I have junk wrenches and am long overdue for replacements. Looking at the torque test channel on youtube, I am interested in these wrenches. Would you guys think this is a good set?
How are ICON non slip wrenches?
- Thread starter Fordiesel69
- Start date
I bought a metric set not long ago. I like the length and build quality. I regularly use an older set of long Tekton wrenches that at the time was considered extra length, but that has somehow become a newer standard length. I have not yet had a chance to use them yet, but in the next months have a bit of work on my Ram steering system and a brake job to do once winter weather comes around and will certainly try them.
They are very good wrenches with a lifetime warranty you cannot go wrong.
There was a big controversy recently Icon VS Snap-on where Icon beat Snap-on at it's own test and from there the Snap-on fanboys went crazy because Icon did just as good and better in other tests as well.
There was a big controversy recently Icon VS Snap-on where Icon beat Snap-on at it's own test and from there the Snap-on fanboys went crazy because Icon did just as good and better in other tests as well.
Was just wondering if there were other brands that are more afforable with the same level of quality.
Anything of good quality is probably going to cost more. There are Hazet at a good price, these have their traction profile on the box end and a normal profile on the open end. Personally I don't care for the no slip open ends, I don't own any but from what I have seen they can really make a mess of the fastener. This is a basic set of 8-19 Hazet but I cant see you going wrong with the Icon either.
https://www.amazon.com/Hazet-600SPC...T&s=power-hand-tools&sr=1-4&ts_id=553406&th=1
https://www.amazon.com/Hazet-600SPC...T&s=power-hand-tools&sr=1-4&ts_id=553406&th=1
I have the both the ICON and Snap On.
You can't beat the ICON for the quality, price and ease of warranty and I think they will be a great option for you. I have never felt the Snap On brand was ever worth the huge premium they charge and stopped buying them. I buy ICON now. I can't tell any difference to be honest.
You can't beat the ICON for the quality, price and ease of warranty and I think they will be a great option for you. I have never felt the Snap On brand was ever worth the huge premium they charge and stopped buying them. I buy ICON now. I can't tell any difference to be honest.
They are an excellent set of wrenches. I was just using mine yesterday. The ICON non-slip wrench sets go on sale occasionally. Both SAE and Metric were on sale last month for $60-70 per set. So be on the lookout in a few months if you can hold out.
I have the set that @Trav is recommending- truly excellent. I have the set from 7-24, though and if you’re able, spring for the full range.
The Stahlwille on the left are also excellent. Got them on Amazon.de
The Husky in the back is left over from days when I had less to spend on tools. Under it are a 30 and 32 mm Craftsman, made in the USA.
I prefer a plain open end. But the no slip 12 point boxes on these wrenches are truly excellent. I can put a cheater bar on those Stahlwille and they will take an incredible amount of torque without slipping. Quality wrench, made from high quality steel.
The Stahlwille on the left are also excellent. Got them on Amazon.de
The Husky in the back is left over from days when I had less to spend on tools. Under it are a 30 and 32 mm Craftsman, made in the USA.
I prefer a plain open end. But the no slip 12 point boxes on these wrenches are truly excellent. I can put a cheater bar on those Stahlwille and they will take an incredible amount of torque without slipping. Quality wrench, made from high quality steel.
I have a brand new set of Wrightgrip 2.0's (part #958) laying around -- make me an offer if you're interested.
Would be a contender if they were available in 6 point
To answer your other question:
To answer your other question:
- I backfilled and added to my tools from ~ 2019-2022. Very happy with the USA SK. I had to shop hard to find a decent deal (i.e. multiple on-line stores, wholesalers, eBay) Now they are made in PRC crap, but worth a shot to look for used or wholesale USA stuff
- Williams is top shelf (Used to be good deal when they sold direct, looks like now you have to go thru a dealer or $ reseller like Granger
) - Carlisle (NAPA) but only when they have smokin sales (MSRP is crazy high)
- My default now is Teckton (No 6 point wrenches there though :
)
While I have lots of six point sockets, I do not see the utility of a six point box end on a wrench.Would be a contender if they were available in 6 point
To answer your other question:
- I backfilled and added to my tools from ~ 2019-2022. Very happy with the USA SK. I had to shop hard to find a decent deal (i.e. multiple on-line stores, wholesalers, eBay) Now they are made in PRC crap, but worth a shot to look for used or wholesale USA stuff
- Williams is top shelf (Used to be good deal when they sold direct, looks like now you have to go thru a dealer or $ reseller like Granger
- Carlisle (NAPA) but only when they have smokin sales (MSRP is crazy high)
- My default now is Teckton (No 6 point wrenches there though :
I’ve put a 2 foot pipe on one of those Stahlwille wrenches, and it didn’t slip.
I see plenty of corroded fasteners, I live near saltwater and I get up to Vermont fairly often. I have yet to see a quality 12 point wrench slip on any fastener.
