I was at the swapmeet recently and saw a nice looking Proto Ratchet that I had never seen before. I picked it up and looked over its shinny chrome finish and up to date styling and marveled that this might be a really great ratchet, But then realized how much better can this be than the 100+ plus ratchets that I already own.
A few of the ratchets I own
No I had better not buy it as this is what they do today. With what little improvements that they can make to the mechanism they gloss over that with over the top styling to try and induce you to buy this new style. Off the top of my head how many different styles of ratchets has Sears made over the years? And if you answer that question how many of them were a masterful improvement over the previous designs?
Proto-Plomb was for more than 50 years was probably as dull a ratchet as one could own. Now look them as modern as they can be. Just the ticket for selling more ratchets.
To give a quick answer, though, I would say that experience has proven that the best ratchet one can use is the one that is in your hand at the moment you need one.
Ok lets think this through what ratchet was so far ahead of its time that it made Snap-on, PLomb and every other ratchet on the market look like a stone age club? What ratchet if it were still being made today with little or no changes in styling (save for flex head upgrades and screwdriver handles) would still fit into the scheme of things and probably be the Gold Standard of ratchets even till now?
If a ratchet this good is not being made today, why then and what excuse do we use to reason out why it is not being still made as the company is still in business. I don't really have an answer to that question but I would imagine it was a marketing decision. They were bought out by another company in the 1950's and they probably decided this type of ratchet was too expensive to continue to manufacture.
The answer we seek is Blackhawk with their Freewheeling Ratchets. The ratchet with no teeth i.e. overriding clutch mechanism.
Above the 7/16" Drive Blackhawk Bullet Set almost complete. Boxes are rather common but sets are very hard to find.
Above four 7/16" Drive Ratchets (two of which are Freewheeling, one Bald Head and one Broached Tooth Speeder Ratchet) and last one 1/2" Drive Ratchet w/very rare cheater bar that fits into a hole in the back of the handle and extended the ratchet to 24"
The Blackhawk Company was years ahead with their design patents and they definitely had the market locked in with their far sighted thinking. Their 7/16" drive bullet set would fit right in with today's cars. Not overkill with 1/2" Drive and not too wimpy with a 3/8" Drive just the right size to get today's work done.
BTW I am only having fun here and not trying to be too serious as I do want to repeat the there really is no best ratchet. One only has to look at the ratchet I normally grab when I want to do a quick job and you are going to laugh it is a SK Round Head with a cheesy looking rubber grip on the handle.
A few of the ratchets I own
No I had better not buy it as this is what they do today. With what little improvements that they can make to the mechanism they gloss over that with over the top styling to try and induce you to buy this new style. Off the top of my head how many different styles of ratchets has Sears made over the years? And if you answer that question how many of them were a masterful improvement over the previous designs?
Proto-Plomb was for more than 50 years was probably as dull a ratchet as one could own. Now look them as modern as they can be. Just the ticket for selling more ratchets.
To give a quick answer, though, I would say that experience has proven that the best ratchet one can use is the one that is in your hand at the moment you need one.
Ok lets think this through what ratchet was so far ahead of its time that it made Snap-on, PLomb and every other ratchet on the market look like a stone age club? What ratchet if it were still being made today with little or no changes in styling (save for flex head upgrades and screwdriver handles) would still fit into the scheme of things and probably be the Gold Standard of ratchets even till now?
If a ratchet this good is not being made today, why then and what excuse do we use to reason out why it is not being still made as the company is still in business. I don't really have an answer to that question but I would imagine it was a marketing decision. They were bought out by another company in the 1950's and they probably decided this type of ratchet was too expensive to continue to manufacture.
The answer we seek is Blackhawk with their Freewheeling Ratchets. The ratchet with no teeth i.e. overriding clutch mechanism.
Above the 7/16" Drive Blackhawk Bullet Set almost complete. Boxes are rather common but sets are very hard to find.
Above four 7/16" Drive Ratchets (two of which are Freewheeling, one Bald Head and one Broached Tooth Speeder Ratchet) and last one 1/2" Drive Ratchet w/very rare cheater bar that fits into a hole in the back of the handle and extended the ratchet to 24"
The Blackhawk Company was years ahead with their design patents and they definitely had the market locked in with their far sighted thinking. Their 7/16" drive bullet set would fit right in with today's cars. Not overkill with 1/2" Drive and not too wimpy with a 3/8" Drive just the right size to get today's work done.
BTW I am only having fun here and not trying to be too serious as I do want to repeat the there really is no best ratchet. One only has to look at the ratchet I normally grab when I want to do a quick job and you are going to laugh it is a SK Round Head with a cheesy looking rubber grip on the handle.
on the Bullet box. Really sweet!