The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Crescent Adjustable Wrench from China

Went to local Home Depot, they were clearing out some Crescent Adjustable Wrenches. Took a closer look, they were make in China! Went to Lowes, they had a few USA made and the new ones were made in China. So sad ...

We call a crescent wrench a "Redneck Socket Set".

Crescents are only good for ultra-light work anyway, so it doesn't matter if they're made "here" or "there", and they should last a few years if ya don't try and use 'em for "heavier" stuff like ya would a good quality open-end, box-end, or socket.

JMO

WOW!

Now THAT'S quality!!

The Crescent wrenches I have aren't 70 years old but they all are over 40 for sure.

A little history of the Company from Wiki;
History of The Crescent Tool Company
The Crescent Tool Company was founded in Jamestown, New York, by Karl Peterson
and Edward J. Worcester in 1907. It is considered "one of the crown jewels of
Jamestown's industry".[3] The company soon became known for its adjustable
wrenches.[3]
In 1927, Charles Lindberg, for tools brought only pliers and a Crescent brand wrench on
his famous solo flight across the Atlantic.[4] In fact, Lindberg said that he brought only
"gasoline, sandwiches, a bottle of water, and a Crescent wrench and pliers".[5] Also, there
was a rumor that Richard Evelyn Byrd, on his initial journey to Alaska, had a Crescent
wrench in his provisions.[3]
An 1857 patent by Edward J. Worcester is a progenitor of modern adjustable
wrenches.[6] The Swedish company Bahco and inventor Johan Petter Johansson are also
credited with the design of modern adjustable wrenches.
The Crescent Tool Company was acquired by a group of investors in 1960 after Marvin
Peterson, Karl's son, sold it.[4] The company was renamed the Crescent Niagara
Corporation. In 1968, Crescent Niagara was acquired by Cooper Industries. In 2010, the
tool divisions of Cooper Industries and Danaher Corporation formed a joint venture,
Apex Tool Group, LLC. The brand is currently owned by Apex Brands, Inc. the
intellectual property entity of Apex Tool Group.[7]

I’m seventy and this was my dad from before I was born so it has to date back to the 30’s
when he was working as a mechanic: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/141443683/large
It still has tight machined jaws very, very little slop in them. And turns very smoothly
with no binding throughout the range. Nope, they don’t make them like they used to!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Always a wealth of knowledge, Denny. Do you sleep with a World Book Encyclopedia? LOL

No, a Dell. And I only sleep four hours a day.
dg

I've inherited a lot of tools from relatives over the years. Most of them are 50-100 years old. I still use them. When I do, I get that warm feeling that my relative is still on the job. They range from garden tools to tool and die tools. Use them all. My kids are going to have quite an inheritance in tools.

I like the old Crescent wrenches and have a bunch. Every now and then there's an occasion where a Crescent wrench is the better option.

For a new adjustable wrench I recently did a lot of research looking for a good 6" one to carry in my pocket as I've done for probably 14 years now.
Martin Tools has the best in my opinion and also have very good prices although that wasn't even a factor in the decision.
https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=664351#Post664351

http://www.martintools.net/

Grigg

I have one made by the Diamond Calk Horseshoe Co. out of Duluth, Minn. I don't know how old it is, but there's no comparison between it and the "new" Crescent sitting next to it.

I keep this one in my pocket in case a nut loosens up.

My Crescent

i also have adiamond calk horse shoe,made in deluth minn.inherted from my fatherinlaw.it probly weith haft again as much as my 18 cresent made in jamestown.i should have said it is 18"

American made crescent always at your local pawn shop you can thank your local sticky fingered crack head .

I tried to buy one up here but they only came in metric.......!

i grew up in new zealand there( cresent)is the standard name for a adjustable wrench i have lived in australia for over 30 years here they call them shifters we are getting all the chinese junk as well

I just bought a metric pipe wrench.

A set of metric screwdrivers would be nice!!

Left-handed or right-handed?

I see Craftsman beam style torque wrenches are now coming out of China too. Before you start, yes some people do still like the old beam style torque wrenches.

Yep. Still have my very first torque wrench bought as a
teen. Craftsman Beam Torque Wrench. It may not be quite as accurate now from use, but it's cool anyway.It took me a long time to save up for my SnapOn torque wrench. Don't care much for the digital type.

