This one took over 2 solid weeks to put together, over 100 tests. Recommend more hand tools that you're dying to know which one's on top for below (which hopefully make for shorter episodes!). Our Amazon store includes some of the winners: www.amazon.com/shop/torquetestchannel Edit: We're going to buy some Knipex Cobra and Pliers Wrenches and some cheap copies to compare to the testing here based on popular demand. And flarenut wrenches from top brands when we can afford it! Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools who also make flarenut tools just like these. TTC is not the only testing out there, always consider multiple sources when looking at a tool!
20 years ago in auto college, one of us asked our teacher about which tool truck had the best tools. He said it really doesn't matter, more or less they're all the same. Except flare nut wrenches, absolutely get the snap on.
@jarvislarson6864 i have a few random snapon wrenches (most old school snapon) and im not particularly impressed. I can put more torque on the open end of my husky wrench set than i can most of the snapon ones i have. I find it really comes down to luck with cheap tools. Ive used some terrible cheap tools but ive also used some really good cheap tools. And on the flipside ive used some expensive tools that just arent worth it. At the end of the day no wrench is really worth $50, you're really paying for the reputation and peice of mind, not the tool. Keep in mind im talking open end. Idk about line wrenches hence why im here.
@@peenusweenus3169 As an old guy wrenching for over 50yrs. The tool trucks are the same. When a tool breaks good luck getting it replaced. Most tool trucks don't like to replace a tool from a former tool truck
What stuck out to me is how both Gearwrench and Crescent are both made in China, both have the same style of stamping, both scored the lowest hardness and nearly identical at that, and scored similar on the points ranking AND ARE BOTH OWNED BY APEX. Which says two things to me 1) there seems to be some validity to your testing if they did similarly 2) They might just be charging WAY more for the gearwrench despite being the same thing! That's disappointing
@@tiny_toilet so happy that the first set of ratchets i bought from them failed within a week... same thing for the replacement set. Got my money back and haven't looked back.
FWIW the newer Craftsman set tested here is also an APEX product. It's from when it was still owned by Sears, after Sears' long-time major manufacturer/supplier Danaher got bought out by Apex back 2013-ish which was a Bain Capital move IIRC, and they started moving production lines from USA to Taiwan and China, all well before the 2017 Stanley purchase of Craftsman. That era of Craftsman and GearWrench were usually almost identical. GearWrench (APEX) has more recently moved a lot of its tool lines that were Taiwan to mainland China. The newer Stanley-made Craftsman products (not tested here) are more likely made in Taiwan again.
The snap-on is pricey but dang 100% worth it if you use them for a living. Even preventing just one rounded off flare nut and the wrench has paid for itself.
@@hallowedbethygame2840 i dont need expensive tools (most of the time) but a tool saving me 5 minutes per job.... Since i have access to a millturn, i made my own with a 5 micron gap.
@@hallowedbethygame2840 you’re just being arrogant man. Of course nobody NEEDS the snap on, but it’s an incredible headache reducer when you’re dealing with a nut that’s already been rounded on a set of flats, or somebody decided to double the torque spec.
@@hallowedbethygame2840 by far the dumbest thing iv ever read. i hate snap-on with a passion but i will say some of their specialty tools have saved my ass many times with the rust and rot in new york state.
A 14/13mm line wrench is the only vintage Snap On tool I own because a specific brake line I had remove on multiple instances of the vehicle. Still cheaper than not even trying, cutting the line, using a deep impact to get the fitting out, flaring a new nut onto the line. All this because they used a NiCop line that lasts forever, a good quality ATE caliper but mild steel flare nut.
I would really love to see Tekton hand tools included in your testing in the future. Many of my friends and myself have bought products from them and been quite happy with them.
Tekton doesn't currently make flarenut wrenches to my knowledge. And when they did they were China (so usually their lower end stuff). But I agree. I own Tekton as well
Yeah I’m building up my mechanics tools currently, and after kicking around TH-cam tests and reviews for enough weeks and reassuring my scared wallet… I find my self with a lot of Milwaukee and Tekton stuff, but my Knipex stuff is growing with each paycheck as well.
I highly recommend you only use screwdrivers and pliers from tekton, everything else like sockets and wrenches and sized tools like taps/die set I'd stay far away from piss poor chinese slag in a blow molded case essentially
Thank you so much to the Torque Test Channel - few tools are as critical as flarenut wrenches in the automotive/agriculture/aviation industry - stripping/rounding off a flare nut usually means replacing the entire brake/hydraulic/fluid/... line most often in restricted spaces with complex shapes and/or line shapes. This is when spending more (a lot more) money is worth the investment. Thank you again so much for helping us (engineers and professionals alike) to prioritize our purchases. May God bless you all, Ciao, L (FoMoCo engineering, retired).
As far as I know, these wrenches are directional. The long jaw should be in tension, and the short jaw should be in compression, irrespective of whether turning CW or CCW. I get that sometimes there's only room to fit the wrench in one way, so you don't always have a choice. I notice that in the "Proof Torque" section of the video, where internal-hex sockets were used, that the load was applied 'backwards" through the wrenches - the long jaw in compression and the short jaw in tension. I would be very interested to see how much of a difference the direction of loading through the wrench jaws makes to the test results - it would be awesome if you were to test this! Anyhow, I really appreciate the effort you put into these videos!!
@@jeffreyshaw7206 I did too. They tested the snap on wrong for sure and it still won. I would like to see the difference in the dimensions after a round off/cam over too. Wondering how bad the wrench stretched.
I've had the USA Craftsman raised panel set for a long time. Switched to SK line wrenches years ago but after using a longer length Snap-On, that's all I use now. Love them so much bought the crowfoot flare nut set + all the optional larger sizes. This video is by far your most interesting video to date. I applaud your thoroughness and testing rationale. Well done!!
Back when I started as a tech I bought the Craftsman wrenches (the ones you call vintage)and back then I was so disappointed in how badly they slipped on everything that I rarely ever used them. It's nice to see that pretty much anything you guy today is better than the old craftsman ones. I always preferred buying somewhere other than off the truck but there are certain tools that you just have to bite the bullet and spend a fortune on the truck ones. I have lots and lots of the old US craftsman stuff that I used and I still cuss at those tools today when I use them... They are seen with rose colored glasses by many.
Old Craftsman combination wrenches are excellent. (the flare nut wrenches not so much - I already posted on that too!) I have a second hand SAE combination wrench set from the 80's which is fantastic. Strong hard metal that makes a satisfying high pitch ring when dropped. I worked with industrial maintenance techs who used those same era wrenches for a living day in and day out. I have a metric set of combination wrenches that I bought new in store around 2005. They have an ever so slightly softer metal - not quite as high of pitched ring - but they are still thin and strong. A few years later Craftsman changed to soft cheap metal and thicker wrenches even while still made in USA. Then they turned to garbage pot metal with thick beams when they went overseas. Their old thin chrome sockets are good too. I bought a LOT of them through flea markets and they work well. Craftsman screwdrivers and power tools on the other hand... run. Run far away as fast as you can. Now the ratchets. Man they last forever and are easy to service but the new high tooth ratchets are so much better and my old Craftsman ratchets are gathering dust.
@@TheRetarp I’ve got a good amount of old and new craftsman stuff I inherited from my grandpa when he passed. Craftsman tool box 6/10 Chrome sockets US made (8/10, not much to compare to, they work but aren’t shallow which is annoying) Evolv impact sockets 10/10 (they’re actually great, thinner than the cheaper shit and haven’t broke yet. Pliers (USA made) 7/10 handle material not great and a little more loose than they should be Evolv oscillating multi tool 8/10 decent tool for size, I always though the gray 12v tools looked cool though. Ratchets….. I have them, they work, I don’t like the feel tbh. They collect dust and I use my Williams. Wrenches have been great, no issues and feel better than the Pittsburg shit taking up space. Screw drivers- 9/10 they’re the old plastic handle style, last for ever and actually some are very comfortable, others not, but all very nice. I have a set of 12 point sockets I’m never going to use as well from Craftsman Wood lathe- it’s nice, a little under powered but sturdy Scroll saw- haven’t used but been kicked around, good weight and isn’t rusty (a real accomplishment tbh) Planer- also haven’t used, VERY heavy, not a lot of rust for age And he’ll probably one of every other tool they made, a lot of it’s nice, and I agree it’s got the nostalgia, but also compared to harbor freight Pittsburg bullshit(the craftsman spiritual successor imo) it’s got a lot going for it.
As a man who has made his living both as a mechanical design engineer and a mechanic for more than 40 years, I have used Craftsman tools almost exclusively -- until Eddie Lampert ran the company into the ground. Vintage Craftsman tools are quality. The new stuff is junk. I have many thousands of dollars worth of Craftsman tools. I have worked on cars, trucks, tractors, medium duty trucks, excavators, Diesel engines, transmissions (manual and automatic), industrial gas turbine gearboxes, and many other machines. No rose colored glasses here, just thousands of hours of turning wrenches.
Great test. I knew the Snap On would win. I have lots of Snap On but when it comes to line wrenches and hex/torx and all the other bit variations I will only use Snap On. When you absolutely can't screw it up the cost for the red kool-aid is totally worth it.
