Chreese]

Servus, Monte,

Have you already found the cheapest source for (rebadged) Irega adjustable wrenches in Central-Europe?
Do you know who produces the Holex adjustable wrenches?

Thanks in advance,

Chreese

 

[Monte]

The Irega model #77 seems to be the economy line in their lineup. Probably similar to what you'd find in your local hardware store.

Hrmm, I don't know about that second Beta and the newest one. Doesn't look very "refined" in design....so perhaps your guess is right? One thing to note with between the second Beta and the other two is the direction of the worm gear. One is more common than the other. It might be the Scandinavian pattern where the direction is reversed.

Yeah i think they`re imports, there are also a couple of chinese wrenches which look like the Irega mod#77 wrench if you look at the blog from the crazy japanese with the 1000`s of adjustable wrenches. So sometimes it`s difficult to say who is the OEM or where it`s from. Wrenches from SK (some) , craftsman (some) also look like model#77 but say USA, while older(?) versions of Husky + Kobalt wrenches looks like #77 too but say "China" on them and other wrenches don`t say the COO at all.......

@chreese:
I never compared the prices since I wanted an original Irega wrench, but most often i think you`ll find the lowest price version from Elora and not Hazet for example or Matador and not Stahlwille etc.
The "Holex" adj. will be imported. 10,60 € retail for 8" .... China or Taiwan i guess. The forging also dont resemble the Irega wrenches. But I don`t know who makes them. For adjustables look out only for Bahco or Irega.
edit: just looked at the prices: Hazet 8" adj. wrench 30.50€ , and stahlwille 23.10€ (all chrome plated version) , Elora only 15.23 even with tax incl. at "Baukreis" (all chrome plated version)
Thats cheap....if it`s from Irega Unfortunately Irega doesn`t have a german distributor. I will contact them somewhen in the future and ask if they found someone in the meantime or I`ll try to get either the Irega "Ergotop 92" or 99 from the UK.

 

[Z06 427]

After having used the Knipex Plier Wrenches, I don't think I will be using my regular adjustable wrenches again.

 

[Chreese]

Thanks for your input, Monte. I already bought three Holex adjustable wrenches (one for me and at least one will be given away as a gift) during the last Hoffmann promo. Additional adjustable wrenches are not on top of my wish list although I like the design of the Bahco and Facom wrenches. Elora is difficult to find here.

Regards,

Chreese