Since this thread isn’t dead yet, I’ll repost this, which somehow got posted in
disappearing ink last year.
A little history of the Company compliments of Wiki;
History of The Crescent Tool Company
The Crescent Tool Company was founded in Jamestown, New York, by Karl Peterson
and Edward J. Worcester in 1907. It is considered "one of the crown jewels of
Jamestown's industry" The company soon became known for its adjustable
wrenches.
In 1927, Charles Lindberg, for tools brought only pliers and a Crescent brand wrench on
his famous solo flight across the Atlantic. In fact, Lindberg said that he brought only
"gasoline, sandwiches, a bottle of water, and a Crescent wrench and pliers".
Also, there was a rumor that Richard Evelyn Byrd, on his initial journey to Alaska, had a
Crescent wrench in his provisions.
An 1857 patent by Edward J. Worcester is a progenitor of modern adjustable
wrenches. The Swedish company Bahco and inventor Johan Petter Johansson are also
credited with the design of modern adjustable wrenches.
The Crescent Tool Company was acquired by a group of investors in 1960 after Marvin
Peterson, Karl's son, sold it. The company was renamed the Crescent Niagara
Corporation.
In 1968, Crescent Niagara was acquired by Cooper Industries.
In 2010, the tool divisions of Cooper Industries and Danaher Corporation formed a joint
venture, Apex Tool Group, LLC. The brand is currently owned by Apex Brands, Inc. the
intellectual property entity of Apex Tool Group.

I’m seventy and this was my dad’s from before I was born so it has to date back to the
30’s when he was working as a mechanic:
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/141443683/large
It’s a heavy 15” and it still has tight-machined jaws very, very little slop in them. And
turns very smoothly with no binding throughout the full range.
Nope………..they sure don’t make them like they used to in the US of A! Lets see ya top
that China!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

when do you use a crescent wrench

If you mean lately Fred, not very often. But in my productive years, that 15" came in
handy whenever I didn't have a wrench handy that was big enough. The old ones like
the one in my picture were actually machined to fairly close tollerences and the jaws
didn't spring or flop around like the later junk.
Used the great Creskin' a lot when I was welding for a living, changed a lot of
bottles and still have one hanging on each of my machines to this day.

DG

We've all heard about the metric adjustable wrenches, mine says 300 mm on one side and 12" on the other side. So I can use whatever I like.

I use a 200mm Crescent I've had for years, and my dad years before that, when I'm doing valves on the old air cooled VW's. Dunno about this low torque jobs talk, I've put a pipe on it to break off nuts that were tight enough to shatter my breaker bar and never had an issue.
What I really notice between the old US made and the new Chinese versions, the slop in the movable jaw. Too much wobble makes it easier to slip off and round a bolt/nut. When my beat up 40 some odd year old Crescent still has tighter clearances than the "new" crap off the shelf, something is seriously wrong.

Most of the crappy stuff that is coming out of the Far East is made straight from
castings, extrusions and forgings with out any machine work being done to them.
In order to make sure all the parts will fit together they have to allow really large
tolerances and the parts. They come of the press or out of the die right to the
plating operation often without even being deburred then slap them together. The
old tools like the Crescent wrenches were machined to close tolerances after
rough forming.
Quick and dirty is the name of the game today, we're seeing it in about every
phase of our lives. Problem is, the vast majority of the younger generation never
knew what it was to have quality items in their hands. Result is that they have
nothing to compare the items they are buying to.
Us old timers have seen the best and I myself experience several disappointments
each and every week. The tools are cheaper, most of the wood we find at the
lumber yard would have been fire wood years ago, the clothes are poorly made
(Levi’s) don’t fit right and fall apart before their time, the guns are made from
cheap plastic and sold for high prices (Daisy), (Glock), compare the cheap tinfoil
Toastmaster of today to the die-formed Toastmaster from the 50’s, except for a
few things everything you drink today comes in thinner and thinner plastic
bottles, garden tools and tractors had forged and cast parts like axles and frames
where today pressed tin is the norm, Years ago I put a ten dollar bill on the
counter after a doctor visit and felt like I’d been helped, today I have to leave the
deed to my house on the counter and leave feeling like I’ve been stuck in the
xxx.without a kiss. Oh lets not forget the “Protection Plan”, when I was a kid you
bought a tool and it was guaranteed, now you have to buy a protection plan
because you just know it’s “guaranteed” to break down.
But….. the business tycoons are making record profits now days,… for a while
that is, until their house of card comes crashing down.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Denny, you should write a book. I feel the same way. I went to a friends house this morning to help him with a problem. He has his tools laying out and....yep, cheap stuff that I would NEVER buy. Like you say, he simply does not know any better...so I took the oportunity to give him some lessons. Its not like he doesn't have the money....he don't know how to buy tools and listens to the SALES PITCH.

