Can we talk about ratchets? - In the market

Last year I bought a nice old workbench with a vintage vice attached to a house. I finally have some room and a new empty rolling Craftsman toolbox. A few years ago most of my tools got swiped out of my garage so my collection is spotty. I want to buy a nice set of ratchets and I have fond memories of my Craftsmen tools I had in high school. I am pretty sure they were these - 43797 - Stanley may have made them for Craftsmen at the time and it appears as though Stanley has a similar tool starting with the number 85. 

I really liked the thumbwheel, it was great for starting bolts or plugs when there was not enough friction for the ratchet action to work. Looking on Ebay these certainly show up, but not sure on random 40 year old ratchets I can not feel in my hand. I have located some of the Stanley ratchets new, 3/8th and 1/2, but not sure on the current quality or tooth count - maybe 45 teeth??

Should I forget about the thumbwheel if they are not popular, everything appears to be pear shaped. Is there a benefit to this design? How many teeth are recommended? I definitely want quick release. What brands should I look at? I don't think I need MAC or SnapOn level stuff, these will only be used occasionally. But when I do use them I want to feel some quality. Or should I just buy a massive Husky kit from Home Depot. Last time I bought one of those it was apparently packed by a blind monkey considering the mismatches and random sizes. But since then I see good reviews for Husky/Kobalt type tools. 

Snap-On Dual 80:

/thread

Seriously, it's worth every penny.

Once you use one, you'll never want anything else.

Round head versus pear head is total personal preference.  Back in the day round head ratchets had higher tooth counts so they were stronger,  felt smoother and needed fewer degrees of rotation to engage. These days with multi pawls and up to 120 tooth gears the advantage is with a pear head. 

I prefer pear head because I like to be able to look at the tool and know which direction it will turn. 

I used to be a hardcore snap on hater. I had high end ratchets from lots of manufacturers.  Now all my ratchets are flex head dual 80 snap ons. Several of each size drive and handle lengths. They just feel so damn good. Spendy, bit I like to believe I am worth it 

Interesting to note that the dual 80 ratchets have a higher strength rating than the snap on breaker bars of the same drive size. 

Shawn beat me to it

Regarding the thumb wheel, I have a personal preference for my tools to do one thing and do it well.   Too often I find that tools that try to do multiple jobs just kinda suck at all of them.

A thumb wheel is probably at the low end of that multi-tool thing though, so if it gets you going then go for it.

But if I needed something like that, I'd be reaching for a palm ratchet.

ShawnG said:

Snap-On Dual 80:

/thread

$150 

ShawnG said:

Snap-On Dual 80:

/thread

I have a craftsman that looks just like this. It's on its last legs and keeps making me slip and bleed. But the shape and length are awesome. Good to know there is a quality replacement available. 

As someone who's had terrible luck with snap on ratchets breaking I've started using a Carlisle flex head 3/8 ratchet and a sk half inch drive. I have an sk 3/8 standard length ratchet that I use if the flex head is too long. Both a lot cheaper then my snap on stuff with a lifetime warranty and easy replacement 

In reply to yupididit :

Buy once, cry once.

No interest in electric?

yupididit said:

ShawnG said:

Snap-On Dual 80:

/thread

 

$150 

That's it?  I'm impressed, that's about what a Matco ratchet runs.  Snap-On tools are usually double or more of Matco pricing.

FWIW, I do have one Snap-On ratchet, an on-center swivel ratchet.  It was $99 in 1996.

dropstep said:

As someone who's had terrible luck with snap on ratchets breaking I've started using a Carlisle flex head 3/8 ratchet and a sk half inch drive. I have an sk 3/8 standard length ratchet that I use if the flex head is too long. Both a lot cheaper then my snap on stuff with a lifetime warranty and easy replacement 

I used to go through flex head 1/2" ratchets like 40 watt bulbs in old incandescent worklights.  Finally the one tool salesman said, look, buy a breaker bar or I'll stop warrantying these.

So I did, and by some miracle I stopped breaking ratchets.  Turns out ratchets DON'T like being used to loosen extremely tight fasteners.  Who knew? 

I di have a bunch of Carlisle sockets.  As you say, if you need 'em, you can look them up online and your NAPA will even deliver them to you.  That's how I finally broke down and bought a set of 1/4" drive swivel sockets.  $160 from NAPA... they would have been about $400-500 from MAC, which is why I never bought a set.  It's somewhat liberating to not have to compulsively buy tools just so you can have them just in case, because NAPA will hook you up (usually within an hour or two) when you realize that you now need a set of 5-lobed tamperproof Torx sockets.

