Tekton Ratchet....Wow!

[Parrothead]

I just finished watching a video on YouTube (by ClientGraphics) testing the new Tekton ratchet, and WOW! Their 3/8 ratchet didn’t fail until 292.9ft. lbs!!! There are breaker bars that fail before that. Stunned. Just stunned, and I like Tekton tools as a general rule.

 

[Szilagyi]

They really have ramped up their products. Their last ratchet was the generic 72 tooth that came in every cheap socket set but these new ones seem like they have an exclusive purchase on them, and 90 teeth with that strength is a big plus. I am very much considering buying all three sizes of their six point socket sets because I have lots of gaps in my old usa made sockets.

 

[1990 Grand Wag]

As usual with this forum, I didn't consider Tekton ratchets AT ALL, was planning on purchasing an Icon ratchet. After the reviews came out on the Icon ratchets, I took a plunge and got the Tekton 1/4" and 3/8" 90 tooth ratchets. All I can say, I'm glad I did! They are almost as smooth as my Armstrong Maxx 88 ratchets! No regrets AT ALL!!!

 

[Mr_B]

They not exclusive to tekton, basic 90tooth design available to anyone via same oem.
They are nice design ratchets and value perspective is pretty high.
prefer design ove likes of icon as slim head and recessed switch very practical to use .
Ideally need test at least 3 ratchets and see how close they all perform before quoting numbers .

 

[visionguru]

They not exclusive to tekton, basic 90tooth design available to anyone via same oem.
They are nice design ratchets and value perspective is pretty high.
prefer design ove likes of icon as slim head and recessed switch very practical to use .
Ideally need test at least 3 ratchets and see how close they all perform before quoting numbers .

Exactly, I noticed Milwaukee 1/4 and 3/8 90 teeth ratchets at Home Depot, quite nice.

 

[Parrothead]

I like the design as well, and the fact they make it as a quick release is a bonus to me. It appears to be a very similar pawl setup to the Apex/Gearwrench/Husky ratchets. I’m a fan of the slim head Husky.

Companies like APEX and Infar build to the clients specs. It’s possible Tekton just spec’d out a better ratchet. It’s also possible the YouTube example was just hitting on the extremes, but I generally don’t think so.

The other 90 tooth ratchets I’ve looked at all use a different pawl design.

 

[Professional Tool User]

I like the design as well, and the fact they make it as a quick release is a bonus to me. It appears to be a very similar pawl setup to the Apex/Gearwrench/Husky ratchets. I’m a fan of the slim head Husky.

Companies like APEX and Infar build to the clients specs. It’s possible Tekton just spec’d out a better ratchet. It’s also possible the YouTube example was just hitting on the extremes, but I generally don’t think so.

The other 90 tooth ratchets I’ve looked at all use a different pawl design.

Tekton actually tells you what spec they have their stuff made to on their website and show you what the ratchet internals look like. The same can't be said for Harbor freight relying on marketing bs and knocking off the appearance of another brand's tools to sell Icon tools.

 

[noid]

I'm not so sure the 292 ftlb is all that important if you're ratchet has a tendency to become a banana with use.

The steel alloy they are using looks far to ductile in my opinion.

 

[kythri]

The steel alloy they are using looks far to ductile in my opinion.

You really should go by how it smells, not by how it looks.

 

[Spacey_G]

Isn't that a pretty typical torque for a 3/8" anvil to shear off? Not sure what's stunning about that result.

Any decent 3/8" ratchet with a strong enough mechanism or breaker bar will fail in the high 200s.

 

[ptgarcia]

I'm not so sure the 292 ftlb is all that important if you're ratchet has a tendency to become a banana with use.

The steel alloy they are using looks far to ductile in my opinion.

I'd rather had a bent but functioning ratchet than two broken pieces of a straight ratchet.

 

[Mr_B]

I'd rather had a bent but functioning ratchet than two broken pieces of a straight ratchet.

Yes' if it been engineered this way it quite clever, less chance of injury to user and he still got a usable ratchet with a bent handle .

 

[seber]

I've never even heard of a ratchet actually breaking in real world use. Not even the cheapest. They wear out. Sometimes they jam or even rust solid, but never break. All these utube videos of testing to the limit don't impress me. Try running a ratchet in reverse with a motor until failure and you might have something.

 

[Mr_B]

Isn't that a pretty typical torque for a 3/8" anvil to shear off? Not sure what's stunning about that result.

