Reversible ratchet wrenches

[Ton ton]

.

 

[8Line]

Maybe it was asked already, but why not just flip the wrench over to ratchet the other way?

 

[diysxs]

Finger clearance with the offset is why I want them

 

[Black58]

You can buy Tekton right from the company. I threw all my craftsman ratchets away this winter and started buying from Tekton direct. They come from Grand Rapids MI and turned out to be real nice tools. They are easy to contact phone and email and respond quick.

 

[8Line]

Finger clearance with the offset is why I want them

makes sense in specific scenarios i guess.

Bet 95% of scenarios don't need to be reversible though. and no reason a flat reversible wrench should be purchased. (its flat, just flip it over haha)

 

[Citation]

Maybe it was asked already, but why not just flip the wrench over to ratchet the other way?

I like the idea of not having to guess which side is the direction I want. My current ratcheting wrenches don't indicate direction of rotation. Reversible would also prevent a case where you lock yourself in as the bolt comes out...
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/jy5hmx

 

[Etchase]

I primarily only use reversible, because you can’t back yourself into a corner and can’t get the wrench off. When I’m working on equipment I find myself tightening and loosening repetitively, to align a component. Flipping the wrench is inconvenient. I don’t have the Williams, because they seem expensive to me for what they are. I’m kind of surprised Apex or somebody doesn’t offer the flex head, or even a locking flex head reversible version.

 

[boom_bap]

You guys almost got me to buy that cheap set

looking forwarding to a long term review.

 

[4xdog]

Never heard of facom. Can you get them in the states?

FACOM is a serious tool company. They're part of SBD and a number of their tools are available on Zoro. There are often Proto equivalents, 'cause they're more or less positioned similarly, with FACOM mainly in Europe and especially in their original home, France.

Now long out of production, the late made-in-USA Craftsman full-polish reversible ratcheting combination wrenches are my favorites. I bought one set marked Craftsman and three more marked Craftsman Industrial to complete inch and mm sets in basement and garage. There's rarely a day they don't get used. I'm not sure who was the OEM for these -- maybe Armstrong? But they're super. If these went away today I'd be in the market by sunset for something similar -- quite possibly FACOM.

 

[8Line]

I like the idea of not having to guess which side is the direction I want. My current ratcheting wrenches don't indicate direction of rotation. Reversible would also prevent a case where you lock yourself in as the bolt comes out...
https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicAdvice/comments/jy5hmx

maybe its me but i feel like this kind of situation is easy to see coming so can be avoided. oh well
to each their own.

a nice set of wrenches is a nice set.

 

[boom_bap]

FACOM is a serious tool company. They're part of SBD and a number of their tools are available on Zoro. There are often Proto equivalents, 'cause they're more or less positioned similarly, with FACOM mainly in Europe and especially in their original home, France.

Now long out of production, the late made-in-USA Craftsman full-polish reversible ratcheting combination wrenches are my favorites. I bought one set marked Craftsman and three more to complete inch and mm sets in basement and garage. There's rarely a day they don't get used. I'm not sure who was the OEM for these -- maybe Armstrong? But they're super. If these went away today I'd be in the market by sunset for something similar -- quite possibly FACOM.

This is why if SBD make the v series a full set it would be a no brainer. Does facom make a full set of metric?

 

[threewood]

This is why if SBD make the v series a full set it would be a no brainer. Does facom make a full set of metric?

The 7mm thru 19mm set omits 9mm.

467B.JP12PB​

 

[Stelzer]

Maybe it was asked already, but why not just flip the wrench over to ratchet the other way?

Sometimes you get jammed in a spot and the reverse feature is what can get you out. Some wrenches with an offset don't offer the same feature on the other side. Sometimes it's all you can do to get the friggin wrench on the bolt the first time and you'd rather not do it again if you don't have to.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

Maybe it was asked already, but why not just flip the wrench over to ratchet the other way?

Sounds logical but after having and using a set of zero offset wrenches, they come with some glaring limitations.

First, there's no finger clearance. The ratcheting worked fine, but the wrench being flat against the work piece caused clearance issues. I would switch back to the open end or a non-ratcheting box end to finish the job because I couldn't hold the wrench and swing it through its arc without squashing fingers.

