Steelman PRO Cobra 160-Tooth Ratchets

[woodstockva]

Hey everybody

A month or so ago, I saw the new Steelman PRO 160-tooth ratchets advertised on the cover of a tool catalog at my local NAPA. I had previously reviewed the Gearwrench 120XP ratchets, and was surprised that there was now an even higher tooth/position count option...with the Steelman PRO beating the Gearwrench's already very small 3 degree swing arc.

In this video I will go over the set (1/4", 3/8", & 1/2" versions that are currently available), and will open the head of one up on them so you can see the internals for yourself. Then I will go through some testing to see how they hold up under a lot of torque.

The biggest thing that stands out to me, other than the 160 actual teeth machined into the ratchet head, is that they have a dual-opposing pawl mechanism that has a total of 32 teeth engaging at any one time (20% of the total teeth in the ratchet head). The action is very smooth, and although it does not come pre-lubed from the factory....I coated it with light machine oil to give it some lubrication prior to use.

Check out the video to see these for yourself.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zbDLBtmJqB8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[jjjrmx5]

160 teeth = 2.25 teeth per 360 degree rotation using the NORMAL worlds use of 1 degree increments.
Why not do .5 degree increments and do 180 teeth?

I;d love to know how their fucked up world works.
Just because you CAN, does not make it a good idea.

I think they need some drug testing for thier engineers.
And yet another resson why this country trails the world in math skills/

Jeebus.

 

[woodstockva]

160 teeth = 2.25 teeth per 360 degree rotation using the NORMAL worlds use of 1 degree increments.

I;d love to know how their fucked up world works.
Just because you CAN, does not make it a good idea.

I think they need some drug testing for thier engineers.
And yet another resson why this country trails the world in math skills/

Jeebus.

360 degrees = 1 rotation

160 teeth = 1 rotation

360 degrees / 160 teeth = 2.25 degrees PER tooth

 

[Ign]

Glad you had better luck than me
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265480&highlight=Steelman&showall=1

Last I looked you could piece the individual ratchets cheaper than buying the kit, as detailed above. Prices may have shifted since, I don't know.

Steelman has contacted me & I have yet to follow up, but its going to be hard to trust a replacement after my 3/8" skipped on the first use (and skipped a lot before it caught again).

 

[espyking83]

Great review. Thing looks like my old ladies hair brush/******** combo

 

[espyking83]

BTW, I'm eagerly anticipating for you to review a tool and just trash it. You need some balance, brother. Throw some **** once in a while.

 

[woodstockva]

Glad you had better luck than me
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265480&highlight=Steelman&showall=1

Last I looked you could piece the individual ratchets cheaper than buying the kit, as detailed above. Prices may have shifted since, I don't know.

Steelman has contacted me & I have yet to follow up, but its going to be hard to trust a replacement after my 3/8" skipped on the first use (and skipped a lot before it caught again).

Well, I oiled it up...so that may have made the difference. ***** to hear that the 3/8" gave you problems though.

Great review. Thing looks like my old ladies hair brush/******** combo

Thanks!

BTW, I'm eagerly anticipating for you to review a tool and just trash it. You need some balance, brother. Throw some **** once in a while.

Well....I test out a LOT of tools that I think are pure junk....but I dont waste my time or anyone else's making a video about them. In fact, sometimes I will spend all day shooting video clips & at the last moment the tool fails & I will cancel the video. All manufacturers have "1 best" & "1 worst" tool....so no matter which brand it is, no one has perfect tools across the board.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Great review as always!

The size of those teeth scare me, no matter how many are in contact. I think in order to make these low swing arc ratchets reliable you need to go with a dual pawl design like the 120xp or even the dual pawl Wright ratchets and use a lower tooth count. I have a bunch of 4.5 and 3.6 degree swing ratchets and I've never needed less. Also, these ratchets appear to have a lot of back drag compared to other ratchets.

 

[Fcvapor05]

Well....I test out a LOT of tools that I think are pure junk....but I dont waste my time or anyone else's making a video about them. In fact, sometimes I will spend all day shooting video clips & at the last moment the tool fails & I will cancel the video. All manufacturers have "1 best" & "1 worst" tool....so no matter which brand it is, no one has perfect tools across the board.

Dude. These are the exact videos you should be posting. It is MUCH harder to find bad press on bad tools than it is to find good press on good ones.