So, what I’m saying is that you’re holding out for something that you probably don’t need. Give a good 12 point a try. A good one, though, like the ones I showed.
Last edited:
My son has an 05 Ram pickup that has spent it's entire life on the south shore of Long Island. Any time we have to repair anything, it becomes an exercise in removing rusty hardware. My Snap on tools have little to no trouble but this truck is mostly if not all metric. Since I worked on mostly Cat and Cummins engines most of my mechanical career, all of my 1/2" drive stuff was SAE. I've been buying Icon to work on his truck. Stuff is excellent. I'm so happy not to pay current Snap on prices.
I have the USA made Wrightgrip wrenches.
I am happy with them, I don't look know the current prices, but they are top notch. They will mark fasteners if you use the open end, but most non slip wrenches will.
Last edited:
You saw the episode. They perform well for the price and have a lifetime warranty that's easy assuming you have a HF locally. Do you have a HF store nearby?
That is what I have, the short pattern Stahlwille are a very useful length in tight places and have a thinner profile, like long pattern Hazet the quality is top shelf. The Stahlwille line wrenches are some of the nicest I have used. The 12 pt on the larger sizes is a huge deal, you can get them in tighter places for things like EGR fittings and so on.
Sure but TTC largely dispelled that.
However, it is true that it wasn't cut and dry with Icon doing just as well or better in some aspects, but worse in others.
However if price is factored in it's hard to argue Snap-on is superior. If you still want the absolute best and price is irrelevant, my interpretation was that Snap-on is still better.
One other thought on six point vs. 12 point. Back “in the day”, before flank drive, before sockets and wrenches gripped the flats on a fastener, they gripped the corners.
Sockets were made to fit the fastener precisely. This had the (then unknown) effect of placing the pressure at the corner of the fastener and rounding off a fastener was common.
Six point sockets had greater contact area than 12 point, and so, were less likely to do so. They became the more desirable of the options.
But flank drive (and the way all decent sockets and wrenches are made now) changed all that. Six point sockets and wrenches have the corner relieved, so that they engage the flats of the fastener and are much less likely to round over the corner. Even a 12 point socket, or wrench, has the corner relieved, so that it engages the flats of the fastener.
So, the need for 6 points, vs. 12, just isn’t there any more. I’ve got six point sockets, and 12 point sockets, but if you look at the wrenches I posted, they’re all 12 point box ends and they really grip well. Like I said, ludicrous torque applied with no slip or rounding of fasteners.
They really are better than the tools I had decades ago and I would buy another set of 12 point box end wrenches with absolute confidence.
Sockets were made to fit the fastener precisely. This had the (then unknown) effect of placing the pressure at the corner of the fastener and rounding off a fastener was common.
Six point sockets had greater contact area than 12 point, and so, were less likely to do so. They became the more desirable of the options.
But flank drive (and the way all decent sockets and wrenches are made now) changed all that. Six point sockets and wrenches have the corner relieved, so that they engage the flats of the fastener and are much less likely to round over the corner. Even a 12 point socket, or wrench, has the corner relieved, so that it engages the flats of the fastener.
So, the need for 6 points, vs. 12, just isn’t there any more. I’ve got six point sockets, and 12 point sockets, but if you look at the wrenches I posted, they’re all 12 point box ends and they really grip well. Like I said, ludicrous torque applied with no slip or rounding of fasteners.
They really are better than the tools I had decades ago and I would buy another set of 12 point box end wrenches with absolute confidence.
Don't forget about Craftsman wrenches. They too are lifetime warrantied. I have been using Craftsman for many years and I don't remember ever breaking or striping one. I have been using them for at least 50 years when I received my first set when I was probably 15 years old and still have some of them, (some were lost in the farm fields), and replaced.
My first tools were Craftsman. Made in the USA. Warrantied for life. Walk into any Sears store and get a new tool if you had a problem. I still have all of mine. Even picked up a few more at some local antique stores. Filled out a collection using eBay to find vintage, made in the USA, wrenches.
Go buy a Craftsman today - it’s made in China. It’s a junky tool with poor finishing and poor construction.
Oh, and you want to warranty it? Go on line, fill out a form, include pictures, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll get a new, junky, made in China replacement.
It’s not the Craftsman that you and I grew up with.
I would use Wright, Williams, Stahlwille, Stanley Proto, and Hazet wrenches in a heartbeat, but I would avoid, and cannot recommend, the Craftsman that are sold today.
Last edited:
Its a shame they went downhill like that. In 2005 I bought some NOS Craftsman Pro full polish wrenches on sale with the small letter k stamped in them. These were made by SK until 2004 and were very good tools. Fortunately none have been damaged or broke but who would warranty them today and if they were it would not be replaced with like quality but some Chinese junk.
