New fkex zone impacts from SK

[Xcursion88]

New flex zone impacts from SK

Check these out. I'm not sure the flex effect for endurance should be the the promotion of them but I'd bet they would provide insane torque IN either direction. They might be stronger too but our strongest impact sockets here are actually SK and they don't break.
Perhaps these are thinner and as strong


https://sktools.com/content/sktools/en_US/flexzone.html

 

[Dieselhammer]

I was curious about those as well. I like SK very much have lots of their sockets, impact and chrome all the way up to 3/4 drive stuff and ive never been able to say theyre weak. The drive ends do mushroom out pretty quickly even after the first use, but they get to a point that they dont seem to wear past and stay like that.

 

[BK13]

Well, we ought to see those in about four years.... if at all.

 

[ToolPolisher]

They are already out. I have a 17mm from the socket of the month club but haven't had a reason to use it yet

 

[Yarpo]

Yah I dunno....how often are people fracturing impact sockets? I've had the same set and used them professionally for years, then brought them home and used them at home for years, and now brought them back to work. No issues, and they're cheap old HF impacts. Seems like a weird thing to focus on

 

[rmsg0040]

^^They are trying to help you solve a problem you never had before

 

[usdemt]

Is it me or is this counter intuitive? To me the benefit of an impact is that it hits hard and fast. If you put a "flex zone" into the socket wouldn't that make your tool less effective by absorbing torque?

I originally thought about this when Milwaukee was advertising their impact bits with their "torsion zone" or whatever its called and it didn't make sense to me that more flex in that area would increase torque.

I have a strong suspicion this is all marketing **** just like Milwaukee's bits (do not recommend). Or a way to reduce warranty returns. That being said. I got a set of SK's flex impact sockets and lover them. I love SK tools just not following this one.

 

[JulianMorrow]

Why isn't a 21mm in that set--that's a standard lug nut size for Toyotas. And do you really need a 10mm impact socket? They should've dropped the 10mm (they can even drop the 11mm) and added a 21mm to that set. I need impact sockets for large fasteners, not a 10mm.

 

[t4runner]

^^They are trying to help you solve a problem you never had before

My thoughts exactly.

 

[CR888]

I think its clever in the fact the soft metal impact usually have means the drive end & 6pt/12pt end get beaten out of shape. These sockets will still hit hard, theoretically they'll just last longer. Although good pro design Cr-V Taiwan impact sockets are pretty cheap to the point warranty don't matter & you'll get more than your monies worth service lice wise so if theses SK's were 3-5X the price it would prevent me from buying them. But I like the idea, its clever and attempts to solve an inherent problem with soft safe impacts that the big brands offer.

 

[davethorik]

I often wonder how SK stays in business.
Frustrating they absolutely refuse to make different styles of their X-frame ratcheting wrenches, and release only standard length versions of their new LP 90 ratchet.

Then they make these sockets. WTF.

I'm not gonna be buying any more new SK tools unless they pull their heads out of their ***. Or go out of business again and everything is on clearance, lol!!

 

[turnthewrench 2.0]

My thoughts exactly.

Ditto. Companies should focus on what the customers need/want and not on who wins the quarterly bonus with that "innovative" idea.

 

[Professional Tool User]

Yah I dunno....how often are people fracturing impact sockets? I've had the same set and used them professionally for years, then brought them home and used them at home for years, and now brought them back to work. No issues, and they're cheap old HF impacts. Seems like a weird thing to focus on

+1 Special heat treating is cool and all, but impact sockets are one of those things that don't break unless you really beat on them after they are worn down. I've only broken one worn down shallow 1/2 dr 21mm Canadian tire impact socket so far and that was from using it to fight a seized bolt while hooked up to a reducer and a 3/4 gun. Considering that the cost per socket when I bought the set on sale averages out to $1-$2, impact sockets are one of those things that can be both cheap and good. There are other tools that break easily like swivel impacts and reducers that SK should worry about. If someone can make a universal joint that can survive 20 years of daily usage without breaking, I'd be happy to pay more than what Snap on is charging.

 

[Spacey_G]

The point of these is to make them last longer before the ends wallow out, not to solve a non-existent fracturing problem. It seems that they harden them more than an impact socket and then draw back the center with an inductive heater to prevent the socket from cracking, which it would if they just hardened the whole thing and left it.

