SK Wrenches OR Snapon

[jtfc]

i own some snappy fdp and they are awesome. the one downside i really dont like is how thin they are. Ive contemplated mac knucklesavers but change is scary so for now i just grimace every time i use my wrenches with an impact...don't forget that outside of the fantasy land that is garage journal craftsman rps are out in the real world getting **** done. I started out with rps a bunch of my coworkers started out with them as well and i still have some around here and there......

 

[RedFordTruck]

Like others have said. Go with wright.


You can buy 2 or 3 wright sets for the same price as a snap on set.

 

[ijason]

do you all recommend getting 2 of each set or is that over kill i always thought its rare that i will use 2 wrenches on each side of the bolt most times i could use a socket and wrench combo right?

also the prices on the snapon website. can the snap on dealer do better deals for you and do they? or do they stick to there msrp prices. the reason i like snapon tools is my work buys us them so now i have been loosing by accdient of course. some of the cheep stuff we had and getting nice Snap-On upgrades i use there ratchets and screw drivers and am very happy with them. so now i want to buy some stuff for myself at home. the next time the snap-on guy comes I'm going to go and tour his truck. for sure.

 

[bobcatdan]

thank you all for your responces i will look at proto but realy like that i can get SK 8-22mm for around $200 i like to buy good stuff and support us workers
btw i live in canada. thanks

Why not Gray?

 

[TheCarbideRat]

For what i have seen, flank drive is just about a must have for sockets but not for wrenches. I haven't noticed any slippage or damage with good quality wrenches that don't have it. If there is any fastener damage i am missing then it's microscopic.

What you see may be different.

 

[shoturtle]

For what i have seen, flank drive is just about a must have for sockets but not for wrenches. I haven't noticed any slippage or damage with good quality wrenches that don't have it. If there is any fastener damage i am missing then it's microscopic.

What you see may be different.

standard wrench will have not problem of new and good condition fastener. It is when you are breaking rusty and worn fastener that it really pays off having flank drive.

 

[shoturtle]

do you all recommend getting 2 of each set or is that over kill i always thought its rare that i will use 2 wrenches on each side of the bolt most times i could use a socket and wrench combo right?

also the prices on the snapon website. can the snap on dealer do better deals for you and do they? or do they stick to there msrp prices. the reason i like snapon tools is my work buys us them so now i have been loosing by accdient of course. some of the cheep stuff we had and getting nice Snap-On upgrades i use there ratchets and screw drivers and am very happy with them. so now i want to buy some stuff for myself at home. the next time the snap-on guy comes I'm going to go and tour his truck. for sure.

If you have a decent set of craftsman RP, I would use that as the backup set. But I would not get 2 sets of high end combo. I would get a none ratcheting and a ratcheting set for when you need 2 wrenches where you can not get a ratchet in.

With ratcheting you have way less made in the USA choices with flank drive. Non flank drive you have armstrong, not quite sure about cromwell.

But I have to be honest I use allot more wrenches the the ratchet. I have a full set of rp form my master set and my only sae set at that, plus craftsman pro 12pt combo, proto 6pt combo, proto ratcheting spline combo, and a set of flex head from taiwan by a store brand in german. Not to mention my stubby combo and gearwrench stubby. So it make it easy to work in the tight areas of my wife's vw where the ratchet socket combo is really tight.

 

[Murphy4570]

Ok cool, then Snapon is just as good as Craftsman.

LOL not even in the same league. Snap-On is the absolute best you can buy, period. Craftsman (USA made) is home hobbyist grade. OK for once in a while use, will break eventually with daily use.

Snappy Flank Drive plus wrenches are the bomb. The open end of the combination wrench grips like a mofo, and the wrench will break before it rounds off the bolt head. I have done this before, with my bare hands. NASTY design. Absolutely awesome.

Way overpriced for the OP's needed use, though.

 

[shoturtle]

I would agree with you, I rather have a wrench break then round a fastener in certain areas. Especially if it is in a area that only a wrench will fit. It would be a mofo to get a bolt out somewhere you can only get a ratchet in.

 

[CorcoranCrawler]

I like the Armstrong long pattern. Mine are 6 point box and work GREAT!!!

 

[shoturtle]

Pretty much every major brand of sockets and wrenches have a flank-drive style design. I'm talking about box ends and sockets, of course.

The grooves in the open end of a Snap-On wrench are only found on the "Flank Drive Plus" models. Some other brands have grooves in the open end for the same reason, but not all.

This is not aimed at this poster in particular, but a lot of people on the forum say "Flank Drive," when referring to the open ends of Snap-On wrenches. What they really mean is "Flank Drive Plus."

http://www.snapon.com/tools/hand-tools.asp

On the 6pt box end yes, allot of the other brands has it. But if we are talking about standard combo wrenches with open and 12pt box end. They will still round a fastener. But 12pt combo with the open end, only a handful has flank drive on the open end with a flank drive and you can crank them before and not really worry to much about rounding. Proto and Snap On are the only ones I used.