Sometimes if I did get a fastener snugged, the wrench lined up with a part and between the tension and no finger clearance, I couldn't remove the wrench, it would get jammed.

Like I said, logical jump, just flip it over, but practical use of a zero offset is limiting.

 

[liliysdad]

As someone who rarely uses Metric, is there a similarly awesome set of SAE wrenches? I see the Duratec mentioned, but wasn't sure if that was the best thing going for a budget set of reversibles.

 

[Luciferi]

You can buy Tekton right from the company. I threw all my craftsman ratchets away this winter and started buying from Tekton direct. They come from Grand Rapids MI and turned out to be real nice tools. They are easy to contact phone and email and respond quick.

I just broke a tekton ratcheting wrench yesterday. Never broke any of my ratcheting wrenches from gearwrench, williams, or proto.

 

[Fedwrench]

You can buy Tekton right from the company. I threw all my craftsman ratchets away this winter and started buying from Tekton direct. They come from Grand Rapids MI and turned out to be real nice tools. They are easy to contact phone and email and respond quick.

Just to be clear. Tekton ratcheting wrenches are made in Taiwan not in Michigan. The company might be based in Michigan but, the majority of their tools are made in Taiwan. Great tools. Great customer service. Tekton is also in between ratcheting wrench suppliers so, who knows what the future will bring.

FACOM is a serious tool company. They're part of SBD and a number of their tools are available on Zoro. There are often Proto equivalents, 'cause they're more or less positioned similarly, with FACOM mainly in Europe and especially in their original home, France.

I just broke a tekton ratcheting wrench yesterday. Never broke any of my ratcheting wrenches from gearwrench, williams, or proto.

FACOM and their sister company USAG tools can be found under the MAC brand as well. Crossbreeding across the SBD family tree. Keep in mind that the FACOM/USAG ratcheting wrenches are made in Taiwan. The Craftsman V series are a rebadged version without anti slip open ends and sadly, missing 15 & 18 mm wrenches. Still the V series is much cheaper than the FACOM/USAG set.

I think I've broken ratcheting wrenches from all of the brands too include truck brands. I might be doing it wrong but, I think it's more a case of tools wearing out. I get the most mileage out of Kabo Manufactured ratcheting wrenches regardless of whose name is stamped/etched on the wrench. I had a Proto US made 10mm eyebeam style lock up with little use. I've also cracked the 12 point wrench portion on the older Matco proswings. The 15mm cracked at the valleys of the 12 points. to be fair, I got about 18 years of daily use out of that wrench before I noticed the cracks. I easily got my moneys worth from it

 

[WWheeler]

Maybe it was asked already, but why not just flip the wrench over to ratchet the other way?

Ratcheting wrenches that you must flip to reverse are typically flat (0 offset) or flex end.

Reversible wrenches, with a selector switch to reverse direction, are typically not flat. The reversible ratcheting box end usually has an offset like a normal combination wrench so you can use it without smashing your fingers / scraping your knuckles like you would with a flat wrench in many situations. The offset makes it so that you couldn't just flip it to reverse in most situations.



The reversible switch also helps keep you from getting the wrench trapped like you can a non-reversible if you aren't careful.

I don't know if any company makes a flat reversible, perhaps some do I'm just not aware of, but a handful do make a reversible flex.

I have metric and SAE sets of flat (flip-to-reverse), long-pattern, standard-length, and stubby flex (flip-to-reverse), and reversible ratcheting wrenches. Of those, the reversible ones get used much more often than all of the others combined. The flex do come in handy sometimes, but the flat ones I can't remember the last time they got used. It's definitely been years ago. The flat (flip-to-reverse) ones were the first set I got, and the cheapest, but once I got the others they are kind of pointless now, just taking up space in my drawer.

 

[Mirage]

I picked up the V-series set this week and also got the 15 and 18 mm Facom 467's from Ultimate Garage to fill it out since I have a Ford. If I was still just wrenching on Nissans I wouldn't be worried about the skips. I figured they did the skips to get it to a price point. Here's the differences between the 2 though for anyone interested, the Craftsman's are a bit thinner and the Facom's are satin finish.

