Craftsman  7 pc. Metric Cross Force Reversible Ratcheting Combination Wrench Set

Well I was in Sears the other day just browsing and saw these wrenches hanging up with a sticker on the package saying 75% off regular price of $124.99. If you do the math that comes up to 30 bucks I couldn't believe it. I checked for the USA on them found it and bought them. Was the last USA ones my Sears had. The finish on these wrenches are flawless and the cross force design feels a lot better than I thought it would way different than traditional wrenches. The reverse lever is tight but not to tight which I like. I have been trying to buy up the remaining USA Craftsman tools while I still can and if you can still get them I definitely would.

USA, 44851, 12/12/09, $89.99

I picked up the metric set last night. I have been looking at getting a set of reversible ratcheting wrenches for a long time, ever since I had to change my first hub assembly on a Chevy S-10. Turns out that removing the bolts from the backside only 1/8th of a turn at a time takes a while. I picked up the Crossforce because they had a decent price on them, and they were a little different, which suits me just fine. The set skips over the common "fractional equivalents" meaning there are no 11mm (7/16") or 16mm (5/8"). I thought this would be okay, because if I really wanted those sizes just to complete the set, I could get them later once they are available in open stock. Unfortunatly, I could not see the numbers on the handles of the wrenches until they were removed from the package. Even though I was missing two sizes, the part numbers were all consecutive intergers. This makes me believe that there are no wrenches in-between. I cannot have a complete set of metric-only. This brings me to a second complaint. You cannot see the numbers on the wrenches if you were to hang them up from a pegboard. The numbers are stamped along the edge that would be the flat side of the open-end. So how can you tell what size it at a glance? Well, you can either label them (like a kid learning to play guitar without fret dots) or just memorize them. Those two things I hope can be cured. The grip is awesome, and the wrenches themselves are funky enough to start a conversation in the garage. Another advantage is that when they are lying on the ground and oily, they are much easier to grab blindly when your back is on the creeper and your face is half an inch from the oil pan of your truck, compared to a wrench lying flat on the ground.

I picked up the metric set last night. I have been looking at getting a set of reversible ratcheting wrenches for a long time, ever since I had to change my first hub assembly on a Chevy S-10. Turns out that removing the bolts from the backside only 1/8th of a turn at a time takes a while. I picked up the Crossforce because they had a decent price on them, and they were a little different, which suits me just fine. The set skips over the common "fractional equivalents" meaning there are no 11mm (7/16") or 16mm (5/8"). I thought this would be okay, because if I really wanted those sizes just to complete the set, I could get them later once they are available in open stock. Unfortunatly, I could not see the numbers on the handles of the wrenches until they were removed from the package. Even though I was missing two sizes, the part numbers were all consecutive intergers. This makes me believe that there are no wrenches in-between. I cannot have a complete set of metric-only. This brings me to a second complaint. You cannot see the numbers on the wrenches if you were to hang them up from a pegboard. The numbers are stamped along the edge that would be the flat side of the open-end. So how can you tell what size it at a glance? Well, you can either label them (like a kid learning to play guitar without fret dots) or just memorize them. Those two things I hope can be cured. The grip is awesome, and the wrenches themselves are funky enough to start a conversation in the garage. Another advantage is that when they are lying on the ground and oily, they are much easier to grab blindly when your back is on the creeper and your face is half an inch from the oil pan of your truck, compared to a wrench lying flat on the ground.