I have those Vice Grips - they are incredible! Living in the Great Lakes, rust is life(yes, it is indeed miserable) and those things just don't give a damn, put a pipe on the end and go at it lol. 10 of 10 would use and abuse again I suspect that the Snap-Offs might be too tight for the corroded junk out here that tends to grow in size lol Loved this test and love the video quality too, great work boys! Definitely down for more of this, if your sanity can take it of course, there's a LOT of work that goes into content like this.
I got one, and didn't even know it was a flare nut wrench! I would guess it would be enough to easily crush an aluminum fitting if you're not careful with it.
What you didn't touch on is poor tolerance on many tube fittings aspecially after market fittings. Once they are exposed to winter for a few years, even the best wrenches don't fit well. There the Vice Grips rule.
I was going to comment this, sometimes an adjustable wrench is better because a good quality one can take up and slack but also fit on the oversized rusted bolt
In my 26 years as a mechanic Snap on has been my preferred wrenches in all categories I've used every brand under The Sun and nothing compares. Yes their very expensive but will pay for them selves in short time and you will always have the best tool to use every single time you need it .
As a not quite professional mechanic but definitely more then your average weekend warrior guy I literally went through almost all your wrench choices over the last 25 years and probably 300 cars that I have owned or messed with and I finally got so fed up with rounding off 60 or 70 year old brake lines that I manned up and bought Snap-On. I have never been more pleased with a line wrench, switching over to them I don't think I've had a single rounded flare nut even ones that were kind of rusty have came off. I find the same quality with the standard "OEX" part number open end box end wrenches when messing with regular volts and nuts. I am generally not brand loyal and buy whatever I think is good quality but when it comes to wrenches I'm definitely a Snap-On whore lol.
@@701chevy9 agreed, snap-on sockets are super thin which comes in handy occasionally and I really like my ratchets from them, I bought them used so one of them is from the early 1950s and my newest is a super fine tooth from 2012, what I like is I can contact snap-on and for a few bucks they give you a rebuild kit where all you reuse is the handle. Pretty much all their hand tools are great quality no matter the era.
As mechanic for over 40 years, I can say Snap On flair nut wrenches are the best on the market. Yes they cost a lot, but they are worth it. But from time to time even they fail to crack a nut lose , so I had to use the Vice Grip brand. They almost never fail if you can fit them in.
I wonder how Teng tools flare nut wrenches would've tested out. I have a few of the sockets and combination wrenches and they work quite well. Love the dedication and attention to detail you guys put into each of your tests!
They're junk. I owned one and got rid of it quick. Teng is ok Taiwanese stuff. The only reason you see Ed China and TH-camrs using it is because of sponsorship. If you see Teng going cheap and it fits your needs then fine but don't buy it for the name. Sealey stuff is usually a lot cheaper and just as good if not better. For flare nut wrenches, if you're working on really rusty stuff on a budget, don't even bother buying them. Just use grips instead. Got a it more to spend? Buy the 1 Snap On flare wrench of eBay in the size you need.
Can I just say that I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who has a terrible time trying to use the Lowe's website. 9 out of 10 times it just crashes lol
I have Wright brand wrenches, would be cool to see some of those. Also ratcheting wrenches rank chart would be interesting. Keep up the great work with whatever you do. Love the channel.
Do you have their flare nut wrench s? I'm looking to upgrade from my cheapo Evercrafts that just round everything off because they are soft steel and the jaws spread like COVID lol. I'm leaning towards Wright for several reasons. Made in my home state, lifetime warranty, price and I've seen their combo wrenches outperform a lot of other good brands. I'm not an everyday user, so Snapon prices are unjustifiable, I'm just keeping my own rides running but I'm tired of a job turning into a bigger job because cheap crap tools.
I weld T-handles to all my Vise-Grip adjustment knobs (~3"long), lube the screw threads with anti-seize and am thus able to apply FAR more force than a manual squeeze. It's not a new idea and allows grabbing objects much more firmly than an RSI-inducing manual squeeze while facilitating easy release. You can also tighten Vise-Grips using other tools but the T-handle is glorious. IMO the score would be higher modified.
This video was perfect timing. I recently discovered that my GearWrench 6 piece standard set apparently grew wings & flew the coop. It is a set that I hardly use & haven't laid eyes on it for quite some time (6-9 months, maybe). I was casually looking for a replacement set & this video has given me a lot of information that will help me when shopping for a new set. Thanks
When I bought my 1974 Honda Civic from my brother, I needed to do a LOT of things starting with replacing the oil pump, head gasket, rings, crankshaft bearings, and the brake bleed nuts on all four brakes. On the left front caliper, nothing would remove the nut, so eventually I had to replace the caliper (although I got away with using it or a while by drilling the nut out by hand, and picking out the pieces of thread. (Heli-Coils were new and very expensive in those days, and I was doing all the work myself, only buying parts when necessary, usually from junk yards.) I bought my one and only Snap-On tool: a 10mm flare nut wrench, so I would never again mess up my brake bleed nuts, and I got by for at least 2 years before I had to replace the calipers, with nary a leak from the nut. So these results match my entirely unscientific testing from over 45 years ago.
Since some of these wrenches had a difference in the jaw configuration ( being rotationally offset from a perfect "inline" configuration to the handle ), it would be nice to test those particular wrenches, or maybe all of them, for CW and CCW performance. There may be some differences due to a longer jaw/side of the wrench being subjected to stress differently and flexing more in one direction than the other. Most of the time, these wrenches are needed to be called in to remove fasteners that can't be approached with a socket or box end wrench, in the hopes of breaking them free with no or minimal damage, so the primary focus should be done on checking them in removal torque, but even your initial jig called for a fastening /CW rotation.
Some of the old Craftsman USA made hand tools were very good for consumer grade stuff. Particularly their open and box end wrenches. Some of the nicest I've used. I have used some that were a bit sloppy in their tolerance though so it sort of depends on what year they were purchased as far as that goes. Their ratchets, however, were probably the worst I've ever used. The detents on the ratcheting mechanism were like the Grand Canyon apart and I'd say I got on average about 3 months use out of each one before having to warranty return it. I did this about 3-4 times before I bought a Taiwan-made teardrop ratchet to replace it permanently that lasted me 15 years of literally beating on it with a hammer. This eventually chipped the gear teeth off of the ratchet wheel. I'd probably still be using that one if it wasn't for the abuse I put it through. Suffice it to say, it's not all unicorns and rainbows with American made back in the day. You know all that cheap Chinese garbage that you can buy? We made the same garbage here well into the '90s before it was offshored completely. There's a lot of old cheap American garbage that was sold over the years, most of which got tossed, which is why you only see the good stuff still hanging around, which then leads people to attribute this mythological awesomeness to it. Oh I almost forgot about the Craftsman cast iron top belt driven 10 inch table saws. Those were dirt cheap for what they were (still are used) and will rival some very expensive professional table saws if set up properly.
Great job keep it coming ! It would be interesting to test snap on sockets… When I was a mechanic I had some sunex sockets and snap on sockets and the snap on sockets although they seemed to have better tolerances, they also seemed to be the softest. My snap on sockets showed significantly more wear after little use then the equivalent sunex socket. Food for thought :) Fan from Canada.
I’ve owned some nice sockets as a new mechanic. I’d be happy to send some Canadian ProPoint sockets, I’ve never had one fail on me. Used them to do front ends, and even my spare 10mm sockets as paper weights (only mechanics understand). They’re cheap, but very durable.
I use vintage Britool. They are great. Very tight indeed. I've tried the Vis Grip / Irwin on a rounded flare nut, absolutely shite in the real world. It cammed up and off the knackered flare nut which was right against a mounting. In the case the hard line and the flexi pipe both had to be replaced. As you siad this test shows what a flare wrench needs - tight tolerances and non springiness! The fact so many of these - Even quite pricy ones - were baggy and the jaws were visibly opening boggles the mind
Since the threads only take 40 ft lbs it would be interesting to see how much of the bulky vicegrips head can be ground off while still giving 40 ftlb of torque. If the head can be reduced to about the same size as a regular line wrench then it would be the best in all cases since it adapts to rounded fittings.
Not true. The vicegrip, while a good tool, should only be uses as a last ditch effort. With flarenuts, much of the problem comes from deforming the nut threads in the hole, wedging it tighter. Clamping the vicegrip to it will make this worse. Will it get the nut off? Probably. Will the nut be usable afterward? Probably not.
I give the Snap-On ratcheting screwdrivers to people as gifts. My personal Snap-On ratcheting screwdriver lasted from 1989 all the way to 2018 when it was stolen, but I'm sure it's still working somewhere. I was visiting a friend (who is a mechanical engineer) who likes to work on vintage Jeeps, and I noticed that his wrenches and sockets were all Snap-On. I said, "Hey, Snap-On! Good stuff!" And he said, "Yeah, you gave me that screwdriver about 20 years ago. I didn't use it much at first, but it grew on me, and I even bought a second one, an orange one, so I didn't have to change tips as often. Then I bought a socket set, which I thought was way too much money, but there's a big difference between the price of a tool and the satisfaction you get from using it, because these days they're the only tools I use."
