Best ratchets around.

[RMRCattleCo.]

The best rachets for all around use in my various farm and ranch repairs is any kilness patent design made by NB. I am also a heavy user of a certain indestro 6470 open gear, but its currently disassembled for a new gear. She is a tough ol gal. But i have had for many years NB made fine tooths in all drives and they have held up exceptionally. Here are my favorite kilness ratchets, all inherited from dad. 1/4" broke long ago after i loaned it out, never use 1/4" any way.

3/8"-> husky cb 43 or my blackhawk 34935
1/2"-> sparta cs 45
3/4"-> blackhawk 69999
The 3/4" drive has been cheated on many times but always been faithful, luckly we aquired a box full of New Britain repair kits of all drive sizes in fine tooth both 60 and45 tooth versions when the local Napa quit carrying them. Had to regut the both blackhawks once before.

What other names are the kilness ratchet marketed under.

 

[toddacimer]

My favorite would have to be the 80 tooth Snap on ratchets.

Fl80 is a great combination of size and strength but I can't wait for the new longer handle fll80

 

[440D150]

I love my 88 tooth Matco ratchets. The guys at work give me **** about the rainbow colored 3/8 but I still like it.

 

[dirtmister16]

before i got my snap on stuff, i had black hawk ratchets. i still have them i use them in my truck/road box.

i have them in 1/2 and 3/8 never found a 1/4 to get in with them. id sure like to though.
they are very tough and feel good like they wouldn't give up on ya.

 

[justanengineer]

JH Williams by far made the best ratchets IMHO. S52 is the iconic 1/2" drive.

 

[RMRCattleCo.]

I have never owned a snap on fl80 but my wife has one, its tough and looks good while doin it. Engineer, i almost forgot about my jh williams until i read your post. Its stashed somewhere in a dark corner of the barn. I think it was an s52 or b52? Cant remember, its finetoothed and 1/2" drive though. Been years since i used it. As i recall it has a pin type set ring on top thats as ***** to get off. Had to make a tool to get it.

 

[RV77]

I have never owned a snap on fl80 but my wife has one, its tough and looks good while doin it.

You are still talking ratchets right ?

 

[Aspen RT]

You are still talking ratchets right ?

LOL......

 

[justanengineer]

Engineer, i almost forgot about my jh williams until i read your post. Its stashed somewhere in a dark corner of the barn. I think it was an s52 or b52? Cant remember, its finetoothed and 1/2" drive though. Been years since i used it. As i recall it has a pin type set ring on top thats as ***** to get off. Had to make a tool to get it.

Cant say Ive ever needed to open one up so cant comment, but I always just really liked them for being tough, fine-toothed, and everybody seems to forget them when buying ratchets (meaning theyre reasonably cheap). They also had some really sharp knurling on the handles which prevented many busted knuckles for me. Just as a FYI S = 1/2" dr, B = 3/8" dr, and M = 1/4" dr.

 

[RMRCattleCo.]

Ahhh ok well i dug it out and you are right, its an s-52. Beautiful desgin and function. May have to hint for the b52 and m52 to work alongside the previously mentioned kilness rhft ratchets.

 

[littletoes]

Anyone have one of them new long-handled 1/4 Snappy's??? Bet that would be a favorite...

 

[ra42mario]

I normally feel SnapOn is quite over priced for what you get, and I rarely buy anything from the SnapOn man anymore; however, SnapOn ratchets are the best on the market in my opinion.

I've used them all, I have seen the 3/8 drive square on a Matco 88 snap right off without a cheater bar on it, Cornwell is severely behind in fine tooth design, and I wouldn't waste the time with a modern Mac.

SnapOn for me, but in my opinion its about all they make the best of anymore, besides their Air Hammer

 

[NissanTechWill]

I have owned many ratchets and I have to say, SOs are my favorite. I just got the new Gearwrench 120xp and think it feels like **** compared to my SO dual 80s.

 

[AL`]

JH Williams by far made the best ratchets IMHO. S52 is the iconic 1/2" drive.

I have an old S52 that was my grandfather's. It saw a lot of use in his hand as a mechanic for a trucking company, then my father used it, and now I have it. The action is smooth, and the handle knurl grips good. I love that ratchet. I just wish rebuild kits were available for these older ones. Cool sig, btw.

