Wright or Proto
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mrholeshot
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Wright has better chrome. Nicer ratchets
While im partial to Wright, I cant think of any reason not to buy Proto, Every piece of Proto i Own has been a Quality Tool.
littletoes
Well-known member
Availability to get replacements? I have quite a bit of experience with PROTO, and not much with Wright, and I have broken very few PROTO tools.
Which ones would be easier to replace where you are, or where you'll be working? I know of several PROTO dealers around here, but only one Wright dealer, and that is House of Hose in Spokane WA. IGA Industrial Supply carries PROTO, as does Grainger, and both will replace broken tools.
Which ones would be easier to replace where you are, or where you'll be working? I know of several PROTO dealers around here, but only one Wright dealer, and that is House of Hose in Spokane WA. IGA Industrial Supply carries PROTO, as does Grainger, and both will replace broken tools.
vssjim
ALLIANCE MEMBER
i really like both brands but overall I think Proto is easier to buy from a big type distributor that will only carry real popular stuff. Wright is mostly sold through smaller type suppliers that are willing to get you anything right away and will give you better customer service.
It's Elroy's humble opiniion you'll find no difference in the chrome between those two brands.
When it come down to the ratchet it becomes a matter a personal taste in what you're looking for. If you're looking for strength, you'll play hell finding one stronger than the convention Proto's.
Elroy isn't talking about a big-dawg either.
mrholeshot
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I find the chrome on my wright tools to be far better and by better I mean the tools are finish out smoother and chrome brighter. I'm not real crazy about Protos ratchets bit won't argue the strength of them. I'm not crazy about their Mac tools versions as I didn't like them when Mac had them. The wrights have a higher effective tooth count on most ratchets.
I think they are both great brands and don't think he would go wrong going with either.
american lockpicker
Banned
I like Wright but I'm a bit biased as it comes from neighboring Ohio.
mrholeshot
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One thing that would concern me with Proto is it's owned by Stanley Works. Their track record of taking major brands offshore has become notorious. If they took most of MAC tools,Blackhawk,Husky offshore why would Proto be any differant. Stanley could ruin a anvil with a rubber mallet.
chopper1
Member Emeritus
vssjim
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Stanley for the most part has left Proto alone from the asian import deal and I hope they stay that way but Wright makes a big deal about where their tools are made and that being Barberton Ohio.
NinetyTwoFifty
Banned
I agree, I love Proto.
lbgradwell
Well-known member
Both are quality brands, but if service/availability is equivalent, I'd go with Wright if for no other reason than they are an independent brand who has done an admirable job at keeping production domestic while Proto has been controlled by the worst of the asset-harvesters for far too long...
DonkDonk
Well-known member
hofferwood
Well-known member
I like Proto.
If you happen to get this style
With these guts
You need to LUBE, they are dry (at least my last 3 were). They were not broken, they were heisted from my box.
Use a lube of choice, I like this, it does not drip.
Chuck
If you happen to get this style
With these guts
You need to LUBE, they are dry (at least my last 3 were). They were not broken, they were heisted from my box.
Use a lube of choice, I like this, it does not drip.
Chuck
As a major Plumb/Proto fan I would have to give the nod to Proto. For many years Proto has been consistently used by the US Government/Military, maybe that has something to do with why Proto is not outsourced as much as other Stanley brands? But I also really like Wright tools as well, especially there philosophy on there tools being American made . I think the decision really comes down to what brand you have better access too and what kind of service you can get from the two different brand's distributer's.
camarotoolman
Banned
check out how each handles broken replacements. How far is vendor away from you.
z28snksknr
Well-known member
I'll vote for WRIGHT. I just recently upgraded my Cman set from my teenage years and can't say enough about the quality and design of the Wright tools.
I believe a GJ member did a wrench and/or socket comparison a while back and Wright was a top performer among the various brands tested. Hard to argue with real test data instead of personal preferences.
I believe a GJ member did a wrench and/or socket comparison a while back and Wright was a top performer among the various brands tested. Hard to argue with real test data instead of personal preferences.
