Satin vs. Full Polish Wrenches

[crewchief888]

As far as the chrome finish wearing off I have never seen that on a high quality tool

most of my full polish wrenches are 25+ years old, and most of them are showing their age, with a lot of worn chrome.
mixed in with them i have a few CM pro full polish wrenches that are 3 or 4 years old.
visually, they all look about the same as far as wear.
IMO,
the CM chrome isnt nearly as thick or durable as the chrome on the truck brands.

for the average "clean" automotive or DIY'er the finish wear will never be an issue.

 

[Davefr]

Resale value??? That's the silliest criteria I've ever heard of.

Maybe for a car or house or mutual fund, but a wrench???

 

[porschedude996TT]

People fail to realize that polished tools are easier to clean. I have worked in clean rooms that require a high level of cleanliness and having bumps on surfaces makes them hard to clean.

 

[gagreen]

Resale value??? That's the silliest criteria I've ever heard of.

Maybe for a car or house or mutual fund, but a wrench???

If I found a deal on amazon or ebay and had intentions of putting it up for sale immediately I can see it lol.

An interview I had recently came down to tool talk followed by asking for me to email him a few pictures of my toolbox. He told me "I can generally tell what I need to know about a mechanic by his work history and how he keeps his tools" Shiny tools made for a much better picture.... LOL but he was more interested in general cleanliness and organization. Again tho I'm in the airplane trade in general aviation where the pilot will sit in the hangar and chat so all my tools are out there for the customer to see.

 

[crewchief888]

Resale value??? That's the silliest criteria I've ever heard of.

Maybe for a car or house or mutual fund, but a wrench???

resale value is the last thing on my mind when i buy a tool.

i buys tools to make a living by using them, not figuring out how much depreciation/per year, and what i can sell it for when i'm done.

actually,
it's the last thing on my mind when i buy anything

 

[Midman914]

Looking back, now that I've bought the bulk of my tools, I would have bought a lot more proto. Not a bad way to go at all and a decision you won't regret. Personally I'd get the full polish because I like the smooth finish, when wearing a glove they really grip. And being a higher end brand you should not have to worry about chrome chipping, I have proto sockets from the stone ages that do no show chipping like cheaper brands. Proto is also big in aviation and tools that chip are generally unacceptable. Buy what you like and leave the typical forum bs out of it lol.

Proto=

 

[Chuck122]

Most quality wrenches available around me are polished. so, polished it is

 

[Midman914]

Yeah, I don't think resale will be a factor for most of us that are tool junkies and most of our stuff will be sold for 25 cents to a $1 at a garage sale after we are dead. Now the flipper will be concerned with this. I do however like to pickup tools for a couple bucks at a garage/estate sale and then go onto ebay and check out what it is going for just to see how well I scored. Ah, it's the simple pleasures in life.

 

[AmericanPreferred]

Have both and more polished than satin, my vote is satin. The polished wrenches I have seen lately are chrome plated inside the open end, IMO too slippery. The satin is easier to hold onto with oily hands, and less likely to slip on the open end than a chrome one. The satin finish inside the open end feels a little harder than chrome too, sounds more positive when I put it on the bolt. I got some Proto "anti-slip" which is a groove or two in the chrome open end that are far from my favorite wrenches.

 

[OHMS LAW]

I don't give a **** what the tool looks like as long as it doesn't round off fasteners.

 

[ChunkyLover53]

I was considering the set with the anti slip design on the open end.

 

[AmericanPreferred]

Well mine don't get used much, but I don't hate them enough to consider selling. You may want to try one in the size you use most to see how you like it.

 

[tribbles]

My set of Williams double box wrenches is polished. When you find such a set for $20 at a garage sale, you tend not to worry about stuff like satin vs. polished.

 

[devan7815]

I really wasnt taking into consideration the resale value. I work maintenance and have mostly mid range tools and craftsman that my work place provides. Although when I notice myself using certain tools hard and things going missing around the shop at work by other employees I consider a purchase of my own.

I have never owned a high end set of wrenches, but I am considering a set of Proto combination wrenches. When considering a purchase of a high dollar amount to me I like to investigate as much as possible.

If this were another harbor freight purchase, believe me, I wouldn't have asked the question.

I think a big problem when considering the wide variety of tools out there for purchase is that most of us don't have the luxury of trying out a lot of different things before we're laying money down that's getting harder to come by. It winds up being kind of hit or miss in terms of what you wind up being satisfied with.

