Spanner (wrench) recommendations - UK

[Brunel]

I'm after recommendations for good mid-price spanners readily available in the UK.

I have some very nice Britool ones (from before they went downhill) but want to take care of them, so I'm after a second set for general use.

This set from Halfords is an option:

http://www.halfords.com/workshop-to...ar-tray-set-12-piece-combination-spanners-set

£35 for 12 with lifetime warranty is a good deal, but I'd rather go for a name with more street cred If they come up often used on ebay, so much the better.

Any ideas?

 

[Wamsutta]

Those you have linked are way too short to do anything. I heard that Toptul is readily available in the UK. They make extra long combination spanners that are very useful.

 

[dutchgray]

Those you have linked are way too short to do anything. I heard that Toptul is readily available in the UK. They make extra long combination spanners that are very useful.

https://www.ewsupplies.co.uk/shop/tools/wrenches/sets/toptul-gaaf1008/
£61.07, on sale from 98.10
I got a set myself from ebay from a clearance type dealer for £55.
Personally I find standard length spanners more useful, Facom 440 are my favourites and you can pick up 14pc sets of those for about £70

 

[Wamsutta]

https://www.ewsupplies.co.uk/shop/tools/wrenches/sets/toptul-gaaf1008/
£61.07, on sale from 98.10
I got a set myself from ebay from a clearance type dealer for £55.

That's it! Those are the ones to get.

 

[mr.lemons]

I have some Halfords advanced spanners and don't like the design. The middle handle bit has sharp edges that dig into your hand. Length has not been an issue. Assuming you are working on a modern car the longer spanners are of limited use as they just bang into things.

I bought 10mm versions of a few brands to try them out and ended up buying Facom 440s and Stahlwille 13s. Both can quite often be found at reasonable prices on UK ebay. Stahlwille 14s are the longer versions.

I think Toptul may make the Facom 440s?

 

[Mr_B]

Toptul is proper good made tool, nice wrenches and very similar design to german elora .
My favourite wrenches/spanners are stahlwille pattern 13 and pattern 14

Facom also very nice design and finish spanners, the 467B ratchet spanners are proper nice .

 

[Tonyuk]

Best I've ever used are facom 440's. Id recommend getting them and other facom kit from primetools, they're an authorised dealer and I haven't had any warranty issues with them, facom has a lifetime warranty on pretty much everything.

Amazon has a great set by draper expert on for about £40, it's part number 23017, the paint will wear off but mine have been great.

The toptul mentioned are very Good, but also very long. Too long unless your working off a lift imo. Gedore make some great spanners also, I like they're XL series.

I have spanners similar to the set you posted that came with a 200ish piece set back years ago when I startedcollege, they worked fine for me, I probably still have them somewhere. Pretty much all my 12 point sockets are from that original Halfords pro set and tenure holding up great. Get a trade card before you buy anything from them.

 

[Rico.]

The Facom 440's and Stahlwille's are probably as good as spanners get, but they are a little spendy.
I personally went for the full set of Facom 440's from 4mm to 34mm... Plus all of the ratchet spanners.
I've had them nearly 10 years now and definitely recommend them for their strength and clever design.

I also have the Halfords Professional set that I keep in the car and they are OK, but if I could get
a set of Toptul spanners for similar money to the Halfords Pro then I think I would go for the Toptul,
if the Facom or Stahlwille's were too much money.

 

[Brunel]

Thanks for all the useful comments. Had wondered about the Facom 440s, and I get the impression that they are quite popular, but wasn't sure about the design of the ring.

Tony mentioned the Draper 23017 set. Don't like the coloured finish!

What about the Draper 68234 set, available for just £20, which seems an absolute bargain:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-E...rofessional-Quality-11-Pce-68234/380715767481

Draper is obviously a more budget brand, but their Expert range has a lifetime warranty. I have some Draper Expert sockets and have been impressed with them - I think they compare very well to far dearer brands.