GrantCee
Well-known member
I grew up with Proto (Dad was a mechanic), and have lots of their tools. Today I prefer Wright.
I've been meaning to write something about this for a while. When choosing a company to patronize, there's lot of talk about country of origin and price, as if those were the only two things to consider. They're important, don't get me wrong, but there's something else that weighs on my mind these days, and it has to do with corporate behavior.
The trend today is for companies to manage for the greatest possible return to their shareholders. No longer does a company seek a reasonable rate of return, but instead seeks the very greatest rate of return at the expense of everything else: employees, the environment, our balance of trade, customer satisfaction, and long term product quality. Stanley, as pointed out, is a master of this: they'll go to where the return is greatest, damn everything else. As chronicled on many threads here, other tool companies have done the same.
Think about all the companies that have abandoned their loyal workforces, sometimes bankrupting whole towns, just to get a better return by offshoring. In most cases it's not because they're losing money - it's because they want to make even MORE money.
It really amounts to whoring out the good name of a company just so their investors can get a little extra. The customer, the person who is in possession of a 'lifetime' warranty with the not unreasonable expectation that a replacement or repair will be as least as good as what they spent their money on, is forgotten. The the employees who labored for them, the ones who put the quality into the products that made their name? Expendable.
When I make purchasing decisions, be it for a tool or any other product, I look at the company very closely. I've become disenchanted with the large corporations whose decisions won't be made on what's best for the customer (me) or the country in which they're headquartered, but on what's best for their handlers. I prefer smaller companies that aren't part of a faceless conglomerate, and if they're family owned so much the better.
My experience is that family run companies generally make decisions that are better for their customers, their employees, and the communities in which they live. They tend to look at profitability with the idea of making "enough" - not "the very most". Many of them actively resist takeovers by larger corporations, preferring instead to keep making good products and meeting the needs of their customers instead of their bankers.
That's why I prefer to do business with Wright. They're family owned, very proud of it, and go out of their way to celebrate the fact. Proto? A conglomerate themselves, responsible for acquiring and liquidating their competition (P&C, anyone?) and now themselves part of a vast conglomerate that does profit maximization on a huge scale.
When deciding which company - Proto or Wright - to buy product from, I ask myself: which is more likely to behave in ways that are good for their community and their country? From which am I likely to get a warranty of the kind I expect? Which one wouldn't throw their own mother under the train if they thought it would make them a half-percent better gross margin?
That's why I buy Wright. Of course, it helps that their tools are of superb quality, but I also think they're better for this country. Don't get me wrong, I still buy Proto on occasion, because they make a large number of products that Wright doesn't. I limit those purchases only to those products I can't get from Wright.
GrantCee
Well-known member
Really? How so? Can you give examples of tools that you actually own?
mikebramel
Well-known member
Yeah oldtools, prove yourself LOL
The wright ratchets are nice but when you put some nice grease in those proto ratchets they are real smooth. Both brands I have gotten defects in the sockets. I cant say I noticed any difference in the chrome??? I know wright tools have poor resale, goes for cheap on ebay if youre looking on there.
The wright ratchets are nice but when you put some nice grease in those proto ratchets they are real smooth. Both brands I have gotten defects in the sockets. I cant say I noticed any difference in the chrome??? I know wright tools have poor resale, goes for cheap on ebay if youre looking on there.
Gtamazing
Banned
I wish there was a can of worms smiley
HandyManny
Well-known member
I prefere Proto and always have for things like combo wrenches, offset box wrenches, sockets, extentions, adapters, ratchets. But that comes from me using these tools since the early 1960's. There was a time when Proto was a much more readily available tool for me. Used to be able to buy them in some better auto parts stores back then. I think now the biggest problem I have with Proto is it's lack of availability to me locally. I hate paying shipping costs on anything. Plus they've gone more to the industrial market these days, long ago abandoning the automotive market they had briefly served. So far from what I've seen in the last few years, Stanley hasn't yet ruined the brand, but that could change. Haven't seen it much yet though.