I’m usually a Project Farm kind when it comes too tool testing, but these are some really in depth tests, can’t believe I accidentally bought one of the top dogs on this test lol
I truly injoy learning about tool quality. I am currently trying to build up a tool collection for repair work on personal and family vehicles. Your comparisons help me make a more informed decision on which tools to purchase. So thank you for the educational content and I look forward to seeing a lot more.
Never heard of this still style of vice grip. Looks like an excellent design. Even if they are only able to crack off a nut due to size, then use a cheap line wrench. For speed and convenience. Why didn't you put a pipe on the the vice grip or even ring end of big spanner, i thought that was a standard thing.
I’m kinda disappointed you didn’t test Wright tools or tribus ratcheting line wrenches. If I had to guess, Wright would give snappy a run for it’s money. As for tribus, I’d be interested in seeing how that ratcheting mechanism holds up.
Before i even begin watching this one and with only knowing that Snappy and 9 others are involved, I’m certain that Snap-On takes the win only because I’ve been wrenching for 30yrs in Nyc’s harshly snow salted environment, under those conditions i went through so many great combination wrenches that didn’t meet the task when doing wheel alignments because for those that live in similar areas already know how tough tie rods can be to deal with so the only wrench that would do the job is the Snap-On flank drive plus, as for line wrenches Snap-On and nothing else so let’s see who wins it
Vintage Mac flair nut are really good too! I have applied max force on them at times and no issues I prefer the older snap on for some of their hand tools not all, some of the new snap on is good too just not all!
Don't mess around, just get the Snap-On, at least for the more commonly used sizes. For high torque applications, I find the Crowfoot style flarenut wrenches even better as they tend to spread less, plus you can use a torque wrench on them.
Nice test! I have a "vintage" - from the mid 2000's - Made in USA Craftsman Professional Series flare nut wrench set I bought new (oh no that was actually almost 20 years ago!). They are a polished finish straight beam design. They always fit loose for the most part and I've had poor experiences with them with vehicles from the 70s-90's.. Except for on my '89 Lincoln where they fit the brakes line flare nuts perfectly. Go figure? A quick check with my calipers shows 0.0055in oversize on the half-inch end and 0.0095 (!) on the nine-sixteenth. Part number 42092.
One small piece of criticism: the ratcheting open ended wrenches and flare nut wrenches, are more for running a nut, not so much tightening and breaking free. I don’t know if I’d call it fair to compare the ratcheting and non ratcheting, as they’re not used for the quite the same work. Other than that, great video as always 🤟🏼
Here is a trick that I haven't seen anyone else use but since I am no genius we can be assured someone else before me has used the process. I discovered this in my early years of automotive repair when I didn't understand how much difference there is in tools and bought a set of Black Hawk line wrenches. In those days half or more of the GM and Chrysler cares came in with the fuel line nuts rounded off from bad practices including vice grips, open end wrenches, over tightening and cheap line wrenches like me. Some times the line nut was just egg shaped. I put my cheap line wrench on by driving on if need be and use a round jawed vice grip on the wrench to prevent spread. I also use the process with my Snap On wrenches on good nuts that are over tight to prevent damage. I have a 5/8" and a 1/2" Snap On line wrench with vice grip teeth marks from many years of use. This works about 98% of the time. Still at times cutting the line and driving a socket on is the only salvation for other parts.
That's what drew us to this testing. Even if you bought ALL of the brands, you'd have to find out the hard way each time, on a new buggered fitting. People below are mentioning how that took them 20-30 years. HOW IS THAT OKAY??? haha
Yes, the ones I used when I did propane installs. Had two types both non-sparking- one was bronze, the other was bronze/aluminum alloy. They are softer material whereas the wrench wears easily.
Would have liked to see a MAC and a Cornwell just to see how the truck brands stack up to one another. Perhaps a Proto & Wright for the industrial type wrench turners. Job well done, thanks for sharing and continuing to create relevant videos.
The 'ol grab a torch technique is not so much a sure thing on flarenuts. Hitting a soft aluminum fitting attached to a radiator or transmission, or a bleeder on a caliper, with oxy/acetylene is easier said than done vs on say an exhaust manifold.
Got both my SAE and metric complete sets basically brand new at a garage sale for $75 bucks each 🤷 They have R.G. engraved in them but I just tell people I got them from Red Green.
Torch + vintage Snap On 14mm is the only way to remove a specific flare nut some Volvo brake systems. Cost of wrench...$26 on eBay. Time saved verses alternative removal and flaring on a new nut x4...totally worth it.
I will absolutely sing the praises of the Irwin 4LW/7LW/10LW hex vise grips. I used the 4LW on a 10mm flare nut that was absurdly soft and rounded, it’s my savior. For $12 or so a pair, I recommend getting them for your box.
One factor, in the 'thin' nut test, up against the washer, is how much chamfer or overhang between the edge of the wrench and the hex internal of the wrench. Some wrenches waste a lot of their bite. Be interesting to lay these on a belt sander till they are all square and flat, and try again.
If you guys do open wrenches I'd love to see you test wright tools wright grip 2.0. Seen some demo videos on them and they snap rounded nuts with no problem.
Good testing! I wish Wright had been in the test, since their box end wrenches seem to be the best. I really like SK as well, but I was still surprised they did so well. I really didn't think the Matco would do as well as it did either since their regular wrenches seem just OK.
I think that plier wrench is not as good as the Knipex raptor for this kind of stuff, used it last weekend to change 20 year old in line fuel filter, which i tried to remove a couple times before without any luck. The grip on hex nut/fitting the raptor offers is just stupid...
This level of content is tremendously good. As far as I am concerned this scientific approach to testing is the gold standard for discussing pros and cons of different tools. This approach makes sure brand loyalty or preconceived notions do not play into the results. This is literally deciding brand or model for tool purchases for me as a professional auto technician, as well as forwarding your videos to other techs when discussing new tool purchasing.
Cool vid! I bought new Craftsman metric set to do a steering box. I didn’t feel it was tightening well during reassembly, it kept slipping. Bought a crows foot flare nut in the same size, Sunex, which was thicker and gave the extra 1/4 turn needed. It was an awkward angle but real world. A similar comparison as this vid with crows foot flare nut would be. I would of preferred a whole crows foot set having that experience
I just want to say thank you for all the testing you do on this channel, and the thoughtfulness that has gone into making these tests relevant to real world usage. So helpful when considering new tools!
@@TorqueTestChannel the 4 inch set is much smaller than the Vice grips you tested. I use a pair of zip ties to yank the handles tight, then some penetrating oil and heat with the other hand. Will take off completely rounded flare nuts.
I am an older John Deere mechanic and always needed a line wrench to take off a water temperature sensor from the head, super thin 5/8 nut. No room whatsoever the true test of a line wrench to me. No room for error and if you rounded it required a new sensor/gauge combination. We always bit the bullet and had a Snap-On. Wonderful video.
Would love to see Knipex raptor (87 41 250) compared to all of these, it is 40usd, but the grip it offers is just stupid, i was worried more about box-end wrench slipping off of banjo bolt than raptor loosing grip on 20 year old honda fuel filter...
Really appreciate the call out of the vice grips. May not be the first tool you reach for, but could certainly be the one that gets you out of a bind, no pun intended. For $13, if you’re doing any work it seems it would definitely be worth the price to have in your toolbox. Thank you for sharing!
Would like to try some of these. I have a vice grip adjustable wrench that has been invaluable to me in certain situations. It’s a chinese Stanley but has punched way above its weight from what I expected.
This was a really good video. it certainly confirms what i've seen over the years. A while back i switched to the smooth jaw Knippex for any brake line stuff like this so the nuts don't get damaged and they don't slip. but it's annoying because sometimes the fit is really tight to get them on there.
actually, now that I'm thinking about it, there's a tool that would have been interesting to see in this video, but it's no longer sold. Originally it was called the HexForce "Wrap Around Wrench" sold by AGS Company, but was quickly purchased by EZ Red and rebranded as "Butterfly Socket". From EZ Red, they were sold rebranded by Bluepoint and Mac, maybe also matco. Personally I *love* mine for getting off tie rod jam nuts without needing the hot wrench, but they were marketed as an alternative for flare nut wrenches. If you want to borrow some, I have a EZ-Red DSS3 set, and a Bluepoint equivalent DSS2 set.
After struggling with flare nuts years ago, I bought a set of used Snap On wrenches off eBay. I’m just a home user, but considering the aggravation of stripping flare nuts, it was money well spent.
I got a set off Craigslist, 5pc set 75 dollars 10 years ago. I was shocked to see their over 400 now but if they disappear I would get another set. Hands down best I've used.
As a comparison to the vice grips, I would love to see a plierswrench tested. You could even do a head to head of several brands and make a hole video out of it.
I didn't know I needed to see this video today, but when I saw the title I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO click on it. What a fantastic comparison. Thank you for passing on the knowledge to the rest of us. P.S. I have the two SK sets so this makes me feel a little better about spending the money on them as a hobbyist (except of the whole breakage thing). The Snap-On does seem to get the wrench to have if you have to make money with them though.
