Wrightgrip 2.0 finish grind issues

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Hello everyone.

I just bought a set of metric satin wright grips and I'm surprised to see uneven grinds on the open ends of almost all the wrenches. See the photo below. I am a bit disappointed as these were supposed to be upgrades from my craftsman USA wrenches which have none of these issues.

Anyone else have this issue?

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Some of mine are angled a bit like that. They work fine though. I get what you're saying, for a top performer like Wright one wishes for slightly neater presentation. They're great wrenches though.

 

[bob15]

Not really seeing an issue. Can you mic it?

 

[Flared Base]

Not really seeing an issue. Can you mic it?

I think he is referencing the non-symmetry. Look at the edge of the opening of the wrench The left side of the photo comes to nearly a sharp point and the right side looks like it is radiused 1/4 the thickness of the wrench. I agree that the wrench should function, but that is sloppy craftsmanship that I would not expect on a high end tool.

 

[four.cycle]

I just went out and grabbed a handful of open-ends.
I cannot believe that I've been using these now for 50 years and I never noticed that.
Maybe I should call Indestro and see if I can get a refund.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

Yes. Both my polished and satin Wright sets have uneven grinds on the open ends, weird casting dents on the beams (they look like cuts in the steel), and off-angled, non-uniformed box ends. But the main geometry is good so I just went with it. Except my 9/16th. That wrench doesn’t want to actually fit on anything but that’s for another time and place.

 

[dnschmidt]

See, this is what happens when you have humans rather than CNC machines, like my cousin Dieter sells to TOPTUL, finish your products. It has no effect on turning a bolt but it will never look as good as a computer controlled machine does it. Everybody is looking for "old world craftsmanship" and "built by hand" which frankly was ******** back then and still is ******** now. Human vs. Computer. I've got my money on the computer every single time.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

I think he is referencing the non-symmetry. Look at the edge of the opening of the wrench The left side of the photo comes to nearly a sharp point and the right side looks like it is radiused 1/4 the thickness of the wrench. I agree that the wrench should function, but that is sloppy craftsmanship that I would not expect on a high end tool.

You are correct that is what I'm referring to. All of the wrenches have wide variation on the edge of the opening. Looks to me that they have someone inexperienced doing this manual operation. I agree it shouldnt have any effect on functionality as it doesn't encroach beyond the tapered beginning inside the open end.
I've reached out to Wright to get they're input on this. Hopefully they'll exchange them.

I just went out and grabbed a handful of open-ends.
I cannot believe that I've been using these now for 50 years and I never noticed that.
Maybe I should call Indestro and see if I can get a refund.

Those look great compared to the wrightgrips I have. Even my craftsman look good in comparison

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Yes. Both my polished and satin Wright sets have uneven grinds on the open ends, weird casting dents on the beams (they look like cuts in the steel), and off-angled, non-uniformed box ends. But the main geometry is good so I just went with it. Except my 9/16th. That wrench doesn’t want to actually fit on anything but that’s for another time and place.

Interesting, good to know it's not just me. Whoever is doing the grinds needs to improve.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

See, this is what happens when you have humans rather than CNC machines, like my cousin Dieter sells to TOPTUL, finish your products. It has no effect on turning a bolt but it will never look as good as a computer controlled machine does it. Everybody is looking for "old world craftsmanship" and "built by hand" which frankly was ******** back then and still is ******** now. Human vs. Computer. I've got my money on the computer every single time.

I agree with you. Problem is most workers don't have have the attention to detail like they used to. It makes a stronger case for my job at work to automate or reduce touch labor even in aircraft assembly. Anytime there's a manual operation there's risk.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

I think he is referencing the non-symmetry. Look at the edge of the opening of the wrench The left side of the photo comes to nearly a sharp point and the right side looks like it is radiused 1/4 the thickness of the wrench. I agree that the wrench should function, but that is sloppy craftsmanship that I would not expect on a high end tool.

You are correct that is what I'm referring to. All of the wrenches have wide variation on the edge of the opening. Looks to me that they have someone inexperienced doing this manual operation. I agree it shouldnt have any effect on functionality as it doesn't encroach beyond the tapered beginning inside the open end.
I've reached out to Wright to get they're input on this. Hopefully they'll exchange them.

