Craftsman Professional Combination Wrench Study

[Lewill2]

The 11 piece standard and metric raised panel VV sets are like mine. I still have the black plastic trays and the clear plastic keepers for both sets. The keepers for both sets are yellowing as it appears your metric set is in the picture.

[Todd F.]

Well done Todd!  I must say, I can’t imagine anyone else having a collection of Craftsman Professional wrenches that completely covers the topic from top to bottom.  I think the catalog pages are certainly informative and it’s unusual to see the sets in their original retail packaging.  Speaking for myself, I’d get a new set of wrenches (typically Craftsman raised panel), line them up in a drawer and pitch the packaging.  I'm impressed that you had the foresight to save it.  That adds a ton of value and authenticity to your collection.  That also leads me to ask if you bought the sets with the intention of keeping them strictly as collectibles.  At some point, you decided to collect all of them.  When was that moment and how did you go about determining the perimeters of the collection.  Specifically, how did you determine what you needed to collect?  Studying catalogs?  Like I said earlier, the collection itself is likely a rarity when it comes to this one segment of wrenches.  I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of your fantastic collection.  Also, good going on adding an index to the beginning of the thread.  As this thread grows, that index will come in handy.

Jim C.

Hey Jim. I too, like everyone else, tossed the packaging as soon as I put the tools in the toolbox. Like I said in the opening post in this thread, I didn't start collecting until I retired 5 years ago and unknowingly purchased a set of Chinese Craftsman metric wrenches. There was no foresight on my part. All the sets in their original packaging in this thread were purchased on eBay within the last 5 years. The packaging is rarely in perfect condition. I'll post a picture below showing a repair job I did on the Stubby metric display. I have a couple more waiting for repair. It started with the Professional line of tools and has pretty much stayed within that realm. Except for the teardrop and RHFT ratchets. Oh yeah, I also have most of the gold and titanium commemorative sets too.  I had to draw a limit somewhere, nothing before the teardrop ratchet.
Todd F.

[Todd F.]

The 11 piece standard and metric raised panel VV sets are like mine. I still have the black plastic trays and the clear plastic keepers for both sets. The keepers for both sets are yellowing as it appears your metric set is in the picture.

It's funny. Some yellow and some don't. Probably environment and sunlight, 

[Lewill2]

Must be environmental mine have been in the basement in one of my Stanley Vidmar cabinets since being gifted to me for Christmas or Birthday presents.

[Todd F.]

The Gen 2 Craftsman Professional Combination wrench first showed up in the 1998 – 1999 tool catalog. “New”, Raised Panel Design.  So, just like the “Stubbies” introduction of the raised panel design on the same page; here is the long pattern, Professional wrench debut of the raised panel design. Well they must have changed to the Danaher forge just like the Stubby wrenches did. No. The new raised panel, Gen 2 Professional wrenches are still made by S-K. So why the switch to a new design? Well, and this is just pure conjecture on my part, the thin, sleek handle of the Gen1 could be bent. Although I never personally bent one, I have seen many curved Gen 1s for sale on eBay.  The handle on the new Gen 2 is over 40 percent thicker and 10 percent wider than the Gen 1.  The new wrenches also weigh 20 to 40 percent more. Maybe Sears was getting too many returns under their Lifetime Guaranee.  And just like the Stubbies, the open end of the wrench is now on the right side (when viewing the word “Craftsman”).

The new Gen 2 wrenches were made in 12 sizes only, with new unique part numbers. SAE 1/4" to 15/16” and metric 7mm to 18mm.  There were never any “Huge” Gen 2 wrenches made. The catalog has an open stock price list going all the way up to 1-1/2” and 30mm, but look closely, there’s a little diamond symbol next to the wrenches over 15/16” and 18mm and at the bottom of the page it says, “Standard flat-panel design”. In other words, the Gen 1 completes the set. Now here we go again, if you buy the new 12-piece, Gen2 set and the 5-piece, Gen 1 “Huge” set, you still need to buy the 1” or the 19 and 21mm separately, from open stock, to make a complete set. 

Besides the 12-piece sets, the new Gen 2 wrenches were also sold in a 7-piece set. I have the metric set pictured below. That’s the only Gen 2 store package I have ever seen. Something else making its debut on the same catalog page is the “Professional” logo. The word “Craftsman” in the red rectangle, and right underneath, the word “Professional” in the yellow rectangle. This logo will stick around for the next ten years, that’s much longer than the Gen 2 wrench. Two years, that’s it.  We’ll cover the Gen 3 next time.
Thanks for reading.
Todd F.

[Jim C.]

Looking good Todd.  I’m also impressed by your plastic holder repair process in your previous post.   Elmer’s Glue All does the trick?  Can you see the repair once everything is dry and your clamps are removed?  Looks like you’re applying heat.  I’d guess you have to be super careful not to melt/deform something.

Jim C.

[Todd F.]

Jim
The plastic holders have a thin cardboard backing glued around the edge of the vacuum formed tray. I peel the cardboard back to glue cracks from the inside with UV curing glue. A little heat can be used to reform creased sections. The Elmer's glue works good for reattaching the cardboard.
Todd F.

[Todd F.]

No new wrench stuff today. I have to attempt to repair this Gen3 metric display tray that I've been avoiding.
Todd F.

[Jim C.]

Oh boy....... as a collector, I’m sure you hate to see that.  But any original packaging, even if damaged, is better than none at all.  I’ll be interested to see how the repairs turn out.

Jim C.

[Todd F.]