Fascinating test. My own research puts Snap-on high, but Wright higher. I recently bought Wright metric tubing wrenches. Many of my best Craftsman (and even Dunlap), Snap-on and Proto (Plomb) tools are older than I am (68) and were inherited. Wish you’d tested an older Craftsman and a new Wright. FYI the Vise-Grip name went to China, but if you want the “Real Thing,” made in DeWitt, Nebraska by the same people, the best locking pliers are now Malco Eagle Grip. The double ended ratcheting wrench is laughably bulky for automotive work. The Vise-Grip tool is also bulky. Often, automotive applications offer no room for the old trick of putting Vise-Grips over the tubing wrench so it won’t spring.
Great video, thank you. One thought on the vice grip pliers. As you mentioned flare nuts are soft, I have seen regular vice grips cause the flare nut to deform making it’s I.D. oval shaped. The non clamping type wrenches will not do that.
Spreading some valve grinding compound on the nut first will do wonders, especially when the fit is loose. The abrasive digs into the soft nut. Works a treat.
I've been enjoying your vids for a long time. Sometimes (like now) I'm surprised by the amount of variance from brands in what I thought were simple "get this right" requirements. You guys let me know constantly whether I through my money away or not. Thankfully, you've guided me towards smart purchases too. Great job, thanks for everything & I'm always looking forward to another lesson.
Thank you for a great video. I'm thrilled to see you guys branching into other tool types. I hope that videos and channels like yours prompt toolmakers to make better tools. Looks like a tighter tolerance would have helped the other tools score better. I don't know that a tighter tolerance would cost the toolmakers more money, so I hope they're watching! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a set of the ratcheting gearwrench wrenches... I don't use them for final tightening or initial loosening, I use them for a loose fastener so I'm not fussing with a line wrench everytime I need to reposition. When it gets tight, I switch to a regular line wrench. Saves a LOT of time.
Back in the late 1980s I bought a set of MAC Tool line wrenches and honestly I have never had a problem with them!! The ONLY TIME they strip points off a flared nut fitting........is when the nut itself is beyond rusted to almost falling apart anyhow!! OR to explain it another way........I live in upstate New York, with heavy winter snows, road salt and in a lot of cases 15 to 20 years of rust and debris build up on brake lines!! So you can only imagine just what kind of nightmare a brake line fitting can become with 15 or more years of abuse like this!! And keep in mind I am in the middle of the state, so it isn't even sea water damage, just a lot of mud, rain, and snow caked on these fittings, and the rust in most cases so bad the fitting almost "welds itself to" what ever it is attached too!!
The Vise Grips tested here are at best a last-resort tool for a oil/hydraulic line or bleeder. I have a couple of the same style but larger (10LW) around the shop that get used for securely holding pipe and tie rod ends and such and they are great for that. Just glad I never have had to give a thought to putting them on a hex nut of any sort. I guess if you want to cheap out on your flare nut wrench set you better get those vise grips too. lol! I'd just hate to be the next guy that had to work on anything you touched with them and didn't replace after. Special thanks for helping to verify the worthiness of my purchase of full metric and sae sets of snap-on line wrenches. Back when I shelled out the extra coin for them there wasn't that great a price diff between them and the Matco set and almost went with them instead. Now I'm extra glad I didn't.
Personally can vouch for the snappy line wrenches. I’ve used a bunch of the tool truck brands and snappy is the only one I would use now. It removes bleeder valves and other things that other wrenches just spread on. You can feel the quality of the fit the first time you use it coming from a different brand.
I have a set of Snap-on flare nut wrenches that I bought back in the early 80's when I was working as an auto mechanic. My set is different, though. Each wrench only covers one size, with a flare nut wrench on one end and a very thick open end on the other. I don't know if they still make this style of wrench, but the thick open end actually worked well enough to get me out of a pinch a few times when the the flare nut end just wouldn't fit. Really enjoyed this video. Thanks!
Best wrench test video of any kind ever made. The extra work really shows here. thanks for including the alternative wrench types as well. Some day it would be great to see an ongoing wrench testing series of 9/16 - 10mm wrenches of all types and manufacturers. just because..... It would make a massive database eventually.
With regards to Snap-On I bought twice and cried twice. That is pretty much the case. I own both standard and metric sets. I still have my old Craftsman sets for the rare occasion I have to heat up a fitting. The Snap-On doesn’t like to slide onto a heated fitting very well. I’d be interested in seeing some tests of the different RBRT tools (extractors, stripped/rounded internal/External drive tools). There are so many out there that claim to be the best. Mac seems to be flaunting their RBRT the most that I’ve seen. Keep up the great content. Thanks.
Great test, my 25+ year old Snap On flare-nut wrenches are still going strong and have rarely, if ever let me down, sure they are expensive, but with the RA account, you spread the cost over 10 weeks, and if they fail, you get a new one. If you rely on it, get the best you can.
It would be interesting to have a price category as well or normalize the results per price. Performance per dollar is always interesting to look at, though doesn't tell the whole story either. Easy to buy a new tool if one breaks, but if it ruins the thing you're working on that's its own cost.
The gear wrench advantage is with the flex head for access. Why don't other brands have a a flex head!? Otherwise I've used a plumbing type extension. Probably my most used "line wrench" is just a mini pipe wrench. Would be interesting to see how well that works also
I've had good luck with the vintage Craftsman line wrenches that I have had for over 40 years. I have a pair of those Vice Grips as well, but don't use them often.
Since all flare nut wrenches MUST slide laterally onto the nut by design, a shallow internal taper could improve grip though at the sacrifice of sometimes having to wiggle the wrench to disengage the freed nut.
The ratcheting Gearwrench is interesting because you would think it would get tighter the more pressure you put on it. I still have some old Craftsman Clench Wrench's, the ones that have a ratcheting "thumb" and are assembled with layers of steel instead of forged in one piece. I've found that once they grab on, they will not let go and I've actually snapped bolts in half with them.
Great work. I have never seen a more comprehensive test for wrench performance while calling out the weakness of the tubing fittings to rounding. I bet most people try an open end first and after rounding the fitting proceed to use the flair nut wrench. Ask me how I know.
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This one took over 2 solid weeks to put together, over 100 tests. Recommend more hand tools that you're dying to know which one's on top for below (which hopefully make for shorter episodes!). Our Amazon store includes some of the winners: www.amazon.com/shop/torquetestchannel
Edit: We're going to buy some Knipex Cobra and Pliers Wrenches and some cheap copies to compare to the testing here based on popular demand. And flarenut wrenches from top brands when we can afford it!
Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools who also make flarenut tools just like these. TTC is not the only testing out there, always consider multiple sources when looking at a tool!
Would love to see this same style test but in something like snap on flank drive plus on their open end wrenches
why where the astro line wrenches not tested?
@@will104107 They dont make them anymore. For years
@@TorqueTestChannel well thats a really good reason
How about some popular crescent wrenches. Great video, as usual! Thanks.
20 years ago in auto college, one of us asked our teacher about which tool truck had the best tools. He said it really doesn't matter, more or less they're all the same. Except flare nut wrenches, absolutely get the snap on.
Snap-on Flank drive wrenches are equally as good in quality hands down
These seem like they may be great;
th-cam.com/video/sa8kHgmZIiQ/w-d-xo.html
Thats until you try Hazet.
@jarvislarson6864 i have a few random snapon wrenches (most old school snapon) and im not particularly impressed. I can put more torque on the open end of my husky wrench set than i can most of the snapon ones i have. I find it really comes down to luck with cheap tools. Ive used some terrible cheap tools but ive also used some really good cheap tools. And on the flipside ive used some expensive tools that just arent worth it. At the end of the day no wrench is really worth $50, you're really paying for the reputation and peice of mind, not the tool. Keep in mind im talking open end. Idk about line wrenches hence why im here.
@@peenusweenus3169
As an old guy wrenching for over 50yrs.
The tool trucks are the same.
When a tool breaks good luck getting it replaced.
Most tool trucks don't like to replace a tool from a former tool truck
What stuck out to me is how both Gearwrench and Crescent are both made in China, both have the same style of stamping, both scored the lowest hardness and nearly identical at that, and scored similar on the points ranking AND ARE BOTH OWNED BY APEX. Which says two things to me 1) there seems to be some validity to your testing if they did similarly 2) They might just be charging WAY more for the gearwrench despite being the same thing! That's disappointing
If I had a dollar for every dollar I've wasted on Gearwrench... Their stuff almost always looks a lot better than it performs.
@@tiny_toilet so happy that the first set of ratchets i bought from them failed within a week... same thing for the replacement set. Got my money back and haven't looked back.
FWIW the newer Craftsman set tested here is also an APEX product. It's from when it was still owned by Sears, after Sears' long-time major manufacturer/supplier Danaher got bought out by Apex back 2013-ish which was a Bain Capital move IIRC, and they started moving production lines from USA to Taiwan and China, all well before the 2017 Stanley purchase of Craftsman. That era of Craftsman and GearWrench were usually almost identical. GearWrench (APEX) has more recently moved a lot of its tool lines that were Taiwan to mainland China. The newer Stanley-made Craftsman products (not tested here) are more likely made in Taiwan again.
i love my gearwrench ratchets but i also got them 15 yrs ago or so....they may have had better quality back then because they were new to the field
This is the case with countless tools. Often they will make a small difference, but often not.
The snap-on is pricey but dang 100% worth it if you use them for a living. Even preventing just one rounded off flare nut and the wrench has paid for itself.