 

[four.cycle]

Those look great compared to the wrightgrips I have.

They all look pretty much like the ones you posted in the first post. I just wasn't able to hold all of them in one hand and get everything lined up perfectly so that the variations on each wrench were clearly visible. There's absolutely nothing wrong with them - I'm sure they'll hold onto a nut and turn it just fine, just as mine have for just over 50 years now. (I bought most of them in the summer of 1971.)

Those are most likely individually finished by one guy who's working on a production line, so variations from one piece to another are to be expected.

 

[Fly YX]

This should ruffle some feathers. It’s not as bad. And my fasteners don’t care. At least I haven’t had any complaints yet.

 

[American Locomotive]

These tool cosmetics posts are really starting to get tiring. Very minor imperfections like that are completely normal on tools that are hand-finished. Just go to the store and pick up some needle nose pliers. Look carefully and you'll see that no two are identical. They all have slightly different geometry because of the grinding.

I get that you paid a lot of money and want a "nice" looking tool, but ultimately you bought an industrial tool, with an industrial finish, that was ground to industrial finish standards. Industry wants tools that function well, so industrial tool suppliers focus on metallurgy, structure/strength, heat treat and dimensional accuracy in critical areas.

As shown above, even Snap-On wrenches that cost 3-4x what your Wrights do, are not immune to cosmetic imperfections.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

I added a photo to show more detail.

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

These tool cosmetics posts are really starting to get tiring. Very minor imperfections like that are completely normal on tools that are hand-finished. Just go to the store and pick up some needle nose pliers. Look carefully and you'll see that no two are identical. They all have slightly different geometry because of the grinding.

I get that you paid a lot of money and want a "nice" looking tool, but ultimately you bought an industrial tool, with an industrial finish, that was ground to industrial finish standards. Industry wants tools that function well, so industrial tool suppliers focus on metallurgy, structure/strength, heat treat and dimensional accuracy in critical areas.

As shown above, even Snap-On wrenches that cost 3-4x what your Wrights do, are not immune to cosmetic imperfections.

Alright, I've taken my SAE mix o wrenches that I inherited from my father. No idea why there's so many brands lol but it will be a useful reference to see how common this is. I've ranked the finish symmetry in the open ends of all the wrenches. These wright grips are definitely worse than any of the industrial brands or midgrade brand aside from perhaps benzomatic.

Old snapon- good
Gearwrench - poor
Proto - good
Benzomatic japan - poor/okay
Duralast Taiwan - poor
Pittsburgh - okay
S-K - good
Greatneck china - poor
Master mechanic Taiwan - okay
Craftsman USA - good
Tekton - okay

Note that the sample size was small for a few of the brands and this is a pretty subjective test. Even the tekton was noticible better than the wrightgrips in this area. I'm sure performance wise that the wrightgrips will mop the field however. I just think this is one of the thing that allows them to cut costs and produce a slightly cheaper while potentially better performing wrench than the Williams, proto, SK or hilariously overpriced Icon antislip wrenches. I still have trouble seeing how it would reduce much cost though considering that some cheap brands have better end symmetry.
On another note I can't believe how much of a ripoff the icon wrenches are. They come out to the same price as the wrightgrips when you buy the wrights individually. The wrights are more expensive in a set vs individual for whatever reason.

 

[Fly YX]

I was looking at the different brands I have too. Most of my bigger wrenches I have are Wright and they are like that. SK Wild and Tekton not as bad. Did not see it at all on my Gedore bit I only have a few of them. I have never noticed this before guess I never cared as long as it turned the fastener and did not bend or brake.

 

[American Locomotive]

None of the wrenches in your picture look particularly bad to me. The tips of the wrenches - especially on a Wright Grip wrench that uses surface engagement are completely irrelevant to the operation of the wrench.