 

[chris6278]

My favorite ratchets are matco/armstrong 88s, have a few dual 80s but not that impressed with them

 

[sensei_]

i used a FL80 once. loved the feeling. however couldnt justify the price, until then, ill be sticking to my budget sidchrome.

 

[ADSR]

Any feedback on the new gearwrench 84 tooth?

http://www.gearwrench.com/catalog/GW_84TRatchet_SellSheet_FIN.pdf

 

[txst]

I bought 2 of the Gearwrench 84 tooth ratchets - a 3/8" and a 1/2". When I took the 3/8" out of the packaging and gave it a spin to feel the action, it immediately locked up. I thought I didn't have the direction selector locked in position, so I tried it again - same thing. It kept moving the selector to the center and locking up. I thought that was startange and opened the 1/2" drive ratchet, and it was much better. But then it locked up too - same issue as the 3/8", but not as bad. I took the 3/8" apart, cleaned it, and it still locked up. I then lubed it with 10W-30 oil - still locked up. I then cleaned it and lubed it with ATF - still locked up. This definitely had a manufacturing or design flaw. I gave up and sent them both back. Too bad, because I liked the fine teeth and the lower profile. My few Gearwrench tools are normally a good value (price/performance), but these were horrible. In researching, I found that the Danaher makes the mechanism for Gearwrench, Craftsman premium, and others. There have been many complaints with those having the same lockup issues. I couldn't recommend them.

 

[Steevo]

My S51 is a favorite, and the first 1/2" I grab every time. (and I have a Snap-On 1/2" sitting right beside it in the drawer).

 

[Farmall450]

My favorite would have to be the 80 tooth Snap on ratchets.

Fl80 is a great combination of size and strength but I can't wait for the new longer handle fll80

I want one now!

 

[Modifieddriver]

Snap-On is the best. I'm still using what was my Dad's ratchet. He bought a 3/8" drive Ferret set. The ratchet is date coded 1940 along with many of the remaining pieces that haven't been lost in over 70 years of use.

I have Williams, Craftsmen, Husky, S&K, PowerKraft(Wards), and a bunch of others. The Snap-On has the best feel in my hands, I like the selector lever and it works the best in tight places.

 

[dudutzu905]

my favorite ratchets are matco 88s, have a few dual 80s but not that impressed with them

+10000

 

[AL`]

+10000

My favorite ratchets are matco/armstrong 88s, have a few dual 80s but not that impressed with them

I have a 1/4 locking flex and regular 3/8 Matco 88's I bought from DonkDonk here in the classifieds. Good guy to deal with, btw. I like them a lot. The 1/4 flex was great for removing the backside bolts of my powerstroke FICM. That's a booger to work in tight quarters.

I've never tried Snapon's dual 80's, but I might just to see what they are about. To a degree, this is all rather subjective. I really like an older Craftsman I have which is similar to the Blackhawks although the Blackhawks have a knurled grip. I think they are the same mechanism/design. It's not a high tooth count nor is it a thin profile, but it has the hand spin feature and mine has a nice contoured handle. It's been a warrior for me over the years and I like it much better than the Cman RP's. Pic of it below.

 

[woodgate]

My go to set is the Newish Craftsman thin profile set. I actually got the 3 piece set on clearance for $25 because they say "Craftsman 80th Anniversary" on them. Now all 3 run around $75-100. Well worth it, love 'em.

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

SK RHFT have displaced Snap-on's 80-tooth ratchets as my favorites.

 

[joshuaz223]

I have the set of SO long handle locking flex 80 ratchets without the soft handles. I had the soft handle ones but after one handle slipped off causing some skinned knuckles I traded them in for hard handles. I have about 30 ratchets of various manufacture and these are my favorites. I also Have a 3" long SO 3/8" ratchet which is very handy for that special occasion.

 

[Sh1thead]

matco 88's and 1/4 snappy swivel head

 

[bobcatdan]

My favorite 1/4" ratchet is SO round head, use it 10 to 1 to my pearhead SO. 3/8" is a complete toss up there. 1/2" is 16" long SO flex head, good old 36 tooth, doesn't break like that new fangled 80 24" of mine.

