Why aren’t 6 point ratcheting wrenches more popular?

[mikey03]

tekton used to make 6 point ratcheting wrenches and stopped and now just makes 12 like everyone else. It’s either 12 or spline but not 6

what I don’t get is the benefit of using 12 on a ratcheting wrench. Yea if there’s 12 point fasteners but mostly we are doing work on 6s I think except aviation.

the benefit of 12 on a fixed box end wrench is you have twice as many options for the starting position for better leverage. But on a ratcheting wrench suppose it was 6 point and didn’t line up to the fastener in a way that let you get a good angle. Couldn’t you just take the wrench in your hand and turn the wrench a few clicks until it’s in a better position you need?

i do have a theory. It’s that ratcheting wrenches are meant to be time savers and if you’re wasting time clicking it over each time then it’s not saving as much time. And the benefit of 6 over 12 point is more torque but if the bolt is tight you shouldn’t be using a ratcheting wrench to break it anyway. So the benefit of 6 is lost but the cost is there to turn it to set it up sometimes if angle is bad.

 

[GeoBruin]

tekton used to make 6 point ratcheting wrenches and stopped and now just makes 12 like everyone else. It’s either 12 or spline but not 6

what I don’t get is the benefit of using 12 on a ratcheting wrench. Yea if there’s 12 point fasteners but mostly we are doing work on 6s I think except aviation.

the benefit of 12 on a fixed box end wrench is you have twice as many options for the starting position for better leverage. But on a ratcheting wrench suppose it was 6 point and didn’t line up to the fastener in a way that let you get a good angle. Couldn’t you just take the wrench in your hand and turn the wrench a few clicks until it’s in a better position you need?

i do have a theory. It’s that ratcheting wrenches are meant to be time savers and if you’re wasting time clicking it over each time then it’s not saving as much time. And the benefit of 6 over 12 point is more torque but if the bolt is tight you shouldn’t be using a ratcheting wrench to break it anyway. So the benefit of 6 is lost but the cost is there to turn it to set it up sometimes if angle is bad.

I have the Tekton 6 point long dbe ratcheting wrenches. I didn't think I would mind the 6 point but it's honestly not ideal. Kind of fiddley trying to get them on a fastener.

Wana buy them? I'll make you a good deal and they've hardly been used!

 

[SwissMetric]

Unless screw heads or nuts are damaged (including rust), 6 points are not much required excepted for impact sockets.
Nearly all closed-ring wrenches are 12 points anyway.

In many industries you only require 12 points, the automotive domain being the best known one for low-quality screws, undersized screw heads and of course countless impossible to losen screws and nuts which are in addition hard to access, there 6 points is a must.

One notable exception are screws and nuts made of soft material like e.g. copper, aluminium or polyamide where 6 points are better.

 

[Jack Ryan]

If you use a six point ring spanner or socket on a six point fastener you can imagine the extra contact applying torque to the fastener. But if you look at the actual contact points, it is right on the corners. Specially shaped tools can vary that but there is not always a great deal of difference in the actual grip between 6 and 12 point tools.

Yes, there is a difference, but it is nowhere near the whole of six sides.

Jack

 

[Odd-job]

ratcheting wrenches tend to be for low(er) torque with tighter access applications anyways so the 12 point or spline tends to be a better compliment

 

[Pinne]

If you use a six point ring spanner or socket on a six point fastener you can imagine the extra contact applying torque to the fastener. But if you look at the actual contact points, it is right on the corners. Specially shaped tools can vary that but there is not always a great deal of difference in the actual grip between 6 and 12 point tools.

Yes, there is a difference, but it is nowhere near the whole of six sides.

Jack

Almost all modern 6pt tools are designed to grip the flats, not the corners. Even the least expensive stuff I own (a Craftsman set that I bought new for $15 at Ace Hardware in a pinch) is designed and manufactured that way. A 6pt socket or wrench is going to have far more grip / torque handling before damaging a fastener or slipping.

Torque Test Channel on YouTube did a video about this and found that the 6pt box end handled nearly twice as much torque before slipping as a 12pt. Granted, this isn't an all encompassing and scientific analysis but I think it's a reasonable confirmation that 6pt is better for tight fasteners.

But, I don't think that matters all that much as I'd guess that the ratchet teeth might give up before I need to worry about rounding bolts in the situations that that I'd use a wrench over a socket. But maybe I'm wrong and those ratcheting wrenches are burlier than I'm imagining.

 

[Jack Ryan]

Almost all modern 6pt tools are designed to grip the flats, not the corners.

But only a small portion of the flats - as I mentioned.

Even the least expensive stuff I own (a Craftsman set that I bought new for $15 at Ace Hardware in a pinch) is designed and manufactured that way. A 6pt socket or wrench is going to have far more grip / torque handling before damaging a fastener or slipping.

