I’ve never had problems with any of them. I have that Knipex along with a ton of their stuff. These are my for my tools that get used day in and day out. I’ve given that tool absolute hell for a year now and it has held up with no problems.īeyond that though I buy USA hand tools whenever I can or equivalents from Germany, Japan, or Taiwan. Sure enough I broke a third and final before giving up and purchasing one of the Snap On looking ones from Harbor Freight. After the second time of warrantying it I thought is this going to stop. For example in the same month last year I went thru 3 1/2 Craftsman breaker bars. If I’m going to be buying China-Mart type stuff these days I’ll either go to HD, Lowes, or Harbor Freight. All of the local stores here never have a good stock of replacement tools for when you break one and warranty it. My massive collection of oldie but goodie stuff is going to my son someday for his first stuff but beyond that I’m done with them. I will not purchase anything more from them. They bank on all of these gimmicky tools or tool sets most of the year especially around Christmas time. This is exactly the problem with Craftsman (Really it’s the honchos at Sears) these days. I suppose you could use a dead blow mallet with this Breaker Wrench, but I don’t know if that would be a good idea. If you need something with a bit more turning power, invest in a breaker bar for your socket set, and a dead blow mallet for extra coercion. With a 12″ length, you shouldn’t have too much trouble fitting this into your tool bag or toolbox, or finding a place for it on your pegboard next to a longer pipe wrench. Part of me wishes that Craftsman also made a shorter version, but when dealing with stuck fasteners, a bit of extra leverage is hardly ever a bad thing. This is one tool that I’d think especially lives up to Craftsman’s Extreme Grip branding. With a tool like this, you can focus your strength and energy on torquing-free the stuck fastener, fitting, or pipe. Let go of that lower pliers handle, and the top jaw might swing free and you lose your grip on the stuck-on fastener. You don’t have to do that very much with all types of pliers, but you do with a lot of them. One advantage this type of tool has, compared to pliers – even the other 2 mentioned above – is that you don’t need to squeeze the handle to maintain a good grip. It still works well on rusted-on, corroded, and other types of gnarled fasteners.Ĭompare(Knipex Raptor via Amazon Direct) First Thoughtsīack to thoughts on the Craftsman 12″ Extreme Grip Breaker Wrench… What I like most about the Knipex Raptor pliers, aside from the great handle grip, is its less aggressive and smooth jaws, which do a lot less damage if you need to use them on a stuck fastener you need to reuse. Its no-slip fastener grip holds tighter when you turn the pliers, and its jaw shape has proven to be quite perfect.

The Channellock Nutbuster is very capable at loosening small and medium sized fasteners. I own both, and can enthusiastically recommend them. If the Craftsman 12″ Breaker Wrench is a bit too large for your needs, consider these 2 alternatives. Compare(Channellock Nutbuster via Amazon)Ĭompare(Knipex Raptor via Amazon Direct) Smaller Alternatives

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