I really like the Euro stuff I have - Facom, Wera, Felo - but I'm not using it every day, so I can't speak to how it stands up to that kind of demand. All of those listed have been 100% reliable for me, and some are 20+ years old (Facom). The Wera Zyklop line of swivel-head ratchets is incredibly useful, moreso than I expected it to be.

You don't HAVE to buy new.  You can usually find these at flea for $30 or $40 used.  Might take some hunting, but if you look long enough you will find one.

Probably a good place for this. You don't always have to toss slipping craftsman stuff. 

I bought the 18" flex head Kobalt from lowes a few years back. I love that ratchet. 

this one

I use the flex head Snap On at work every day. I'm very meh about it. I have a Wera at home and I like it just as much. Very small head. It's not flex but I dislike the flex head as much as I like it. I've been considering spending $$ and buying a Nepros. They look lovely. 

I got a set of the Craftsman branded "premium" ratchets two three years ago now. They are going strong. 

I stuck it out with Craftsman mostly due to ease of access and 100% replacement guarantee. They fit and worked better than HF stuff. Now with Sears gone and "New" Craftsman so questionable. I am finding that I will lean towards the DeWalt/Stanley/Bostich family. Again because they are good enough quality and easy to find the replacement socket. 

I have a few SK sockets and liked their 1/4 ratchet before I lost it. I would stick with them if they were easy to find at Grainger. But they seem to be hard to find at times in my area. As in they have sets in stock but not the 13mm 3/8 drive deep that I need. 

I just stepped into the world of cordless ratchets. They will be a must have for any future growth of my tool box. They are made by:

MAC(DeWalt batteries)

Milwaukee

Ingersoll Rand

Makita

HF

You MUST at least take a look at them. completely eliminates the need for the little wheel you like. 

 The Snap on version sucks per many reviews. I did read that Snap On has hinted to be releasing a much improved version soon. 

In reply to yupididit :

Worth every penny.

I have a good number of SnapOns. Short, long, and long flex in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2.

I have never bought one new. Either local finds or eBay.

Worth every penny. I have never broken one. They are nice tools and I respect them and don't abuse them. If a fastener needs a lot of undue force I use a breaker bar to get it moving first.

Advan046 said:

Now with Sears gone and "New" Craftsman so questionable. I am finding that I will lean towards the DeWalt/Stanley/Bostich family.

Just a FYI, Stanley owns Craftsman now. 

I have a combination of Craftsman and S&K tools some of which is over fifty years old. They are well used and sometimes have been abused. I did not use these tools to make a living but found they served my needs well. Over the years when I have needed a tool I bought Craftsman. I can say I have broken very few Craftsman tools. Some of it is common sense in using the right tool for the right job as in not using a 3/8 ratchet when you should be using a 1/2.

It would appear that Lowe's is going to make Craftsman their main line of hand tools. Their display keeps getting larger and larger and the display of Kobalt is getting smaller. The other day I needed a 30 and 36 mm socket and was able to purchase both separately from the drawers of individual sockets. With Lowe's stocking Craftsman and lifetime warranty it is convenient when something is needed. The new line of polished Craftsman ratchets and wrench's actually look really good. 
 

I guess a lot depends on if you use your tools everyday and how much you want to spend.

In reply to Toyman01 :

Yes I know. I used to work for Stanley Black and Decker for the Dewalt brand tools. At this time the Craftsman line is made of legacy contracts and holes filled by versions of Stanley stuff. It appears that if their Texas mfg plant launches well they will stabilize their ratchet and socket line. Until then, it is rather hard to figure out what level quality you will get. Lowe's had doubled down on Craftsman tools for their stores. Which is good and bad. I know DeWalt surprised Stanley B&D with how much name brand cred it held. They thought Stanley tools would be the premium brand and initially launched that way. But quickly switched to now holding DeWalt at the top of the general public sales channel. Hardcore guys like us can buy Mac Tool or even Proto Tool if we want that top level. 

But I honestly don't wrench like I used to and buying up a bunch of Proto/Mac  or Snap On stuff seems overkill.

I stuck with Craftsman for a long time but their newer ratchets all wore out far quicker than they should have for how little I use them. I broke down and bought a set of Macs and they were worth every penny in not having to find a sears and exchange them every few months.