 

[bahcoswed]

I truly hate chrome wrenches...too work with! Too nice to use in small places and scrath the chrome But very nice to have on the wall! Compare a high quality chrome wrench like snap on with a satin wrench like stahlwille after a couple of weeks of hard use! I have seen 20 year old stahlwille open box 13 combo wrenches ho is used well and it look like it was new! Polished wrenches look like **** after a few days of abuse,satin does not!

 

[gagreen]

I truly hate chrome wrenches...too work with! Too nice to use in small places and scrath the chrome But very nice to have on the wall! Compare a high quality chrome wrench like snap on with a satin wrench like stahlwille after a couple of weeks of hard use! I have seen 20 year old stahlwille open box 13 combo wrenches ho is used well and it look like it was new! Polished wrenches look like **** after a few days of abuse,satin does not!

I've got a few months of daily hard use on my snap on wrenches I'll show you mine if you show me yours.

 

[devan7815]

Don't buy a wrench that you're not willing to use as a hammer

 

[gagreen]

Don't buy a wrench that you're not willing to use as a hammer

So by that logic don't buy a hammer you are not willing to use as a wrench or a screwdriver your willing to use as a chisel..... If my inspector came by and saw me hammering with a wrench he'd slap the shi& out of me lol

 

[bahcoswed]

Only tool i have use as a hammer...is a hammer! What i mean is that the chrome gets small scratches over the tool, like if you store it in a toolbox with lots of other tools! with satin that never happends even if you try to scratch up the wrench or whatever!

 

[bahcoswed]

Facom and gedore ratchets well used for a year or so! Compare and tell me what ratchet ho is in nicest visually!<img src="http://www.pictures.se/bilder/gdk0K.jpg" border="0" />

 

[Conductor562]

I'm a Satin kinda guy personally. They grip better, they cost less for the same performance, and any spots that develop can be fixed with a wire brush without making it look like total ****. They stay looking better, longer.

 

[Conductor562]

I was considering the set with the anti slip design on the open end.

I have a slew of Proto wrenches. I have ASD sets in SAE and Metric, a few new USA ratcheting combos, a pre-ASD (2001 or older) industrial finish set, several DBE's, etc. They are fantastic quality at a much more affordable price than the truck brands. Proto makes up probably 60-70% of the tools I own and I've never been disappointed.

 

[newchris]

Polished clean up easier but thats never been a concern for me, i give them a wipe so theres nothing excess on the but if a tiny bit of oil or grease remains, its a tool and its free rust prevention. Honestly i dont care what they look like ill get black oxide if it saves money however less expensive finishes are often industrial lines, and that usually means a slightly bulkier tool as well as less features like flank drive or flank drive plus (feel free to correct me but i personally havent seen non chrome wrenches with flank open ends). another added benefit to chrome is higher visibility if you drop a wrench or socket in a dark engine bay. other than that if you dont need the fancy flank **** and have good eyes, save money and buy non chrome.

 

[devan7815]

Only tool i have use as a hammer...is a hammer! What i mean is that the chrome gets small scratches over the tool, like if you store it in a toolbox with lots of other tools! with satin that never happends even if you try to scratch up the wrench or whatever!

No, but seriously what I mean is that your tools are going to be subject to a certain amount of abuse. Like when you have to cut one in half or heat one up and turn it into a 'specialty tool'. So I think we all have to be careful of that regardless of certain aspects such as plating and the like. Maybe this shouldn't be blanket criteria, but it's just something I remind my self of before I think about throwing down mega bucks on that new set I'm considering. Don't mean to get off topic though.

 

[eleblu05]

i have polished , satin and black oxide wrenchs if you are leaning toward satin imo you cant beat wrights satin wrenchs i have wright wrenchs and proto anti slip satin wrenchs both are great wrenchs. but the satin on the wright wrenchs is a finer finish that i prefer. now if your leaning towards polished then sk makes imo the best polished finished wrenchs (some of the thickest chrome)

 

[bahcoswed]

I totally Agreed! I have a SO flf80, fcf72 and f80 ratchets! Earlier this afternoon I work on a bmw gearbox and it was horrible hard to reach spots...it feels very sad when my so damn nice and shiny expensive snap on gets visual scratches I hate that fine ratchet because i am so damn affraid to use it properly! With non polish you can push it in to tight spaces every day and it look like new! I must say about Belzers chrome, i have some extensions,ratchets and most of my old belzer has lost chrome pieces, other brands only has scratches! Sorry for my bad english..i am a swede

 

[Chuck122]

Use 'em till they turn satin

 

[celticbhoy]

Alright, for those of you who are saying the polished are easier to clean oil and grease off, I dropped my 17mm in a pan of oil and it cleaned right off on the first wipe.... not sure how clean you want them but it looks exactly like my 11mm wrench which I have never touched.