Sorry for the delay.  Life happens.
The Gen 3 Craftsman Professional Wrench first appeared in the 2000-2001 Craftsman Tool catalog without much fanfare. The corner of the page just says “New Set”. But this time they did it right.  All new part numbers.  All of the sizes introduced at once. If you ordered the 13-piece set and the 5-piece “huge” set, you had them all.  No duplicates and none missing. They even offered a catalog exclusive, all 18 wrenches (18 SAE, 18 metric) in sets for $189.99.  There is one caveat. There were 18 SAE wrenches offered, but there are 19 metric wrenches in the open stock list. The 21mm is not included in any of the sets. I had an extremely difficult time finding one for my collection since the only ones ever purchased were from open stock. They also offered small, 7-piece sets, and later, 9-piece sets.

These wrenches are the same flat handle design as the Gen 1 but a little bit wider and the open end is on the right.  Gone is the fat handle of the Gen 2. Just a nice, overall design, not too thin, not to fat. But there is one thing missing. There is no forge mark. Not for the whole 14-year run. It is my educated guess that they were made by Danaher. But if anybody knows for sure, please let me know with a reply below.  I’m basing my guess on the fact that the Craftsman Industrial wrenches that show up about 2014 are virtually identical to these Gen 3 wrenches in every way.  And they have the Danaher - Vꓥ-.  They are also very similar to the Craftsman Motorsport wrenches (reply 22) made by Easco with the -VV-.  And if you’ve been following along you’ll remember that Easco was taken over by Danaher. Then there is the fact that Danaher was making just about every other forged hand tool sold by Craftsman during this time frame. This is still just a guess. I have no proof that they were made by Danaher.

Yes, I said the open end is on the right, but if you look at the picture on the catalog page below, you will see the open end on the left.  Well, I guess that the catalog makers just grabbed some photos out of the file cabinet of some full polish, Professional wrenches and called it a day.  There were never any wrenches with the part numbers listed, with the open end on the left.  The Craftsman catalog would continue to use the wrong picture for two more years. They finally got it right in 2003.

The packaging was originally the same flimsy plastic tray that they had been using. Somewhere along the line, they switched to a slightly more substantial plastic display but it had a cardboard backing piece and a lot of wasted space, making it a poor choice for a drawer organizer. So, even though the Gen 3 was offered for 14 years, the store displays are still very hard to find. 

The pictures below show the 2000 – 2001 catalog page. I tried to make it big enough to read the part numbers. There are pictures of the full SAE and metric sets as well as some of the packaging options available over the 14-year run. Notice the absence of a forge mark in the closeups. 
Thanks for reading.
Todd F.

[Jim C.]

Looking good Todd!  I gotta say, that’s an impressive collection and the information you’re providing is very comprehensive.   You definitely have this line of wrenches covered.  Well done!

Jim C.

[Todd F.]

Yes, I said the open end is on the right, but if you look at the picture on the catalog page below, you will see the open end on the left.  Well, I guess that the catalog makers just grabbed some photos out of the file cabinet of some full polish, Professional wrenches and called it a day.  There were never any wrenches with the part numbers listed, with the open end on the left.  The Craftsman catalog would continue to use the wrong picture for two more years. They finally got it right in 2003.

The Craftsman catalog did get the right picture, once, in the first three years of the Gen 3 rein. Sort of. On the cover of the 2000 Christmas/Holiday catalog, next to the elf, there are six Gen 3 wrenches with the open end on the right. But, the Professional wrenches are not pictured, listed or mentioned anywhere inside the catalog.

[Todd F.]

I figure that no discussion about the Craftsman Professional Wrench would be complete without mentioning the Craftsman Industrial Wrenches. Exactly when the Industrial wrenches first came out, I’m not sure. All the catalogs were going digital so when a new catalog came out, you lost the old one.  I did manage to save a digital copy of the 2014 – 15 Industrial tool catalog and I have a paper copy of the 2012 – 13 Craftsman catalog. The Professional wrenches are in the 2012 – 13 catalog and that’s the last record I have of them. How long they hung around on the store shelves, I don’t know. Were both the Professional and Industrial wrenches for sale at the same time, I don’t know. It probably varied region by region, store by store.

Anyway, by 2014 they were here. Like I said previously, they are almost identical to the Gen 3 wrenches. And they even have a forge mark. The -Vꓥ- indicates they were made by Danaher Corporation.  Just like the Professional wrenches, the SAE sizes ranged from 1/4" to 1 1/2" with the addition of an 11/32”.  Yay, finally. (The nut for an 8-32 machine screw is 11/32”)  On the metric side, they added a bunch. They put in: 6mm, 20mm, 26mm, 27mm, 28mm and 32mm. There are now 25 wrenches in the metric line up.  Of all the wrenches you have seen in the pictures I’ve posted, I am missing one: The 6mm Industrial.  (P/N 23638) If anybody out there….I know, wrong thread. The metric set is so big that it is challenging to get it to fit in one standard toolbox drawer (without buying one of those double-wides). For the pictures below, I left them in the drawers so I don’t have to wrestle them back in.

The Industrials faded out when Sears/Craftsman was having financial troubles and Craftsman was acquired by Stanley Black & Decker around 2016. There were still sets to be had for a while but those are drying up. You can find some Industrial sets on eBay but most of those are the raised panel versions. I did find some brand new, full polish, Industrial, 14-piece sets, still in the sealed factory boxes on Amazon in July 2017. I bought 5 SAE and 5 metric sets. They are tucked away in a toolbox drawer for my children’s inheritance.
Thanks for reading.
Todd F.

[Yadda]

Fantastic!  Great job! I'm suggesting this might be worthy of a pushpin.

[lptools]

Thanks for sharing, those are great looking tools!!!Regards, Lou