Any decent 3/8" ratchet with a strong enough mechanism or breaker bar will fail in the high 200s.

Most 3/8 fail closer to mid 200's and some low 200's
was a good result considering price of these ratchets and proves guts of the ratchet decent too .

On;y let down on the new tekton ratchets is the flex joints are a bit crappy and go floppy bit easily like the pitts pro ones .

 

[KBigg]

Isn't that a pretty typical torque for a 3/8" anvil to shear off? Not sure what's stunning about that result.

Any decent 3/8" ratchet with a strong enough mechanism or breaker bar will fail in the high 200s.

He tested the new icon and the anvil broke at something like 229ftlb IIRC. Not sure whats usual but those seem like pretty good numbers for 3/8.

 

[rijndael]

I've never even heard of a ratchet actually breaking in real world use.

I snapped the pawl in a new Gearwrench 120XP 1/2" ratchet. It popped and jammed up the action.

 

[Szilagyi]

I've never even heard of a ratchet actually breaking in real world use. Not even the cheapest. They wear out. Sometimes they jam or even rust solid, but never break. All these utube videos of testing to the limit don't impress me. Try running a ratchet in reverse with a motor until failure and you might have something.

I have never broken a decent quality ratchet but I have broken two usa made craftsman panel ratchets, the cheap 90's ones with the plastic selector. One was genuine abuse putting a pipe on the 1/2, but the other one was a 3/8 that broke genuinely. I don't use any of those craftsman anymore.

 

[DSLTRK]

WOW, the handle forging is low carbon steel, so much so it yielded well below any other brand. WOW!

 

[manwithtools]

Wow, such impressive testing from the YouTube guy in his sock feet in the shop. SMH.

 

[Rabid Badger]

I'm not so sure the 292 ftlb is all that important if you're ratchet has a tendency to become a banana with use.

The steel alloy they are using looks far to ductile in my opinion.

Yeah, I prefer to have my ratchet handles snap without warning. Keeps things interesting.

WOW, the handle forging is low carbon steel, so much so it yielded well below any other brand. WOW!

Please link to videos showing other ratchet handles taking over 290 lb/ft of torque without deformation.

 

[DSLTRK]

Yeah, I prefer to have my ratchet handles snap without warning. Keeps things interesting.



Please link to videos showing other ratchet handles taking over 290 lb/ft of torque without deformation.

Why are you making me do it? Go on YouTube yourself. There's a huge amount of videos testing 3/8" ratchets and NONE yield with 200 ft.lbs applied to the tool.

AVE has a test with a Snap-on hitting 300 ft lbs and the handle, while deflecting under load, had a much higher resiliency, and returned to it's proper form.

That in itself is a major difference between a professional grade tool and a consumer grade tool.

 

[DSLTRK]

Moreover, I'd consider the low yield strength of the handle to be a HUGE failure.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Why are you making me do it? Go on YouTube yourself. There's a huge amount of videos testing 3/8" ratchets and NONE yield with 200 ft.lbs applied to the tool.

AVE has a test with a Snap-on hitting 300 ft lbs and the handle, while deflecting under load, had a much higher resiliency, and returned to it's proper form.

That in itself is a major difference between a professional grade tool and a consumer grade tool.

People typically back up their own arguments rather than expecting others to do it for them. I guess that makes you special.

It didn't yield at 200 lb/ft. You know how I know? Because after the guy straightens it out (and the metal is MUCH weaker than at the start) he applies 262 lb/ft and it doesn't bend.

Bending a steel bar and straightening it out doesn't make it stronger. Period. Nonsense over.

 

[mrjaw14]

how's their chrome I wonder? I have some tekton pliers that have some rust spots just hanging on a rack relatively unused. I was quite disappointed by that. If their ratchets aren't chromed better I don't see how they'll get to high torques in a few years when they rust in two (slight over exaggeration, but still I want the finish to hold up to the rigors of just sitting around at least)

 

[Tallpilot]

how's their chrome I wonder? I have some tekton pliers that have some rust spots just hanging on a rack relatively unused. I was quite disappointed by that. If their ratchets aren't chromed better I don't see how they'll get to high torques in a few years when they rust in two (slight over exaggeration, but still I want the finish to hold up to the rigors of just sitting around at least)

All pliers rust unfortunately even Snap-on. Tekton chrome is on par with other higher end Taiwan.

 

[thesilverone]

Tony Romo doing tool reviews now?

