I've been looking for a set of SAE combination wrenches for work for a while now and I stumbled across this Stanley wrench set earlier. for 30 bucks+ shipping it seemed like a great deal. I can't seem to find much out there about them though. what's the general opinion of the USA made stanley wrenches? how different are they from Proto or Blackhawk?
Stanley made in USA combination wrench set
- Thread starter Deywalker
- Start date
Hard to say for sure, I only have the pictures from the ebay listing ATM. When they get here I'll compare them to my Wrightgrips
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Flared Base
Well-known member
They look very close to Proto based on the photos you provided.
B_Bimmer
Well-known member
I have several of those, they are not as nice as proto tools but have been decent. I believe they date to the mid nineties and personally I would question the USA content... but I don't really know and they have been fine. I would say very compatible to craftsman raised panels of that era.
mikebaker1129
Well-known member
I too think the USA markings are questionable. They look just like some Asian made Stanley's I have run into.
If they are decent and function, that is all that matters!
boom10ful
Well-known member
Love the satin finish. Not as easy to clean off, but they have better grip when oily. Plus they wear better than shiny chrome.
Indexmill
Well-known member
I think they are fine for $30 and will serve you well. I can't imagine that the Made in USA is ********.
The hardest use these things will see for the foreseeable future will be setting up die grinders and lathe/mill work. I just wanted something decent and USA made. I bought my Wrights for work first and I love them, but I barely use them so I decided to take them home before they had a chance to walk away and find a cheaper set. I've really liked all the satin Stanley/Proto beams I've held so I imagine I'm going to like these but the possibility that Stanley lied about these being made in the USA is a bummer
B_Bimmer
Well-known member
It wasn't exactly a lie, just stretching the truth a bit. Besides, I don't know that they are not USA made. For your use they sound perfect, buy them and tell yourself what you need to hear. They are nice wrenches for the price, well marked and comfortable.
no doubt in my mind they are us made. i have the same wrenches from 3/8- 1 1/4 . well made and predate the imported ones. the us made ones used to be sold in smaller sets at walmart and at some point mfg was switched to foreign. even though they look very similar they are different than the imports.
Sounds like a great deal at 30 bucks. I'd jump if i needed them.
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Not to often you come across the USA wrenches. I have found plenty of USA sockets though. $30 bucks I probably would of grabbed them too. I would of definitely paid the $30 if they were Popular Mechanics brand which I collect. I believe they were made by Stanley in the late 90s early 2000s.
honcho
Well-known member
I have a set of late 80s vintage proto metric wrenches 8-32mm and a similiar set of Stanley USA metric wrenches 6-22mm. Both sets have satin finish handles and shiny chrome around the open end portion on the Protos have flaked quite a bit. The shiny parts of the Stanley set have held up much better. Other than that, the Proto and Stanley wrenches appear very similar in design and lengths.
Hammer1963
Well-known member
I purchased a set of these in the early 90's from Big Lot's. They were US made and held up well. I used them in a machine up setting. For $30.00 you can't beat it