If the symmetry of the wrench tips are the most important criteria to you when purchasing wrenches, perhaps you should just return them. Considering all of their wrenches have the rounded hand-ground tips, it's highly unlikely you are going to get a set with all perfect tips. It's inconsequential to the operation of the wrench. If you are very lucky someone in the Wright office may scrounge around and find wrenches with more even tips, but I doubt it.

Wright sells wrenches to people to be used - not to have the tip symmetry inspected. If looks are important to you, look into a brand like Nepros that focuses on appearance.

 

[FMB4]

Just took a quick look at my vintage Craftsman, SK, Thorsen, and Proto wrenches. Craftsman & SK are look pretty good while Thorsen & Proto looked sort of like yours (a bit better tho). I'd check my Snap-On combos, but they were stolen years ago (insure your tools everybody).

 

[nmantas]

These tool cosmetics posts are really starting to get tiring. Very minor imperfections like that are completely normal on tools that are hand-finished. Just go to the store and pick up some needle nose pliers. Look carefully and you'll see that no two are identical. They all have slightly different geometry because of the grinding.

I get that you paid a lot of money and want a "nice" looking tool, but ultimately you bought an industrial tool, with an industrial finish, that was ground to industrial finish standards. Industry wants tools that function well, so industrial tool suppliers focus on metallurgy, structure/strength, heat treat and dimensional accuracy in critical areas.

As shown above, even Snap-On wrenches that cost 3-4x what your Wrights do, are not immune to cosmetic imperfections.

I agree on all points. SK and Wright have to hate garage journal member purchases.

 

[Bubba Fett]

These tool cosmetics posts are really starting to get tiring. Very minor imperfections like that are completely normal on tools that are hand-finished. Just go to the store and pick up some needle nose pliers. Look carefully and you'll see that no two are identical. They all have slightly different geometry because of the grinding.

I get that you paid a lot of money and want a "nice" looking tool, but ultimately you bought an industrial tool, with an industrial finish, that was ground to industrial finish standards. Industry wants tools that function well, so industrial tool suppliers focus on metallurgy, structure/strength, heat treat and dimensional accuracy in critical areas.

As shown above, even Snap-On wrenches that cost 3-4x what your Wrights do, are not immune to cosmetic imperfections.

We get these because certain brands are talked up as being the best there is, and when people order a tool or a set, they expect perfection. Seeing imperfections like this makes them second-guess their expensive purchase, or wonder if they got scammed.

A long time ago, when brick and mortar stores like Sears were around, and had a wide range of tools, you could pick up a tool, inspect it, hold it, and compare it to a competing brand. Heck, you could just pick the best one from the same brand out of the bunch, which years later, would give you them impression that all examples were that good.

These days, certain brands only sell online, or at specialized stores. So ordering them is the way to go. Unfortunately, imperfections are only noticed after the item arrives and is unpacked.

 

[KSJeff]

Dang it. I never looked at this on my wrenches and now it's all I'll be able to see. I don't have any wright wrenches but I'll have to check mine out when I get home. My SAE is craftsman Industrial USA and my metric is tekton.

 

[merkyworks]

This is an added feature, it’s a lead-in radius to help the wrench slide onto the nut/bolt easier

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

Dang it. I never looked at this on my wrenches and now it's all I'll be able to see. I don't have any wright wrenches but I'll have to check mine out when I get home. My SAE is craftsman Industrial USA and my metric is tekton.

Sorry about that!

 

[12ptSocketsAreDumb]

We get these because certain brands are talked up as being the best there is, and when people order a tool or a set, they expect perfection. Seeing imperfections like this makes them second-guess their expensive purchase, or wonder if they got scammed.

A long time ago, when brick and mortar stores like Sears were around, and had a wide range of tools, you could pick up a tool, inspect it, hold it, and compare it to a competing brand. Heck, you could just pick the best one from the same brand out of the bunch, which years later, would give you them impression that all examples were that good.

These days, certain brands only sell online, or at specialized stores. So ordering them is the way to go. Unfortunately, imperfections are only noticed after the item arrives and is unpacked.

Thank you for the input. I'll be keeping them as is anyway. Can confirm they do work nicely.

 

[1982fxr]

I'll leave this here for any Soprano's fans