But not much, assuming a well designed tool.

Torque Test Channel on YouTube did a video about this and found that the 6pt box end handled nearly twice as much torque before slipping as a 12pt. Granted, this isn't an all encompassing and scientific analysis but I think it's a reasonable confirmation that 6pt is better for tight fasteners.

No, not really scientific, as it is not just the number of points being compared. There is the design (geometry), material and fit - at least.

But, I don't think that matters all that much as I'd guess that the ratchet teeth might give up before I need to worry about rounding bolts in the situations that that I'd use a wrench over a socket. But maybe I'm wrong and those ratcheting wrenches are burlier than I'm imagining.

True, although ratchets have improved over the years.

Jack

 

[VolvoRyan]

Finding any wrench in 6-pt is pretty hard these days.

-Ryan

 

[Fedwrench]

How much of a gain is there using a six point ratcheting wrench over a 12 point ratcheting wrench with off corner engagement? Just thinking out loud. I also have the first gen Tekton and Carlyle ratcheting wrenches that are six point. I haven't experienced any issues with handle positioning, swing, or fastener engagement with the ratcheting boxed end. If it was fixed, it would be a different story.

 

[i84x]

SK make some 6 point ratchet wrenches (Don't know if they're USA or China made though as some pictures say "USA" and some don't).
Personally I don't think there is much gain for a spanner to be 6 point vs 12, the benefit of a 6 point is to stop slipping at high torque but really you shouldn't be using a ratchet spanner for the kind of torque that would cause that slippage.

 

[Farmall450]

Finding any wrench in 6-pt is pretty hard these days.

-Ryan

Craftsman overdrive are long panel 6 point - maybe they'll come out with a ratcheting version.

 

[allinon72]

I’m more upset that they’re all 0 offset these days. I hate using a 0 offset ratcheting wrench.

 

[zendriver]

If I needed that much force to have to have a six point wrench, the ratchet mechanism would probably go **** up before it broke loose

 

[mreisner]

Mac has some.

 

[Steve_P]

Torque Test did a test a few months ago on three different brand ratcheting wrenches; they all failed before the 12 point or spline ends slipped. The failure torques were extremely high; IIRC, the 17mm wrenches were in the 300 lbf-ft range. So, unless you weigh 400 lbs, or put a pipe on them, you're not going to break them- at least in the larger sizes. If Snap On is only making them in 12 point, I think that it's pretty much decided that's good enough.

edit- he also said that he didn't really see any difference in the "witness marks" on the hex stock between the 12 point and the spline wrenches.

I have some of the 6 point Tekton and think they're fine. I don't use them enough to where it's an issue for me to turn the end 30* to make it fit. If I used them multiple times a day, I'm sure I'd have a different opinion.

 

[chilly13]

If I recall correctly, olsa sells some in stubby form. I have a cheapo amazon set that work fine in a go bag. I think its workpro maybe?

 

[Professor Gascan]

Picked up a set of Olsa flex head 6 point recently and they are very nice for the $. They make them in fixed and stubby as well.

 

[impactims]

In theory, yes, just ratchet a few clicks to get the 6-sided tool over the bolt head.

But, in practice it doesn't make much sense. Better to have the 12 to more quickly and easily put the tool to use. Since it's a low torque application, the 12 is just as good as the 6, yet quicker and easier to use and quick and easy is what ratcheting wrenches are all about.

 

[Shoreline_]

I have 6 pt mac ones and had 12 pt gearwrench ones. Didn't really have a hard time with getting the wrench on the fastener

 

[The Bean]

I've got 12, 8, and 6 point. You never know...

 

[Jack Ryan]

I've got 12, 8, and 6 point. You never know...

Only 8 point and not 4 point? Surely you are not applying the torque you otherwise might on 4 point fasteners.

Jack

 

[seber]

I’m more upset that they’re all 0 offset these days. I hate using a 0 offset ratcheting wrench.

I long ago pitched both sets of exposed ratcheting wrenches for that very reason. They almost never worked without an offset and wound up unused in the back of the drawer.

 

[Jtels85]

I just purchased the Olsa Tools 6 point flex head ratcheting wrench set from Amazon and they arrived the other day. They appear to be very robust. I haven't used them yet, but I'm happy to have them.

 

[PCMusicGuy]

Here are the only 6 point, reversible, offset wrenches I've found.
Starwork

 

[liliysdad]

Seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

 

[L.Cheapo]

I've got 12, 8, and 6 point. You never know...

Who makes an 8 point ratcheting wrench? Not that I need any, I've just never seen one.

 

[The Bean]

My bad. I was referring to my sockets, not ratcheting wrenches. There are probably no 8-point wrenches. Sorry.