 

[Shane6377]

Why are you making me do it? Go on YouTube yourself. There's a huge amount of videos testing 3/8" ratchets and NONE yield with 200 ft.lbs applied to the tool.

AVE has a test with a Snap-on hitting 300 ft lbs and the handle, while deflecting under load, had a much higher resiliency, and returned to it's proper form.

That in itself is a major difference between a professional grade tool and a consumer grade tool.

Lol. The notion that a 3/8" drive ratchet that takes 290 ft/lbs is "consumer grade" while one that takes 300 is "pro". That's some tool truck koolaid...

A "pro" should know better than to use a 3/8 for 300ft/lbs. lol


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[Fedwrench]

I think that's outstanding performance from a $22 ratchet

I have more than a few Tekton 90 tooth ratchets and I really like them. Crisp action, nice chrome, recessed direction switch, a winner-winner-chicken dinner in every respect. I wish they offered a 13-14 inch long 3/8 flex head ratchet with a straight handle though.
Another great thing about the Tekton 90 series is that they're available with or without a quick release.

some of you guys really need to lighten up though

 

[DSLTRK]

People typically back up their own arguments rather than expecting others to do it for them. I guess that makes you special.

It didn't yield at 200 lb/ft. You know how I know? Because after the guy straightens it out (and the metal is MUCH weaker than at the start) he applies 262 lb/ft and it doesn't bend.

Bending a steel bar and straightening it out doesn't make it stronger. Period. Nonsense over.

Your logic is flawed, again.

This is material science. Steel exhibits a crystalline structure.
When it is bent, the atoms under tension will tend to align their bonds linearly.

It's just a little thing called strain hardening.

If you had taken classes on material science, or worked with steels or simply done research on something you (apparently) know nothing about, you would understand why the handle took approx. 60 more ft.lbs to return to center.

The steel or the alloy or the handle tempering process is SUBSTANDARD to other tested brands. You're on Garage Journal with access to YouTube. The videos mentioned are two clicks away...

It's actually funny, after straightening the handle back out, this ratchet has a higher propensity to 'snap without warning', as you put it.

Lol. The notion that a 3/8" drive ratchet that takes 290 ft/lbs is "consumer grade" while one that takes 300 is "pro". That's some tool truck koolaid...

A "pro" should know better than to use a 3/8 for 300ft/lbs. lol


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The Snap-On tested to 300 ft.lbs WITHOUT damaging the handle. As in, it didn't look like a pretzel after the test. I thought I wrote that clearly in the referenced post.

And if you believe mechanics, technicians etc. always use tools as they are intended, you haven't worked around them for any appreciable time. I've been guilty as well of using cheater bars to break all kinds of fasteners loose to get a job done with what I had.

I am impressed with the drive gear surviving (apparently, assuming the guy's cheap torque meter is accurate) 292 ft-lbs, but that isn't the end all determinate for a ratchet.

 

[thugline]

People typically back up their own arguments rather than expecting others to do it for them. I guess that makes you special.

It didn't yield at 200 lb/ft. You know how I know? Because after the guy straightens it out (and the metal is MUCH weaker than at the start) he applies 262 lb/ft and it doesn't bend.

Bending a steel bar and straightening it out doesn't make it stronger. Period. Nonsense over.

Steel does get stronger after yielding. It is called strain hardening and is one of the first things you'll learn in strength of materials class. Take a look at a stress-strain diagram that plots true stress (not engineering stress).

 

[noid]

I'd rather had a bent but functioning ratchet than two broken pieces of a straight ratchet.

Yes' if it been engineered this way it quite clever, less chance of injury to user and he still got a usable ratchet with a bent handle .

Yeah, I prefer to have my ratchet handles snap without warning. Keeps things interesting.

Lets be clear here; the neck of a 3/8 ratchet is a 1/2 inch piece of solid steel.

An appropriately hardened ratchet would completely blow out it internals or snap the drive end before snapping into two.

 

[Szilagyi]

I would like to hear from Tekton about the bending. I think it's too easy to assume sub standard hardening. As someone else suggested maybe it was designed to bend before the anvil shears off. Or maybe the standard length ratchet handles are not hardened any more than the forging provides, because there is virtually no way you could apply 200 ft lbs to a less than a foot long 3/8 ratchet. Tekton offers long ratchets, I believe 24" and I have yet to see one bent, that goes for breaker bars also.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Your logic is flawed, again.

