Ya know, these 12 pt vs 6 pt socket discussions confound me somewhat. First, throw ¼ drive out of the discussion – have always had/used 6 pts there because of the small sizes. Except for those, all the rest of my first sets were 12 pts. Most all of my current chrome stuff is 12 pt, except for the 3/8 deepwell Snappy's I got a great deal on years ago. 12 pt sockets have removed/tightened most every bolt/nut I've ever needed them to - I've only gone for a 6 pt (and some PB/CRC) if the 12 starts to slip, which has been rare (for me). If given a choice between grabbing a 12 or a 6, I always reach for the 12 first. My father's sets were all 12 pts, my friends' sets were most all 12 pts, the various places I've worked over the years (never as a mechanic though) that had some sort of small maintenance facility or stash of tools had mostly 12 pts. Whenever I hit the flea marts or auctions, the vast majority of older misc chrome sockets and sets I find are 12 pts. 12 pt sockets are as common as dirt, 6 pts are far less commonly found in the used box-o-sockets. To me, 6 points have always been for impacts or the really ultra cheap import crapola – you know, the stuff that never fits quite right, and rusts and peels just from looking at it.
This site is literally the first time I've ever heard of a preference by a # of people for 6 pt over 12 pt for normal everyday (non-impact) use. What gives? What's happened over the years to see what seems to be a gradual switch to 6 pt preference? Have I just lived an extremely sheltered life, never having been exposed to the “truth” of 6 pt superiority? Am I a “socket bigot” for refusing to use a 6 pt socket unless I absolutely need to?
Oh, one area I will go right to the 6 pt impacts for is older rusted-up exhaust work - more often than not I end up pounding the jammed-in twisted-off nut/bolt head out of the socket - hate to ****** up chrome with the vise jaws.