 

[TF.120]

Snap-on dual80's are pretty hard to beat.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

Over the years Ive had tons of snap-on and craftsman stuff but I got tired of my tools looking like everybody elses on big commercial/industrial jobs ,So a few years back I bought my 1st kobalt set with the hollow headed ratchets.
I couldn't believe how tough and handy they actually are,now sears is acting like its some new big thing they've come up with copying it!

 

[ADSR]

I bought 2 of the Gearwrench 84 tooth ratchets - a 3/8" and a 1/2". When I took the 3/8" out of the packaging and gave it a spin to feel the action, it immediately locked up. I thought I didn't have the direction selector locked in position, so I tried it again - same thing. It kept moving the selector to the center and locking up. I thought that was startange and opened the 1/2" drive ratchet, and it was much better. But then it locked up too - same issue as the 3/8", but not as bad. I took the 3/8" apart, cleaned it, and it still locked up. I then lubed it with 10W-30 oil - still locked up. I then cleaned it and lubed it with ATF - still locked up. This definitely had a manufacturing or design flaw. I gave up and sent them both back. Too bad, because I liked the fine teeth and the lower profile. My few Gearwrench tools are normally a good value (price/performance), but these were horrible. In researching, I found that the Danaher makes the mechanism for Gearwrench, Craftsman premium, and others. There have been many complaints with those having the same lockup issues. I couldn't recommend them.

Thank you very much for the review. That's enough to piss the pope off. I was just going to order too. I'm going to stay clear of them.

Thanks again.

 

[zmaxmotorsports]

One of the things I really liked about these ratchets was when we had to hang big *** hydraulic pumps or electric motors off the side of a machine I could just make up long studs to get the motor/pump on then use a hollow headed ratchet to draw it up to get the shorter bolts started in the other holes then replace the studs with correct bolts,beats the hell out of holding heavy parts up in a hard to reach area and trying to start bolts to hold it.

 

[hofferwood]

The best rachets for all around use in my various farm and ranch repairs is any kilness patent design made by NB. I am also a heavy user of a certain indestro 6470 open gear, but its currently disassembled for a new gear. She is a tough ol gal. But i have had for many years NB made fine tooths in all drives and they have held up exceptionally. Here are my favorite kilness ratchets, all inherited from dad. 1/4" broke long ago after i loaned it out, never use 1/4" any way.

3/8"-> husky cb 43 or my blackhawk 34935
1/2"-> sparta cs 45
3/4"-> blackhawk 69999
The 3/4" drive has been cheated on many times but always been faithful, luckly we aquired a box full of New Britain repair kits of all drive sizes in fine tooth both 60 and45 tooth versions when the local Napa quit carrying them. Had to regut the both blackhawks once before.

What other names are the kilness ratchet marketed under.

Here's some of my 3/8" some "killies" in there

Chuck

 

[tjmonsen5]

One of the things I really liked about these ratchets was when we had to hang big *** hydraulic pumps or electric motors off the side of a machine I could just make up long studs to get the motor/pump on then use a hollow headed ratchet to draw it up to get the shorter bolts started in the other holes then replace the studs with correct bolts,beats the hell out of holding heavy parts up in a hard to reach area and trying to start bolts to hold it.

I have a socket set just like this that I received as a gift. I believe its a KD Tool set. Ive never used it. Maybe it will come in handy when I build a garage with long lag bolts.

 

[G1GRANDEUR]

my current favorite is snapon flf80.

btw: this is re-post.

 

[heyutokyo]

I need to get me a SUPERRATCHET!

 

[gbh]

Love my Snap on FLHFD80

 

[karrbass4life]

My go to set is the Newish Craftsman thin profile set. I actually got the 3 piece set on clearance for $25 because they say "Craftsman 80th Anniversary" on them. Now all 3 run around $75-100. Well worth it, love 'em.

I have that same set. I've broke the 1/4" three times (twice in one week), and the 3/8" twice. They do get used everyday. I did however buy my first Snap-On ratchet this week. The FX80.

 

[not-required]

I like my snap-on dual 80 and my snap-on roto head ratchet

 

[scouting]

Another vote for dual 80, fhx80 here. The locking flex is probably weaker, but I hate flex heads moving around.