 

[Mr_B]

would do general use.
If you handled/used facom or stahlwille you wouldn't want use much else
I got stahlwille almost 3 decades old and daily auto repair use, superb finish and fit . facom nice too but stahlwille sets can be found cheap for what is a world podium class wrench
If not in use daily or more a beater set then the draper expert good price buy at the £20 deal.

 

[dutchgray]

I think Toptul may make the Facom 440s?

I believe Rotar does make some Facom stuff, what I have heard anyway, Toptul is Rotar's own brand, they share very similar designs for some spanners.
Owning Facom 440 and the Toptul extra longs, the Facom's are a little better made, the Toptul's ring end has some slight defects in the broaching, on some sizes, mostly smaller sizes and some scratches and dings in the finish that must have been there when packaged up (not that such things matter at all, since once you have used them a bit they are all marked in some way).
Either are a good set of spanners, for not that much money, they are definitely better than the cheap sets, but the cheap sets are fine for diy.
There are Teng 12 pc metric sets available for under £40 on eBay currently, they are fine also, but I remember I bought a set for my brother a couple years ago and they were £22 then.

 

[Brunel]

There are Teng 12 pc metric sets available for under £40 on eBay currently, they are fine also, but I remember I bought a set for my brother a couple years ago and they were £22 then.

I think you mean the Teng TT1236, which I came across earlier. Available for around £35.

The Facom 440.JP14 - 14 spanners in a plastic clip - is available for around £75.

Relative merits of Draper Expert vs Teng vs Facom ??

 

[Mr_B]

Facom wrenches are made by Te Wei .
Teng look very likely rotar .

Merits of expert teng and Facom down to your preference, I Like the satin finish on teng/toptul . polished wrenches are awful, Facom nice soft satin finish, nice shape and great fit .
Modern draper expert stuff overated and priced generally but can be good ebay clearance buy over more cheap brands.
I would probably go teng if budget tight or facom if want proper decent and happy pay the price .

 

[mr.lemons]

I don't quite agree that cheaper spanners are ok for DIY. I am a diy mechanic just doing services and brakes etc. I had Draper (not expert) and found they slip off bolts. A humble DIYer runs into the same torqued bolts as a pro and is often lying under their car on a wet road desperately trying to fix it so they can get to work in it the next day. Spending a little more on spanners can prevent wasting a whole weekend trying to remove a bolt you just rounded off.

 

[dutchgray]

If you buy more expensive respected brands you know you will get quality well made and accurately sized spanners and the dud ones will be very rare, if you buy cheap you might get good spanners, or you might not, they likely vary in size tolerance accros the set much more, you wont know till you use them a bit. With spanners and sockets, much of the cheaper stuff is pretty good now, much better than cheap tools have ever been, but its still not as good as the best stuff.
Cull out tools which have a sloppy fit, replace with something better.

 

[Tonyuk]

Tony mentioned the Draper 23017 set. Don't like the coloured finish!

What about the Draper 68234 set, available for just £20, which seems an absolute bargain:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Draper-E...rofessional-Quality-11-Pce-68234/380715767481

Draper is obviously a more budget brand, but their Expert range has a lifetime warranty. I have some Draper Expert sockets and have been impressed with them - I think they compare very well to far dearer brands.

The paint will wear off eventually, they're chromed underneath. You could probably soak them in something and get it off quickly.

I cant say about the other set, i only have the coloured set mentioned but i don't see why they should be much different. The issue is that draper doesn't make anything, everything they sell is a re-brand from some manufacturer, if the same place makes the coloured and standard chrome sets then they should be basically the same. Halfords used to buy they're pro spanners from the same people who made the draper expert stuff, i have a draper expert 20mm spanner, still clipped into an old Halfords Pro shelf ticket.

I would get either the halfords or the Draper set if you wanting low cost basic spanners, both will be fine.

