suggestions on ratcheting wrench's?

[chris fresh]

i have found myself recently thinkin about getting some,i don't need snap on,just something decent for the money.i have a friend with a full set of S/K and there really smooth,don't know if they have teeth,because they feel one way bearing smooth.

something non H.F and nothing from crapsman.


whatta ya got?

 

[joedodge]

Gearwrench..........the brand

 

[yjWrangler]

Williams. Same as Blue Point.

 

[Fedwrench]

Blackhawk

 

[wafrederick]

Gearwrench,hassle free warranty.Thier quality has been better since Matco bought them out.Dip them in automatic transmission fluid also once in a while,the ratcheting part.Lubes the ratcheting part from going dry.

 

[TDWendt]

Gearwrench here also

 

[NC-Fordguy]

Been using gearwrench brand since they came out. No Problems

Got a set of titan brand as well but I'm reserving opinion untill they get more hours on them

If you buy gearwrench from Sears, you get the easy exchange warranty should you break one

 

[SantaAna12]

GJ classifieds: SO set for a good price right now.

Sorry...missed the part about no SO. NVM.

 

[Paulkenosha]

Gearwrench, especially if you get them when they have the good sales.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

my USA made craftsman are tough. the only problem I have had are from rust seize. my standard ones use to get wet before I switched jobs.

 

[SpawnedX]

Gearwrench. I don't know a technician in my shop that doesn't use them.

 

[Fastbird]

I know you said no craftsman, but I've been using a pair of 8 piece reversible ratcheting wrench sets pretty heavily since about 2005ish now (old Christmas gift from my wife), and they've been flawless.

 

[Mr Ratchet]

I've got GearWrench one's and they have worked fine. No issues with any of them.

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

Another vote for Blackhawk - I absolutely adore mine.

 

[NoFatChicks]

Gearwrench. 39.99 on sale at sears. Nuff said.

 

[chris fresh]

i'll be intown tomorrow for awhile,maybe i'll breeze through sears and see who i can't piss off.


thanks for the info guys

 

[kippieland]

Genius

 

[chris fresh]

Another vote for Blackhawk - I absolutely adore mine.

funny you say that,only blackhawk i own is a 3/8 ratchet,and i don't even know where i got it,but i always reach for it first.at first i thought i was just a cheap ratchet from somewhere,but it spanks anything craftsman i own.i have an over flowing box of mostly craftsman,but it was all bought 18 to 20 years ago.

 

[Scout Driver]

I'm very happy with my Blue-Points.

Scott

 

[spazzer]

Gearwrench. Did get a set of Blue Point reversible ratching wrenches at a yard sale.

 

[Pro-Painter]

ARMSTRONG! USA made, long pattern, modified open ends, affordable price. Hands down, bottom line, final word Armstrong ratcheting wrenches are the best ratcheting wrenches on the market (That cost under a small fortune ie: SO flank drive)


BTW: Armstrong is the OEM for Matco pro-swing ratcheting wrenches.

 

[Pointsnorth]

Blackhawk

I add another vote for Blackhawk. My set is my favorite tools. Guys at work have snap-on and bue-point, and agree that the Blackhawks are superior. The reason is that the wrenches are thinner around the outer bezel at the box end, which allows use in tighter access situations. Cheaper too, of course.

 

[SMKS]

I've read a few mixed reviews of gearwrench in recent years after they moved production to China. I haven't used the Chinese ones, all mine were the Taiwanese versions.

The major OEMs that make most of the ratcheting wrenches for other companies seem to all be based in Taiwan (besides GearWrench, which is owned by Apex Tools). Hi-Five is one of them. I have some Duralast branded ones that were actually made by Hi-Five and they're very nice. Harbor Freight even got some new Taiwanese ones recently that are nicer than the older Chinese ones they sold, but those aren't made by Hi-Five.

Here's the Hi-Five website, BTW:
http://www.newtools.com/products.htm

 

[Test Tech]

I like the ones from matco, especially the X-beam flex ones. They're pricey, but They've been great at getting into some very awkward/tight spaces.

