RapidSlide Adjustable Wrench (opens in new tab)

Knipex makes some decent adjustable wrenches (not crescent style, though). Their Pliers Wrench line has an adjustment mechanism like a channel lock plier, but then has a jaw that’s on a cam mechanism to keep the two jaws parallel. One direction they’re just as good as a crescent wrench, but in the other direction it “self tightens” and you can really reef on it. The cam mechanism allows you to loosen your grip and there’s just enough room for a bolt head/nut to spin around, so it’s almost like having a ratchet, too. Only downsides are price and they are not super low profile so you need a bit of room to turn in.

The best quality traditional style adjustable wrenches I am aware of are made by Bahco. They are made with tighter tolerances than typical Home Depot grade stuff, which reduces slipping and damage caused by jaw movement.

https://www.bahco.com/int_en/products/wrenches/adjustable-wr...

However, I prefer the Knipex pliers wrenches mentioned by other commenters. They are also useful for many other gripping, pressing and bending tasks that the traditional adjustables cannot do.

Edit: For vise grip type tools, Grip-On is the best value/quality. They have a slightly different release mechanism than the Vise-Grip branded tools that improves the ergonomics of the tool significantly. They are (or were last time I checked) relabeled by some high end tool brands like Snap-on. For the most part, I consider them an inherently destructive but sometimes necessary tool that will mess up a fastener. However there are a wide variety of jaw styles (and removable covers) available that can mitigate this, depending on the task.

Adjustable wrenches exist for situations where you don't have the proper size on hand. They are not intended to be used for everything. But when you need one, few other tools will suffice.

A lot of people don't know that there is a correct direction to turn these wrenches (and Channel Locks, and pipe wrenches). Older Crescent models had an arrow engraved on the handle to show this. You turn the wrench with the smaller jaw leading into the turn. This helps prevent slipping by putting pressure on the mechanism, which makes it harder for the adjusting screw to move.

Knipex Pliers Wrench is what you're looking for. They end up squeezing hard, unlike a crescent wrench, and do not round off fasteners as easily.

> haven't yet run across an adjustable wrench that was worth a shit.

I found some truly excellent ones at hardware stores in Japan. For some reason they don't sell them elsewhere.

Adjustable wrenches have their uses, but applying the most torque possible is not one of them. If you're limited to buying one type of wrench and you're dealing with small fasteners, you're better off with a set of combination wrenches. If I were starting over I'd look at the now-common ratcheting ones, but I haven't had a chance to try them.

For larger hex things, and for square things, adjustable wrenches work fine. They're much nicer on (hex) pipe fittings than pipe wrenches.

I find the "adjustable" moniker doesn't really create the best expectation of how to use them though, implying that you choose the right setting to do the job and then it behaves like a fixed wrench. Rather on every use, I back the jaws off slightly with the thumb screw, put on the piece, then tighten up while it's on the piece. The more torque I need to apply, the more deliberate I am about making sure the jaws are snug before doing so.

Vise grips are for when you would otherwise use pliers, and want them to latch.

Every tool has a place.

For something like common nuts and bolts - like you might find on a bike - I want one tool to do it all - similar to https://www.amazon.com.au/9-32mm-Adjustable-Spanner-Universa...

Or https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe-wrenches-and-water-pump...

One tool that'd be ok for a variety - but not infinite - of sizes to regular human torque levels.

But I wouldn't use it for plumbing.

30 minutes, just used my vise-grips to grab and turn a plastic&felt chair leg end that was stuck on the bottom of the leg. Perfect tool when you need to grab it, pull it and don't care if it is damaged in the process.

Here is an adjustable wrench that's pretty good:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072LWP3Y3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b...

Honestly I love this thing. It is precisely manufactured, turns smoothly, and grips well. I use it mostly for sink and plumbing repairs around the house, but I've also used it on bikes and other things. It's really nice for that because the small size means it fits in places that would otherwise be hard to manage.

Amazon is heavily promoting a tool that (as near as I can figure out) is a combination adjustable wrench and vise-grips, thus offering you two options for destroying fastener heads in one convenient tool.

I (and apparently many others) came here to knipex plier wrenches. The have a spring-loaded indent that keeps the adjustment where you need it, tighten on the fastener in one direction, and open enough to act as a ratchet in the other direction. In certain cases they are actually less likely to round off a fastener than a non-adjustable wrench. This[1] video gives a good overview.

[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGb4WF4e8YQ

> I haven't yet run across an adjustable wrench that was worth a shit. Even old (notionally decent?) Crescent ones.