If you save up a bit the other brands mentioned are great.

 

[willhollin]

What size range are you after ideally, Brunel?

 

[Dave455]

Yep, mid price is a good idea, but I’m not convinced any one brand of Taiwanese is much better than the other. If you’re paying ‘mid price’ I think you can do better.

Firstly, consider King ****, good mid price and better quality than a lot of suggestions.

That Toptul set doesn’t strike me as mega value. Why buy a copy of an Elora when you can get the genuine item for similar money?

Better still, look at other German makes. For example, you can get a set of 6 Stahlwille for £40, or a set of 9 for £65, from TBS Aachen, and that’s not even a ‘special’!

 

[drtyler]

Dave455, are the King **** wrenches/spanners still made in the UK?

Yep, mid price is a good idea, but I’m not convinced any one brand of Taiwanese is much better than the other. If you’re paying ‘mid price’ I think you can do better.

Firstly, consider King ****, good mid price and better quality than a lot of suggestions.

That Toptul set doesn’t strike me as mega value. Why buy a copy of an Elora when you can get the genuine item for similar money?

Better still, look at other German makes. For example, you can get a set of 6 Stahlwille for £40, or a set of 9 for £65, from TBS Aachen, and that’s not even a ‘special’!

 

[Dave455]

The last set I bought clearly were - it said so on the packing, but that was a while back.

A plumber friend has a couple that he bought fairly recently though, and they appear to be the same tools.

As far as I’m aware, the only spanner’s they buy in are the ‘midget’ ones they sell in sets, which are fairly ropey!

 

[scubadoober]

Any particular reason no one recommended Hazet? I was curious if the price is that much higher than Stahlwille in the UK or some other reason.

 

[mr.lemons]

Hazet are about twice the price of Facom and Stahlwille here.

 

[Dave455]

Just to put everything into perspective, some competitive prices I’ve found are as follows. These are all for a 17mm combination spanner, from the source I’ve usually found to be about the cheapest, but without spending hours researching it:-


Facom £7.45 from eBay (new)

King **** £8.00 again from eBay (new)

Stahlwille £11.10 from TBS Aachen (No. 13 spanner, comparable length to the above)

Hazet £10.56 again from TBS (No.603 spanner, again comparable)

Now obviously, these are prices for a ‘one off’. You can often get good deals buying a set (see my previous post) and Stahlwille in particular tend to offer very good promotions each year, which are worth checking!

Halfords are charging £6.99 for their generic Taiwanese. I think it’s a frac longer, but any of the above would be better value I reckon.

If you fancy a longer length spanner, then you need to consider the Stahlwille No.14 or the Hazet 600, which are only a fraction more and in my opinion worth it! Alternatively, the Williams Supercombo, which has never really been available in the U.K. are obtainable through amazon at the mo. Price for a 17mm is about £18, but the prices on amazon go up and down more often than a whores drawers on a Saturday night, and we’re starting to stray from what the o.p. originally wanted, which was a set for about £35!

 

[Mr_B]

Stahlwille and Facom superb wrench sets and can be fond around £70 range.
I got Stahlwille style 13 and 14, used Stahlwille almost 3 decades and pretty much my favourite.
Facoms also really nice, toptul good too (have couple sets), durable finish and stout solid made, nice in hand, nice fit but want pay a steal price for toptul stuff as otherwise sometimes better option/warranty almost same cost.

 

[Dobbin]

Another vote for Stahlwille 14's. Absolutely top notch if you can stretch to them.

 

[Brunel]

Thanks for all the really helpful comments. I'm still undecided - perhaps I will sell some things I don't want and use the cash to buy some decent spanners.

 

[Dave455]

Did you particularly want combination spanner’s?

If not, one option would be to buy some open enders used/surplus. I often see them on ebay, even in metric sizes, especially if you search makers like Bedford, Gordon etc.

If you were able to pick up a set of those cheap, you only need some decentish ring spanner’s, and you then only need half the number!