If u need a snap on wrench to take a flare nut off you should reconsider your career choice
@@hallowedbethygame2840 i dont need expensive tools (most of the time) but a tool saving me 5 minutes per job.... Since i have access to a millturn, i made my own with a 5 micron gap.
@@hallowedbethygame2840 Have you ever worked on vehicles in a northern state that uses salt?
@@hallowedbethygame2840 you’re just being arrogant man. Of course nobody NEEDS the snap on, but it’s an incredible headache reducer when you’re dealing with a nut that’s already been rounded on a set of flats, or somebody decided to double the torque spec.
@@hallowedbethygame2840 by far the dumbest thing iv ever read. i hate snap-on with a passion but i will say some of their specialty tools have saved my ass many times with the rust and rot in new york state.
A 14/13mm line wrench is the only vintage Snap On tool I own because a specific brake line I had remove on multiple instances of the vehicle. Still cheaper than not even trying, cutting the line, using a deep impact to get the fitting out, flaring a new nut onto the line. All this because they used a NiCop line that lasts forever, a good quality ATE caliper but mild steel flare nut.
My only snap on tools are line wrench’s too, cheap ones always flex and strip the fitting
What was the vehicle?
I would really love to see Tekton hand tools included in your testing in the future. Many of my friends and myself have bought products from them and been quite happy with them.
Tekton doesn't currently make flarenut wrenches to my knowledge. And when they did they were China (so usually their lower end stuff). But I agree. I own Tekton as well
Yeah I’m building up my mechanics tools currently, and after kicking around TH-cam tests and reviews for enough weeks and reassuring my scared wallet… I find my self with a lot of Milwaukee and Tekton stuff, but my Knipex stuff is growing with each paycheck as well.
I have and use snap-on but tekton is probably my favorite cheap line .
Tekton is amazing for how cheap they are, and I will sing their praises so long as they keep making decent tools.
I highly recommend you only use screwdrivers and pliers from tekton, everything else like sockets and wrenches and sized tools like taps/die set I'd stay far away from piss poor chinese slag in a blow molded case essentially
Man. That Quinn stuff did a lot worse than the price you pay for them IMO. And yeah, more tests like this please. Loved the video.
Thank you so much to the Torque Test Channel - few tools are as critical as flarenut wrenches in the automotive/agriculture/aviation industry - stripping/rounding off a flare nut usually means replacing the entire brake/hydraulic/fluid/... line most often in restricted spaces with complex shapes and/or line shapes. This is when spending more (a lot more) money is worth the investment. Thank you again so much for helping us (engineers and professionals alike) to prioritize our purchases. May God bless you all, Ciao, L (FoMoCo engineering, retired).
At McDonnell Douglas and at Boeing we used (3) brands of flarenut wrenches, Snap On, Proto & Bonney! ~ This is a GREAT video by the way!
Bonney sure was great! It's a crying shame they're gone.
Bonny used to make all the older matco wrenches. I still have a few sets of them including my flare nut wrenches.
So you have plenty in your tool box :)
I've got some bonney tools I'm willing to sell or trade
Bonney wrenches rule. Shame you can't get them anymore. (Somebody will get some from my box after I'm done with them.)
My word, the amount of care and effort that went into this. Great video and a dang fine fine data set that makes a decision easy. Thanks lads!
Good trick if you have room, is clamp a vice grip over the line wrench to help keep it from spreading and consequently rounding the hex.
No offence but if you have to use vice grips to keep a wrench from spreading, its a terrible wrench!
@@JD730 you’re not wrong lol
I have done something similar. Sometimes i use a hose clamp on o2 socket to keep it from spreading.
As far as I know, these wrenches are directional.
The long jaw should be in tension, and the short jaw should be in compression, irrespective of whether turning CW or CCW. I get that sometimes there's only room to fit the wrench in one way, so you don't always have a choice.
I notice that in the "Proof Torque" section of the video, where internal-hex sockets were used, that the load was applied 'backwards" through the wrenches - the long jaw in compression and the short jaw in tension.
I would be very interested to see how much of a difference the direction of loading through the wrench jaws makes to the test results - it would be awesome if you were to test this!
Anyhow, I really appreciate the effort you put into these videos!!
came here to say the same.
@@jeffreyshaw7206 I did too. They tested the snap on wrong for sure and it still won. I would like to see the difference in the dimensions after a round off/cam over too. Wondering how bad the wrench stretched.
@@sledsports me tooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that was what i was always taught !!!!!!!
should be with all wrenches!!!!
I've had the USA Craftsman raised panel set for a long time. Switched to SK line wrenches years ago but after using a longer length Snap-On, that's all I use now. Love them so much bought the crowfoot flare nut set + all the optional larger sizes.
This video is by far your most interesting video to date. I applaud your thoroughness and testing rationale. Well done!!
Sk made Craftsman professional
Back when I started as a tech I bought the Craftsman wrenches (the ones you call vintage)and back then I was so disappointed in how badly they slipped on everything that I rarely ever used them. It's nice to see that pretty much anything you guy today is better than the old craftsman ones. I always preferred buying somewhere other than off the truck but there are certain tools that you just have to bite the bullet and spend a fortune on the truck ones. I have lots and lots of the old US craftsman stuff that I used and I still cuss at those tools today when I use them... They are seen with rose colored glasses by many.
Old Craftsman combination wrenches are excellent. (the flare nut wrenches not so much - I already posted on that too!) I have a second hand SAE combination wrench set from the 80's which is fantastic. Strong hard metal that makes a satisfying high pitch ring when dropped. I worked with industrial maintenance techs who used those same era wrenches for a living day in and day out. I have a metric set of combination wrenches that I bought new in store around 2005. They have an ever so slightly softer metal - not quite as high of pitched ring - but they are still thin and strong. A few years later Craftsman changed to soft cheap metal and thicker wrenches even while still made in USA. Then they turned to garbage pot metal with thick beams when they went overseas. Their old thin chrome sockets are good too. I bought a LOT of them through flea markets and they work well. Craftsman screwdrivers and power tools on the other hand... run. Run far away as fast as you can.
Now the ratchets. Man they last forever and are easy to service but the new high tooth ratchets are so much better and my old Craftsman ratchets are gathering dust.
@@TheRetarp I’ve got a good amount of old and new craftsman stuff I inherited from my grandpa when he passed.
Craftsman tool box 6/10
Chrome sockets US made (8/10, not much to compare to, they work but aren’t shallow which is annoying)
Evolv impact sockets 10/10 (they’re actually great, thinner than the cheaper shit and haven’t broke yet.
Pliers (USA made) 7/10 handle material not great and a little more loose than they should be
Evolv oscillating multi tool 8/10 decent tool for size, I always though the gray 12v tools looked cool though.
Ratchets….. I have them, they work, I don’t like the feel tbh. They collect dust and I use my Williams.
Wrenches have been great, no issues and feel better than the Pittsburg shit taking up space.
Screw drivers- 9/10 they’re the old plastic handle style, last for ever and actually some are very comfortable, others not, but all very nice.
I have a set of 12 point sockets I’m never going to use as well from Craftsman
Wood lathe- it’s nice, a little under powered but sturdy
Scroll saw- haven’t used but been kicked around, good weight and isn’t rusty (a real accomplishment tbh)
Planer- also haven’t used, VERY heavy, not a lot of rust for age
And he’ll probably one of every other tool they made, a lot of it’s nice, and I agree it’s got the nostalgia, but also compared to harbor freight Pittsburg bullshit(the craftsman spiritual successor imo) it’s got a lot going for it.
As a man who has made his living both as a mechanical design engineer and a mechanic for more than 40 years, I have used Craftsman tools almost exclusively -- until Eddie Lampert ran the company into the ground. Vintage Craftsman tools are quality. The new stuff is junk. I have many thousands of dollars worth of Craftsman tools.
I have worked on cars, trucks, tractors, medium duty trucks, excavators, Diesel engines, transmissions (manual and automatic), industrial gas turbine gearboxes, and many other machines. No rose colored glasses here, just thousands of hours of turning wrenches.
Great test. I knew the Snap On would win. I have lots of Snap On but when it comes to line wrenches and hex/torx and all the other bit variations I will only use Snap On. When you absolutely can't screw it up the cost for the red kool-aid is totally worth it.
felo makes the best bits no one else is close, pb swiss is second in a way for bits
I have those Vice Grips - they are incredible! Living in the Great Lakes, rust is life(yes, it is indeed miserable) and those things just don't give a damn, put a pipe on the end and go at it lol.
10 of 10 would use and abuse again
I suspect that the Snap-Offs might be too tight for the corroded junk out here that tends to grow in size lol
Loved this test and love the video quality too, great work boys! Definitely down for more of this, if your sanity can take it of course, there's a LOT of work that goes into content like this.
@@1pcfred I have never even considered how people spell it before...
@@1pcfred I'm on a phone, it's called 'autocorrect' - this isn't a new problem in society. Not trying to be 'perfect' in a YT comment.
I got one, and didn't even know it was a flare nut wrench! I would guess it would be enough to easily crush an aluminum fitting if you're not careful with it.
What you didn't touch on is poor tolerance on many tube fittings aspecially after market fittings. Once they are exposed to winter for a few years, even the best wrenches don't fit well. There the Vice Grips rule.
