Dude! I got mine when I was 15 and have repaired hundreds of vehicles for almost 40 years, with no problem. What exactly sucks about these wrenches?
I have wrenches made by Snap-On , Mac , SK , Proto , Indestro , Craftsman , Harbor Freight and many other brands . Some work better on certain nuts and bolts than others . As far ar Craftsmans wrenches they work great . I see NO problem with them
Nothing sucks about those wrenches. I still have the original set I got from my dad, and then added some of his to make the set bigger. I also used them for years, and still do, but I will say my longer Snap On wrenches are my favorites. They do not take as much force and are thinner so they do not weigh as much. I also really like my 8-point Snap On wrenches. They are great, especially on rusted nuts. Duane
I've had a bunch of Craftsman sockets break in half and or split on me over the years. I've broken a Craftsman 3/8 extension if half. I've smashed the crapola out of my knuckles with sloppy Craftsman ratchets many times, but, never had a problem with the wrenches. Mine are nearly 40 years old and I have abused them and they all still work fine. I don't trust the sockets or the ratchets so much.. Snap-On Ratchets work great and are worth the money.
Agreed Duane . I have had to at times abuse Craftsman wrenches by adding another wrench onto the open end of a wrench with the box end of another . but I have never broken one . My first set of wrenches were Indestro's .
I have also “altered” some of them for special purposes. I heated one up to bend it to a different angle so it works great taking the nuts/bolts off of bucket seat tracks. When I worked at the garage we used to alter tools all the time. Duane
The open end of the craftsman raised panel wrenches fit a bit loose on the bolt head. And the wrench uses the corners of the bolt head. That's why they round off heads easier. The snap ons use flank drive. Uses the flats of the bolt instead of the corners. They fit better on the bolt. Same for the box end, the corners of the box end are radiused. Snap On wrenches are forged. The open end doesn't spread open. The metal used on craftsman is porous. Thats why they break easier. Plus they're longer. You get more leverage . No offense to the raised panel wrenches, but if you have to wrench all day, the snap ons just feel better in your hand. Believe me, "feel" makes a difference.
I have to begrudgingly say that harbor freight, the retail arm of the communist Chinese government, has a line of premium tools called Icon. I put them next to my snap ons and aside from the name, they were an exact ripoff....I mean duplicate. I don't know what the quality is, but they looked great
As someone who will not need to buy another tool in whats left of my life I'll say That Snap on's are a pretty nice wrench . Years ago our dealer was a great guy and a friend . He had some cock-a-mamie demonstration device that was supposed to show how good their flank drive was compared to other wrenches . it had a scale on it that when you turned this plastic hex piece would show you that the Snap-On wrench would exert more torque and not round off the plastic piece. He then used a Mac wrench and it slipped at a lesser value than the Snap -On . I said what about a Craftsman or a Harbor freight wrench . He said get them . Well I did to to show him that the Demonstration didn't prove a damm thing . Guess what . an SK , Craftsman and a Harbor freight beat the Snap-On . He was the same guy that would sell us tools at his cost when the Company had a promotional trip to The Islands for the district tool man that sold the most " Iron " . He won all the time . He always told me that if I was ever to sell my tools to charge 70 % of list as that was their mark up . I've offered my " Extra's " for 50 % off of a 1995 Price sheet and can't get anyone to buy . As far as I'm concerned they are Overprice and the job can get done with lesser quality and priced tools . Some tools just " FIT " the job better than Snap-On . And then Sometimes Snap-On is the better fit . Its not that much the Tool but the person wielding it that makes the difference .
The raised panel Craftsman wrenches will chew up your hands if you wrench all day like I used to. Also as Jason mentioned the open end will fit loosely and I've had a few open up and slip off the nut/bolt. The Craftsman professional line wrenches are quite nice. I got lucky enough to get two sets of flare nut (brake line) wrenches in metric and inch, both made in USA before the move to Taiwan and China. I swear by my Snap On combination wrenches. I've had mine since 1985 and used them ever day for many years. They still work and look great. Back more to the OP's topic, if you're in the St.Augustine, FL area there's a flea market every weekend that has several tool dealers with everything from Snap On to Craftsman to junk. I've picked up several missing tools there during my travels.
(Edited by me) Not sure if they disappeared on something I did on my car, a friend's car, one of my wife's houses, who knows. I do, however, feel pretty certain that they will turn up shortly after I get the replacements.
That's what always happens . Just like when I try to find the wrench I was just working with and give up and go to the garage to get another wrench that size and return to the car to see the original wrench laying right in the open ! Never fails .
To be honest, I'm not sure I like the thinner polished wrenches anyway -- I seem to fumble them more. But that could just be because I'm not used to them, and yeah, I can see where a smooth finish would be nicer if you are wrenching all day.
Evidently you don't know how to use them, I was twisting those wrenches long before you were born, no problem, maybe you should find a manual or something! Bob H.