It seems like an interesting enough idea, if a little gimmicky. The issue, as evidenced by the responses in this thread, is that they haven't communicated clearly enough how they work. Everyone appears to be missing the point.

 

[lbhsbz]

I'm not sure SK understands how the structure of a round tube works.

Also, I've been beating on a $20 set of Harbor Freight impact sockets for 20 years and the only one that has ever failed was my 21mm (lug socket that probably installed/removed 40 wheels/day for 5 years at the toyota dealer) Replacement was free. Why change what works fine?

 

[Yarpo]

The point of these is to make them last longer before the ends wallow out, not to solve a non-existent fracturing problem. It seems that they harden them more than an impact socket and then draw back the center with an inductive heater to prevent the socket from cracking, which it would if they just hardened the whole thing and left it.

It seems like an interesting enough idea, if a little gimmicky. The issue, as evidenced by the responses in this thread, is that they haven't communicated clearly enough how they work. Everyone appears to be missing the point.

The sockets are called "Flex zone" and the flexzone is referenced by them as being able to withstand fracture, that was their statement...

So by that metric I'm going to say they intend to solve some sort of non existent fracturing problem at least by the name and graphic, if that wasn't their intention then ya, that was communicated poorly by them and they should have named it "SK - SuperHard drive end" or something along those lines.

 

[anndel]

They are already out. I have a 17mm from the socket of the month club but haven't had a reason to use it yet

Same here, I used them on Toyota caliper mounting bolts and they hold up well. I don't see any difference between the SK flex and my Snap-ons.

 

[Xcursion88]

In theory they could work like the Bubba Rope tow strap

The 4x4 crowd here knows what I'm talking about.

The rope pulls to a point then with elastic snaps the vehicle foward with more strength.

In a sense this could the same thing. Each time the hammer blow let's off it would essentially spring forward or backward pending the direction you're going.

In theory.

As I've said though the toughest impacts we have here are SK. We have all brands and they just do not give up.

So I'm not sure about this.....

 

[CR888]

No they won't work like a tow rope ******-strap, they will work exactly the same as any impact socket but will not have soft compromised ends. But if GJ tool enthusiasts can't work it out I agree SK have done a terrible job explaining the new product.

 

[Xcursion88]

No they won't work like a tow rope ******-strap, they will work exactly the same as any impact socket but will not have soft compromised ends. But if GJ tool enthusiasts can't work it out I agree SK have done a terrible job explaining the new product.

If the middle flexes it would have a memory othewise it would ultimately twist in half...therefore...

I'm not convinced it wouldn't have an elastic effect intention or not.

Not that we need more power

 

[Sanny81]

Wish they’d spend time developing the stuff people have been dying for for years...Flex head reversible X Frames and long and flex version of their new tear drop ratchets.

 

[Spacey_G]

The sockets are called "Flex zone" and the flexzone is referenced by them as being able to withstand fracture, that was their statement...

So by that metric I'm going to say they intend to solve some sort of non existent fracturing problem at least by the name and graphic, if that wasn't their intention then ya, that was communicated poorly by them and they should have named it "SK - SuperHard drive end" or something along those lines.

Are you under the impression that they make regular impact sockets and then heat treat the center to make that section even softer? How does that make any sense?

If I wanted to make an impact socket that lasts "58%" longer, I would look for a way to make the ends last longer, since that's the typical failure mode. How do we prevent wallowing at the ends? Make them harder. But that creates a fracture problem, so what do we do? Draw back the center of the socket to a more typical impact socket hardness.

Again, the idea makes some sense, it's the marketing that's creating confusion. Focusing the naming on the harder drive ends probably would have made more sense.

 

[bonneyman]

Well, we ought to see those in about four years.... if at all.

Maybe the newest ratchets will have the tempered middle?

Just kidding - I like S-K tools.

 

[Steve_P]

Like everyone else, the impact sockets I've broken have cracked from a corner on the 6 point end. I like SK but dont see how this solves that. Why does the middle need reduced hardness to prevent failures? Hardness doesn't change the torsional deflection under load, that is a geometry and base material property. Hardness does change the strength but why make the middle a reduced hardness and strength?