 

[Nigelhirst]

As an off-the-wall choice, try these:

http://www.consolidatedtools.com/ep...Path=/Shops/s3zpvuf584b3/Products/ASTCWM13SET

I've got both the long and the normal length. They bear a remarkable similarity to a well- known truck brand.....

 

[wkndwarrior29]

As an off-the-wall choice, try these:

http://www.consolidatedtools.com/ep...Path=/Shops/s3zpvuf584b3/Products/ASTCWM13SET

I've got both the long and the normal length. They bear a remarkable similarity to a well- known truck brand.....

Those look like a nice set to ship to the US as well...

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[DTuck]

As an off-the-wall choice, try these:

http://www.consolidatedtools.com/ep...Path=/Shops/s3zpvuf584b3/Products/ASTCWM13SET

I've got both the long and the normal length. They bear a remarkable similarity to a well- known truck brand.....

"Flank drive" on these wrenches..I'd like to see their COO.

 

[Dave455]

"Flank drive" on these wrenches..I'd like to see their COO.

Average Taiwanese tools at above average prices.

The link references ‘AST Tools of England’ which probably contravenes the British Trade Descriptions Act. If anybody has bought any, thinking they are British made, and is disappointed, it’s worth a complaint to Trading Standards!

It has been argued in the past, by these ****** importers, that putting ‘Knobber Tools England’ or some such bull, is acceptable because the importer is a British company, or their company name includes the word ‘England’. Not so! Numerous court cases have found the practice illegal if the wording is ‘misleading’! You generally only find this practice at market stalls and boot sales now where the trader can do a runner!

If anybody is thinking of buying them in the U.S. then bear in mind it’s probably cheaper to get Taiwanese tools shipped direct from Taiwan, rather than via the U.K.

If you are thinking of buying tools here, there are many better options!

 

[Mr_B]

ast do a lot of specialist tools, mainly timing lock off kits etc . Do interesting butterfly sockets . Assume most of it manufactured to designs in asia or sourced from oems in asia.
Never seen them do more basic common hand tools .

 

[Nigelhirst]

There was a law suit, which led to the range being canned. As I said, they bear a 'remarkable' resemblance to another make....

 

[nickjj]

Always a set of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C7W86LO/?tag=atomicindustr-21

 

[Gmonkee]

I love these threads. Reason being I am in Mexico and the Euro brands are my passion. And they are largely out of reach. So next best thing is the Asain knockoffs of them.

The brands available here new and vintage are a whole other bunch yet descriptions fit perfectly. So much changes but its all the same somehow.

OP, as is my usual I run a mix of old mixed vintage and some newer Asains and have the Wurth bling at home as backups. Works well for me, time tested stuff that works.

 

[Tonyuk]

Always a set of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C7W86LO/?tag=atomicindustr-21

I had the bergen version, they're not worth it. Broaching is a joke, and are bent some are straight, chrome was peeling.

Look into the Beta long zero-offsets.

 

[Mr_B]

^
The toolzone cr-mo long aviation set is about best of cheap ones, normally 40gbp range but can be found around 25gbp at times, 19gbp cheapest I ever seen it on clearance from a tool truck clearance seller. decent broaching and chrome and size stamped both sides .
Lot of those AST combo wrench sets about, as cheap as 49gbp. never seen or used them but interested in how good they are .

 

[willhollin]

I got a set of 3/8" AST sockets and they were very well made, finish was superb.

Got a few items from Consolidated tools and they are all good quality, they were very cheap though as they were clearing them out.

 

[ToolRoom]

I have the Facom 440 and Stahlwille 14 ( also 20 & 23 series) - I would be hard pushed to choose a favourite and I think you wouldn't be disappointed with either. 440 are a shorter pattern but than can be an advantage in some cases.

They are available at reasonable prices if you shop around, but you pretty much get what you pay for.