I was going to comment this, sometimes an adjustable wrench is better because a good quality one can take up and slack but also fit on the oversized rusted bolt
And for the price, other companies should be shamed. A lunch from McDonald's vs buying a new Switch. Crazy asses
Pipe wrench to bust those loose. First time, every time, never fails.
@@connahjones8178 lol what? The play in adjustables and fewer contact points totally negate anything you think.
@@mdemers767 and then it's deformed and doesn't seal back up
In my 26 years as a mechanic Snap on has been my preferred wrenches in all categories I've used every brand under The Sun and nothing compares. Yes their very expensive but will pay for them selves in short time and you will always have the best tool to use every single time you need it .
Can you add Wright Tools to your hand tool testing? There a USA made brand and way cheaper then snap on.
As a not quite professional mechanic but definitely more then your average weekend warrior guy I literally went through almost all your wrench choices over the last 25 years and probably 300 cars that I have owned or messed with and I finally got so fed up with rounding off 60 or 70 year old brake lines that I manned up and bought Snap-On. I have never been more pleased with a line wrench, switching over to them I don't think I've had a single rounded flare nut even ones that were kind of rusty have came off.
I find the same quality with the standard "OEX" part number open end box end wrenches when messing with regular volts and nuts.
I am generally not brand loyal and buy whatever I think is good quality but when it comes to wrenches I'm definitely a Snap-On whore lol.
Sockets and ratchets too.
@@701chevy9 agreed, snap-on sockets are super thin which comes in handy occasionally and I really like my ratchets from them, I bought them used so one of them is from the early 1950s and my newest is a super fine tooth from 2012, what I like is I can contact snap-on and for a few bucks they give you a rebuild kit where all you reuse is the handle. Pretty much all their hand tools are great quality no matter the era.
As mechanic for over 40 years, I can say Snap On flair nut wrenches are the best on the market. Yes they cost a lot, but they are worth it. But from time to time even they fail to crack a nut lose , so I had to use the Vice Grip brand. They almost never fail if you can fit them in.
I wonder how Teng tools flare nut wrenches would've tested out. I have a few of the sockets and combination wrenches and they work quite well. Love the dedication and attention to detail you guys put into each of your tests!
They're junk. I owned one and got rid of it quick. Teng is ok Taiwanese stuff. The only reason you see Ed China and TH-camrs using it is because of sponsorship. If you see Teng going cheap and it fits your needs then fine but don't buy it for the name. Sealey stuff is usually a lot cheaper and just as good if not better. For flare nut wrenches, if you're working on really rusty stuff on a budget, don't even bother buying them. Just use grips instead. Got a it more to spend? Buy the 1 Snap On flare wrench of eBay in the size you need.
Can I just say that I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who has a terrible time trying to use the Lowe's website. 9 out of 10 times it just crashes lol
I'm a new mechanic, when it comes to buying tools i always watch your page for your reviews! Keep it up, love your content.
I have Wright brand wrenches, would be cool to see some of those. Also ratcheting wrenches rank chart would be interesting. Keep up the great work with whatever you do. Love the channel.
+1 Wright
Do you have their flare nut wrench s? I'm looking to upgrade from my cheapo Evercrafts that just round everything off because they are soft steel and the jaws spread like COVID lol. I'm leaning towards Wright for several reasons. Made in my home state, lifetime warranty, price and I've seen their combo wrenches outperform a lot of other good brands. I'm not an everyday user, so Snapon prices are unjustifiable, I'm just keeping my own rides running but I'm tired of a job turning into a bigger job because cheap crap tools.
I weld T-handles to all my Vise-Grip adjustment knobs (~3"long), lube the screw threads with anti-seize and am thus able to apply FAR more force than a manual squeeze. It's not a new idea and allows grabbing objects much more firmly than an RSI-inducing manual squeeze while facilitating easy release. You can also tighten Vise-Grips using other tools but the T-handle is glorious. IMO the score would be higher modified.
This video was perfect timing. I recently discovered that my GearWrench 6 piece standard set apparently grew wings & flew the coop. It is a set that I hardly use & haven't laid eyes on it for quite some time (6-9 months, maybe). I was casually looking for a replacement set & this video has given me a lot of information that will help me when shopping for a new set. Thanks
Love my Snap-on line wrench set. Had it for over 10 years and still working great.
Also the (very expensive) ones with flare nut end and extra deep open end of the same size on the other end of the tool
3/8" and 7/16" wrenches should have been included, they are by FAR the most common, on American iron anyway.
yep and 10mm on most euro cars I have worked on
you forgot 5/16
15mm and 18mm are popular on both Detroit and generic Euro vehicles
From my expirience its 11mm for euro cars@@danielboughton3624
When I bought my 1974 Honda Civic from my brother, I needed to do a LOT of things starting with replacing the oil pump, head gasket, rings, crankshaft bearings, and the brake bleed nuts on all four brakes. On the left front caliper, nothing would remove the nut, so eventually I had to replace the caliper (although I got away with using it or a while by drilling the nut out by hand, and picking out the pieces of thread. (Heli-Coils were new and very expensive in those days, and I was doing all the work myself, only buying parts when necessary, usually from junk yards.) I bought my one and only Snap-On tool: a 10mm flare nut wrench, so I would never again mess up my brake bleed nuts, and I got by for at least 2 years before I had to replace the calipers, with nary a leak from the nut. So these results match my entirely unscientific testing from over 45 years ago.
Heat treatment must play a part in the equation. Very impresses with the snap on. I have the old raised panel craftsman and have found the reliable.
Since some of these wrenches had a difference in the jaw configuration ( being rotationally offset from a perfect "inline" configuration to the handle ), it would be nice to test those particular wrenches, or maybe all of them, for CW and CCW performance. There may be some differences due to a longer jaw/side of the wrench being subjected to stress differently and flexing more in one direction than the other. Most of the time, these wrenches are needed to be called in to remove fasteners that can't be approached with a socket or box end wrench, in the hopes of breaking them free with no or minimal damage, so the primary focus should be done on checking them in removal torque, but even your initial jig called for a fastening /CW rotation.
Flipping the wrench will achieve same results in either direction
Some of the old Craftsman USA made hand tools were very good for consumer grade stuff. Particularly their open and box end wrenches. Some of the nicest I've used. I have used some that were a bit sloppy in their tolerance though so it sort of depends on what year they were purchased as far as that goes. Their ratchets, however, were probably the worst I've ever used. The detents on the ratcheting mechanism were like the Grand Canyon apart and I'd say I got on average about 3 months use out of each one before having to warranty return it. I did this about 3-4 times before I bought a Taiwan-made teardrop ratchet to replace it permanently that lasted me 15 years of literally beating on it with a hammer. This eventually chipped the gear teeth off of the ratchet wheel. I'd probably still be using that one if it wasn't for the abuse I put it through. Suffice it to say, it's not all unicorns and rainbows with American made back in the day. You know all that cheap Chinese garbage that you can buy? We made the same garbage here well into the '90s before it was offshored completely. There's a lot of old cheap American garbage that was sold over the years, most of which got tossed, which is why you only see the good stuff still hanging around, which then leads people to attribute this mythological awesomeness to it. Oh I almost forgot about the Craftsman cast iron top belt driven 10 inch table saws. Those were dirt cheap for what they were (still are used) and will rival some very expensive professional table saws if set up properly.
Great job keep it coming !
It would be interesting to test snap on sockets…
When I was a mechanic I had some sunex sockets and snap on sockets and the snap on sockets although they seemed to have better tolerances, they also seemed to be the softest. My snap on sockets showed significantly more wear after little use then the equivalent sunex socket. Food for thought :)
Fan from Canada.
socket testing for sure! ive used almost every brand with wildly various prices would love to save some money in the future from the r*** van
I’ve owned some nice sockets as a new mechanic. I’d be happy to send some Canadian ProPoint sockets, I’ve never had one fail on me. Used them to do front ends, and even my spare 10mm sockets as paper weights (only mechanics understand). They’re cheap, but very durable.
I use vintage Britool. They are great. Very tight indeed. I've tried the Vis Grip / Irwin on a rounded flare nut, absolutely shite in the real world. It cammed up and off the knackered flare nut which was right against a mounting. In the case the hard line and the flexi pipe both had to be replaced. As you siad this test shows what a flare wrench needs - tight tolerances and non springiness! The fact so many of these - Even quite pricy ones - were baggy and the jaws were visibly opening boggles the mind
Since the threads only take 40 ft lbs it would be interesting to see how much of the bulky vicegrips head can be ground off while still giving 40 ftlb of torque. If the head can be reduced to about the same size as a regular line wrench then it would be the best in all cases since it adapts to rounded fittings.
by the midsize instead of the big ones. there are 3 sizes the smallest is cute.
Not true. The vicegrip, while a good tool, should only be uses as a last ditch effort. With flarenuts, much of the problem comes from deforming the nut threads in the hole, wedging it tighter. Clamping the vicegrip to it will make this worse. Will it get the nut off? Probably. Will the nut be usable afterward? Probably not.
I give the Snap-On ratcheting screwdrivers to people as gifts. My personal Snap-On ratcheting screwdriver lasted from 1989 all the way to 2018 when it was stolen, but I'm sure it's still working somewhere.