It looks like the real difference comes into play with the 500 series proto, There isnt much difference between the standard wrenches (1/16") in the 9/16 for example. I wouldnt hesitate to use either brand...
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rocco
Well-known member
i've got a set of Wright SEA wrenches and some misc sizes of Proto's as well. Both are great, i'd say you can't go wrong with either.
I have and use quite a bit of both; Proto and Wright make up the core of my tool collection. Both brands represent the highest quality tools that money can buy. Both brands are staples of the petroleum, mining, aviation, manufacturing, power generation, and fleet maintenance industries. Both brands have been around forever, and the quality has not been diluted with the passage of time. You cannot go wrong with either one.
Proto has a larger breadth of product than Wright; Wright fills in its line with products manufacured by other USA producers, including pliers from Channellock and punches and chisels from Mayhew. Everything from Proto, with the exception of their ratcheting spline combination wrenches (Taiwan), is made in the USA. Everything from Wright is made in the USA; they do not offer any ratcheting combination wrenches.
I wouldn't worry too much about warranty replacements for either brand; it's highly unlikely that you will break a tool from Proto or Wright.
I'm not a big fan of Stanley's treatment of the brands that it owns, but Proto is the last real Made in USA Stanley brand and I have no problem supporting the one arm of their company that produces tools here. Strictly from a philosophical standpoint, if everyone stopped buying USA-made Proto, then Stanley would offshore Proto as well. Of course, a few individual purchasers aren't going to make a difference to Proto's bottom line, as Proto earns most of their money selling to industrial distributors and end-users the world over who buy in huge quantities and demand USA-made quality. If a huge industrial account in America or anywhere else in the world began to receive relabled Taiwanese or Chinese tools from Proto, they would dump Proto and just go straight to the source in Taiwan or China, or more likely switch to another American, German, or Japanese tool brand that can guarantee the kind of quality that these purchasers demand. Proto's core customer, the industrial purchaser, understands the value of a good tool that lasts a long time as opposed to a cheap tool that must be continually replaced. These huge corporate accounts are not fooled by the marketing that works so well to sell Gearwrench, Stanley, Chinese Craftsman, Duralast, and other imported tools to consumers. So I wouldn't worry about Proto being offshored any time soon. The same applies to Wright; the family will keep Wright in the USA for their own reasons and to satisfy the demands of their market.
Both brands have a tremendous pedigree, and you really won't go wrong with either one. Why not go for a mix of both? Proto makes really nice, really long combination wrenches with their Anti-Slip Design open end, both brands make excellent sockets, both brands make some very old-school, tough ratchets (Proto's 24-tooth and Wright's open-head), Wright makes some excellent hot-forged impact sockets, etc...
Proto has a larger breadth of product than Wright; Wright fills in its line with products manufacured by other USA producers, including pliers from Channellock and punches and chisels from Mayhew. Everything from Proto, with the exception of their ratcheting spline combination wrenches (Taiwan), is made in the USA. Everything from Wright is made in the USA; they do not offer any ratcheting combination wrenches.
I wouldn't worry too much about warranty replacements for either brand; it's highly unlikely that you will break a tool from Proto or Wright.
I'm not a big fan of Stanley's treatment of the brands that it owns, but Proto is the last real Made in USA Stanley brand and I have no problem supporting the one arm of their company that produces tools here. Strictly from a philosophical standpoint, if everyone stopped buying USA-made Proto, then Stanley would offshore Proto as well. Of course, a few individual purchasers aren't going to make a difference to Proto's bottom line, as Proto earns most of their money selling to industrial distributors and end-users the world over who buy in huge quantities and demand USA-made quality. If a huge industrial account in America or anywhere else in the world began to receive relabled Taiwanese or Chinese tools from Proto, they would dump Proto and just go straight to the source in Taiwan or China, or more likely switch to another American, German, or Japanese tool brand that can guarantee the kind of quality that these purchasers demand. Proto's core customer, the industrial purchaser, understands the value of a good tool that lasts a long time as opposed to a cheap tool that must be continually replaced. These huge corporate accounts are not fooled by the marketing that works so well to sell Gearwrench, Stanley, Chinese Craftsman, Duralast, and other imported tools to consumers. So I wouldn't worry about Proto being offshored any time soon. The same applies to Wright; the family will keep Wright in the USA for their own reasons and to satisfy the demands of their market.