 

[DodgeMech]

i dunno if it's your mic or what, but that damned ratchet sounds very loud...you can hardly hear my dual 80's gears interact with each other

 

[espyking83]

i dunno if it's your mic or what, but that damned ratchet sounds very loud...you can hardly hear my dual 80's gears interact with each other

Yeah, sounds very....... China.

 

[Ign]

I still think - in person - it sounds like a zip tie. At least the 3/8" does when it's not skipping.

 

[shanny19]

Great review. Thing looks like my old ladies hair brush/******** combo

Yeah, the handle is very "early 90's curling iron". Which just may someday be as cool as the naked Art Deco Plomb/Proto lady is now. Or not.

Nice review, enjoy your work as always.

 

[DodgeMech]

Yeah, sounds very....... China.

which is something else i've been wondering...amazon doesn't say it, or if they do, i didn't read it, but what's the coo of these?

i'm assuming either taiwan or china

 

[espyking83]

which is something else i've been wondering...amazon doesn't say it, or if they do, i didn't read it, but what's the coo of these?

i'm assuming either taiwan or china

160 sounds too gimmicky, even for Taiwan.

 

[wniemann]

Well....I test out a LOT of tools that I think are pure junk....but I dont waste my time or anyone else's making a video about them. In fact, sometimes I will spend all day shooting video clips & at the last moment the tool fails & I will cancel the video. All manufacturers have "1 best" & "1 worst" tool....so no matter which brand it is, no one has perfect tools across the board.

Enjoy your videos, but I agree that I'd watch your "failed tool" videos just as much as I like the passing ones. Even if it was more just raw footage type stuff to make it easier for you. Or maybe a video with 5-10 tools that failed with just small snippet of each tool.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk90q

 

[Fedwrench]

Great video as always. However, that was an old MATCO ratchet not a MAC.

Even with 32 teeny tiny teeth engaged, I'm not impressed and still maintain that anything over 60 teeth is overkill but, that's just me. Let the tooth wars continue.

See if you can get one of their flexhead cobra ratchets to evaluate. I want to see how hokey the sleeve is.

The problem with failed tool videos is that it will scare tool manufacturers away from providing you tools to evaluate.
Besides this place does a pretty good job of spreading the word about failed or less than perfect tools.

What about your SEMA adventure and pics?

 

[kxlexus]

I very much appreciate you taking the time to do these videos. You do an excellent job

 

[woodstockva]

Great review as always!

The size of those teeth scare me, no matter how many are in contact. I think in order to make these low swing arc ratchets reliable you need to go with a dual pawl design like the 120xp or even the dual pawl Wright ratchets and use a lower tooth count. I have a bunch of 4.5 and 3.6 degree swing ratchets and I've never needed less. Also, these ratchets appear to have a lot of back drag compared to other ratchets.

Thanks! I think that the reason it did not slip, was the dual-opposing pawls (keeping even pressure on the ratchet head). I agree that most people would not "need" 2.25 degrees....but then again, most people also will be fine with a 72-tooth standard ratchet. So, to each their own right haha

Dude. These are the exact videos you should be posting. It is MUCH harder to find bad press on bad tools than it is to find good press on good ones.

Sadly, if I did make "tool bashing" videos....then I probably wouldnt be making videos much longer. I hate negativity, and if I think a tool is decent quality and I can show it being used (as it was designed to), then I will. If during testing/use it fails, it is not something that I will waste my time making a video about.

Think about it this way.....how many cooking shows would you watch (to learn about food/cooking), and at the end the Chef tastes the food & says "EWWW....GROSS!"....not many haha...even though that would be entertaining..

i dunno if it's your mic or what, but that damned ratchet sounds very loud...you can hardly hear my dual 80's gears interact with each other

Yeah the mic always amplifies the loudest noises...that is why I rarely make videos near the road, it picks up every car driving by.

Nice review, enjoy your work as always.

Thanks!

Enjoy your videos, but I agree that I'd watch your "failed tool" videos just as much as I like the passing ones. Even if it was more just raw footage type stuff to make it easier for you. Or maybe a video with 5-10 tools that failed with just small snippet of each tool.

See above haha....I focus on tools that perform, not all the ones that fail. If someone takes the time to watch my videos, I want them to not walk away after the fact & say "well that was a waste"...If tools break/fail, I dont waste my time making videos about them.

Great video as always. However, that was an old MATCO ratchet not a MAC.

Even with 32 teeny tiny teeth engaged, I'm not impressed and still maintain that anything over 60 teeth is overkill but, that's just me. Let the tooth wars continue.

