About Crescent
Crescent traces back to the Crescent Tool Company, founded in Jamestown, New York in 1907 by Swedish immigrant inventor Karl Peterson and Edward J. Worcester. The pair introduced America's first open-end adjustable wrench, a single tool that replaced an entire set of fixed-size wrenches and remains the product the brand is best known for. Ownership passed to Cooper Industries in 1968, and Crescent is now a premier hand tool brand from Apex Tool Group, formed in 2010 when Cooper Industries and Danaher Corporation combined their tool divisions into one of the largest hand tool manufacturers in the world.
The brand's reputation for reliability has real history behind it: after his solo transatlantic flight in 1927, Charles Lindbergh said the only tools he carried were "a Crescent wrench and pliers" alongside his gasoline, sandwiches, and water. Crescent has since grown into a family of six tool lines under one name — wrenches and mechanics tool sets, Wiss cutting tools, Lufkin measuring tools, Nicholson files and saws, H.K. Porter heavy-duty cutters, and JOBOX storage — spanning more than 2,800 products together. Its mechanics tools are built from chrome alloy steel, heat-treated for strength and corrosion resistance, an engineering standard that shows up in details like the quick-release ratchet and narrow 6-point wrench heads on the set we tested.
Brand website: crescenttool.com
What Crescent makes
Crescent's range runs wider than the products we review. The lines we know best from our own testing are marked with a star:
Adjustable wrenches and mechanics tool sets
the original Crescent product line, and the one featured in our testing — featured on DIYRated
Crescent Wiss
snips, scissors, shears, knives, and trade tools
Crescent Lufkin
measuring tapes, rules, and wheels
Crescent Nicholson
files and saws
Crescent H.K. Porter
heavy-duty cutting products
Crescent JOBOX
on-site, flammable-liquid, and truck storage solutions
Why we recognized Crescent
The DIYRated Top Brand recognition isn't paid for and can't be applied for. We award it to the brands whose products consistently stand out in our hands-on category reviews. Crescent earned it on the strength of the products below, evaluated the same way every product on this site is: bought, put to work on real jobs, and judged on merit.
Crescent products we rated highly
Crescent 180-Piece Professional Tool Set (CTK180)
The CTK180 pairs a quick-release ratchet, push the button on the head and the socket drops free with no need to flip the ratchet over and shake it loose, with 6-point sockets and narrow combination-wrench heads that reach into tighter spaces than typical 12-point alternatives and resist rounding on stuck or rust-fused fasteners. Ergonomic co-molded screwdriver handles and a 6-inch hex-jaw adjustable wrench round out a kit built with real attention to comfort and grip rather than treating screwdrivers as filler. In our testing it held 4.4 stars across nearly 1,600 reviews, with the quick-release ratchet and 6-point socket design the most-praised features.
Read the 7 Best Hand Tool Sets of 2026 guide →What earned Crescent the recognition
- Founded in Jamestown, New York in 1907 by Karl Peterson and Edward J. Worcester, Crescent introduced America's first open-end adjustable wrench, a tool that replaced an entire set of dedicated-size wrenches.
- Charles Lindbergh's own account of his 1927 solo transatlantic flight lists a Crescent wrench and pliers among the only tools he carried, a piece of aviation history that speaks to the brand's decades-long reputation for reliability.
- Now a premier hand tool brand under Apex Tool Group, one of the largest hand tool manufacturers in the world, with more than a century of continuous production behind the adjustable wrench design.
- The CTK180 professional tool set in our testing pairs a quick-release ratchet with 6-point sockets and narrow combination-wrench heads, hardware choices aimed specifically at reducing rounding on stuck or rust-fused fasteners.
- Stocked at major hardware retailers nationwide as an Apex Tool Group line, keeping replacement tools and support accessible long after purchase.