For many decades, I have never had an allen wrench break. Bend, yes, but
never snap.

But yesterday, in trying to remove a reluctant wood(!) screw, I had an
1/8th
inch allen wrench snap, and I wasn't even using a "cheater." Poked a hole
in
my finger, it did.

The particular allen wrench, from a company who shall remain nameless
(Task
Force - Lowes house brand), just smooth broke!

I went out to the truck and retrieved my traveling allen wrench set (I
think
the set cost about three bucks from Harbor Freight) and removed the target

screw with no problem.

Analysis:
The problem wrench was part of an eight-wrench set configured in sort of a

Swiss Army Knife rendition. You "open" the desired wrench and twist away.

The long end of each wrench is formed into a loop so that it can be
attached
to a small shaft on the "knife."


I agree with previous poster. HF tools are good if it's something you'll
only use once in a great while. Would not buy them for everyday use. Go
with Craftsman or another guaranteed brand.

As for guarantee, they will replace broken hand tools. Just bring in the
broken one and they'll swap it out. I have a neighbor that does it pretty
regularly.
I suspect that the annealing process necessary to form the loop made the
steel more brittle than an allen wrench should be, and that's the reason
the
wrench failed.

Whatever the cause, I plan to see whether Lowe's has a lifetime guarantee
on
hand tools - like Harbor Freight - or whether in that regard their tools
are
likewise inferior.




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