This isn't logic, it's science.

This is material science.

See?

Steel exhibits a crystalline structure.
When it is bent, the atoms under tension will tend to align their bonds linearly.

It's just a little thing called strain hardening.

Yes.

If you had taken classes on material science, or worked with steels or simply done research on something you (apparently) know nothing about

you would understand why the handle took approx. 60 more ft.lbs to return to center.

You don't have any idea how much torque it took to bend the ratchet because the angle of the video makes it impossible to tell when it deforms. Therefore you don't know how much more torque (if any) it took to straighten it out.

Also, it withstood the 262 lb/ft of torque after it had been straightened.

Also also, ft/lb is a measurement of energy. lb/ft is the proper unit when talking about torque. Someone with your vast engineering experience should probably know that.

The steel or the alloy or the handle tempering process is SUBSTANDARD to other tested brands.

If your assumptions were correct. They aren't.

You're on Garage Journal with access to YouTube. The videos mentioned are two clicks away...

Thank you for making it clear how lazy it was for you to not take the time to support your argument.

It's actually funny, after straightening the handle back out, this ratchet has a higher propensity to 'snap without warning', as you put it.

No ****. Continuing to use a tool that has been through that kind of abuse it dangerous. Did I say otherwise?

Now that we're done deconstructing your straw man, let's get back to what I actually said:

Bending a steel bar and straightening it out doesn't make it stronger.

This statement is accurate. If you want to make yourself look like a jackass by pretending otherwise, be my guest.

Steel does get stronger after yielding. It is called strain hardening and is one of the first things you'll learn in strength of materials class. Take a look at a stress-strain diagram that plots true stress (not engineering stress).

See above.

 

[Houe]

So now we get excited about tekton and icon tools around here? What is going on?!?

 

[DSLTRK]

I would like to hear from Tekton about the bending. I think it's too easy to assume sub standard hardening. As someone else suggested maybe it was designed to bend before the anvil shears off. Or maybe the standard length ratchet handles are not hardened any more than the forging provides, because there is virtually no way you could apply 200 ft lbs to a less than a foot long 3/8 ratchet. Tekton offers long ratchets, I believe 24" and I have yet to see one bent, that goes for breaker bars also.

That is some piss poor engineering if that is the case.

A good engineering risk analysis will often have the failure mode happen as cheaply as possible. Safely as possible when lives are involved.

Frangible shafts, electrical fuses and in the case of ratchets, drive anvils are all methods to control failure.


If the 24" Tekton ratchet exhibits the same steel as the one tested in the original video, I could easily yield that tool with my bare hands and a stubborn fastener.

 

[Tallpilot]

This has been a great couple of days here. Williams USA sockets are soft junk. Tekton ratchets have junk rubbery handles. Only good news is some new guy posted Snap-on for sale in the wrong section. Hopefully it isn’t junk too.

If you can’t put a 6’ cheater on a 3/8” drive ratchet without it bending or your socket deforming at 300 lb/ft it clearly isn’t suitable for ’pro’ use.

 

[ChrisLS8]

That is some piss poor engineering if that is the case.

A good engineering risk analysis will often have the failure mode happen as cheaply as possible. Safely as possible when lives are involved.

Frangible shafts, electrical fuses and in the case of ratchets, drive anvils are all methods to control failure.


If the 24" Tekton ratchet exhibits the same steel as the one tested in the original video, I could easily yield that tool with my bare hands and a stubborn fastener.

I'd much rather have a handle bend while applying 250+ ft lbs instead of having the anvil shear off without warning. Thars not a failure control that's just failure

 

[Shane6377]

And if you believe mechanics, technicians etc. always use tools as they are intended, you haven't worked around them for any appreciable time. I've been guilty as well of using cheater bars to break all kinds of fasteners loose to get a job done with what I had.

...and that's the difference between "hacks" and "pros".



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[noid]

I'd much rather have a handle bend while applying 250+ ft lbs instead of having the anvil shear off without warning. Thars not a failure control that's just failure

If you're applying that much force to such a short ratchet, you sure as heck know the consequences, there is no "without warning" here.

What you want is a rebuild-able tool after you do silly things to it.

 

[ChrisLS8]

If you're applying that much force to such a short ratchet, you sure as heck know the consequences, there is no "without warning" here.

What you want is a rebuild-able tool after you do silly things to it.

You would think but common sense isn't so common