Williams 13424A Adjustable Wrench, 24-Inch, Chrome

This review covers ten adjustable wrenches (nine new, one old), including this one. This updated review includes 3 additional wrenches compared to my original review. Here's the list of adjustable wrenches that I bought.Products in this review:#1: Urrea 708#2: Channellock 808W 8" Chrome Adjustable Wide Wrench#3: Klein Tools 507-8 8-Inch Extra-Capacity Adjustable Wrench#4: JH Williams AP-8A 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench#5: BAHCO 8071-R-US 8 Inch Black Phosphate Finish Adjustable Wrench#6: Ridgid 86907 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench#7: Craftsman 8" (approximately 10 years old)#8: TEKTON 2310 8-Inch Adjustable Wrench#9: JH Williams 13408 Chrome Adjustable Wrench Set, 8-Inch#10: Titan 208 8" Adjustable WrenchObjective:My objective is to find a good quality adjustable wrench. I've chosen to look at 8 inch adjustable wrenches to keep the purchasing cost reasonable. I imagine I will also acquire the corresponding 6, 10 and 12 inch models of the one I choose. I define a good quality wrench as having:1. Smooth mechanism that doesn't grab when turned2. Jaws that stay fixed, have minimal wobble and stay parallel3. Smooth machining of tool with no sharp edgesI chose these adjustable wrenches as examples of both USA produced and internationally produced wrenches, including some so-called industrial brands. I also added into the group an old Craftsman wrench I have (#7). I did not purchase #1, #3 and #7 on Amazon.Properties of the adjustable wrenches:#1: Urrea 708: 262g, 24.7mm opening, made in Mexico#2: Channellock 808W: 256g, 31.9mm opening, made in Spain#3: Klein 507-8: 219g, 29.5mm opening, made in USA#4: JH Williams AP-8A: 256g, 28.6mm opening, made in USA#5: Bahco 8071-R-US: 260g (with cardboard label), 28.2mm opening, made in Spain#6: Ridgid 758: 265g, 28.2mm opening, made in USA#7: Craftsman 8" (approx 10 years old): 266g, 29.3mm opening, made in USA#8: Tekton 2310: 232g (with label), 26.3mm opening, made in China#9: JH Williams 13408: 285g, 30.2mm opening, made in China#10: Titan 208: 257g (with label), 25.1mm opening, unknown country of originInitial impressions:#1: Urrea 708: 3/5 for smoothness, 3/5 jaw wobble, sharp finishing near jaws. Urrea used to be the Mexican arm of the industrial tool brand Proto. My rating: 2 stars.#2: Channellock 808W: 5/5 smoothness, 3/5 jaw wobble. Made by Irega, a well regarded manufacturer of adjustable wrenches in Spain. Seems to be less expensive to purchase the Channellock versus the corresponding Irega model. My rating: 5 stars.#3: Klein 507-8: 5/5 smoothness, 4/5 jaw wobble, short jaws, lightest weight. Interesting history, evidently Klein wrenches started off as a licensed version of a premium Japanese brand of adjustable wrenches. My rating: 5 stars.#4: JH Williams AP-8A: 4/5 smoothness, 2/5 jaw wobble, body casting not smooth. My rating: 2 stars.#5: Bahco 8071-R-US: 4/5 smoothness, 3/5 jaw wobble. As I understand it, if you purchase a Snap On adjustable wrench, it's a rebadged Bahco. Evidently these used to be made in a factory in Sweden and I've seen it said that there was a drop in quality when production was moved to the Spain factory. My rating: 4 stars.#6: Ridgid 758: 4/5 smoothness, 3/5 jaw wobble. My rating: 4 stars.#7: Craftsman 8" (approx 10 years old): 2/5 smoothness, 2/5 jaw wobble. My rating: 2 stars.#8: Tekton 2310: 4/5 smoothness, 3/5 jaw wobble. My rating 3 stars.#9: JH Williams 13408: 4/5 smoothness, 2/5 jaw wobble. My rating 2 stars.#10: Titan 208: 2/5 smoothness, 1/5 jaw wobble. My rating 1 star.Verdict:The worst wrench in my opinion was #10, the Titan branded wrench. I measured the jaw sloppiness to be 50% more than any other wrench in my comparison. My other least favorites were the Urrea and both of the JH Williams. My favourites were the Channellock and the Klein closely followed by the Bahco. I bought the black phosphate version of the Bahco due to the cost of the chrome version being too high. The Channellock are made by the well regarded Irega company in Spain. Based on the WF stamped on the wrenches, I believe three of the USA wrenches are made by Western Forge (#4, #6, #7). Out of the three Western Forge wrenches, I think the Ridgid is the nicest. The older Craftsman is less smooth than I remember, probably since it's not a new wrench. Ultimately I think I would be happy with the Channellock, Klein, Bahco and Ridgid in that order.Final Thoughts:I prefer a smoothly operating tool. If the Klein had longer jaws and was less expensive it would likely have been my choice (and still would be perhaps if weight was a big priority like for a portable tool bag). However given all the factors, including value for money, the Channellock (Irega) is the one I kept. I also suggest the Knipex pliers wrenches (Knipex 8603180 7-Inch Pliers Wrench) as a premium (and expensive) alternative to adjustable wrenches.

It works but you can tell its nothing high grade and the spiral has alot of play in it.

I used to be an auto mechanic and I have a tool box littered with high end tools. The Snap-on tools were some of the best, especially their adjustable wrenches. They were made different from any other out there, they had an amazing chrome finish that felt silky in your hand. The Snap-on rep told me that all it takes is an extra step in the finishing process to make them look and feel so nice. These wrenches are supposed to be Snap-on's industrial line of tools. I was pretty excited to find such a good price on a tool made by Snap-on. Well, when I opened the box and saw the wrench and I was a little disappointed. . . The biggest disappointment was the "China" etched on the jaws. No wonder they are so inexpensive, they are made in China. The wrench is good quality but, nothing special, just another China tool.

The jaws are loose fitting and go out of adjustment, useless for a brand name

I’ve tried many different 6” adjustable wrenches, this by far is the best I’ve found.I’ve purchased even the so-called upper end and overpriced ones. It’s a shame we can’t produce higher quality products here in the US. This is a lower priced wrench and yet it’s quality is superior to all the others. I’m extremely pleased and purchased two.It’s a good strong wrench, operates smoothly, and opens extra wide. You’ll be pleased if you are looking for a high quality adjustable wrench.