What Spanners?

[Endeleus]

Over the years, my workshop spanner collection has become a bit of a mish-mash, with the remnants of several sets that have suffered from the usual natural attrition (cut up to make custom tools for that one Landrover bolt / snapped or bent on a particularly stubborn bolt / found their way in to the wrong toolbox on a mobile job / eaten by the 10mm tool guppy, etc)

Anyhow, with recently tidying my workshop in to a useable space, I’ve decided to treat myself to a shiny set of new spanners, but unsure what’s a decent brand these days? All the old brands seem to have changed hands over the years, it’s difficult to know which to trust anymore.

My best survivors are some old Britool which I inherited, but not sure if the current offerings are the same quality. Recently I’ve tended to buy Bahco when buying singles and been happy with them.

Are there any other brands I should consider before investing in a full set before I go down the Bahco route? Looking for good quality without gold-plating, and as these will live in the workshop rather than the van, they’re less likely to go walkabout so don’t mind paying for quality.

 

[Rannsachair]

I do like my old Britool spanners too, I have a Geodore set that I really like. I prefer the matt finished spanners to polished, so I rate my Teng over a Halfords Professional set, the Halfords ones were a really low price and quality pretty good. I also have a set of Wera Jokers that I cannot make my mind up about, some nice features though also feel thin for applying leverage.

 

[Agrismith]

I personally love facom 440 I find they are the most ergonomic spanners I have ever used although a little short. They are reasonably priced and the crank on the open end and semi socket on the ring end just work really well.

Facom 440.JP14 14 Piece 440 Series Metric Combination Spanner Wrench Set 7-24mm

Manufactured to exceed ISO & SAE Standards. In folding wrench clip. More comfort, more control.…

www.primetools.co.uk

 

[W.olly]

Halfords Pro sets are dam good for the money, got a set for 15 years ago and had a few replaced with the guarantee when i eeerrr over used them haha.

 

[plewlandsbob]

Gedore 1B are Decent spanners. The shallow swan neck, gives them that bit of extra clearance, compared to normal 15 degree offset.

Gedore 1B-017 17 Piece Metric Combination Spanner Wrench Set 6-22mm

This is where you can browse products in this store.

www.primetools.co.uk

Prime tools , site is worth a look at.

 

[angellonewolf]

Halfords Pro sets are dam good for the money, got a set for 15 years ago and had a few replaced with the guarantee when i eeerrr over used them haha.

2nd that had a rachet spanner set for 8 years first thing i go to normal spanner on one end rachet ring on other

 

[Arclikeharrypotter]

Stahlwille 14 probably about the perfect all round spanner imo

 

[GraemeVW]

Gedore 1B are Decent spanners. The shallow swan neck, gives them that bit of extra clearance, compared to normal 15 degree offset.

Gedore 1B-017 17 Piece Metric Combination Spanner Wrench Set 6-22mm

This is where you can browse products in this store.

www.primetools.co.uk

Prime tools , site is worth a look at.

I have some of these, I like them alot.
About the only spanners I bother to keep my eyes open for at boot sales these days.

 

[tom2207]

dont go past Kennedy ,, Ive a couple of sets I bought twenty years ago as boat spanners , as I dont like to soak my snap on stuff in salty water and the likes ,, one roll fell into the bilge crossing the Bay of Biscay and stayed there in a foot of water for three days or more , when I lifted the sole plates to rescue them , one wipe with an oily rag and they were like new again , and they stayed that way , I used them hard on the boat doing shafts and the likes and they held up very well ,, Id not go past them .

 

[tom2207]

2nd that had a rachet spanner set for 8 years first thing i go to normal spanner on one end rachet ring on other

I worked for Halfords last year ,,, and in the end took in my own Snap On to work with ,,, Halfords stuff is ok and the warranty is good , but the spanners are bulky and lack refinement when your used to other things .

 

[brightspark]

dont go past Kennedy ,, Ive a couple of sets I bought twenty years ago as boat spanners , as I dont like to soak my snap on stuff in salty water and the likes ,, one roll fell into the bilge crossing the Bay of Biscay and stayed there in a foot of water for three days or more , when I lifted the sole plates to rescue them , one wipe with an oily rag and they were like new again , and they stayed that way , I used them hard on the boat doing shafts and the likes and they held up very well ,, Id not go past them .

i bought a set of kennedy professional spanners second hand for 50 quid about half price of new .well made not to heavy and lovely chrome plating

 

[angellonewolf]

I worked for Halfords last year ,,, and in the end took in my own Snap On to work with ,,, Halfords stuff is ok and the warranty is good , but the spanners are bulky and lack refinement when your used to other things .

id take your word on that as not got any snap on as dont use them that much to warrent the spend but they do work and take some siht and still work even the rachet has not sliped

 

[8ob]

I bought a couple of the 25pc Siegen spanner sets from Halfords when they were throwing deals about, good mid range gear at an affordable price, second row up from the bottom.

Bob

 

[addjunkie]

I quite like the Kennedy spanners sensible price. Agree the halfords pro a bit bulky, jury's out on the teng. Nice to use, not sure there as good as they were in the old days.

I hate any spanner set that had un popular sizes missing.

 

[MetalMonkey]

If we are talking combination - my particular favourites are Elora 205 which are excellent for the money. Stahlwille 13 (standard short) and 14 (long), and the Facom 440s which are a little thicker and shorter, very comfortable and have a different style of box end.
For ring, the Stahlwille Stabil (deep offset) and Corona (shallow offset) are my go to.
I also would get an inexpensive set of aviation spanners for the leverage and reach, as they come in very handy.

I also have quite a bit of vintage Britool, Bedford, Gedore, but trying to build complete sets from new old stock or lightly used would be difficult.
Modern Britool is not Britool anymore. In fact there are two different, unrelated companies operating under the Britool name, just to confuse matters further.

 

[Brad93]

Kennedy spanners of mine have been up and down the country with me, i think i bought them used too. The tool roll is tattered now.

I've started buying more gedore 1B spanners. Don't have a full set yet.

Stahlwille are nice. @Arclikeharrypotter put me onto those but they are not cheap. Still, cheaper than snap on.

 

[Gragson]

id take your word on that as not got any snap on as dont use them that much to warrent the spend but they do work and take some siht and still work even the rachet has not sliped

Same here, halfords advanced ratchet and combi set for donkeys. Have king dicks and german hazet but the halfords have been fine for me and good return option. As for being too bulky, take some of your old favourites down to the local halfords and ask them to break a set out and get a feel comparison, although I don't buy that the they are too bulky unless they have changed who really makes them since I bought my lot...

 

[lotus_esprit_s1]

I’ve had them all over the years. Snap On Flank Drive Plus are the benchmark, Kennedy Professional are a very close replica to the non flank drive plus Snap On.

 

[Agrismith]

I’ve had them all over the years. Snap On Flank Drive Plus are the benchmark, Kennedy Professional are a very close replica to the non flank drive plus Snap On.

You see I've only ever used snap on spanners a handful of times but whilst the slim build and quality are good I found them to skinny for my hands and generally poor ergonomically. The curve of the facom follows the contour of your hands and the thickness of the beam makes them more comfortable to hold.
And they are a quarter of the price.
Also I have no doubt others will find different due to the shape of their hands so this is just my findings.

 

[Barking Mat]

Facom is my first choice. I have many.

Halfords second. The Halfords ratchet spanners I have I rate.

I personally prefer the range of Facom spanners before the new range came out as mentioned above, but that's just me.

These ones: