Tools, what is under the chrome?

[CrownHawg]

That's good to know that there is steel underneath it all! I can live with that. I was kind've disappointed that I was going to be replacing it, works well.

If it was solid copper, I'd buy it from for a small price!!

 

[Danno1]

steel bar with a copper coating ... the copper is used to make it easy to polish out imperfections before plating .... not to make the plating stick better ...

in either case , the unit wasn't plated correctly ... just a visual thing ....

My understanding was that the steel is somewhat flexible and the chrome is brittle. The copper is a soft layer in between to take the up the difference so the chrome won't crack.


.

 

[jaotguy]

the copper is a softer metal to polish out the imperfections in ... before chroming

quicker and easier to smooth out copper than steel

plating process was to make the steel tool.... plate with copper , smooth out the copper , then plate with nickel ( hard and durable ) , then Chrome ( shiny ) ....

the nickel plating has been eliminated in the cheaper tools.... in fact the new chrome plating is so thin on some tools , you can actually rub through it by hand in a few strokes ....

 

[adventure bob]

If you ever get a flake of cheap chrome jammed under a finger nail or sliced through the palm of you hand, you'll think twice about budget tools. Have had HF tools flake the chrome and cuss the whole time I waas bledin. Never did that again. The cheapest tool I'll go is Craftsman and even some of those will flake. At least Crafstman will replace thiers.

 

[LD1]

Certainly not copper as others have suggested. Copper is about 25-30 times more expensive than steel. It would cost them a fortune to make it out of copper.

If you ever get a flake of cheap chrome jammed under a finger nail or sliced through the palm of you hand, you'll think twice about budget tools. Have had HF tools flake the chrome and cuss the whole time I waas bledin. Never did that again. The cheapest tool I'll go is Craftsman and even some of those will flake. At least Crafstman will replace thiers.

I have had tools of about EVERY brand flake. Usually on sockets. I have several craftsman, Mac, proto, and even snap on sockets that have had the chrome flake.

Never really had any issues with wrenches, but then again, I dont like the high polished ones ether. I like the "raised panel" ones that are somewhat textured.

As for sockets, No chrome for me anymore. Impact grade only.

 

[jaotguy]

impact grade is actually softer than the hand "chrome" stuff.....takes the hammering better ( still tough stuff )

 

[DarkBlack]

Hardness and toughness are different things. Most consumers think hard metals are 'better', when actually a less hard, but tougher metal would work better and last longer in many applications.

The soft, tough hammer breaks the hard rock with ease...

 

[DarkBlack]

I've gotten bloodied fingers from hard chrome chips pealing off my 'good' quality Craftsman tools, and those are some that are of age when they were still made in the US.