Who made these PM marked wrenches?

[netbrad]

These are at a local auction but they don't have a picture of the other side. Who made wrenches marked with PM? I tried wading through Google but came up empty. I'm guessing these are generic Taiwan or Chinese wrenches?

 

[lardy1]

They look similar to the set of Blackhawks that I have.

 

[ChargerRT]

Popular Mechanics I'm pretty sure

 

[bwringer]

IIRC, PM tools were sold at Walmart many moons ago. I had a few odds and ends, and they were generally pretty decent stuff, although mostly from the far east.

Wally World's current Hart brand seems to fill much the same sort of niche.

They're decent enough wrenches, but nothing special or collectible. Put 'em to work, or give them to someone who might need them.

 

[Flared Base]

IIRC, PM tools were sold at Walmart many moons ago. I had a few odds and ends, and they were generally pretty decent stuff, although mostly from the far east.

Wally World's current Hart brand seems to fill much the same sort of niche.

They're decent enough wrenches, but nothing special or collectible. Put 'em to work, or give them to someone who might need them.

That's exactly how I remember it. I bought a metric set at WMT years ago because a few metric fasteners started creeping into my domestically produced cars. They have since been replaced with a more complete set but they worked fine and never damaged a fastener because of poor fitment. Nothing really wrong with them but not really desirable either. I keep them on a shelf in case I need to modify a wrench in the future and don't want to cut up my nice tools.

 

[MadMechMaster]

The PM screwdrivers at Walmart were great. I am sure the wrenches were similar quality.

 

[1982fxr]

Popular mechanics at wal mart in the mid 90s.

Still have some sockets I bought as a teenager.

 

[cjarvis]

At one time, I had a set of both metric and SAE, and still have a few of them. Very good wrenches. Made in Taiwan, IIRC. I used them professionally, briefly, and found no issue with them.

 

[finn]

I have a couple. Don’t know how I ended up with them, but the Walmart story seems feasible.

In my opinion, quality seems more or less similar to, or better than other consumer grade wrenches of the period, ie US Craftsman, etc.

 

[Ohmthis]

Those are (as everyone has stated) Popular Mechanics wrenches. Again above average in my opinion. I actually bought my Wright wrenches because the finish was similar and I loved the feel of the PM wrenches in my hand. I gave mine to my brother who still uses them. Put them to work and enjoy!

 

[Al Borland]

PM at Wallyworld was (mostly) made by Stanley.

 

[loudog212]

My PM screwdrivers and ratchets are both made in USA. Unfortunately a tooth broke on the ratchet and I don't know where to source replacement parts.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

They look Stanley-ish.

 

[vssjim]

This 800 number is molded into the case of a PM set I had in my trunk for many years. 1-800-245-7676