Its simply sad

where can I buy a good Monkey wrench

this song will tell it all

And Fred my man, they don't make them like Mr. Haggard any more
either. I could listen to him and what he has to say all day,
sure beats all to ell what they're sellin' as country now days.

Denny Graham
Somewhere north of Sandwich, IL

Klein makes some really nice general and specialty tools, all in the good ol USA! And to the first person to comment on well they are expensive, please report to the Port of Los Angeles your boat is leaving.
www.kleintools.com/

Klein was the tool of choice when I was a lineman in a different life!

Hey now, I carried a Glock for many years, rock solid weapon and have yet to personaly meet anyone that has had one fail or jam (quite a few considering my hometown PD switched to them in the early 90's). And now, after all the abuse and jokes, several manufacturers are trying to copy it.
Just sayin,...

On the topic of quality tools available now, todays young workers are learning, it depends on the field of course, but people that earn their money with tools learn pretty quickly.
I work on aircraft for a living, and some of the tools I use every day can be had for a few bucks at Harbor Freight, or a bit more at Sears or Home Depot, and for occasional use they might even hold up. But the use my tools see,... Better to pay more up front than to have your tool/s grenade in the middle of a big job. Even the used stuff costs a lot, pneumatic tools can be a killer.
What is kind of interesting, Chicago Pneumatic makes the super cheap stuff for Harbor Freight, but they have a industrial branch that makes much better but high dollar tools as well, same with CH air tools. Just sucks that those are made in China too.

Not really knocking the Glock, I'm not a gun guy my self, but I
heard an interview with the guy that wrote the book "Glock, The
Rise of America's Gun". Really interesting how it was marketed
to the police forces here in the states. It was a cheap weapon
to produce but with all the hype it gave them an opportunity to
bump the price and therefor the profits way up there. New
models offered with generous trade in policy put a lot of used
Glocks out to the general public where they could bump the
price up even more because it was "the weapon of choice for law
enforcement. Reliable, accurate, lightweight it was, but it was
still a cheap weapon compaired to the old Smith and Wesson
revolver that was standard issue for most of the 20's century.

Never knew Chicago Pneumatic made Harbor Freight's air tools,
where did you hear that??? The carry the name of Central
Pneumatic and almost every one of them I've ever had gave me
nothing but headachs. I've been suckered in a bunch of times by
the cheap prices for them, always on sale for $9.995 to $19.95
so how can you go wrong, right???? You go wrong in the way you
spend more time taking them apart and trying to get them to work
than you do using them.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

I went to Lowe's to look for an Estwing (sp) hammer, made in the US. All they had was Chi-Com hammers. My neighbor is blind in the left eye from using one of those Chi-Com hammers. I wanted to support a North Carolina company as I feel compelled to do that when I can as I draw a retirement check from the State Government, and it benefits me in the long run that my retirement plan is funded, plus it keeps my fellow Tar-Heelers working! I went to Sears and they had the Estwing. I was pleasantly surprised when I went to look at Shop-Vacs at Lowe's Saturday and they (The Shop-Vac brand) is made in the USA. I know it is nearly impossible to buy American stuff anymore, but when I have a choice, and even if it is more expensive I will always buy American. Call me a hopeless romantic, but I actually believe that I live in a place that is worth salvaging. My working days are over, but I have kids that will need jobs for the next 30 years or so.

Home Depot sells the Estwing brand and several other made in the U.S.A. tool brands so you have choices there. Beautiful hammers and you can pass them on to your kids as they last forever!

If you still want "USA"
made adjustable wrenches Epstein Tool has then in 10" 12" marken with their logo for around $20 and an 18" with no brand for $47 the only markings on the 18" was WF Western Forge. Good solid wrenches. The smaller ones have "epsteintool.com on one side"

I found a adjustable wrench in my stuff, that had a diamond shape marking with NYE stamped inside of it, made in Chicago IL.. I also got a couple of those Diamond Calk Horseshoe wrenches from Duluth Minn.

Just come across another adjustable wrench in my tool box, with WILLIAMS made in USA stamped on it.

Williams are nice ones, and can still get them today. One notable feature of Williams is the tang on the movable jaw is not fully round like most or all other brands are. the Williams have square shoulders on top of that tang, not being round it doesn't try to spread the slot it fits in while in use. Not that I've noticed that as a problem on other wrenches though....