See if you can get one of their flexhead cobra ratchets to evaluate. I want to see how hokey the sleeve is.

The problem with failed tool videos is that it will scare tool manufacturers away from providing you tools to evaluate.
Besides this place does a pretty good job of spreading the word about failed or less than perfect tools.

What about your SEMA adventure and pics?

Thanks! And you are correct....I was wondering who would be the first to point out the Matco ratchet remark hahaha

And, also....yeah finding comments about junk tools (or even perfectly good tools with RANDOM manufacturing defects, seems to be very easy on any online forum).

I very much appreciate you taking the time to do these videos. You do an excellent job

Thanks a lot!

 

[Ign]

So after I reported in the initial thread about these ratchets that my 3/8" skipped, Steelman contacted me via PM. I didn't have time to look at it for well over a week, and I just figured it was a Sorry Charlie, here's how to warranty standard deal.

Once I did open the PM I found that Steelman was very disappointed to hear my 3/8" gave me issues. They offered to send a call tag as they would like to see why mine skipped, and in the meantime send me a replacement 3/8" and one of their locking flex long handle ratchets for me to try. I thought this was pretty amazing customer service, even if you take the free flex out of the picture the willingness to send me a warranty replacement BEFORE I ever returned my original is pretty impressive.

However in the interest of full disclosure (above), yes I did receive free product from Steelman so it's certainly easier to like the company. I just wanted to get that out of the way for the people who are going to hate regardless or refuse to buy a Taiwan ratchet (yes, they're Taiwanese), there's your instant ammo to discredit anything else I say. You're welcome. On the flip side, I hope there aren't any other d-bags who will simply lie about failures hoping to also get free stuff from Steelman. It seems like the company is really making an honest effort, so don't bankrupt them or take advantage of good intentions.

Yesterday I received my call tag, my replacement 3/8" and my free 78625 1/2" long handle locking flex. Dave at Steelman allowed me to select any drive size I wanted in the locking flex, and I opted for the 1/2" long handle. There is also an extra long. These are 90 teeth, or at least my 78625 is. Product page:
http://steelmanpro.com/hand-mechanics-tools/ratchets/locking-flexhead.html

I gotta say, this long handle locking flex is massive. The handle design of the Steelman Pros is more like a hunk of flat bar than round stock, and when you make it longer it gets heavy. Not in a bad way, I'm just saying they did not cheap out on material here. It's got a really good feel in the hand IMO. The flex mechanism has a unique collar that allows three modes: Mode 1 is with the collar slid up to engage the handle and the head, they call this "breaker" mode suggesting Steelman believes these can handle some serious torque. In this mode the collar essentially sleeves the pivot pin, making failure at the joint less likely (or perhaps virtually impossible, I dunno without destructive testing which I'm not going to do).

Mode 2 is locking flex at preset detents, or mode 3 is "floating" flex, but yes, you're pretty much tied into preset positions with the detents. I personally don't care for "floating" (my term) flex so I'll rarely use it and the detents won't bother me.

I also like the more standard reversing lever on the long handle flex ratchets vs the kinda weird rotary dial on the standard ratchets (you can see it in Woodstock's video).

Anyway, Woodstockva if you can get your hands on one of these you should do a video review, they're really impressive and massive. My 78625 looks to retail for about $91 on Amazon and eBay, shipped. Please guys, spare us the rabble-rabble-rabble comments of "I'll never pay more than $50 for a Taiwanese ratchet." You're welcome to your opinion but it contributes nothing to the tech of the thread.

 

[espyking83]

^Doesnt the overall size of the ratchet matter, especially when someone is looking for a higher tooth count? It would to me anyways. High teeth count and low swing arc is something that is useful in confined spaces, if you cant get the hulking ratchet in there it is not very useful for certain applications where you really need those 160 teeth. Just my two pennies though.

 

[Ign]

^Doesnt the overall size of the ratchet matter, especially when someone is looking for a higher tooth count? It would to me anyways. High teeth count and low swing arc is something that is useful in confined spaces, if you cant get the hulking ratchet in there it is not very useful for certain applications where you really need those 160 teeth. Just my two pennies though.

I'm not tracking with you, these are 90 tooth long handle flex ratchets. The "long handle" means they were intentionally designed that way for applications where that is desireable. There's no claim of short or compact.

You can't buy a crew cab long bed because you need to haul 5 big guys and 2 ton of payload and then complain it doesn't fit where a Sentra will. These long handle flexes do not claim to be an econo-box, they claim to be long handle and extra long handle; the CCLB of the ratchet world with the apparent muscle and mass to back it up.