 

[KnurledNut]

Lineman use them:

 

[Hohn]

I have the Tekton 6 point long dbe ratcheting wrenches. I didn't think I would mind the 6 point but it's honestly not ideal. Kind of fiddley trying to get them on a fastener.

Wana buy them? I'll make you a good deal and they've hardly been used!

I went out of my way to get those before they moved them all over to 12pt. Cold dead hands, I say!

 

[GeoBruin]

I went out of my way to get those before they moved them all over to 12pt. Cold dead hands, I say!

I did the same! I didn't want to regret not getting them before they disappeared. Then they just sat unused...

 

[Hohn]

I did the same! I didn't want to regret not getting them before they disappeared. Then they just sat unused...

I can see how a well-tooled GJer might let them sit. For me, they are what I grab on the first trip to the box. I've gotten a lot of use from them already.
I will say that my Astro Nanos might be replacing them in some use cases, now that I have all the drive tools for the Nanos (short and long 17mm and 22mm.

They are indeed a bit fiddly in that they fit SO WELL that they are hard to get on and off sometimes. This I consider to be a good problem to have, but it does make them a bit higher friction in terms of workflow.

The Nanos give me nearly as low a profile as the ratcheting box end, but with slicker off and on and still 6pt, so the Nanos are seeing more action these days. But there are plenty of times where you simply need that too that's DBE thick and no thicker, so the Tektons get plenty of use.

 

[mikey03]

I can see how a well-tooled GJer might let them sit. For me, they are what I grab on the first trip to the box. I've gotten a lot of use from them already.
I will say that my Astro Nanos might be replacing them in some use cases, now that I have all the drive tools for the Nanos (short and long 17mm and 22mm.

that’s a good point I always see people raving about astro nano sockets and the ratcheting wrench for it but your just making a 6 point ratcheting wrench that got a slight lip. I never hear complaints it’s too hard to use because it’s 6 point. I do hear lots of complaints tbh that it’s not reversible

 

[liliysdad]

I still don't understand....what's the point? Its not like the ratchet mechanism will withstand forces that will cause a 12pt box end to round corners...

 

[terrific]

6-pt fixed end, 12-pt flex ratcheting end would be pretty cool.

 

[Olsa Tools]

If I recall correctly, olsa sells some in stubby form. I have a cheapo amazon set that work fine in a go bag. I think its workpro maybe?

We have them in stubby and regular sizes, in both fixed and flex heads.

 

[kctgb]

I’m ok with 12 point as long as there’s not any chafer on the box end. I want 100 percent of the wrench grabbing the fastener. Chamfer is the number one reason 12 point wrenches strip fasteners in my opinion.

 

[roofdweller49]

I can see how a well-tooled GJer might let them sit. For me, they are what I grab on the first trip to the box. I've gotten a lot of use from them already.
I will say that my Astro Nanos might be replacing them in some use cases, now that I have all the drive tools for the Nanos (short and long 17mm and 22mm.

They are indeed a bit fiddly in that they fit SO WELL that they are hard to get on and off sometimes. This I consider to be a good problem to have, but it does make them a bit higher friction in terms of workflow.

The Nanos give me nearly as low a profile as the ratcheting box end, but with slicker off and on and still 6pt, so the Nanos are seeing more action these days. But there are plenty of times where you simply need that too that's DBE thick and no thicker, so the Tektons get plenty of use.

What's a good set of ratcheting wrenches to go with astro nano sockets?

Does anyone make double box end flex ratchet wrenches that don't have the little protrusion like the mountain/matco/icon?

 

[chilly13]

What's a good set of ratcheting wrenches to go with astro nano sockets?

Does anyone make double box end flex ratchet wrenches that don't have the little protrusion like the mountain/matco/icon?

You dont like the offset? You could always use the other side, opposite the offset. Other than that, I think almost everyone has them with only one side flex head and ratcheting. The other side would be fixed. Personally, I use the ratchet Astro sells specifically for the nanos so they don’t fall out. I have both sized and they are a game changer! Matco has a version with a reversible lever too so you don’t have to pull them out and flip them around!

 

[roofdweller49]

I figured if I get both the astro nano sockets set and it's associated ratchet wrench, the corresponding ratchet wrench set shouldn't be be duplicating the same function. How close in thickness is a nano socket in its ratchet wrench vs the protrusion from the matco/mountain/icon?

 

[chilly13]

I figured if I get both the astro nano sockets set and it's associated ratchet wrench, the corresponding ratchet wrench set shouldn't be be duplicating the same function. How close in thickness is a nano socket in its ratchet wrench vs the protrusion from the matco/mountain/icon?

Ah I see. I’ll let someone else answer that question who owns both. The nano is very short in its ratcheting wrench. Not sure how it compares to the offset in the double box end flex wrenches