 

[Draftpick1]

I picked up the V-series set this week and also got the 15 and 18 mm Facom 467's from Ultimate Garage to fill it out since I have a Ford. If I was still just wrenching on Nissans I wouldn't be worried about the skips. I figured they did the skips to get it to a price point. Here's the differences between the 2 though for anyone interested, the Craftsman's are a bit thinner and the Facom's are satin finish.

I bought some USA Proto reversible ratcheting spline wrenches end of last year and they have a profile similar to Facom I will post some pictures tomorrow night, definitely a change from the ones I picked up a few years ago

 

[Draftpick1]

Here are my Proto usa spline reverse ratcheting wrenches, the top 3/4 is about 4 years old and the bottom 14 mm was purchased end of last year. The newer one has different stamping font style and type, the edges are much more rounded. Definitely a change in production!

 

[dnschmidt]

Although not nearly as cheap as they were awhile back, I still think this Dewalt set is a great set of reversible ratcheting wrenches.

DEWALT 12 Piece Ratcheting Metric Wrench Set

DEWALT 12 Piece Ratcheting Metric Wrench Set - DWMT19230

www.acmetools.com

I also like the USAG/Facom set that the Craftsman V series cloned but, Craftsman V series committed the unforgivable sin of omitting 15 and 18MM sizes If you don't need those sizes, the set might appeal to you.

Fed, the only problem with the DeWalt is the lack of an 8mm wrench which is a fairly common size.

 

[Madjik Man]

Fed, the only problem with the DeWalt is the lack of an 8mm wrench which is a fairly common size.

That set is 8-19 no skips.

 

[boom_bap]

For SAE the V-series is a good choice as it doesn't skip.

 

[dnschmidt]

That set is 8-19 no skips.

You're right. The ones that I bought were in a plastic tray and didn't include the 8mm in the metric set. DeWalt, several years ago now, was selling this plastic tray set for a ridiculously low price so in order to get me an 8mm I bought the SAE set as well (in typical Denny fashion) which did include a 5/16" which is identical to 8mm. More than one way to skin a cat.

 

[JradM]

Here are my Proto usa spline reverse ratcheting wrenches, the top 3/4 is about 4 years old and the bottom 14 mm was purchased end of last year. The newer one has different stamping font style and type, the edges are much more rounded. Definitely a change in production!

I love Proto spline wrenches too. The black ones are made in Taiwan - it doesn't matter, they're awesome too. They're VERY expensive though. I wish I could afford a larger set.

 

[ultgar]

If you buy the 8pc Craftsman V-series set, you can fill in the missing 7,15,16.18mm sizes with USAG and pick up the 12pc USAG wrench holder to accommodate all 12 wrenches. The USAG wrenches are identical to the Facom 467B series but considerably cheaper and with a US warranty. Clip holder at https://www.ultimategarage.com/shop/images/ck467bjp12u-open.jpg

 

[Oldsmobile]

HERE IS THE HOT SMOKIN' DEAL OF ALL TIME.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08L3HJBK2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

I know @dnschmidt knows a good tool when he sees one. I was also just wishing I had a set like this when working on my sister's Saturn the other day--I have flat Gearwrenches but not the angled/reversible style. I ordered this set and it arrived today.

Out of the box, I tested the ratchet function on each. These don't feel as smooth as my long, flat Gearbox wrenches, but those were considerably more expensive, though. The 10mm kept flipping directions on me. No other wrench did, though. I sent a message through Amazon to Towallmark and we'll see what they say.

Otherwise, these seem to be of acceptable quality. There's no country of origin listed anywhere on them. "Towallmark" sounds pretty generic to me, and the reverse is stamped "CHROME VANADIUM". The pouch is nice, and I like that it has buckle straps to keep it closed. I pretty much only want no-skip sets as I work on a lot of different stuff, and this one has everything from 8 - 19. When I made the purchase, there was a 10% coupon on Amazon and I had a couple of reward dollars on a credit card, so this cost about $33 out of pocket.

With the bad 10mm, I'm going to reserve final judgment until I get a response from Towallmark.

 

[Dakotadadv8]

Have CM USA non reversible SAE ratchet wrenches, only used the a dozen times over the last 15 years, prefer standard combo wrenches. The CM V series looks nice for budget. Personally I would pick up a SO set.

 

[dnschmidt]

That set is 8-19 no skips.

