Impact socket hardness comparison

[AJHD]

Disclaimer; If this has been posted elsewhere, please direct me towards the thread, I couldn't find it.
Has Project Farm made a video on this yet?

Putting aside brand allegiance, warranty, availability, price, quality and any other preferences or subjective variables, etc, etc... I'd like to focus strictly on a comparison of impact socket hardness (or a lack thereof).

I will take some pictures of my sockets, but as anyone who owns or has used Snap On impact sockets knows (or should know), they are very soft and quickly deform with very little use (on an impact). All of my Snap On impact sockets (except the few sizes I've never used) show some amount of deformation/mushrooming on the drive end.

I've had to warranty a handful of sockets in the past because the mushrooming on the drive end literally became a safety hazard (it was sharp, easily catching and cutting your skin), 1/2" lug nut sockets were/are the worst offenders in my experience. I suspect this is because of frequency of use and amount of force being applied.

That said, I've not personally encountered a Snap On impact socket rounding out on the business end to the point it was unusable or no longer properly fit, but many Snap On sockets I own (or owned) "visually" no longer have the crisp, clean, sharp 6-points they had when new. I can imagine a 12-point would be even worse in terms of such wear.

So, how do other impact sockets like brands like Proto, Tekton, Icon, Gearwrench, Ko-ken, and whoever else compare, strictly in terms of hardness?
How easy/quick do they deform/mushroom? Prefer input from actual personal experience.

 

[PCustoms]

I believe the word you are looking for is "ductility"

 

[AJHD]

I believe the word you are looking for is "ductility"

Sure. That seems like the scientifically correct term for it.

Ductility refers to the ability of a material to sustain significant plastic deformation before fracture.

I'm not sure if the Rockwell Hardness Test is the same thing or not, but frequently seen on YT is a particular tool being tested and results show as a "X HRC" (substitute X for whatever the actual number is). HRC being used in this case given the type of material/metal that sockets are made from.

Rockwell hardness test - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[PCustoms]

I'm not sure if the Rockwell Hardness Test is the same thing or not, but frequently seen on YT is a particular tool being tested and results show as a "X HRC" (substitute X for whatever the actual number is). HRC being used in this case given the type of material/metal that sockets are made from.

It's not

Someone could easily make a socket up into the 60+ HRC range.

Problem is making something like a socket "hard" without considering other properties is likely just going to result in a socket that shatters the first time it's used

 

[AJHD]

It's not

Someone could easily make a socket up into the 60+ HRC range.

Problem is making something like a socket "hard" without considering other properties is likely just going to result in a socket that shatters the first time it's used

Luckily this doesn't need to be scientific. I care more about personal and practical real world experience based on actual use.

 

[dchawk81]

Some of my Sunex are rounded too. The most used are the worst.

Impact sockets are considered a consumable.

 

[mreisner]

Malleability maybe is a better term for it?
When my Snap-on wants start getting wore on the drive end they get replaced. Worst one for me is 33mm half drive on the 1/2 inch Milwaukee beast. Over the years my half inch Drive set has probably been warranted twice pretty much all of them. When they get a little worn and start sticking on whatever I'm driving they get replaced no questions asked. They're not cheap but I know I'll always have great sockets. I have some Wright impact sockets and they do seem harder, but I know they won't get warranty like Snap on ones will. I have some mac sockets that seem to be halfway between the two and Mac also warranties them. I have some 12-point Snap-on half inch ones also and they seem to be a little harder although they do wear also. I wonder if anybody can come up with a process for differential heat treating where the drive-in and the bolt and had different specs? I have some Pittsburgh ones that work pretty well until I got the latest half inch Milwaukee impact and I've shattered a couple of them with it. They definitely feel harder.

 

[Dick]

Tensile strength

 

[PCustoms]

Putting aside brand allegiance, warranty, availability, price, quality and any other preferences or subjective variables, etc, etc... I'd like to focus strictly on a comparison of impact socket hardness (or a lack thereof).

Luckily this doesn't need to be scientific. I care more about personal and practical real world experience based on actual use.

Good luck.

I'm out, this thread is going nowhere.

 

[Rusted Nut]

The harder the steel, the more brittle. Brittle sockets shatter. Shattered sockets fling sharp bit of metal in your face. I’ll take soft ones and replace as needed.

 

[ChevyEFI]

Did SK carry on Flex Zone production overseas?

 

[KnurledNut]

Did SK carry on Flex Zone production overseas?

Discontinued.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

The snap on are going to wear among the worst, every tool truck driver will tell you that. Either the drive end to the tool, or the fastener end. That's the whole point, they wear out. Having had sockets split and have pieces fly off I get their idea. Williams USA have the same wear pattern. The whole point is to swap them on a schedule as they wear.

Eventually all impact sockets will be wallowed out on the fastener side and have mushrooming or pushed up metal on the drive end. The latter I'd use a roloc disc to smooth out if it's significant. Generally electric impacts will wallow out the ends worse in my experience, I can't explain why other than maybe the lower rpm but higher impacting frequency. The lube techs using the same sockets doing the same work, with cordless impacts, have higher socket wear. It's also a function of use, the guy who over tightens lug nuts will then have to remove more over-tightened lug nuts. However he's also incuring the install wear from over tightening them in the first place where his coworkers only have the removal wear from his install. Impacting on stuff that just doesn't move means more torque and time under torque than something that just breaks free instantly.


Generally I've come to prefer the sockets wearing out versus cracking. Although it's very annoying if you go too long and have poor tool fitment on something which hinders your progress. Having cracked sockets in the past, I still think it's better to wear them out. Wright and Proto make some long lasting sockets with less wear than Snap On who might be the worst for wear. Cornwell has among the best in its USA made impacts IMO, very long wearing. Don't care for their chrome much, and the downside is their USA impacts are Snap On pricing without the support network. I have Tekton, Mac, Matco, Cornwell, Capri, Astro, Sunex, GP, Pittsburgh Pro, SK, Neiko, Gearwrench, Snap On, Wright, Proto, Armstrong, Willaims USA and Taiwan, and probably a few others I forget.

 

[5ubtle]

"Hardness" is the word you are looking for. As others have pointed out, hardness and ductility are not independent. Snap on has found the balance of hardness and ductility that they feel comfortable with. Other manufacturers have done the same. Find a manufacturer with more hardness and lower ductility, and you might like them better. On the other hand, they may shatter too often for your liking.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

I’ve noticed the drive end to wallow out rather quickly on the Snap-on impact sockets. I usually only buy one or two main sizes from there once my current ones break. The gripping end also wears pretty fast. I warranty out my 21mm 3/8 deep impact socket about once a year on average from either a crack or it wears out and won’t grip or won’t hold on the drive.

 

[scooby074]

My Snap On impacts are quite soft by design. Considerably softer than my Sunnex, UltraPro, ProPoint or Mastercraft. Some of my imports, like my princess auto and mastercraft are as hard as a chrome socket IMHO. Luckily when the SO wears, its an easy exchange

 

[AEAdam]

I think it’s entirely possible that impact guns are more powerful now than guns ever were and no socket can stand up to the torque electric (including battery) guns can generate.

Just like EVs electric motors have a lot of torque. Aren’t locomotives diesel electric?

 

[jblnut]

Impact sockets are considered a consumable.

This 100%. I have extras in the common sizes and when they start to stick on the impact the get sprayed red and stuck in a different drawer.

I’ve personally had the best luck with Cornwall and Proto sockets. They seem to “last” the longest.

To all you folks wearing out socket drive ends …. how many have replaced the driving end of your impact due to wear ?