 

[OEXL16B]

LOL not even in the same league. Snap-On is the absolute best you can buy, period.

Finally, somebody had the guts to say it.

 

[shoturtle]

Even the 12 points of pretty much every major brand have off-corner engagement on the box end. You may believe, with out without justification, that the Snap-On design is better, but many, many brands have off-corner engagement. Of course Flank-Drive is a Snap-On term, so other brands use a different name.



You're correct that not every brand has ridges on the open end, which I said in my previous post.

Off the top of my head, these are some of the brands that offer some type of anti-slip design on the open end:
-Snap-On
-Mac
-Matco
-Wright
-Proto
-GearWrench

And I'm sure there are a bunch more that I don't know or am forgetting.

factor out the non US ones, and it becomes a very short list. OP want COO of USA.

PS

Dont think 12 pt even if it was off corner, will prevent rounding.

 

[OEXL16B]

iJason,

Have you watched the How It's Made video?

-

 

[Skin]

factor out the non US ones, and it becomes a very short list. OP want COO of USA.

What am i missing? The only one thats imported in his list is GW.

 

[TheCarbideRat]

LOL not even in the same league. Snap-On is the absolute best you can buy, period. Craftsman (USA made) is home hobbyist grade. OK for once in a while use, will break eventually with daily use.

Snappy Flank Drive plus wrenches are the bomb. The open end of the combination wrench grips like a mofo, and the wrench will break before it rounds off the bolt head. I have done this before, with my bare hands. NASTY design. Absolutely awesome.

Way overpriced for the OP's needed use, though.

I said that in response to if "Cman is just as good as SK" according to him and i was talking in the abstract not literal.

SK is not a hobby line of tools, but whatever. You broke a snapon wrench? sounds impossible to me. U da man.

 

[blownhemi]

Interesting video, but some of you guys get a little too wrapped up in the "Made in USA" hype.

Not everything made outside the US is poo

 

[shoturtle]

What am i missing? The only one thats imported in his list is GW.

Mac has allot of imported as well.

 

[shoturtle]

Interesting video, but some of you guys get a little too wrapped up in the "Made in USA" hype.

Not everything made outside the US is poo

Totally agree, but it is not my money that is spent. It is the OP, and if the OP wants made in the USA. It is his money, so he should get what he wants.

 

[Skin]

Not everything made outside the US is poo

 

[blownhemi]

Totally agree, but it is not my money that is spent. It is the OP, and if the OP wants made in the USA. It is his money, so he should get what he wants.

That's fair enough I guess

LOL

 

[ChrisF250]

That list was all US except gearwrench, I have snappy FDP, wright and Armstrong wrenches with a FDP design. All three work just as well, shocking. Buy what feels comfortable in your hands because wrenches of these quality will perform very similarly.

For what it's worth, in your hobby situation id get the sk's and be done with it. The
FDP feature is nice but certainly no where near necessary

 

[shoturtle]

armstrong and matco are the same, just a different name. Both are apex, and are very close in price. I would go with the armstrong as it is simpler to buy then matco. You can order them form sears.

so you have usa flank open end, apex, snappy, proto, wright, mac has some US and some Taiwan not sure the coo, it is still a very short list.

 

[shoturtle]

But back to the OP, I really would not spend 600-900 dollars for a set of SAE and Metric wrench for what you have in mind for the. It is really not worth it. If you want a nice set, I would keep each set under 150 dollars.

With flank vs non is your decision. You can luck out on ebay with proto and armstrong some time over there.

 

[pipsters]

armstrong and matco are the same, just a different name. Both are apex, and are very close in price. I would go with the armstrong as it is simpler to buy then matco. You can order them form sears.

so you have usa flank open end, apex, snappy, proto, wright, mac has some US and some Taiwan not sure the coo, it is still a very short list.

Snap-On vs competitor wrenches

Skip to 1:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=xDZcDyPYcCY

Notice they had the same problem with the Matco (Danaher) wrenches that I had with my Craftsman Pros. They feel nice and all but I'm just not that happy with them. FWIW the RP Craftsman wrenches I have are far superior to the Pro wrenches that I own in terms of spreading. It's too bad they don't have the quality of RP wrenches in the polished version. I don't think FDP really factors into whether the wrench spreads or not - the most important thing about a wrench is that it be TIGHT. Any looseness and it will spread.

 

[OEXL16B]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=xDZcDyPYcCY

"Ask your Snap-on representative about the ratcheting combination wrench today."

 

[Skin]

armstrong and matco are the same, just a different name.

they are not exactly, Matco wrenches essentially all have have "opti-torque pro". Armstrong wrenches tend to be a basic open end more often than not.

