So which is the best brand spanner to buy these days?

Hi Axle Kinchrome seem to be pretty reasonable for the money. They have a lifetime warranty. I use them in my workshop and they have been pretty resilient to wear and tear. (No affiliation etc) Have had a couple of Torque bits break and one 1/4 drive ratchet but they were replaced without any problems. Noticed Bunnings are selling them now as well. Cheers,Bob.

depends on how much you want to spend, i have sidchrome,kingchrome and stanley stuff both at home and work and find that they are all pretty good i have also used metrinch spanners and sockets at home and work and they are pretty good as well and sometimes are better on any rounded off nuts and bolts and you don't need to carry both a metric and imperial set as the name suggests the will fit both nut/bolt head sizes i have also used some of the superworks stuff from super cheap auto and they are ok as well.it just depends on your budget and how often you will use them and how well you will treat them.

I used to like the Stahlwille brand spanners back when I wasn't buying my own tools. They're probably no dearer than other premium brands but they were certainly a good spanner.
This was a long while ago though so I don't know what they're like now.

Graeme

Axle
Snapon make great spanners the only problem with them is that you need a truck load of money to buy then. I've got a few but mostly a mixture of brands.

Murray

Hi Axle

I have found that you cant go past Teng tools or snap on.

Regards dave.

I have a motley collection of spanners. The one set is a basic Supercheap that I have had for about 10 years and used quite a lot. Still going strong although the roll fabric holder is getting pretty worn. I am not going to argue that they are "the best", but for the price they have been very satisfactory.

I have Force from tradetools. pretty good for the money

Bunnings have a 3 pack of Bahco ratchet spanners for about $70. The 3 spanners do 12 sizes and are pretty much the greatest thing since sliced bread.
We have bought them for all the tradesmen now. Only one spanner has been damaged, but the clown welded two battery posts together with it......

I use predominately Snapon as in my trade (Aviation) a lot of the fasteners are multi hex and very small and very hard so my 1/4 drive set gets used mostly.
In my box I also have SK Geodore and Stahwille and Proto.
The old Sidchrome were not very good as they came to grief on the hard fasteners used on aircraft engines, but the modern ones are made by Proto and are now good quality.
I have used the Kingchrome and they seem to be a good tool. I know my 1/4 AF multi hex ring open end gets a good workout and it has not failed yet. The Craftsman brand from Sears is also good.

Hi Axle,

I use Bahco for Work and home use and theyve never let me down.

Cheers Wilko

I've broken pretty much every brand of spanner at least once. I wont go past Snap on now. They still break, but not as often, and its always replaced quickly and for free.
I carry blue point stuff when im out in the car as they small service kits seem to have a decent variety of tools. Its not snap on, but its pretty good.

Kingcrome is a cheaper brand that is also pretty good, Coretech and Repco stuff also.

It is possible to purchase snap on directly from the US on ebay and the like. Considerably cheaper however may make it more difficult if you ever have a warranty issue.

I second the ratchet spanners - very very handy tools. Just make sure they have a lever to reverse them or one day you WILL get stuck.

I dont bother carting alot of tools with me when on the road, today's modern vehicles usually cant be repaired on the roadside anyway.

Sorry but Sidchrome where never top shelf spanners, in comparison to the top shelf brands from europe or america in the day they where, crude, chunky and inaccurate.
Its just the only brand half the country recognised.

These days, you simply cant trust any of the old popular brands of tools from the past...the companies and brands have been baught out and the reputations prostituted to sell very ordinary product.

Just about every spanner you will buy, these days is made in china or tiwan.

Lets face it even the current respected brands, do not own factories and are made under contract in a variety of factories in the east.

And there are quite a few sellers having a lend of us big time selling fairly cheap stuff, telling us it is top quality and charging top shelf prices.

That said, the standard of the better generic brands is pretty good these days.

Any of the better quality generic product regardless of the brand stamped on it will be better than the sidchrome stuff from the 70's.

In addition to the selection of good stuff I have had since the early 80's I have some fairly modest spanners......I have not managed to break anyand and they seem to be a fair fit and a fair shape.

One thing that is worth spending some money on is a good ratchet......but don't rely on brand or price...and this goes for all tools these days....look for obvious quality.

cheers

My old man always reckoned OP's were the go, whether cigarettes, tools of fishing gear!