fellas,
I wrote about looking for this exact dream wrench a few weeks ago. I didn't
get any responses, but I know matco makes this wrench (although they are
expensive enough, at least locally, for me buy a cheap set and replace every
nut and bolt the cheap ones mangle). kobalt also makes this wrench, but I went
back to investigate them (without fussy 10 month old boy and fussy 30 year old
woman). on closer inspection, the chrome was wavy (as in poor quality), some
of the wrenches' stamping was illegible or on the edge of the wrench (again,
poor q/c or manufacturing standards) and I took some s/s bolts from the shop
here to check the fit. though the corners of the wrench are radiused and are
supposed to be loose, the flats were also farther off the bolt head than I'd
like. the result: slippage, to the point that the wrench flats were contacting
the bolt head corners, not the flats. on the other hand, for $50, how much can
you complain? that same $50 will buy me ~1.5 of the matco wrenches. guess
I'll be saving, or finding another source.
below is an e-mail I sent to the address on the kobalt site. the return was a
lowes address. I asked about the manufacturer (williams--does that make them
snap on, are they manufactured with snap-on, etc.) I got no actual _answers_.
I'll count kobalt out for wrenches. a shame.
message:
Dear Mr. Hall,
You probably saw the tools in a Lowe's Home Improvement store. They
carry the Kobalt line of tools. The tools themselves are manufactured
by J.H. Williams a division of Snap On. Williams has been a toolmaker
for many years and does production for Snap On. The Kobalt tools are
not rebadged Snap On tools. They are simply a new line of tools made by
one of the premier leaders in the industry for a market that did not
have a higher quality product.
There are 6 point combination wrenches available. Unfortunately, at
this time our product assortment is small as this is a new tool line and
we do not offer wrenches above 1 inch. As we move forward we will be
releasing more and more tools and more and more variation in sizes etc.
Regarding your question about switching a 12 point 10 piece set for 6
point, we cannot do that. However, you can make up your own 10 pc. set
with the 6 point wrenches that are priced individually. Lastly, the
Team Lowe's NASCAR crew does use Kobalt Tools. They have been very
happy with them and Kobalt is a sponser of the car.
(this was in response to me questioning the ability to buy sizes larger than 1
inch. I asked if the nascar team used kobalt wrenches, surely they'd wrenches
bigger than 1 inch--could I buy them too? also, can I buy a set of 6-point
wrenches instead of 12-point wrenches--the prices individually are the same)
We hope we have answered all of your questions. If we can be of further
assistance please let us know.
Thanks,
Mark Nichols
Kobalt Sales Manager
-----Original Message-----
From: Aaron Bergman [SMTP:bergman@oldihc.org]
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 1999 8:03 PM
To: shop talk
Subject: Re: Craftsman Wrenches/ GearWrench
>[1] If I could only have one dream wrench set it would be 6 points
>with some kind of ``grabs the edges not the corners'' shape, long
>handles, polished finish and 4-sided open ends (not U shaped). I
>don't think anyone makes one wrench with all those features.
Matt,
I believe they are made by Kobalt. I found their website and almost bought
a set of their wrenches, although I didn't because I need a good 12 or 14
piece set and all they sell in sets is 10 piece. They look like excellent
quality wrenches, lifetime warranty, and a friend who's a Snap On rep said
they are made by Snap On for Lowe's. URL of their site is
www.kobalttools.com They also claim to "grab the corners not the edges."
Maybe if I'm in the buying mood someday...
Aaron Bergman
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