I hate them with a passion and have no much need as I've got pretty much tools of every sizes but... I like plier wrenches.

I've got many plier wrenches and even the cheap ones do nearly every single job I can think of better than an adjustable wrench.

I feel like every crescent wrench I have tried wrecks fasteners. A good set of combo wrenches are so much nicer to work with.

Yeah, nothing beats having a full set of high quality combination wrenches.. For the often used sizes, I also keep ratchet versions because they're convenient.. But wrenches alone is no good, you need a good socket set too, lots of places you just can't go without.

ChannelLock makes good ones with tight tolerances, smooth adjustment and accurate measurements in metric and standard (one on each side). I often use them as a first attempt and if I need more torque I check the size they are set to when grabbing the correct combo wrench or socket.

How about a combo of the two, the locking crescent wrench? https://youtu.be/WNTC91TKcMg

knipex makes a good one. And they’re the exception that proves the rule.

https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe-wrenches-and-water-pump...

I wonder if you could have one with a device like a rock climbing cam that tightens the more force you put on it.

Water-pump pliers are adjustable and don't suffer from splay.

Consider the friction coefficient between the two parts. If it slid perfectly, ie. both were made of greased teflon, then at 30 degrees half would be in the correct direction - sin30° = 0.5

However adding friction makes it much worse. Unlubricated steel on steel is really bad.

Same. I first saw them in the hands of a plumber doing some work at home. I bought a pair the same day. It's this kind of tool that just makes me happy when I have an occasion to use it.

If you are looking for an excellent ratchet that compliments the Knippex Pliers, take a look at Proxxon ratchet sets. They are a pleasure to work with and come in a nice metal case.

I was wonder what these were so had a look.

Found: in Australia we call them multigrips and I've got a few!

I have found the Knipex adjustable pliers to be a much better alternative: https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe-wrenches-and-water-pump...

IME they have their uses if you do a lot of mechanical stuff. The smaller ones don't work well because of the poor tolerances involved but the larger ones are indispensable for "field work" where they work just as well as large combination wrenches for most tasks and one wrench is easier to carry around than a dozen.

I use one for changing the blade on my table saw.

They also double as a hammer if used wrongly enough.

I strongly disagree. Cheap tools are a pain to use, and break when you need them most, and perpetuate throw away culture. If a good tool is too expensive to own find a rental or buy used, otherwise buy high quality.

High quality is a joy to work with and will serve you a long time.

> ..you should buy the cheapest tool you can find and use safely, use it until it wears out, breaks, or your skill surpasses the capability of the tool..

I wholeheartedly agree with this view, with one caveat. You shouldn't cheap out on certain specialty tools where failure can pose a risk of injury or damage, a suspension spring compressor is my usual example. Fortunately, purchasing an expensive one-off tool isn't your only option! They're often available for rent from local auto parts stores, to keep with my example.

But yeah, besides that caveat, you'll often be better served by going with a reasonably priced tool. If you use it enough to wear it out, or break it, kudos! Time to upgrade.

> I've long subscribed to the philosophy that you should buy the cheapest tool you can find and use safely, use it until it wears out, breaks, or your skill surpasses the capability of the tool - and only then should you spend money on high quality tools.

Overall, it's not a bad philosophy. But I can think of a couple of complications here:

- For battery-operated tools, standardizing on one system means you can buy a handful of pricy batteries and share them among many tools. Batteries wear out, and eventually need repeated replacement. And only needing to replace, say, 3 batteries from a single brand is convenient.

- A lot of times, it's possible to buy medium-quality tool sets (say, hex wrenches) for less than $100. I'm literally going to use many of them as long as I live. Why not spend $70 and get something halfway decent, instead of the $30 junk?

- If you're doing a big project (refinishing kitchen cabinets, building a deck, etc), that can easily justify spending a few hundred dollars on a quality key tool. A quality drill/hammer driver pair is game changing, for example. Saves countless hours compared to my old gear.

I had Craftsman power tools until battery replacements were only available from fly-by-night companies and a couple of the tools started failing (after 20 years). I wound up buying a couple of DeWalt tools on sale and they've been rock-solid. So I added a couple more as needed. I tried a Ryobi line trimmer a few years ago, and the battery system failed within two weeks. So I took it back and paid $50 extra for a DeWalt version that has run flawlessly. I could save some money by buying less-used tools from a second, cheaper brand. But that would double my battery replacement costs over the next 20 years, and I'd need to do more research for each purchase.

So sometimes a set of "79 auto tools for one low price!" is a good move. And sometimes, mid-to-high end homeowner gear or even a contractor tool is worth the money.