Both brands have a tremendous pedigree, and you really won't go wrong with either one. Why not go for a mix of both? Proto makes really nice, really long combination wrenches with their Anti-Slip Design open end, both brands make excellent sockets, both brands make some very old-school, tough ratchets (Proto's 24-tooth and Wright's open-head), Wright makes some excellent hot-forged impact sockets, etc...
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mrchuck
Banned
No ******* contest here. All my tools are a mixture of used tools that I have acquired over 55+ years. I try not to buy new tools.
I have just about every tool made to repair my cars, rods,boats , houses, etc over this time span.
So my sockets are a mixture, but cover the spectrum of sizes.
Same with wrenches.
Same with ratchets.
Same for everything.
Why you may ask? Well it's price /quality.
Example,,,working on my lawn tractor doing the maintenance for this up coming seaso, you will find say,,, a Proto ratchet with a Snap-on socket anong side a Williams wrench and a Craftsman pliers.
You see, any USA made tool is what I use.
No Japanese, No Chinese.
I rarely break tools. I'm from the "old school".
Example: I just today received a UPS package with the Proto 1/2 ratchet re-build kit.
I dis-assembled the broken ratchet, but used a toolmakers file and "dressed down" all the new parts.
Then assembled using Super Lube and Kroil.
Smooth as I like it.
That is why I like tools. Keeps this old man's brain working.
I have just about every tool made to repair my cars, rods,boats , houses, etc over this time span.
So my sockets are a mixture, but cover the spectrum of sizes.
Same with wrenches.
Same with ratchets.
Same for everything.
Why you may ask? Well it's price /quality.
Example,,,working on my lawn tractor doing the maintenance for this up coming seaso, you will find say,,, a Proto ratchet with a Snap-on socket anong side a Williams wrench and a Craftsman pliers.
You see, any USA made tool is what I use.
No Japanese, No Chinese.
I rarely break tools. I'm from the "old school".
Example: I just today received a UPS package with the Proto 1/2 ratchet re-build kit.
I dis-assembled the broken ratchet, but used a toolmakers file and "dressed down" all the new parts.
Then assembled using Super Lube and Kroil.
Smooth as I like it.
That is why I like tools. Keeps this old man's brain working.
vssjim
ALLIANCE MEMBER
jammer1001
Member
I prefer Proto because it is backed by the Stanley Tool Co. Don't get me wrong Wright are good tools, they are the company that makes Snap-on blue point line.
For what it's worth, I just a few moments ago received a set of Proto metric combination wrenches, and even the canvas wrench rolls that Proto uses have the little American flag sewn into the piping on the left hand side, much the same as Wright and Armstrong. It seems that Proto, Wright, and Armstrong understand the value that many of their customers see in USA manufactured tools.
Also, every single "Blackhawk by Proto" tool that I have purchased new in the past several months has been made in the USA and has been of excellent and uniform quality, better than recent S-K and head and shoulders above Craftsman.
Also, every single "Blackhawk by Proto" tool that I have purchased new in the past several months has been made in the USA and has been of excellent and uniform quality, better than recent S-K and head and shoulders above Craftsman.
comedyman809
Well-known member
i love all of my proto tools, 2 roll cabs, hand tool box, locking plier set, ball peen hammer, punch sets, double box wrenches, long nose bent tip pliers, duck bill pliers, ratchets, breaker bars, screwdriver, i use them every day, and i abuse the long nose pliers(been replaced once because i shorted a 277v line to ground with them and welded the jaws together-still replaced under warranty).
airbuff101
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- Oct 31, 2006
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Both Wright and Proto have fast and excellent warr. service when tools are sent in. I wouldn't really know where to buy either close by but it doesn't matter a bit for warranty....I have their address
airbuff