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Well, my 2 Craftsman Torque wrenches have bitten the dust.
The reasons are many but the bottom like is they are in the trash
In comes the 2 new torque wrenches.
The new medium size wrench is a Kobalt 3/8" 20-100 Ft/Lb. with a 1 year warranty.
I would have gotten an ICON but I was not aware of them at the time I purchased the Kobalt.
The heavy duty wrench is an ICON 1/2" 50-250 Ft/Lb. with a life time warranty.
Both are made out of metal, no plastic parts.
Both are made in Taiwan, A democratic Parliament.
Both have good reviews, but time will tell.
Last edited by Mongo1958; Aug 21, 2024 at 10:38 AM.
I have the same kobalt, zero issues over the 12 or so years I've had it. Also have a gear wrench 0-250 inch pounds I got at the same time. Would buy both again.
i ran over my craftsman. But it still seems to work. But I don't use it. I'd like a new clicker. I heard the craftsman don't click. considered tekton, another of the cheap brand people like.
i saw one where the numbers were painted or something. As you get older, it sure is hard to read the darn numbers.
The Icon warranty on torque wrenches requires calibration every six months, at the owner's expense. 
I bet those wrenches will last decades.
I have never had an issue with any torque wrench for accuracy or mechanical issues (any brand name).
I just bought two Proto torque wrenches and never even thought about what the warranty was (just checked, it is one year).
I hope they last, they seem built to do so..
My Craftsman wrenches were an electronic and a clicker.
I dropped the electronic wrench and from that point and it was dead. I recently took it apart and got it working again but now it shows an error.
The Clicker was a very old torque wrench that had a rubber handle with windows built in to it to see the target pounds. One day while using the wrench the rubber handle slipped and my target pound that I dialed in was no longer in view. I moved it back and over time the handle moved off target too many times to be trusted, and a small screw fell out of the handle.
These are the old wrenches.
Last edited by Mongo1958; Aug 22, 2024 at 07:28 AM.
I have the same kobalt, zero issues over the 12 or so years I've had it. Also have a gear wrench 0-250 inch pounds I got at the same time. Would buy both again.
The 3/8" 20-100 Ft/Lp Kobalt was a good price at $55 and I came close to getting the 1/2" 50-250 Kobalt at $60. However, when I saw the reviews on the ICON, and a friend at church who is a mechanic, also recommended the ICON, I stopped by Harbor Freight and got one.
Last edited by Mongo1958; Aug 22, 2024 at 07:50 AM.
A few months ago I bought a CDI 1/4 drive TW that has a breaker bar head, non ratcheting. I bought it for getting into tight spots on the bike with, tappet cover bolts. Dam thing is awesome. Im sold on the CDI torque wrenches. I will be adding more and getting rid of other ones I have
CDI is the homeowner's Snap-On. The guts are actually Snap-On, the boilerplate parts are Taiwan. Wrench assembled in Taiwan, which isn't the quality joke it was 40 years back.
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New Torque Wrenches
