SK Long pattern vs Wrightgrip vs Williams supercombo

[SlimChance]

Looking to upgrade my wrenches and have narrowed it down to these three USA made wrenches. I do industrial refrigeration and more interested in the beefier sizes 15/16 on up. Been reading review on all these wrenches and most are positive don't seem like I can go wrong with any of the sets. Anyone have use all 3 of these wrenches have any input or suggestions on which one I should purchase?

 

[John in OH]

I retired from the power generation industry ... fossil fueled power plants. Lots of big, heavy equipment to operate and maintain and, while I wasn't a maintenance mechanic myself, I know that nearly all of the tools used were either Wright, Williams, or Proto. Maybe a few Armstrong, but never saw any SK tools there. Tools in the power plants got no lovin' or TLC either .... rode hard and put up wet!!

The mechanics snickered at SnapOn and Mac as over-priced show tools. Most of my personal tools for my own use are Wright.

 

[BullfrogJohnson]

I own Wright Grips and Supercombos. After I bought my first set of Wright wrenches, I wont buy anything else. I work in the heavy equipment industry and my tools are used like John stated above. Wrights get my vote hands down.

 

[AL`]

I own Wright Grips and Supercombos. After I bought my first set of Wright wrenches, I wont buy anything else. I work in the heavy equipment industry and my tools are used like John stated above. Wrights get my vote hands down.

I've been considering the same question as the OP here and wonder if you care to elaborate on what the advantage is. Is it just that Wright's open end grips better, spreads less, or do you prefer how they feel in your hand better? They both seem to have a fairly thick beam and I know Williams Supercombos have quite the following here on the journal.

 

[CWP1616L]

Being that the Williams are longer than the other two and have a nice comfortable rounded beam, the choice is obvious.

 

[CWP1616L]

I don't know the lengths off the top of my head. Are the Williams longer than the SK wrenches? By how much?

Good question. The Williams 1220SC 5/8'' combination wrench is 9-1/2 inches long, but the SK site doesn't give you specifics on their wrenches.

 

[kippieland]

I have all three brands in my wrench collection. Out of all of them, I like my Wright satins the most. Next is the Williams Supercombos and then SK. They are all outstanding wrenches either way you go.

 

[Gotmayhem]

If it helps this site has the best pricing hands down on Williams tools, including wrenches.

http://www.toolsdelivered.com/SAE-Sets_c_2379.html
You might want to look at buying separate though as the sizes you're looking for are hard to get in sets.

 

[kc-steve]

I retired from the power generation industry ... fossil fueled power plants. Lots of big, heavy equipment to operate and maintain and, while I wasn't a maintenance mechanic myself, I know that nearly all of the tools used were either Wright, Williams, or Proto. Maybe a few Armstrong, but never saw any SK tools there. Tools in the power plants got no lovin' or TLC either .... rode hard and put up wet!!

The mechanics snickered at SnapOn and Mac as over-priced show tools. Most of my personal tools for my own use are Wright.

Yeah, I agree. I like and have all three sets of S-K, Wright and Williams (Bahco). The long pattern S-K's are nice as well as the Bahcos but they are polished and scratch easily. Wright makes polished wrenches as well, but mine are not polished. I like to use wrenches and not worry about scratching them.

One thing to consider is the Williams and WrightGrip wrenches have the gripping ridges on the open end of those. That is a particularly nice feature.

Steve

 

[vintagefan]

I've been considering the same question as the OP here and wonder if you care to elaborate on what the advantage is. Is it just that Wright's open end grips better, spreads less, or do you prefer how they feel in your hand better? They both seem to have a fairly thick beam and I know Williams Supercombos have quite the following here on the journal.

The best way I could explain it, is that you could take a wooden crate full of Wright combos, drop a nuke on it, and return to find a bunch of unharmed, dirty looking wrenches scattered all over the place.

I had a few sets of full polish Wright combos, and they had some of the nicest overall chrome and finishing I've seen on any wrench, including Snap-on. I've seen the standard satin Wrightgrip combos recieve SEVERE abuse at work, and I've yet to see one fail.

The fitment was spot on, and the average Wrightgrip wrench that I've seen has better formed gripping ridges than the average FD+ wrench that I've seen. OTOH, SO's sockets beat Wright's in overall fitment, so it's kind of a wash.

The ONLY reason I own SO FD+ now instead of Wright, is because Wright has a few holes in its size lineup that really bother me (11/32 in particular). Yes, I'm OCD like that. I wish I could help it, but it's an uncurable disease.

 

[Skin]

Wright will be shorter than the other two. Williams SuperCombos become very fat in their larger sizes. Get the SKs.

 

[kc-steve]

Here's a photo of the WrightGrip ridges.

Steve

 

[vintagefan]

Wright will be shorter than the other two. Williams SuperCombos become very fat in their larger sizes. Get the SKs.

That's definitely a very legit complaint about Wright, but some folks find long wrenches a negative as well.

TBH, I see them being used with cheater bars a bit more than they probably should, so I'm not sure it's that Important.

 

[BullfrogJohnson]

My biggest complaint about the williams are that they like to spread open and the chrome finish likes to flake after awhile. I do like the length but sometimes that gets in the way. I can use a short wrench (wright) and a hammer in a tight spot compared to a long wrench I am SOL.

Plus the wright will take a beating and still look like the day I bought it. I have hit that wrench with a 3lb drilling hammer about everytime I use it and it laughs at me.

 

[SlimChance]

Hmm after all the input I think I am going with the wright grip as I do like to beat wrenches with a hammer and use cheater bars. Anyone know of some good sites I can pick them up at a decent price.

 

[Conductor562]

I'm surprised that The Proto ASD's weren't in consideration. I have them in metric and SAE and they are fantastic. They're affordable as well. I've got 3 sets of Proto wrenches in all and can't find a bad word to say. The ASD's come long as a standard length as well. You can get the 15 pc. Metric set (7-21mm) for around $180 and the 15 pc. SAE set (5/16-1-1/4) for under $250 if you shop around. They're great wrenches.

 

[BullfrogJohnson]

I'm surprised that The Proto ASD's weren't in consideration. I have them in metric and SAE and they are fantastic. They're affordable as well. I've got 3 sets of Proto wrenches in all and can't find a bad word to say. The ASD's come long as a standard length as well. You can get the 15 pc. Metric set (7-21mm) for around $180 and the 15 pc. SAE set (5/16-1-1/4) for under $250 if you shop around. They're great wrenches.

I really like the proto's. They just aren't quite as meaty as the wrights.

 

[Boiler]

I deal in old tools and the finish on SK seem best and hold up better than the other two. This does not speak for the modern designs though. I did buy sk for myself and they have a great full polish finish. I don't use them hard enough I guess, and after four years they still look new.

 

[shoturtle]

Wright, proto and williams are all excellent wrenches. The proto are forge to be slimmer but they are strong as the other industrial brands. Wright, proto or USA made williams industrial are all excellent choice. The protos ones have the best finish between SK, Williams, and Wright. Given the 3 brands, it would be a coin flip between the wright and the williams. If I need more leverage I go with the williams over the wright.

 

[dirtydogintex]

Wright will be shorter than the other two. Williams SuperCombos become very fat in their larger sizes. Get the SKs.

haha - one of the few places 'fat' is good.... at least for those w/functioning nerve endings in their hands who actually use their tools!!

 

[John in OH]

Hmm after all the input I think I am going with the wright grip as I do like to beat wrenches with a hammer and use cheater bars. Anyone know of some good sites I can pick them up at a decent price.

The last time I bought a set of metric WrightGrips I got them online from Harry J. Epstein in Kansas City, MO. http://store.harryepstein.com/ I buy from them quite often and find them very good to deal with and their prices are decent .... not to say you can't find a better price if you really search, but for saving only a couple of bucks, it's not worth my time.

 

[kc-steve]

I have them as well . . .

http://junkyardtools.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6_56_59&products_id=285

The problem with searching for the lowest prices on the Internet is that often companies, not Epstein's, will say they are WrightGrip but send you the last generation non-WrightGrip. When I have called to complain it was apparent they DIDN'T know the difference.

Steve

 

[kc-steve]

The difference being in the attached photo.

Steve

 

[Skin]

haha - one of the few places 'fat' is good.... at least for those w/functioning nerve endings in their hands who actually use their tools!!

Supercombos are already nice and thick and comfortable, the larger sizes get darn near cumbersome.

I still say SK. Wright and Williams don't need any support. Internet purchases are a drop in the bucket compared to what they shell out through the industrial world. SK is new and has a great thing going with their promise of all USA tools and they really depend on internet sales.

 

[AL`]

My biggest complaint about the williams are that they like to spread open and the chrome finish likes to flake after awhile. I do like the length but sometimes that gets in the way. I can use a short wrench (wright) and a hammer in a tight spot compared to a long wrench I am SOL.

Plus the wright will take a beating and still look like the day I bought it. I have hit that wrench with a 3lb drilling hammer about everytime I use it and it laughs at me.

Thanks for those specifics Bullfrog. It seems like I might have read another post somewhere that the Williams sometimes spread some. That pic showing the different jaw designs was great. I wonder how much the Wrightgrips mark fasteners vs. the Snappy FD+? Wright seems to have a finer set of serrations/teeth.