Outlawmws
Well-known member
Sort of a love-hate relationship here at GJ it seems, but there are decent solutions as well.
The one everyone loves to hate seems to be the plain open end with the notch in it. (Top in the pic) not useful for anything close to high torque, but seems to work for light use, within the 60 deg limits of the hex nut. Smaller swing angles than than that not too useful.
I have a few Imperial hinged jaw "opening" box wrenches that can give you the access an open end gives you, with the full enclosure of a box. well made, and strong, enough, despite the stamped shell handle. its weakness is where the jaws hinge, but does an ice job nonetheless. this gets things down to 15 deg, swing, and only a little limiting for access around the bolt or nut head. I've got two in the pic; one open and one closed. I wish I had a full set of these...
My next example is a Heller Bros. Masterwrench; by far the best from a torque perspective, ease of use and strength of wrench. You also don't need but two or three of these to cover many sizes, and its SAE/metric agnostic.
Its issue is 60 degree swing, like the open end with the notch, and head access space needed, similar to a crescent, (but far less likely to round something off than a crescent or even a regular open end. the harder you pull the tighter it grips. I keep one of these in my camp gear for doing the propane connections. I keep the handle painted florescent orange and a wire hook on the end eye so I can hang it handy in camp.
Primary drawback is availability: This was made in the 20's through about post WWII era I believe.
Of the three I'll go for the Masterwrench first as long as the access is there. the Imperials next and the notched jaw last, and only for light use.
How about everyone else - any other solutions for an open end ratcheting tool? Likes or dislikes?
The one everyone loves to hate seems to be the plain open end with the notch in it. (Top in the pic) not useful for anything close to high torque, but seems to work for light use, within the 60 deg limits of the hex nut. Smaller swing angles than than that not too useful.
I have a few Imperial hinged jaw "opening" box wrenches that can give you the access an open end gives you, with the full enclosure of a box. well made, and strong, enough, despite the stamped shell handle. its weakness is where the jaws hinge, but does an ice job nonetheless. this gets things down to 15 deg, swing, and only a little limiting for access around the bolt or nut head. I've got two in the pic; one open and one closed. I wish I had a full set of these...
My next example is a Heller Bros. Masterwrench; by far the best from a torque perspective, ease of use and strength of wrench. You also don't need but two or three of these to cover many sizes, and its SAE/metric agnostic.
Its issue is 60 degree swing, like the open end with the notch, and head access space needed, similar to a crescent, (but far less likely to round something off than a crescent or even a regular open end. the harder you pull the tighter it grips. I keep one of these in my camp gear for doing the propane connections. I keep the handle painted florescent orange and a wire hook on the end eye so I can hang it handy in camp.
Primary drawback is availability: This was made in the 20's through about post WWII era I believe.
Of the three I'll go for the Masterwrench first as long as the access is there. the Imperials next and the notched jaw last, and only for light use.
How about everyone else - any other solutions for an open end ratcheting tool? Likes or dislikes?
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