I agree with your general position.

here's where things get really interesting , who really makes these tools in the first place?

https://www.protoolreviews.com/power-tool-manufacturers-who-...

I find that "tools" develop the same sort of things we see in tech (brand love like this endless apple vs android thing).

but when you look at the chart of who actually makes these things.. it sort of falls apart.

Like "rigid", "Milwaukee" and the terrible Cryobi are all TTI?

Obviously built to different specs/price points but it is interesting to see one "brand" targeting all markets?

Agreed. Buy the cheap one first. If you use it enough to break it or outgrow it, buy the best one you can then afford. So many of my tools I need just a few times a year. The harbor freight model is all I need.

I guess... what you're saying is not bad advice.

Maybe instead, aim to buy tools as cheaply as you can the first time.

I think it's best to just get your tools as gifts, or from garage sales.

But there are a lot of tools that are cheap, feel cheap, and will break on you.

Avoid using cheaply made tools -- this is also good advice.

A neighbor bought a table saw with really flimsy legs... and the whole things just shook when you put boards through it. Look, you don't want to use a table saw like that. For... all the common sense reasons.

Plus, with gifts at least, it's nice knowing my grandfather used the same socket set I have now. Emotionally-nice, and quality-nice... I know they aren't going to break on me since they didn't break on him.

>I've long subscribed to the philosophy that you should buy the cheapest tool you can find and use safely, use it until it wears out, breaks, or your skill surpasses the capability of the tool

For a sufficiently cheap tool that might be instantaneously and the difference can be very hard to tell.

I think that you should spend money according to what you are comfortable with and what you actually have a use for.

>Too much money is thrown away in the name of "buy once, cry once" only to discover that you don't need the capabilities offered by the top of the line options.

I would say too many products are made and thrown away because people discovered that they were too badly made to use them.

True about some things, but there is a segment of tools where the first or second time you use it ever will be "this tool is garbage" and then you have to buy another one.

It depends on the tool. Personally, I have a ton of Rigid tools. They all work really well. I replace them with Rigid if they break, actually, because my batteries work with Rigid.

But, my table saw is a good table saw, because I want it to be safe, I want it to cut straight, and I want to enjoy using it.

My bandsaw is a good bandsaw b/c I need something that can cut thicker wood sometimes and don't want to deal with blades breaking and popping off a cheap saw.

Until you use a cheap tool on your expensive bike, the allowance on the tool is poor and strips a screw, which can only be custom ordered direct from the manufacturer with a 2 month lead time, leaving your half-fixed bike completely useless.

This happened to me when bleeding my hydraulic brakes - the screw was a 2.5mm Allen and my keys were slightly smaller than 2.5 from being rounded over a short period of time. That rounded the screw, and my choice was to leave my brakes without fluid.. or drill out the screw!

This has been my mantra:

"There have been 3 great joys in my life: sex, food and music. Of these music has proved the most reliable."

but your comment makes me want to revise it:

"There have been 4 great joys in my life: sex, food, music and good tools, and of these, music and good tools have competed fairly to be the most reliable."

Agreed!

If you are a trade professional and regularly have tools crap out on you, that's one thing. But my tools are more likely to need replacing purely out of obsolescence than anything else. And having an overbuilt tool collecting dust is just as much a waste as throwing one away occasionally.

There is also a safety concern with overly cheap tools.

For an example, the adjustable wrench in this article. What happens when you apply a lot of force on a stubborn nut? If the wrench experiences rapid unscheduled disassembly, you now have broken pieces flying in random directions.

In the US, the thing that most prevents this from being a problem is the threat of liability lawsuits. That doesn't apply to a tool made by a small company in China and sold by a fly-by-night outfit on Amazon's marketplace. I'm guessing Amazon is unknowingly the liable party here, but I'm not a lawyer.

> I've long subscribed to the philosophy that you should buy the cheapest tool you can find and use safely [...] Too much money is thrown away in the name of "buy once, cry once" only to discover that you don't need the capabilities offered by the top of the line options.

How about something in between these two extremes? You don't need to go "top of the line", but you can save yourself a lot of frustration if you spend a little more than the absolute minimum...

I have two exception for the buy it cheap rule. I first look for a high quality option being sold used. Sometimes you can get the better option for cheaper. This is of course only worth the time on more expensive stuff.

Then, I also have started getting the one step up from the cheapest option. A lot of times that seems to be a better buy these days.

I mostly follow this, with the additional criteria of how often the tool will be used affecting the level of quality of my initial purchase.

“Buy once, cry once” is basically the opposite of your philosophy, and my personal philosophy lies somewhere in the middle.