Just my 2 pennies though.

 

[DodgeMech]

I'm not tracking with you, these are 90 tooth long handle flex ratchets. The "long handle" means they were intentionally designed that way for applications where that is desireable. There's no claim of short or compact.

You can't buy a crew cab long bed because you need to haul 5 big guys and 2 ton of payload and then complain it doesn't fit where a Sentra will. These long handle flexes do not claim to be an econo-box, they claim to be long handle and extra long handle; the CCLB of the ratchet world with the apparent muscle and mass to back it up.

Just my 2 pennies though.

my FHLF80 is a cc/lb ratchet that fits in econo spaces...and hell then you got the armstrong/matco 88's that are even smaller...

 

[Ign]

Also if anything the longer the handle, the finer a tooth count you want because total distance traveled increases so much as the handle gets longer (but u must set aside - at least for the sake of argument - assumptions about tooth count and strength). Until these 90T mechanisms are proven to fail I'm going to say Steelman put the research and testing into them to be confident they'd withstand normal use and reasonable mis-use.

Awhile back I was trying to break an axle nut on a '98 Ram. I had to slide a long cheater over my breaker bar but with only a 6 PT socket (1 11/16") my two options were cheater into the ground or cheater into the bumper. How nice it would have been to have a "breaker" bar with 90 teeth for near-infinite positioning.

Now I realize there are many problems w my example above, but think: how many of us have been in situations where the clocking of a breaker bar and socket just never worked out, always interfering with something. If these can take some serious torque (and I realize that remains to be seen), it could really combine the best of both worlds: a fine tooth breaker bar/ratchet.

Again, I maintain that (granted, arguably in a perfect or theoretical world) as your lever length increases shorter swing arc only becomes more desireable. But if you could have your cake and eat it too, how cool would it be to have a breaker bar that you could clock to any position you wanted, not just those dictated by a coarse tooth mechanism or a 6 PT socket (or 12pt if you like)?

 

[Ign]

Crappy iPhone pic attempting to show the 3/8" 160T vs the 1/2" 90T long handle flex. Not apples to apples I realize due to differing drive sizes, just trying to give some reference.

 

[Ign]

Poor attempt at side view to show the mass of the handle. The pic doesn't do it justice unfortunately. Has a good feel while simultaneously leading one to fantasize about clubbing your least favorite person in the face; this is the drive tool you want to have in your hand when a zombie wanders into your shop
'cause it'd double as an excellent weapon

 

[Ign]

my FHLF80 is a cc/lb ratchet that fits in econo spaces...and hell then you got the armstrong/matco 88's that are even smaller...

So, not a locking flex from what I can see? Wouldn't interest me but I understand some people like them. And $140 retail is less than I would have expected
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=646282&PartNo=FHLF80&group_id=682403

These are clearly the ones HF is attempting to imitate, no?

Not bashing your suggestion, it's a viable option.

 

[Tronyadorable]

Good review. My thought is with teeth that fine a dry lube is a better option.
I never got excited over teeth counting.

 

[DodgeMech]

So, not a locking flex from what I can see? Wouldn't interest me but I understand some people like them. And $140 retail is less than I would have expected
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=646282&PartNo=FHLF80&group_id=682403

These are clearly the ones HF is attempting to imitate, no?

Not bashing your suggestion, it's a viable option.

the locking head version of that is the same idea, just has a switch in the handle...so far as locking flex heads go, i like the matco...don't own one, but if i did, i'd get the matco/armstrong over the snappy

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000I1WG26/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[espyking83]

I'm not tracking with you, these are 90 tooth long handle flex ratchets. The "long handle" means they were intentionally designed that way for applications where that is desireable. There's no claim of short or compact.

You can't buy a crew cab long bed because you need to haul 5 big guys and 2 ton of payload and then complain it doesn't fit where a Sentra will. These long handle flexes do not claim to be an econo-box, they claim to be long handle and extra long handle; the CCLB of the ratchet world with the apparent muscle and mass to back it up.

Just my 2 pennies though.

You sound like a guy who got a free cheap ratchet, after the first one he bought broke before the Chinese stink dissipated off of it.

 

[dnschmidt]

I have to disagree. If somebody tells me where a land mine is I thank him for not letting me blow my leg off. If somebody steers me away from a bad tool. I also would thank him. Avoiding junk is just as valuable as finding a pearl.