I was visiting a friend (who is a mechanical engineer) who likes to work on vintage Jeeps, and I noticed that his wrenches and sockets were all Snap-On. I said, "Hey, Snap-On! Good stuff!" And he said, "Yeah, you gave me that screwdriver about 20 years ago. I didn't use it much at first, but it grew on me, and I even bought a second one, an orange one, so I didn't have to change tips as often. Then I bought a socket set, which I thought was way too much money, but there's a big difference between the price of a tool and the satisfaction you get from using it, because these days they're the only tools I use."
I’m usually a Project Farm kind when it comes too tool testing, but these are some really in depth tests, can’t believe I accidentally bought one of the top dogs on this test lol
I truly injoy learning about tool quality. I am currently trying to build up a tool collection for repair work on personal and family vehicles. Your comparisons help me make a more informed decision on which tools to purchase. So thank you for the educational content and I look forward to seeing a lot more.
Never heard of this still style of vice grip. Looks like an excellent design. Even if they are only able to crack off a nut due to size, then use a cheap line wrench. For speed and convenience. Why didn't you put a pipe on the the vice grip or even ring end of big spanner, i thought that was a standard thing.
I’m kinda disappointed you didn’t test Wright tools or tribus ratcheting line wrenches. If I had to guess, Wright would give snappy a run for it’s money. As for tribus, I’d be interested in seeing how that ratcheting mechanism holds up.
Tell Garage journal, they made the list! I've seen a tribus wrench fail at wrist action tight
Before i even begin watching this one and with only knowing that Snappy and 9 others are involved, I’m certain that Snap-On takes the win only because I’ve been wrenching for 30yrs in Nyc’s harshly snow salted environment, under those conditions i went through so many great combination wrenches that didn’t meet the task when doing wheel alignments because for those that live in similar areas already know how tough tie rods can be to deal with so the only wrench that would do the job is the Snap-On flank drive plus, as for line wrenches Snap-On and nothing else so let’s see who wins it
Vintage Mac flair nut are really good too!
I have applied max force on them at times and no issues
I prefer the older snap on for some of their hand tools not all, some of the new snap on is good too just not all!
Don't mess around, just get the Snap-On, at least for the more commonly used sizes. For high torque applications, I find the Crowfoot style flarenut wrenches even better as they tend to spread less, plus you can use a torque wrench on them.
I wish you had included a pliers wrench.l Would be interesting to see how well that works putting significant pressure on the flats.
Nice test! I have a "vintage" - from the mid 2000's - Made in USA Craftsman Professional Series flare nut wrench set I bought new (oh no that was actually almost 20 years ago!). They are a polished finish straight beam design. They always fit loose for the most part and I've had poor experiences with them with vehicles from the 70s-90's.. Except for on my '89 Lincoln where they fit the brakes line flare nuts perfectly. Go figure? A quick check with my calipers shows 0.0055in oversize on the half-inch end and 0.0095 (!) on the nine-sixteenth. Part number 42092.
One small piece of criticism: the ratcheting open ended wrenches and flare nut wrenches, are more for running a nut, not so much tightening and breaking free. I don’t know if I’d call it fair to compare the ratcheting and non ratcheting, as they’re not used for the quite the same work. Other than that, great video as always 🤟🏼
Here is a trick that I haven't seen anyone else use but since I am no genius we can be assured someone else before me has used the process. I discovered this in my early years of automotive repair when I didn't understand how much difference there is in tools and bought a set of Black Hawk line wrenches. In those days half or more of the GM and Chrysler cares came in with the fuel line nuts rounded off from bad practices including vice grips, open end wrenches, over tightening and cheap line wrenches like me. Some times the line nut was just egg shaped. I put my cheap line wrench on by driving on if need be and use a round jawed vice grip on the wrench to prevent spread. I also use the process with my Snap On wrenches on good nuts that are over tight to prevent damage. I have a 5/8" and a 1/2" Snap On line wrench with vice grip teeth marks from many years of use. This works about 98% of the time. Still at times cutting the line and driving a socket on is the only salvation for other parts.
I mean how would you know without a channel like this? Thank you!
That's what drew us to this testing. Even if you bought ALL of the brands, you'd have to find out the hard way each time, on a new buggered fitting. People below are mentioning how that took them 20-30 years. HOW IS THAT OKAY??? haha
I'm hoping to see you guys test pitman arm pullers before I buy a new one.
Yes, the ones I used when I did propane installs. Had two types both non-sparking- one was bronze, the other was bronze/aluminum alloy. They are softer material whereas the wrench wears easily.
Would have liked to see a MAC and a Cornwell just to see how the truck brands stack up to one another. Perhaps a Proto & Wright for the industrial type wrench turners. Job well done, thanks for sharing and continuing to create relevant videos.
Cornwell's USA wrenches are pretty nice
Great video. I use a little coarse valve lapping compound to get a little more grip. Sixty percent of there time it works everytime.😀
that snap on price is hella high if it's really bad, grab a torch, we all know why. Great video thanks for the info
The 'ol grab a torch technique is not so much a sure thing on flarenuts. Hitting a soft aluminum fitting attached to a radiator or transmission, or a bleeder on a caliper, with oxy/acetylene is easier said than done vs on say an exhaust manifold.
Got both my SAE and metric complete sets basically brand new at a garage sale for $75 bucks each 🤷
They have R.G. engraved in them but I just tell people I got them from Red Green.
Torch + vintage Snap On 14mm is the only way to remove a specific flare nut some Volvo brake systems. Cost of wrench...$26 on eBay. Time saved verses alternative removal and flaring on a new nut x4...totally worth it.
I will absolutely sing the praises of the Irwin 4LW/7LW/10LW hex vise grips. I used the 4LW on a 10mm flare nut that was absurdly soft and rounded, it’s my savior. For $12 or so a pair, I recommend getting them for your box.
Really enjoyed the graphics in this one.
Also happy to see the value of Snap-on here.
One factor, in the 'thin' nut test, up against the washer, is how much chamfer or overhang between the edge of the wrench and the hex internal of the wrench. Some wrenches waste a lot of their bite. Be interesting to lay these on a belt sander till they are all square and flat, and try again.
If you guys do open wrenches I'd love to see you test wright tools wright grip 2.0. Seen some demo videos on them and they snap rounded nuts with no problem.
Good testing! I wish Wright had been in the test, since their box end wrenches seem to be the best. I really like SK as well, but I was still surprised they did so well. I really didn't think the Matco would do as well as it did either since their regular wrenches seem just OK.
Would have been interesting to see what Knipex's plier wrench design could have accomplished in a use case like this.
I think that plier wrench is not as good as the Knipex raptor for this kind of stuff, used it last weekend to change 20 year old in line fuel filter, which i tried to remove a couple times before without any luck. The grip on hex nut/fitting the raptor offers is just stupid...
thats what i was thinking throughout the whole video. maybe they can test it in a short video for more views, likes, and support
knipex tests as average in the tests I have seen. Much hype.....
@@stevenbryant4718 link? I tried looking for torque tests for it with no luck. Even just to see it vs a normal adjustment wrench
@@stevenbryant4718 which knipex are you talking about, plier wrench, raptor, or knipex in general?
This level of content is tremendously good. As far as I am concerned this scientific approach to testing is the gold standard for discussing pros and cons of different tools. This approach makes sure brand loyalty or preconceived notions do not play into the results.
This is literally deciding brand or model for tool purchases for me as a professional auto technician, as well as forwarding your videos to other techs when discussing new tool purchasing.
Cool vid! I bought new Craftsman metric set to do a steering box. I didn’t feel it was tightening well during reassembly, it kept slipping. Bought a crows foot flare nut in the same size, Sunex, which was thicker and gave the extra 1/4 turn needed. It was an awkward angle but real world. A similar comparison as this vid with crows foot flare nut would be. I would of preferred a whole crows foot set having that experience
Had some good experience with Sunex stubby combo wrenches off Amazon. Good to hear other lines are also solid.
I just want to say thank you for all the testing you do on this channel, and the thoughtfulness that has gone into making these tests relevant to real world usage. So helpful when considering new tools!
In my opinion the best flare nut tool is Knipex pliers wrench. They will break loose a rounded nut with ease.
I love mine but I cannot fit mine in many spaces. Try doing power steering hoses on the rack of an older ranger or explorer
Would like to see tests with these.
You must have a lot more space to work with than we're used to.
@@TorqueTestChannel the 4 inch set is much smaller than the Vice grips you tested. I use a pair of zip ties to yank the handles tight, then some penetrating oil and heat with the other hand. Will take off completely rounded flare nuts.
I am an older John Deere mechanic and always needed a line wrench to take off a water temperature sensor from the head, super thin 5/8 nut. No room whatsoever the true test of a line wrench to me. No room for error and if you rounded it required a new sensor/gauge combination. We always bit the bullet and had a Snap-On. Wonderful video.
Would love to see Knipex raptor (87 41 250) compared to all of these, it is 40usd, but the grip it offers is just stupid, i was worried more about box-end wrench slipping off of banjo bolt than raptor loosing grip on 20 year old honda fuel filter...
Heck, I'd like to see a Knipex Pliers wrench vs. flare nut fittings.
