Flex head socket wrenches...

[1Bad55Chevy]

When I was a kid my dad had mostly all Proto tools in his box. The set of wrenches that were my favorite to use were the flex head socket wrenches! It looks like hardly anyone makes these anymore outside of SO, Williams, and Proto. Does nobody use these style of wrenches anymore? If I remember right they use to be popular back in the day!

 

[RTM]

Look up the Saltus thread on here, think it's on the Vintage side.

 

[geneg]

Saltus wrenches. I have a set of V Craftsman & varied orphans from SO, Mac, Craftsman, etc. I just picked up a 1/2" Cornwell at a flea market last Saturday for $2. All of the others on the table were imports.

The Craftsman set lives on a magnetic strip attached to the inside of my shop pass door. Easy to grab one on my way out the door.Snap on & Macs are in various carry bags or totes.

They're invaluable for belts on mowers & equipment. Great for older bicycle work. (I don't have a metric set). Snugging up assemblies can be faster than a ratchet if you use the swivel & spin the handle.

Avoid the cheap imports loose joints & poor fit.

Your Proto set is primo! Obviously, I'm a fan & use mine regularly. Also use the Snap On double swivels alot.

 

[Dig Doug]

Back in the early 90’s we raced a Ford Ranger off road truck in the HDRA series mostly in Nevada / Barstow Ca.

That’s when I started collecting tools

I bought a 9/16 socket end wrench to try out sure beat a regular box end wrench on some tasks

Sears in my town never had a set just singles

some where I picked up a snap on one also

 

[Steve_P]

These are just a solution looking for a problem today; modern low profile ratchets are more versatile, and forget about the "nano" options, so these are obsolete other than for nostalgia purposes. I bought a set in the 1980s when I was working on small engines and I just never used them and eventually gave them away.

 

[zendriver]

I’m surprised anyone still makes them even more so than anyone uses them

I don’t see where I ever would

 

[atikovi]

I don't think that could even be considered a socket wrench in the truest sense of the word. An actual ratcheting socket wrench would be much more useful and faster.

 

[dnschmidt]

TOPTUL still makes these and I'll admit I wonder why. Once Gearwrench came out with their ratcheting wrenches and KABO introduced their extended box design and ASTRO can out with the Nano sockets and ratchets these had a purpose in the world. Also flex head ratchets, which were less common 30 years ago than they are now, also contributed to these becoming irrelevant.

 

[1Bad55Chevy]

TOPTUL still makes these and I'll admit I wonder why. Once Gearwrench came out with their ratcheting wrenches and KABO introduced their extended box design and ASTRO can out with the Nano sockets and ratchets these had a purpose in the world. Also flex head ratchets, which were less common 30 years ago than they are now, also contributed to these becoming irrelevant.

That's all true. I dont have a set currently and it isn't a issue. These might be in the same boat as double offset boxed end wrenches in 2026.. The double offset boxend wrenches seem to be a solution looking for a problem nowadays.

 

[geartow]

I bought matco saltus wrenches within the last 9 years , they were buy sae get metric free. Still in sealed package. 9 yrs is how long I have been at current job were I bought them.