Fancy spanners - Wera Joker

[mojo]

I know this isn't Jensen specific, but it's relevant, in terms of tool buying.

Having recently done a job that required an open-ended spanner, with little space to move (actually a gas union on a hob in a camper van), and finding it really difficult because most open-ended spanners tend to be angled in the same way, so if one won't give enough angle of turn, none will. So I had a look around to see what's available to solve (or at least help with) the problem.

There are a few makes of open-ended "obstruction spanners" - Draper being one - but then I came across the Wera Joker range of products.

https://www-uk.wera.de/en/great-tools/joker/

Has anyone here tried them (or anything similar) and, if so, do you consider them to be worth the considerable cost compared to just bodging it with an assorted range of adjustables and fixed spanners?

[Clive Bishop]

We have a couple of sets of the brand for emergency use in the cars rolled up in kits they do...my son also uses that brand for his engineering works / equipment installation.

In both cases nothing wrong with anything else as brands just we have found them convenient and he has no complaints using them commercially.

[Per]

I have some China el cheapo. I use ordinary spanners to loosen up and the the cheap ratchet.

[mojo]

I do get the impression that they are overpriced, compared to what you can get from other reputable makes such as Draper.

And yes, I have lots of Chinese cheapo spanners myself, but they all tend to be exactly the same shape and angle, which doesn't help when you have only a small angle of movement to play with. Or do you mean that there are Chinese cheapo copies of those specific Wera products?

For those that haven't noticed, the unusual thing about the ones that I linked to is that the open end can mate with a bolt head or nut in twice the number of positions that a conventional open spanner can,

[Per]

I meant the open end very fine toothed ratchet spanners in el cheapo version. Invaluable for e.g. hydraulic connections on a steering valve (on the rack).

[mojo]

Do you mean like these? I never even knew they existed. Mind you, about the same price overall as the Wera product if you want a complete set.

[Per]

Yep

[mojo]

I like the idea of the swivelly bit on the end, but TBH they are expensive for a no-name Chinese product. The smallest (8mm) is around £11, shipped from Schenzen, and they go up to about £20 each in the bigger sizes. A full set doesn't meet my definition of "cheapo" - but I guess it's all relative...

[Per]

Measured against the aggro trying to disconnect / reconnect pipes to a rackvalve not so bad. And the wallet cringes at the thought of what name tools would charge (for admittedly good qualty most of the time).

[mojo]

I know what you mean - how do you put a price on skinned knuckles and rounded off heads? Thanks - food for thought, though I'm not a lot closer to actually making a decision now!

[kees]

If the price is about the same for a set I would certainly go for the WERA product.
They provide quality tools and their screw drivers and bits are among the best in the world for durability, strength and dimensional specs.
Some are carbide/diamond tipped to prevent slippage.

[mojo]

Kees - I was thinking that way too. Wera is not that well known a manufacturer in the UK (or not in my experience, anyway) but they seem to produce very well made tools.

The problem with buying direct from China is that some manufacturers there have very poor business ethics, and so you may find reasonable chrome covering very poor steel, for example. Because they don't have a "brand" as such (or maybe they have a "brand " that changes every few months) they really don't care whether the customer is happy with the product long-term. These days I try to limit my "China direct" purchases to only the cheapest of items, and expect very little in the way of quality control - that way I won't be disappointed!

[Steve Payne]

Crows foot spanners work well for tight places. You can choose the length of the extension you need and use a conventional ratchet handle to get things moving.

The advantage these are also available in Metric and imperial sizes. You can also buy them in open ring and I have even seen them with swivel heads.

Steve

[mojo]

Steve - I have a set of crow's foot spanners somewhere, but the original issue I was having problems with was lack of angle of movement (essentially having to work through a fairly narrow slot) and crow's foot spanners don't really help there - I was looking for an open spanner with fine-tooth ratchet-like operation (though I accept that the Wera ones don't have a ratchet at the open end, but simply have more placement options due to hex jaws).

Once you start looking there are quite a few options, but some are very expensive indeed! For example the Beta Tools Ratchet Opening Bi-Hex which is a really clever design - a ring spanner that can be opened - but they will set you back close to £300 for a set of 6. And I don't know if they are worth it because I've never used one...

[Eddie]

Not exactly what you were looking for, but I think my set qualifies for being fairly fancy.

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