 

[wfb2270]

i have broken matco and blackhawk.(small too like 10, 12, 14MM)
Yet to break a gearwrench.
i dont like levers, if im using a gear wrench its a tight spot.

 

[chris6278]

If u want a good cheap set of reversibles then get the huskey ones, the ones made in taiwan. They are better than gearwrench. The oem for them are blackhawks

 

[ihateminimumwage]

As sad as it is, my Costco bought 'Mastercraft' ratcheting wrenches have held up better and through more abuse than my Gearwrenches. The GWs still work fine, but have all the chrome coming off in sharp bits.

 

[RAYJAY]

i have been buying all my gear wrench stuff ntx tools there bogo deals are hard to beat

http://www.ntxtools.com/

 

[chris fresh]

thanks for the link,i'm gonna spend some time on their site

 

[Tavy]

Armstrong, Gearwrench. Preference in that order. SO's are **** anyway, don't even bother. I got so sick of them freewheeling on a daily basis I gave the two sets I bought back after a dozen warranty replacements. Junk.

[ed] My 3/4" Armstrong x-beam has been caging brakes and breaking bolts for two years solid, the gear wrench 7/16 is the only one I ever warrantied - crud buildup.

 

[rusty65]

Armstrong if you aren't on to tight of a budget and are also USA made.

 

[NC-Fordguy]

. I have some Duralast branded ones that were actually made by Hi-Five and they're very nice.

Forgot I have a set of these. They are metric and I don't use metric tools a whole lot. They do seem to be pretty good though. I picked these up at a 2nd hand store where I maintain their computer system

 

[shampoop]

Love all of my gearwrench tools including ratcheting wrenches. Someone posted a video on here a while back that tested what it took to break them various brands, and gearwrench ones were very nearly as strong as all of the truck brands.

 

[shoturtle]

proto or blackhawk are my first choice in ratcheting wrenches. Gearwrench are not bad. If you want USA made, look at armstrong.

 

[ATC]

I have Blackhawk, Gearwrench, and Craftsman. No complaints with either. I like my Blackhawks better because they are reversable (lever), while the others you have to flip over.


If you can wait until Black Friday, Sears usually has killer deals on the Gearwrenches. Last year they had a 20pc set (10 met, 10 sae) for $49

 

[shoturtle]

If u want a good cheap set of reversibles then get the huskey ones, the ones made in taiwan. They are better than gearwrench. The oem for them are blackhawks

stanley proto owns the factory in taiwan the produce the proto, blackhawk and husky. They make a really nice product.

 

[Skin]

a few of my Armstrong reversibles like to auto reverse. They also have a rougher feel. Yea great they say USA on them but I don't find them superior to the imports.

 

[RCStocker]

I have the reversable 15 degree. Stubby 15 degree, the streight flip to reverse and the new twisted handled ones in both Metric and SAE by Gear wrench and am very happy with them.
I got them on the Sears web site about 8 years ago or more. They were all less than half pirce. No skips in my sets. I bought so many I gave them to my 4 sons and 3 of my 5 grand sons. We have not had one go bad.

 

[chris6278]

stanley proto owns the factory in taiwan the produce the proto, blackhawk and husky. They make a really nice product.

Yea i bought the husky ones to keep at home and was really surprised at how good they are. Definitely better than the gearwrenchs i had

 

[KinzeMech]

I've hada full set of Gearwrench in standard and metric for 6 or 7 years now. They are great, very recommendable. Get the reversible ones, they cost a little more, but it's not much, and it's a feature well worth having. If the reversing switch starts to flip on it's own, it's time to oil the mechanism. Twice since I've owned them, I've had one get to the point that even oiling won't stop the auto reversing, and I had to warranty them. Other than that, they've been flawless.

I recently bought a blackhawk because I wanted a reversible, 1-1/8", and gearwrench does not go that high. I haven't used it much yet, but so far, I like it even better than my gearwrenches, and I think (not sure) it's a USA made wrench.