Tl;dr: Wiha branded, Taiwan made, combination wrenches on sale for roughly what you'd pay for Harbor Freight Pittsburgh China wrenches. Limited stock closeouts, here: https://www.wihatools.com/mech...P4nhhWMGW8%3D.HkTspM

Wiha isn't what it used to be, from what I hear. They used to be able to bill themselves as good quality German tools, but much of their stuff is now decidedly not German.

In any case, I got roped into this deal--something like "up to" 90% off of "list". These are made in Taiwan, but that's not necessarily a bad thing as Taiwan's tool quality is pretty good. Additionally, I'm sure Wiha had these manufactured to whatever high specs that they require to justify their typically high prices.

A 9 piece metric combination wrench set, 20mm to 30mm (skipping 21mm and 23mm) is $43, down from "$387" and a 10 piece SAE set (5/8" to 1-1/2", skipping some 1/16" and 1/8" increments between 1" and 1-1/2") is $65, down from "$625".

Similarly, 72 tooth ratcheting combination wrenches are also about 90% off.

The non-ratcheting wrench sets skew towards medium to large, rather than "complete" sets.

Just for reference, a mid-quality Taiwan made 1-1/2" wrench (just a single wrench on it's own) from Tekton is about $42. Wiha sells its own 1-1/2" wrench for $186 with a list price of $208.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Aeteocles,

Thanks for the heads up. I've been needing to pickup a set of wrenches in the bigger sizes for awhile.

Verne

Upon closer inspection, the ratcheting wrenches appear to be a phenomenal deal as they too skew towards the larger sizes.

Thank you.

Thanks. I ordered both metric deals. I'm increasingly convinced that tools from Taiwan are some of the best in the world. I cannot remember any tool from Taiwan that has been a disappointment.

The PRC? A different story. Some serious crap.

I think I can live the rest of my life with the Craftsmen set's I've had for over 30 years. I have no idea where they were made, at this point I don't give a rat's ass!!

I have a couple of Wiha sets, but not wrenches. Their tools have become some of my more used tools. I've found Wiha tools to be quality.

I grabbed both of the large combination ratcheting wrench sets. I have a couple stanley dogbones that work ok, they live in my field kit. None of my other wrenches have ratcheting ends. I've been eager to get a set of quality ones. I wish I could have ordered them in the foam, but those sets were more than twice as much for fewer wrenches. I'll make some cutouts for that price.

I also noticed that Wiha threw in some free tools when I added the sets to my cart. They also granted free shipping, even to my Alaskan address. QUITE PLEASED!

Thank you.

I don't know if they apply to sale items, but Wiha has some discount codes, including 10% off for veterans & active duty military.

https://www.wihatools.com/discounts

Thanks. I ordered both of the large ratcheting sets. I can take my old wrenches up to the cabin. Great prices!

quote:

Originally posted by wreckdiver:
I think I can live the rest of my life with the Craftsmen set's I've had for over 30 years. I have no idea where they were made, at this point I don't give a rat's ass!!

30 Years ago, they were probably made in the USA.

I have a 20 year old Craftsman mixed mechanic's kit in a clamshell blow molded case. It's 137 pieces or something, but that number is a little inflated because they include like 10 or so screwdriver bits and like 25 allen keys. There's also a bunch of duplicates, like a 10mm socket in 6 point 3/8" drive, 6 point 1/2" drive and again in 12 point. But I do love the kit. I bought it around the same time I got my first motorcycle in college. Built nearly every piece of Ikea furniture I've owned with it. Tore down two motorcycles down to the frame with that kit.

I've been adding new tools to my toolbox and toolbag pretty aggressively as of late. Part of it is because I'm a big boy now, and I like nice things. Part of it is that the older I get, that Craftsman set becomes a little more sentimental to me and I'd rather not see any of the pieces go missing or get broken.

I've got nothing from my parents that would would qualify as heirloom (refugees don't bring much with them), and few things of my own of sentimental value. Funny that the econo tool kit from Sears is gonna be the thing I hand off to my daughter.

Thanks for the tip!
I ordered a set of metric ratchets because they are indeed big suckers.
Abe about quality of Taiwanese tools.
I hope they have some nukes of high quality and quantity.

Thanks for the heads up.

Good price, given the size of the wrenches. And the discount codes work too, even better!

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
I don't know if they apply to sale items, but Wiha has some discount codes, including 10% off for veterans & active duty military.

https://www.wihatools.com/discounts

Thanks, got an extra $19 off.

Thanks, I picked up a set of SAE and metric ratcheting wrenches. They gave me two free tools, 6-in-1 screwdriver and lineman's pliers, two things I use a lot.

While their "list prices" are highly inflated, these still look like a good deal at about half-off normal market prices for those.

In cart, trying to resist SigForSpendDisease....

Thanks for the heads up, I ordered the big metric wrench set.

The spending committee here has denied my requisition request for ratcheting wrenches.

"Will the cheaper, non-ratcheting, wrenches turn the same bolt? How many of these bolts will you actually turn in a year?"

Damnit. She's not wrong.

I picked up both of the non-ratcheting sets as they are indeed a good deal to fill out the larger sizes that I currently don't have.

I recently bought 4 sets of Wiha driver bits - English Allen, Metric Allen, Torx, and Torx Plus. They fit all the capscrews on my guns and accessories perfectly with minimal slop.

I have some Wiha precision screwdrivers too, and they fit the screw heads perfectly as well. This significantly reduces the chances of stripping the heads.

They are a German company, and like almost all consumer goods, they manufacture in various countries. But I haven't personally found that the non-German made are lower quality.

To me Wiha is about precision stuff, and I haven't found anything better.

quote:

Originally posted by Aeteocles:
The spending committee here has denied my requisition request for ratcheting wrenches.

"Will the cheaper, non-ratcheting, wrenches turn the same bolt? How many of these bolts will you actually turn in a year?"

Damnit. She's not wrong.

I picked up both of the non-ratcheting sets as they are indeed a good deal to fill out the larger sizes that I currently don't have.

Tools are an instrument of the optimist and young who dream of long utilizing them. My wife allows me the honor of having this optimism of youth even if it may not be completely practical.

She’s wrong. All it takes is one bolt where the ratcheting of the wrench saves you enough time that it pays for all of the others. For me, it is the upper shock mounts on my F350. There’s no room for a socket and the mounts are 1 1/2” long. You can get about an 1/8 of a turn on the nut. The nuts aren’t the kind you can spin with your fingers when loose, you have to have a wrench to turn them the entire distance. Not having too remove and reset the wrench on the nut each 1/8 of a turn is a godsend.