The tool industry has slowly moved overseas over the last several decades, and wrenches are no exception. We did the research to find which manufacturers are still making their wrenches in the USA with great local steel and other materials. Check out our findings below.
Complete List of Wrench Brands Made in the USA
Ampco Safety Tools is a large hand tools manufacturer that has a great selection of wrenches. Whether you’re shopping in their online catalog or on a retailer like Amazon, you can get striking wrenches, hex keys, monkey wrenches, box end styles, and a whole lot more.
Get your wrench collection started the right way with a set from Proto. Proto produces a huge range of wrenches, from combination sets to open ends, adjustable, and ratchets. Not all products by Proto are made domestically, but some of their wrench sets are made in the USA.
Williams wrenches (Williams is owned by Snap-On) are carefully crafted using precision construction to create recessed corners for an exact fit on fasteners and a tougher gripping force that’s less likely to round corners. Williams produces a large line of wrenches, some of which are still made on US soil using strong US-sourced steel.
Armstrong is no longer in business, but you can still get their tools from several second-hand websites and major retailers like Amazon. One of those tools available is their adjustable wrench sets. With the Armstrong 3-Piece Chrome Adjustable Wrench Set, each of the different wrenches is made from top-strength high-alloy steel. They feature a hex jaw design for a snugger grip on bolts and other fasteners. They also have knurled adjustment knobs that make closing and opening these wrenches a smoother experience. These wrenches also feature handles approximately 70% larger than standard wrench handles, making them more comfortable to use. They’re solid all-around adjustable wrenches and come in 8” to 12” sizes for a good fit, no matter the task.
RIDGID makes heavy-duty industrial tools for various construction industries. They produce a ton of different wrenches, including pipe wrenches, standard adjustable wrenches, spud wrenches, chain wrenches, and more. These are high-quality tools for industrial workers who need the best-of-the-best!
Mike’s YouTube Video on American Made Wrenches (and Other Tools)
How To Find Wrenches Made in the USA
Wrenches are a handy tool that every DIY enthusiast will have in their toolbox, so you want to ensure that you are getting good quality tools, which often means buying locally. Especially when it comes to tools, it’s doubly important to look specifically for wrenches made in the USA, as US steel is much stronger than steel made abroad. Plus, you’ll also support the domestic economy when purchasing US-made products.
Here are some tips on materials, labeling, and other factors you can use in your research to find American made wrenches.
What Does “Made in the USA” Mean?
So what does it mean when something is “made in the USA”? This is a phrase that is given to products if, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “all or virtually all” of the product is made in the United States. Everything from the sourcing of the raw materials to the actual manufacturing of the product must take place in the United States. However, there can be some gray areas regarding the “made in the USA” statement, which you can read more about in our general guide to finding products made in the USA.
Materials
Researching the materials of a product is a good starting point for finding out whether a product is truly made in the USA. Typically wrenches are made from steel alloys, such as vanadium and chromium.
Wrenches are almost always made entirely of steel. Most steel in the world comes from China, which produces a whopping 60% of the world’s steel. China also tends to produce lower-quality steel that is cheaper to source. In fact, Chinese steel is considered three times weaker than US steel. So, if you’re after quality, finding US-made steel is the way to go.
Thankfully, finding steel made in the USA shouldn’t be too difficult, as the US has a sizeable steel production, ranking fourth in the world for this material.
More specifically, wrenches are usually constructed from chromium alloy steel or vanadium alloy steel. Unfortunately, there is not much production of chromium or vanadium in the United States.
It is possible to find chromium-vanadium alloy steel produced in the USA. But you will have to do some digging, as most chromium-vanadium alloy steel is sourced from China. American Elements is one company that manufactures chromium-vanadium steel in the United States.
Labeling
The labels found on the product or its packaging also help us find American-made wrenches. Title 19 Chapter 4 Section 1304 of the United States Code declares that any product made overseas must be labeled as such. Therefore, if you are looking for wrenches made in the USA, you should look for the “made in the USA” label. But unfortunately, it is not as simple as that.
The FTC does not adequately monitor the use of this label. This is because there is no pre-approval process, and it is up to the individual companies to determine whether their products meet the criteria. Unfortunately, this means it is ultimately up to the consumers to watch out for any false “made in the USA” claims and to report them to the FTC.
Another thing to watch out for is the tricky words some companies use to trick customers into thinking that the products are made in the USA. For example, “made” versus “assembled” in the USA. When the verb “assembled” is used, it means that the product is not entirely made in the USA. It simply means the materials were shipped over from abroad and assembled in the USA. The label “made in America” is another commonly-used label, but this phrase means that the product could have been made in Canada or Mexico.
You should also look out for the American flag sticker. This sticker does not automatically mean that the product is made in the United States. The flag sticker is not government-regulated, so it’s not the best way to determine whether or not the product is American-made.
Other Tips
On top of researching the materials used to make wrenches, here are some tips to determine if the wrench is made in the USA.
Check out the Company’s Website
Checking out the company’s website is one of the easiest ways to research a particular company and its manufacturing policies. Specifically, check out the company’s “About Us” page or the product page for the product’s country of origin. If a company truly makes its products in the USA, this would be proudly displayed on its website as a marketing tactic.
On the other hand, if you can’t find any information regarding the country of origin, assume that the product is made abroad. Companies are not legally required to state the country of origin regarding online or promotional materials, so the silence speaks volumes in this case.
Call the Company
If you cannot find any information on their website, you can always call the company and ask them directly. A representative should be able to answer your question or at least point you in the right direction.
Wrenches Not Made in the USA
During our research, we came across several tool brands that are not making their wrenches in the USA. To help you out we’ve listed them below as well as where their wrenches are being made. We’ll update this list as we find more.
- Sunex Tools – Made in Taiwan.
- GEARWRENCH – Made in China and Taiwan.
- WORKPRO – Made in China.
- Tekton Tools – Wrenches made in Taiwan, wrench racks made in the USA.
- Efficere – Made in China.
- Bull Tools – Made in China, Taiwan, and India.
- GEARDRIVE – Made in China.
- Grip – Made in China.
Need More Tool Recommendations?
Check out our main tools made in the USA page. We also investigate several popular tool brands to find out where they are actually making their products. Here’s a few more specific tool guides too.
