Gear Wrench Ratcheting Flare Wrenches

I got a chance to play with my new set (only got standard) today for the first time. They're cooler than I thought they would be though to be fair, I was really looking forward to getting the set - I really could have used a new set of flare wrenches a month ago but I made do. As most of you would expect, they have the similar issues as the other Gear Wrenchs mfg'd in China. First glance they look good.

Closer inspection shows casting flaws visible on the jaws. Obviously not a big deal but none of my other wrenches have imperfections like this. I noticed it right out of the box and it did bother me a little. Seems it would take such a small amount of additional work to machine the affected surfaces but what do I know.

Some of the jaws aren't as tight as others. I figured out why too. It appears that the holes the rivets are in have sloppy recessing (meaning they are not all the same depth). When they set the rivet, a deeper recess allows the rivet to not be fully set. I could easily fix this by just giving them a whack. May try at some point. Had to see in this pic but the black around the head is space behind it.

The jaws of the wrench are better than I expected though not machined perfect (I know, I know).

The grip of the wrench when forces applied happens on only three edges. Not sure these will handle the beating of regular wrenching but for pipe stuff, they should be alright. I do wonder if only gripping on three corners will cause issues when getting it on copper fittings or not. Heh pic below is me leaning on the wrench on my Kurt vise closed. You can't see the head flexing a little but you can see the three contact points on the jaws. Not sure if I could lean on it hard enough to break it...not being sure says it ain't made for that.

When ratcheting, the jaws open up easily. It almost seems like they barely touch the hex of the bolt as though they are spring loaded. Neat action to watch.

Probably the coolest thing about them is the usefulness I hadn't anticipated. There's a tram bolt on the head of my mill that I have to use a crescent wrench on which really pisses me off. With the 3/4" Flex-Flare, it easily slips onto the bolt.

Gets into position in the same motion...

And in the same motion, is working on turning the fastener in the same natural motion you'd expect with a normal wrench.

This use, and this use alone, makes the set of wrenches worth the purchase. The smaller ones should work well for brake lines (I have half of a truck to do in a week or so) and I plan to use the bigger ones for plumbing activities later this month. I'll post updates when I have some other real world experiences to share. How much? Like $85.

I saw that these finally came out, was hoping someone would get them. I'd be very interested in how they do breaking tight fittings free compared to a standard flare wrench. To me, it seems like they're relying on the fixed side to take all the force. The hex broach looks pretty sloppy too but I guess they need to really round it to allow it to slip and "ratchet". Given the frozen fittings I encounter, think i'll pass.

Skin said:

I saw that these finally came out, was hoping someone would get them. I'd be very interested in how they do breaking tight fittings free compared to a standard flare wrench. To me, it seems like they're relying on the fixed side to take all the force. The hex broach looks pretty sloppy too but I guess they need to really round it to allow it to slip and "ratchet". Given the frozen fittings I encounter, think i'll pass.

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Yeah I don't know if they'd last professional/constant use. Intriguing design for sure though.

lilscorpion said:

Closer inspection shows casting flaws visible on the jaws. Obviously not a big deal but none of my other wrenches have imperfections like this. I noticed it right out of the box and it did bother me a little. Seems it would take such a small amount of additional work to machine the affected surfaces but what do I know.

Click to expand...

What you see as casting flaws are actually small areas that were not polished. They didn't take the time to polish each individual piece before assembly. They polished the whole wrench after it was assembled.

any more updates on these?

These are on my wishlist, the flex head is an awesome feature and the ratcheting design is awesome so this should be a win-win depending on how strong they are.

CWP1616L said:

What you see as casting flaws are actually small areas that were not polished. They didn't take the time to polish each individual piece before assembly. They polished the whole wrench after it was assembled.

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While I do agree with what you are saying, that area couldn't simply be polished (or milled) without causing sloppiness.

It appears to be designed that way to cut down on manufacturing time, for better or worse.


I think I am more sad about Gearwrench moving to China from Taiwan then Craftsman moving from the USA to China.

As cool as those are, I just can't get past the China thing.

I have the sur&r ratcheting flare wrenches. Im actually ver supprised at how well they actually work. Give em a try.