rhft defined

[sk farmer]

about 9 years ago, i asked the question on this forum what a rhft is. of course rhft stands for "round head fine tooth". at the time i was told that a rhft ratchet had these features.

a. round head

b. fine tooth

c. dual pawl

d. quick release

e. thumbwheel under the handle

f. snap ring between handle and thumbwheel

g. black finish on the mechanism

h. all mechanisms would fit between brands in that same drive sizes

the most common of course was the craftsman with raised panel but they could also be found with knurled and armstrong handles branded allen, kd, ridgid, wilde, master mechanic, armstrong and others.

the reason i bring this up is that some people use rhft as a generic term for any round head ratchet and in the past, a rhft ratchet was a very specific type of ratchet as described above.

 

[DSLTRK]

about 9 years ago, i asked the question on this forum what a rhft is. of course rhft stands for "round head fine tooth". at the time i was told that a rhft ratchet had these features.

a. round head

b. fine tooth

c. dual pawl

d. quick release

e. thumbwheel under the handle

f. snap ring between handle and thumbwheel

g. black finish on the mechanism

h. all mechanisms would fit between brands in that same drive sizes

the most common of course was the craftsman with raised panel but they could also be found with knurled and armstrong handles branded allen, kd, ridgid, wilde, master mechanic, armstrong and others.

the reason i bring this up is that some people use rhft as a generic term for any round head ratchet and in the past, a rhft ratchet was a very specific type of ratchet as described above.

Agree with everything besides the quick release. I consider all easco forged thumbwheel ratchets rhft even without the button.

 

[Fedwrench]

I've always used RHFTQR (round head, fine tooth, quick release) to label the classic craftsman/Easco/Napa/Allen/KD/others version. They are in a league of their own.

I refer to others as a round head ratchet. After all, I've never seen a coarse round head ratchet.

In the end, it's probably a mute point as the RHFTQR aren't made any more.

 

[DSLTRK]

In the end, it's probably a mute point as the RHFTQR aren't made any more.

Yeah it ***** about being discintinued, but likely due to it having one of the most expensive mechanisms to machine.

 

[sk farmer]

Agree with everything besides the quick release. I consider all easco forged thumbwheel ratchets rhft even without the button.

correct, that would be the exception to the rule. those are pretty rare. please post a pic if you can.

I've always used RHFTQR (round head, fine tooth, quick release) to label the classic craftsman/Easco/Napa/Allen/KD/others version. They are in a league of their own.

I refer to others as a round head ratchet. After all, I've never seen a coarse round head ratchet.

In the end, it's probably a mute point as the RHFTQR aren't made any more.

i agree, that is a more accurate description but as stated above there are a few that do not have the qr.

there are some old round heads that are pretty low tooth count but i would guess most have 36 or more clicks.

 

[DadsTools]

To me, all RH are those having a cylindrical ratchet core in which the pawl is also installed. That's the only reason they're made with round heads to begin with. As for fine tooth (FT), that is still a subject debated in here as to to what 'fine-tooth' represents. When one thinks of coarse tooth ratchets, by comparison we could say that all round heads are fine tooth, even if it's a 45T. I always thought we needed an additional classification for super-fine or ultra-fine tooth.

 

[Richard Cranium]

did not know that was what it stood for.
I knew it was a round head.

 

[DSLTRK]

correct, that would be the exception to the rule. those are pretty rare. please post a pic if you can.

Apparently not as rare as your Armstrong 1/4 Rhft. I'm envious i dont have one to compliment my 1/2. I'll see about a pic later today.

 

[sk farmer]

that old armstrong 1/4 drive? aw shucks, it's about worn out.

thesa are a little odd as well. easco knurled 1/4 and 3/8 k-d knurled flex head

 

[DSLTRK]

that old armstrong 1/4 drive? aw shucks, it's about worn out.

thesa are a little odd as well. easco knurled 1/4 and 3/8 k-d knurled flex head

Haha I have both of those as well but the KD I have is a satin machined finish.

 

[davethorik]

I had never heard of those ratchets being called RHFT til I signed up here. It makes sense to differentiate them from other roundheads.

I think the older Proto usa round ratchets meet the RHFT criteria too, but had the thumbwheel up top on the ratchet head. I do not care for those ratchets, too clunky and stiff.

RHFT are cool, I have several, as users they will work but I would rather grab a handful of other ratchets first. I do not trust these 100%.

Also aside from those Armstrongs, these ratchets usually suffered from poor finish, although this varied brand to brand. In my experience the Allens are the ugliest. I was excited to buy an Easco 3/8 nos flex on ebay a while back. It has spring loaded flex detents but only 3 of them wtf? Why even bother?

 

[Offcenter12]

Just learned what RHFT stands for recently myself as I was developing a hankering for one of the Craftsman in 3/8 so was "Watching" one on eBay. Apparently I picked the wrong one as it sold for $50.00 plus $5.00 shipping! I associate it with the Craftsman version, but I'm a noob in such things.

John

 

[DSLTRK]

correct, that would be the exception to the rule. those are pretty rare. please post a pic if you can.

 

[sk farmer]

nice! are those single pawl?

i think all of the different variations of these are what makes the rhft interesting.

 

[davethorik]

Here is a Napa non-QR on ebay, not mine:
https://m.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-NAPA...185501?hash=item46775b571d:g:GMsAAOSw4BNakc-4