Steelman 160 tooth ratchet

[Ign]

Hell, I'll bite just for fun.....which is largely what tools are for me.

I got the 3/8" on eBay for $25.61 shipped. Worth a shot.

Interestingly I see 3pc kit floating around online for about $110, but right now if you order each separately on eBay you can get all three for ~$93. 1/4" is the most expensive at $35(ish), 3/8" is cheapest at $26 and 1/2" is in the middle at $32.

I rarely use 1/4" and I sort of agree with the reasoning that 1/2" doesn't need to be that fine, so 3/8" falls into the "just right" for a fine tooth ratchet for me.

I know the tooth count wars are kinda dumb but that doesn't mean it isn't still fun.

 

[Ign]

Got my 3/8" a few days ago. At the risk if stating the obvious, damn its fine-tooth! Reminds me of running down a zip-tie. Haven't used it for any actual wrenching yet.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

How is the back drag?

 

[Ign]

How is the back drag?

I'm gonna say it's medium to medium-light. With the leverage of the hang-card it seems light; if you just grab the square drive directly it's medium IMO.

 

[Ign]

Ok so I was using my 3/8" last night. I was cinching a 10mm fastener but I definitely wasn't getting after it. This was overhead, I was pushing to my left (not pulling down), and I'm only 160 lbs but it skipped big time, so much so that I thought I'd somehow inexplicably snapped the fastener, which I knew was EXTREMELY unlikely given fastener size and the amount of force I was using. The fact is I've never had a ratchet skip so bad so my mind did not immediately consider that possibility. Ironically, I then switched to my $11 HF pro composite to finish the job as I had to get the truck back on the ground ASAP.

SOOOO....not so sure about these. I may be finding out how good the Steelman warranty really is.

 

[SteelmanPRO]

Ok so I was using my 3/8" last night. I was cinching a 10mm fastener but I definitely wasn't getting after it. This was overhead, I was pushing to my left (not pulling down), and I'm only 160 lbs but it skipped big time, so much so that I thought I'd somehow inexplicably snapped the fastener, which I knew was EXTREMELY unlikely given fastener size and the amount of force I was using. The fact is I've never had a ratchet skip so bad so my mind did not immediately consider that possibility. Ironically, I then switched to my $11 HF pro composite to finish the job as I had to get the truck back on the ground ASAP.

SOOOO....not so sure about these. I may be finding out how good the Steelman warranty really is.

Hi Ign,

I'm sorry to hear that you have an issue with your ratchet. Please check your PMs and let us see if we can make this right for you.

 

[Ign]

Ok so I was using my 3/8" last night. I was cinching a 10mm fastener but I definitely wasn't getting after it. This was overhead, I was pushing to my left (not pulling down), and I'm only 160 lbs but it skipped big time, so much so that I thought I'd somehow inexplicably snapped the fastener, which I knew was EXTREMELY unlikely given fastener size and the amount of force I was using. The fact is I've never had a ratchet skip so bad so my mind did not immediately consider that possibility. Ironically, I then switched to my $11 HF pro composite to finish the job as I had to get the truck back on the ground ASAP.

SOOOO....not so sure about these. I may be finding out how good the Steelman warranty really is.

Ironically I got to do the exact same R&R on our vehicle as the component in question failed again (note: the VEHICLE component failed, nothing about the ratchet). So I decided to use my Steelman replacement to repeat the job as this is where the first one skipped on me. No problems this time & it was a pleasure to use. There's nothing remarkable about the job itself, but I can't think of a better apples-to-apples comparison of my 1st Steelman to my warranty replacement than repeating the same job.

I've also used it for some other wrenching and in tight quarters it is awesome. I was using a 72T between a floor pan and t-case where I could only get 1 click if I finessed the ratchet but the Steelman was able to get 5+ clicks.

Now I wanna see a 160T roto-head

 

[SteelmanPRO]

Ironically I got to do the exact same R&R on our vehicle as the component in question failed again (note: the VEHICLE component failed, nothing about the ratchet). So I decided to use my Steelman replacement to repeat the job as this is where the first one skipped on me. No problems this time & it was a pleasure to use. There's nothing remarkable about the job itself, but I can't think of a better apples-to-apples comparison of my 1st Steelman to my warranty replacement than repeating the same job.

I've also used it for some other wrenching and in tight quarters it is awesome. I was using a 72T between a floor pan and t-case where I could only get 1 click if I finessed the ratchet but the Steelman was able to get 5+ clicks.

Now I wanna see a 160T roto-head

Hi Ign,

I'm glad to hear that the 160's were up to the task and I'm also glad that you are enjoying your ratchets!

We are looking into expanding our lineup of 160 tooth head ratchets in the near future, so keep an eye out. You may get your wish!

Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any future questions or concerns.

 

[cheechi]

Now I wanna see a 160T roto-head

this x1000