That looks like my new Britain... must be a copy of the design.This guy is my goto 3/8 ratchet.
It's built like a tank and with a little lube I don't notice the tooth count.
http://www.harryepstein.com/index.php/ratchets-3-8-drive-26871.html
I've got several Dual 80's and they are super nice but for some reason old bent handle SK is my favorite.
3/8 flex ratchet
- Thread starter brihvac
- Start date
Or would the New Britain be a "copy" of an SK design?
From "Alloy Artifacts" -
"In the early 1950s New Britain licensed a patent for a new ratchet design that promised great strength in a very small head. The ratchet design and a later improvement were developed by Luther Kilness, and the patents were issued as #2,554,990 in 1951 and #2,981,389 in 1961. These are basically second-generation improvements on the original round-head fine-tooth patent #1,981,526 developed by S-K's Theodore Rueb in 1934.
The Kilness-design ratchets were highly successful products for New Britain, and probably should be considered as one of the company's most important contributions to tool development. The Husky product line included a number of models based on these patents, as the following figures will show."
Link - http://alloy-artifacts.org/newbritain-nonebetter.html#newbritain
I am buying the beer.Or would the New Britain be a "copy" of an SK design?
From "Alloy Artifacts" -
"In the early 1950s New Britain licensed a patent for a new ratchet design that promised great strength in a very small head. The ratchet design and a later improvement were developed by Luther Kilness, and the patents were issued as #2,554,990 in 1951 and #2,981,389 in 1961. These are basically second-generation improvements on the original round-head fine-tooth patent #1,981,526 developed by S-K's Theodore Rueb in 1934.
The Kilness-design ratchets were highly successful products for New Britain, and probably should be considered as one of the company's most important contributions to tool development. The Husky product line included a number of models based on these patents, as the following figures will show."
Link - http://alloy-artifacts.org/newbritain-nonebetter.html#newbritain
[emoji481]
I'll drink to that - in fact in about 20 minutes I'll be hoisting a few.
and Happy New Year!Spdfreak91
Well-known member
Last edited:
1950mercury
Well-known member
Or just buy a craftsman raised panel and be happy
That is a negative.
Greg85mcss
Well-known member
I think my flf80 was $135. It was a great ratchet until it grew legs. I have the matco locking flex now & it's pretty decent. I'd rather have my old one though. One thing I wish is that they'd do splines on the swivel like cheaper companies do. It's nice to have the handle set to a certain angle without having to be locked.
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Well the standard Cman isnt a raised panel and the 36T mechanism isn't as nice as either the 54T Stanley nor the 72T Crescent/GW roto. The Stanley isn't a premium ratchet but that wasn't what the OP asked for. It is decent. I like that the lock is very secure. It's also nice to have the extending handle when you want extra yet still controlled torque. It's not great if you want something flex head yet not too big. That extending handle is heavy. Regardless, I don't see anything wrong with it given the OP's requirements. A lot of other people around here seem to feel the same way.