7 Reasons Japanese Wrenches Are Better Than Sweden's Bahco

Here at Daitool, we often get comments about Bahco wrenches. When we post about Japanese wrenches on our blog or on social media, people love to introduce Bahco as the standard when it comes to wrenches.

Unfortunately, while Bahco used to be the high-water mark of tooling excellence, that’s not really the case anymore. It seems like a lot of people around the world still have their Bahco tool sets from the 80s–the ones that were made in Sweden–and haven’t had the chance to see what modern-day Bahco wrenches are really like.

So in an attempt to clear the air about Bahco, and introduce some incredible alternatives (that come in at a much lower price point), we’ve written this article. Is Bahco really the best when it comes to wrenches? Short answer: Nope, not even close.

Here are seven reasons why Japanese wrenches outshine their “Swedish” competition in every aspect.

1. They’re Made Better

Not every Japanese tool is made in Japan. Unfortunately, that’s just the way the world is these days. Some Japanese tool brands outsource parts of their manufacturing to Thailand or Taiwan–but as is typical of Japanese outsourcing, many of the management positions in those factories are staffed by people from the head office in Japan, to ensure production quality aligns with their strict standards.

Thankfully that’s still the minority, as many Japanese brands still make the vast majority of their tools in Japan. When you get a quality wrench, ratchet, or socket from the top Japanese brands like KTC, Lobster, Fujiya, Tone, and Koken, you can be almost certain that it’s going to be made in Japan.

After looking up Koken Zeal ratchets, Tone socket sets, KTC combination wrenches, and Lobster adjustable wrenches on one of Japan’s leading tool distributors, we were pleasantly surprised to see that all of them had the COO (country of origin) listed as Japan.

There are three countries that tool lovers look for when investing in a great tool system: Japan, Germany, and Sweden. So when Bahco’s wrenches and sockets were made in Sweden they were truly among the best in the world. Unfortunately, Bahco only makes a few tools in Sweden these days–and none of them are wrenches.

If you buy a Bahco ratcheting wrench, adjustable wrench, or socket set today, the COO will be one of the following: Argentina, Taiwan, Belarus, Spain, or China. Is that really worth paying such a premium for?

2. They Cost Less

Speaking of paying a premium, how much is a brand name truly worth? People buy Bahco because “It’s Bahco”–the same reason they buy Snap-On, Mac Tools, and Festool. As the quality of the tools has decreased, thanks to production being outsourced, the name has held on–and so have the prices.

Let’s look at a few examples of the enormous markup placed on Bahco tools, compared to higher-quality equivalents from Japan:

Adjustable Wrench

• Bahco: 12" adjustable wrench (made in China): $71 (Amazon)

• Lobster: 12” adjustable wrench (made in Japan): $38.99 (Daitool)

Combination Wrench

• Bahco: 10-piece combination wrench set (made in Argentina): $184 (Amazon) 

• KTC: 10-piece combination wrench set (made in Japan): $165 (Daitool)

Pipe Wrench

• Bahco: 430mm pipe wrench (made in Spain): $119 (Amazon)

• Tone: 412mm pipe wrench (made in Japan): $49.99 (Daitool)

Who wouldn’t want to pay less for a higher standard of craftsmanship?

3. Quality Materials

While Swedish steel has a stellar reputation, the steel used in Bahco’s outsourced wrenches can’t compare. While many of their products are labeled as made from just “alloy steel”, after some research it’s clear that most of their products are made from 420 Stainless Steel.

420 stainless is a budget stainless steel used for mass production, where quantity is valued over quality. It's the steel of choice for "cheap supermarket kitchen knives", and certainly not a steel worth paying a premium for - particularly when they're charging double what other brands are.

Tone, KTC, Lobster, Koken, and other Japanese brands make their tools out of specially forged Japanese alloy steel, titanium alloys, high-quality and ultra-lightweight aluminum, and very strong molybdenum steels.

Japanese steel is often considered some of the best in the world, and that’s why companies like Kobe Steel and Nippon Steel are world leaders. Their quality control processes are strict and carefully followed because Japanese steel is steel you can trust.

4. They Last

When SNA Europe (Snap-On Tools) acquired Bahco in 1999, the quality almost immediately began declining. A tool company that was known for producing wrenches and sockets that would last decades was now receiving countless complaints about breakages and poor quality. These complaints intensified when China was recently added as a manufacturing location.

Now it's common to read about chrome flaking off of sockets just after purchase, extensions failing, and ratchets breaking. One customer publicly complained that after their company purchased new Bahco adjustable wrenches and tool carts, they had to claim many of the components under warranty because they kept breaking.

Conversely, a quick Google search about the longevity of Japanese brands and you'll see people talking about the Koken socket set they've had for 20+ years, the KTC tools they have that have been holding up for years, and that Lobster/Lobtex produce some of the finest tools from Japan. 

5. Trusted By The Experts

Toyota Gazoo Racing, Toyota's motorsports division, supplies KTC and KTC Nepros tool sets to all of their mechanics and engineers. They are the brand that Toyota trusts with their multi-million-dollar racecars. 

Tohnichi makes some of the most globally trusted torque wrenches on the market, and they’re used by top mechanics worldwide who rely on accurately calibrated wrenches to ensure every nut and bolt is torqued to spec. Tohnichi’s offering blows Bahco torque wrenches out of the water every time.

In addition to this, most of the top motorsports teams around the world rely on Japanese tools in some capacity. Koken tools are trusted by the pit team of Japan's up-and-coming formula racing superstar Juju Noda, KTC and Koken are often used by the teams at Bathurst, and Makita and Mitutoyo are heavily relied on by most Formula 1 racing teams.

If those who are flying around the track at 200+ miles per hour trust Japanese brands, they really must be doing something right!

6. They’re Aligned With Modern Principles

Bahco, and its parent company SNA Europe, has a large economic presence in many countries that aren’t always aligned with the rest of the modern world. These include four countries in the bottom 17th percentile of the Human Rights Index and two countries currently under strict United Nations sanctions for actions considered to be against international norms.

While Japan certainly hasn’t had a perfect past, they’ve been mostly aligned with the modern world for the past 80 years, and are currently in the top 90th percentile of the Human Rights Index, putting them on par with the United States, and above other enlightened countries like Italy, Australia, France, the UK, and Canada.

If you care about where your money goes it’s always a good idea to do a little research into the companies you buy your tools from. Japan’s tool industry being very much geared towards the domestic market means almost all of the money going toward Japanese tools stays in Japan.

7. Because You Don’t Follow The Herd

You don’t buy tools simply because they have a fancy name slapped on the side of the box.

In a world where every workshop, shed, and garage is lined wall-to-wall with bright red Snap-On boxes filled to the brim with thousands of dollars worth of overpriced tools, where people are paying a month’s salary to buy Chinese-made Bahco wrenches just so that they can get a Bahco sticker to put on their toolbox, you’re scouring the web for quality.

You don’t want to follow the herd and end up with a box of broken sockets and broken dreams, you want to invest your money in a quality tool system that will last decades, a set of wrenches that you can pass down to your children, tools that you can rely on when the going gets tough. That’s why you’re here, and if quality is what you’re looking for: you’ve certainly found it!

If you want durable, long-lasting, high-quality tools - the best thing you can do is shop Japan-made. Not only are they the pinnacle of quality, but the price is typically significantly lower than equivalent tools made in the US, Germany, or other countries with similar reputations for quality.