@@theundergroundlairofthesqu9261 YES, best $60 tool for plant maintainance I've bought. Period.
Really appreciate the call out of the vice grips. May not be the first tool you reach for, but could certainly be the one that gets you out of a bind, no pun intended. For $13, if you’re doing any work it seems it would definitely be worth the price to have in your toolbox. Thank you for sharing!
This is fascinating. I've never seen this vise-grip, so I just ordered one (thanks for the link).
I got a pair of those vice grips many years ago. Well worth having around just in case. Won't work for everything but what it can do, it does well.
Would like to try some of these. I have a vice grip adjustable wrench that has been invaluable to me in certain situations.
It’s a chinese Stanley but has punched way above its weight from what I expected.
I really enjoyed this test. And the animated graphics were excellent.
This was a really good video. it certainly confirms what i've seen over the years. A while back i switched to the smooth jaw Knippex for any brake line stuff like this so the nuts don't get damaged and they don't slip. but it's annoying because sometimes the fit is really tight to get them on there.
I was watching this wondering how those would do in this test.
This is the content I’ve been waiting for!!!
actually, now that I'm thinking about it, there's a tool that would have been interesting to see in this video, but it's no longer sold. Originally it was called the HexForce "Wrap Around Wrench" sold by AGS Company, but was quickly purchased by EZ Red and rebranded as "Butterfly Socket". From EZ Red, they were sold rebranded by Bluepoint and Mac, maybe also matco. Personally I *love* mine for getting off tie rod jam nuts without needing the hot wrench, but they were marketed as an alternative for flare nut wrenches. If you want to borrow some, I have a EZ-Red DSS3 set, and a Bluepoint equivalent DSS2 set.
People will hopefully start to realize a wrench is not just a wrench. There's quality difference
After struggling with flare nuts years ago, I bought a set of used Snap On wrenches off eBay. I’m just a home user, but considering the aggravation of stripping flare nuts, it was money well spent.
I got a set off Craigslist, 5pc set 75 dollars 10 years ago. I was shocked to see their over 400 now but if they disappear I would get another set. Hands down best I've used.
I have an old Proto set that is amazing. They grip the nut in a different position than most others. 3/8 and 7/16 size is my most commonly used
As a comparison to the vice grips, I would love to see a plierswrench tested. You could even do a head to head of several brands and make a hole video out of it.
I didn't know I needed to see this video today, but when I saw the title I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO click on it. What a fantastic comparison. Thank you for passing on the knowledge to the rest of us.
P.S. I have the two SK sets so this makes me feel a little better about spending the money on them as a hobbyist (except of the whole breakage thing). The Snap-On does seem to get the wrench to have if you have to make money with them though.
Fascinating test. My own research puts Snap-on high, but Wright higher. I recently bought Wright metric tubing wrenches. Many of my best Craftsman (and even Dunlap), Snap-on and Proto (Plomb) tools are older than I am (68) and were inherited. Wish you’d tested an older Craftsman and a new Wright. FYI the Vise-Grip name went to China, but if you want the “Real Thing,” made in DeWitt, Nebraska by the same people, the best locking pliers are now Malco Eagle Grip. The double ended ratcheting wrench is laughably bulky for automotive work. The Vise-Grip tool is also bulky. Often, automotive applications offer no room for the old trick of putting Vise-Grips over the tubing wrench so it won’t spring.
Great video, thank you. One thought on the vice grip pliers. As you mentioned flare nuts are soft, I have seen regular vice grips cause the flare nut to deform making it’s I.D. oval shaped. The non clamping type wrenches will not do that.
I believe that is the tool for when you are going to throw the old fitting away after you get it off.
Spreading some valve grinding compound on the nut first will do wonders, especially when the fit is loose. The abrasive digs into the soft nut. Works a treat.
I've been enjoying your vids for a long time. Sometimes (like now) I'm surprised by the amount of variance from brands in what I thought were simple "get this right" requirements. You guys let me know constantly whether I through my money away or not. Thankfully, you've guided me towards smart purchases too. Great job, thanks for everything & I'm always looking forward to another lesson.
Thank you for a great video. I'm thrilled to see you guys branching into other tool types. I hope that videos and channels like yours prompt toolmakers to make better tools. Looks like a tighter tolerance would have helped the other tools score better. I don't know that a tighter tolerance would cost the toolmakers more money, so I hope they're watching!
Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a set of the ratcheting gearwrench wrenches... I don't use them for final tightening or initial loosening, I use them for a loose fastener so I'm not fussing with a line wrench everytime I need to reposition. When it gets tight, I switch to a regular line wrench. Saves a LOT of time.
Back in the late 1980s I bought a set of MAC Tool line wrenches and honestly I have never had a problem with them!! The ONLY TIME they strip points off a flared nut fitting........is when the nut itself is beyond rusted to almost falling apart anyhow!!
OR to explain it another way........I live in upstate New York, with heavy winter snows, road salt and in a lot of cases 15 to 20 years of rust and debris build up on brake lines!! So you can only imagine just what kind of nightmare a brake line fitting can become with 15 or more years of abuse like this!! And keep in mind I am in the middle of the state, so it isn't even sea water damage, just a lot of mud, rain, and snow caked on these fittings, and the rust in most cases so bad the fitting almost "welds itself to" what ever it is attached too!!
My vintage Craftsman still going well for me. Nice to see the Snap On doing well.
The Vise Grips tested here are at best a last-resort tool for a oil/hydraulic line or bleeder. I have a couple of the same style but larger (10LW) around the shop that get used for securely holding pipe and tie rod ends and such and they are great for that. Just glad I never have had to give a thought to putting them on a hex nut of any sort. I guess if you want to cheap out on your flare nut wrench set you better get those vise grips too. lol! I'd just hate to be the next guy that had to work on anything you touched with them and didn't replace after.
Special thanks for helping to verify the worthiness of my purchase of full metric and sae sets of snap-on line wrenches. Back when I shelled out the extra coin for them there wasn't that great a price diff between them and the Matco set and almost went with them instead. Now I'm extra glad I didn't.
Personally can vouch for the snappy line wrenches. I’ve used a bunch of the tool truck brands and snappy is the only one I would use now. It removes bleeder valves and other things that other wrenches just spread on. You can feel the quality of the fit the first time you use it coming from a different brand.
I have a set of Snap-on flare nut wrenches that I bought back in the early 80's when I was working as an auto mechanic. My set is different, though. Each wrench only covers one size, with a flare nut wrench on one end and a very thick open end on the other. I don't know if they still make this style of wrench, but the thick open end actually worked well enough to get me out of a pinch a few times when the the flare nut end just wouldn't fit.
Really enjoyed this video. Thanks!
20:46
"Harder isn't always better,
Unless you ask my wife"
Classic TTC
Here in Australia we get ‘SP Tools’ and their flare nut wrench’s are awful. If they don’t open up and slip they crack. Great video!
Love to see one on O2 sensor sockets, both long and short.
Best wrench test video of any kind ever made. The extra work really shows here. thanks for including the alternative wrench types as well. Some day it would be great to see an ongoing wrench testing series of 9/16 - 10mm wrenches of all types and manufacturers. just because..... It would make a massive database eventually.
Excellent video this is exactly what I was looking for. For most of us DIYers it seems that the craftsman set is likely the best buy.
With regards to Snap-On I bought twice and cried twice. That is pretty much the case. I own both standard and metric sets. I still have my old Craftsman sets for the rare occasion I have to heat up a fitting. The Snap-On doesn’t like to slide onto a heated fitting very well. I’d be interested in seeing some tests of the different RBRT tools (extractors, stripped/rounded internal/External drive tools). There are so many out there that claim to be the best. Mac seems to be flaunting their RBRT the most that I’ve seen. Keep up the great content. Thanks.
Great test, my 25+ year old Snap On flare-nut wrenches are still going strong and have rarely, if ever let me down, sure they are expensive, but with the RA account, you spread the cost over 10 weeks, and if they fail, you get a new one.
If you rely on it, get the best you can.
It would be interesting to have a price category as well or normalize the results per price. Performance per dollar is always interesting to look at, though doesn't tell the whole story either. Easy to buy a new tool if one breaks, but if it ruins the thing you're working on that's its own cost.
The gear wrench advantage is with the flex head for access. Why don't other brands have a a flex head!? Otherwise I've used a plumbing type extension. Probably my most used "line wrench" is just a mini pipe wrench. Would be interesting to see how well that works also
I've had good luck with the vintage Craftsman line wrenches that I have had for over 40 years. I have a pair of those Vice Grips as well, but don't use them often.
Since all flare nut wrenches MUST slide laterally onto the nut by design, a shallow internal taper could improve grip though at the sacrifice of sometimes having to wiggle the wrench to disengage the freed nut.
The ratcheting Gearwrench is interesting because you would think it would get tighter the more pressure you put on it. I still have some old Craftsman Clench Wrench's, the ones that have a ratcheting "thumb" and are assembled with layers of steel instead of forged in one piece. I've found that once they grab on, they will not let go and I've actually snapped bolts in half with them.
Great work. I have never seen a more comprehensive test for wrench performance while calling out the weakness of the tubing fittings to rounding. I bet most people try an open end first and after rounding the fitting proceed to use the flair nut wrench. Ask me how I know.