I know @dnschmidt knows a good tool when he sees one. I was also just wishing I had a set like this when working on my sister's Saturn the other day--I have flat Gearwrenches but not the angled/reversible style. I ordered this set and it arrived today.

Out of the box, I tested the ratchet function on each. These don't feel as smooth as my long, flat Gearbox wrenches, but those were considerably more expensive, though. The 10mm kept flipping directions on me. No other wrench did, though. I sent a message through Amazon to Towallmark and we'll see what they say.

Otherwise, these seem to be of acceptable quality. There's no country of origin listed anywhere on them. "Towallmark" sounds pretty generic to me, and the reverse is stamped "CHROME VANADIUM". The pouch is nice, and I like that it has buckle straps to keep it closed. I pretty much only want no-skip sets as I work on a lot of different stuff, and this one has everything from 8 - 19. When I made the purchase, there was a 10% coupon on Amazon and I had a couple of reward dollars on a credit card, so this cost about $33 out of pocket.

With the bad 10mm, I'm going to reserve final judgment until I get a response from Towallmark.

Virtually all reversible combination wrenches have the flipping direction issue you mentioned as your hand often hits the reversing lever on the shorter wrenches (say 12mm and shorter) particularly in cramped spaces. When this happens to me it's normally my thumb that's the culprit. I've had this happen with Gearwrench, TOPTUL, DeWalt and Carlyle reversible combination wrenches. The only exception to this rule that I know of is the KABO style which have the reversing buttons on the sides of the wrench heads. The KABO's are also super long wrenches so the chances of your hand reversing them is much lower as you hand is much further away from the reversing switch. Let me know if Towallmark responds to your inquiry as I'm really curious about that.

 

[Wiz02]

I am on the fence as far as buying the Towallmark set. The price is great, but I have an older made in USA set of CMAN reversing "cross force" combo wrenches. The twisted beam is great for arthritic hands, but they aren't a complete set and they aren't flex head.

On a side note, does anyone know who manufactured these for Sears?

 

[Ton ton]

You can still get the twisted ratchet wrench through Gearwrench.

 

[Wiz02]

You can still get the twisted ratchet wrench through Gearwrench.

Thanks, I'll see if they have the missing sizes that I am looking for.

 

[Fedwrench]

I am on the fence as far as buying the Towallmark set. The price is great, but I have an older made in USA set of CMAN reversing "cross force" combo wrenches. The twisted beam is great for arthritic hands, but they aren't a complete set and they aren't flex head.

On a side note, does anyone know who manufactured these for Sears?

Armstrong

 

[dnschmidt]

You can still get the twisted ratchet wrench through Gearwrench.

I have a set of the twisted Gearwrench and I really like them. I wonder why this idea hasn't gained any traction. they certainly are much easier on your hands. Seems like a better idea that arrived stillborn.

 

[Fedwrench]

You can still get the twisted ratchet wrench through Gearwrench.

The Gearwrench X Beams aren't nearly as beefy as the Craftsman Cross Force wrenches.

 

[Ton ton]

The Gearwrench X Beams aren't nearly as beefy as the Craftsman Cross Force wrenches.

Learned something new today. Thank you.

 

[kngelv]

I have a set of the twisted Gearwrench and I really like them. I wonder why this idea hasn't gained any traction. they certainly are much easier on your hands. Seems like a better idea that arrived stillborn.

I like the twist for leverage but the ratcheting mechanisms are poorly made. I picked up a two sets of the Gearwrench SAE and Metric from Sears when a six piece set was on close out for $5.00. I can't complain about the price but both 10mm and 1/2" wrenches have stripped the ratcheting mechanism.

James

 

[Draftpick1]

I like the twist for leverage but the ratcheting mechanisms are poorly made. I picked up a two sets of the Gearwrench SAE and Metric from Sears when a six piece set was on close out for $5.00. I can't complain about the price but both 10mm and 1/2" wrenches have stripped the ratcheting mechanism.

James

The craftsman’s versions are not junk, I like mine wished they were not discontinued and expensive to replace. Matco had a version for a little while as well

 

[Gordon84]

You can still get the twisted ratchet wrench through Gearwrench.

Correct. However, the Gearwrench X-Beams are not reversible like the Craftsman cross force.