I follow this for things I truly will need occasionally, like most specialized car repair tools. But my exceptions are things I know I will use regularly. In addition to not replacing things as they wear out, my reasoning is that it's nice to have a set of each type of tool, with a storage case instead of ending up with a large mix of tools. Of course, someone else might have a different list of regularly used tools and some of the following list is from trial and error, I didn't get all of these right the first time.

- Screwdrivers: I have 2 Wera sets with many bits (small and large). They come with nice fabric/velcro carrying cases that are perfect for throwing in a bag, car, or drawer. High quality and the packaging is worth it compared to something loose or in a plastic case. I also have one full set of non-configurable Vessel screwdrivers that stays in my work area. They are a wooden composite, feel professional but are not much more than crafstman prices.[2]

- Wire strippers, side cutters, adjustable wrenches, pliers, etc: These really depend on material properties and tight tolerance, and it's worth buying quality. I like Knipex and engineer brands.

- Sockets and non-adjustable wrenches: These tend to be sold in large sets at sale prices and at various qualities. Unless you're a mechanic you can probably go into any hardware store, do a quick google search for complaints, and buy the cheapest set of sockets and wrenches. Don't pay for "200 pieces" including crappy little 1/4" bits and crappy screwdrivers in a giant blow-molded case that will annoy you later. Bonus points if you can find a small, nice case filled with actually useful sizes (probably <18mm and/or 3/4").

- Ratcheting screwdrivers: don't buy one unless you really find you need one for some reason. If you do buy one, it will either be useless or expensive.

- Drill bits: buy house brand from an industrial supply shop or mcmaster. Make sure it's easy and cheap to replace individual sizes.

- Battery-powered tools: Pick something like DeWalt, Bosch, Milwaukee or Hitachi/Hikoki[2,3] (the name of this one varies wildly with region) with a full range of tools and good reputation

- Soldering iron: You probably don't need more power than a pinecil which is usb-c and super-portable.[4] Plus it's got RISC-V cred. It's so convenient to unplug my laptop for 30 minutes and plug this in, or plug into a usb-c battery. For benchtop, a "Hakko clone" that takes abundant and great TS12 tips is good. To be honest I never touch my clone or my much more expensive but heavy actual Hakko soldering station since I got the pinecil. Both pinecil and the clone similar price to a piece of crap with poor temperature control from the hardware store.

[1]https://www.vesseltoolsusa.com/product/screwdriver/detail/VT...

[2]I chose Hikoki because I move around and it's available globally, and because it has excellent but pretty inexpensive vacuum cleaners that use the same batteries as the power tools.

[3]https://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/hikoki-r36daw4z-36v-cordles...

[4]https://pine64.com/product/pinecil-smart-mini-portable-solde...

And yet...

The free tools that come included with that 3D printer you just bought will slip and ruin at least one of the hex nuts holding the FEP to the vat and you will have to spend nearly $100 for a new vat when you could have instead spent $45 on a set of Wera hex tools, not trashed the hex screw, and have a damn nice set of hex tools forever. (And your bike will thank you as well.)

It’s a general shift economy wise from the post WW2/wartime ‘build it simple, build it tough’ to optimizing to cheaper and cheaper price points (while maximizing profit) while ‘still works’.

Part of it I think is that most tool buyers now (statistically) are urban/suburban homeowners or renters which are not going to use it much, and are often not even capable of wearing out the old style tools. (And are not the proverbial 500 lb gorilla).

Industrial tools are still quite sturdy. They’re also far more expensive than any normal homeowner would (or should) ever consider.

It’s the market delivering what people will pay for, not what people say they want.

I think we are in a death spiral:

10 Some people buy cheap and/or gimmicky crap

20 This is observed by the industry so even some name brands (like Crescent) make cheap and/or gimmicky crap

30 People notice that even name-brands are making crap, so switch from shopping on brand to shopping on price

40 GOTO 10

This diseases has infected almost anything. Even many expensive product I see have obvious cut corners and great effort seems to have gone into making it connect to an app, which nobody in their right mind would want to use.

The sever decline in general product quality, together with an increase in unneeded complexity, is absolutely awful. You can go on amazon right now and for every product imaginable you can find many which are essentially just designed to be thrown into the trash in a couple of years, when with some actual effort the same thing could be made to last far longer.

It is easy to blame the buyers who "just cares about the cost", but I am not sure that tells the entire story. Surely there is a significant market segment of people willing to buy actual high quality products.

My ironic favorite are the cheap screw drivers that destroy themselves instead of stripping the mildly tight screw.

The shake weight of tools perhaps.