Snap-On vs competitor wrenches

Skip to 1:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=xDZcDyPYcCY

Notice they had the same problem with the Matco (Danaher) wrenches that I had with my Craftsman Pros. They feel nice and all but I'm just not that happy with them. FWIW the RP Craftsman wrenches I have are far superior to the Pro wrenches that I own in terms of spreading. It's too bad they don't have the quality of RP wrenches in the polished version. I don't think FDP really factors into whether the wrench spreads or not - the most important thing about a wrench is that it be TIGHT. Any looseness and it will spread.

I have a lot of Matco wrenches and none of them do what they showed. The entire point of MAC and Matcos design is not to be loose but to remove material so when the wrench is tilted into the bolt/nut it is forced to engage further away from the corner. Very simple. Nothing about either design allows it to function with the slop they show. Ironically the open end design Snap-On trashes is so inferior they've even taken to using a variation on their Williams Super Combos. Not to further go off topic since this isnt about ratcheting wrenches but having owned those Snap-On wrenches they have the thickest ratcheting box ends i've ever seen. Ended up selling my set.

Really though how often are you trying to break a stuck fastener loose with the open end anyway though.

 

[mudflap]

Snap-On vs competitor wrenches

Skip to 1:30

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=xDZcDyPYcCY

Notice they had the same problem with the Matco (Danaher) wrenches that I had with my Craftsman Pros. They feel nice and all but I'm just not that happy with them. FWIW the RP Craftsman wrenches I have are far superior to the Pro wrenches that I own in terms of spreading. It's too bad they don't have the quality of RP wrenches in the polished version. I don't think FDP really factors into whether the wrench spreads or not - the most important thing about a wrench is that it be TIGHT. Any looseness and it will spread.

LOL........I like the part in the video where he says to take your MAC / MATCO wrenches home, and give them to your kids to work on their bikes

 

[jvitez]

I have some Snap-On, but lots more SK and Wright tools, plus a small amount of Gray tools. Snap On are excellent. I don't think they make any bad tool. Some of their promotional items/accessories are Chinese junk, but the rest is world class. Is it worth it?

Fact: Snap-On tools are world class. (an absolute statement)

Opinion: Snap-On tools are overpriced (a relative statement)

Overpriced on what basis? Everyone's opinion is different. If you've got the cash and simply love Snap-On, buy it. It'll last your lifetime. If you want equal or at least very close quality, and want to pay less, look at SK and Wright. Gray is surprisingly expensive for many hardline Made In Canada items, thought in my opinion they're equal in quality to Snap-On. Quality can be an absolute statement. Value is subjective.

Would you ever wear out any top quality tools with what you plan to do? Nope.

Buy what you can afford and makes you smile when you use it.

 

[shoturtle]

Well snap on is fact a world class tool as well as matcro, Mac, wright, hazet, Gedaro and Koken, and proto and the list even longer.

Price is a personal thing. 350 for a set of sae or metric, some do not mine. It is to rich for others. But from the op's post through this thread and the intent do them. 600-900 for a set of sae and metric seem like something he rather want to avoid.

Ps I doubt the op will wear out a SK, craftsman pro, William or any other good mid grade wrench with what he is planning for them.

 

[bcradio]

LOL not even in the same league. Snap-On is the absolute best you can buy, period. Craftsman (USA made) is home hobbyist grade. OK for once in a while use, will break eventually with daily use.

Snappy Flank Drive plus wrenches are the bomb. The open end of the combination wrench grips like a mofo, and the wrench will break before it rounds off the bolt head. I have done this before, with my bare hands. NASTY design. Absolutely awesome.

Way overpriced for the OP's needed use, though.

 

[mudflap]

I have some Snap-On, but lots more SK and Wright tools, plus a small amount of Gray tools. Snap On are excellent. I don't think they make any bad tool. Some of their promotional items/accessories are Chinese junk, but the rest is world class. Is it worth it?

Fact: Snap-On tools are world class. (an absolute statement)

Opinion: Snap-On tools are overpriced (a relative statement)

Overpriced on what basis? Everyone's opinion is different. If you've got the cash and simply love Snap-On, buy it. It'll last your lifetime. If you want equal or at least very close quality, and want to pay less, look at SK and Wright. Gray is surprisingly expensive for many hardline Made In Canada items, thought in my opinion they're equal in quality to Snap-On. Quality can be an absolute statement. Value is subjective.

Would you ever wear out any top quality tools with what you plan to do? Nope.

Buy what you can afford and makes you smile when you use it.

Its a status thing, in most cases ( there are a few snappy tools that are clearly worth the xtra money) But lets be real, most of the time SK, or even craftsman works the same. Some people will pay the extra to drive a cadillac, even though a chevy gets you there just the same.