This one took over 2 solid weeks to put together, over 100 tests. Recommend more hand tools that you're dying to know which one's on top for below (which hopefully make for shorter episodes!). Our Amazon store includes some of the winners: www.amazon.com/shop/torquetestchannel Edit: We're going to buy some Knipex Cobra and Pliers Wrenches and some cheap copies to compare to the testing here based on popular demand. And flarenut wrenches from top brands when we can afford it! Torque of TTC is working for Astro Tools who also make flarenut tools just like these. TTC is not the only testing out there, always consider multiple sources when looking at a tool!

What stuck out to me is how both Gearwrench and Crescent are both made in China, both have the same style of stamping, both scored the lowest hardness and nearly identical at that, and scored similar on the points ranking AND ARE BOTH OWNED BY APEX. Which says two things to me 1) there seems to be some validity to your testing if they did similarly 2) They might just be charging WAY more for the gearwrench despite being the same thing! That's disappointing

20 years ago in auto college, one of us asked our teacher about which tool truck had the best tools. He said it really doesn't matter, more or less they're all the same. Except flare nut wrenches, absolutely get the snap on.

The snap-on is pricey but dang 100% worth it if you use them for a living. Even preventing just one rounded off flare nut and the wrench has paid for itself.

A 14/13mm line wrench is the only vintage Snap On tool I own because a specific brake line I had remove on multiple instances of the vehicle. Still cheaper than not even trying, cutting the line, using a deep impact to get the fitting out, flaring a new nut onto the line. All this because they used a NiCop line that lasts forever, a good quality ATE caliper but mild steel flare nut.

I would really love to see Tekton hand tools included in your testing in the future. Many of my friends and myself have bought products from them and been quite happy with them.

At McDonnell Douglas and at Boeing we used (3) brands of flarenut wrenches, Snap On, Proto & Bonney! ~ This is a GREAT video by the way!

Good trick if you have room, is clamp a vice grip over the line wrench to help keep it from spreading and consequently rounding the hex.

Thank you so much to the Torque Test Channel - few tools are as critical as flarenut wrenches in the automotive/agriculture/aviation industry - stripping/rounding off a flare nut usually means replacing the entire brake/hydraulic/fluid/... line most often in restricted spaces with complex shapes and/or line shapes. This is when spending more (a lot more) money is worth the investment. Thank you again so much for helping us (engineers and professionals alike) to prioritize our purchases. May God bless you all, Ciao, L (FoMoCo engineering, retired).

My word, the amount of care and effort that went into this. Great video and a dang fine fine data set that makes a decision easy. Thanks lads!

I've had the USA Craftsman raised panel set for a long time. Switched to SK line wrenches years ago but after using a longer length Snap-On, that's all I use now. Love them so much bought the crowfoot flare nut set + all the optional larger sizes. This video is by far your most interesting video to date. I applaud your thoroughness and testing rationale. Well done!!

3/8" and 7/16" wrenches should have been included, they are by FAR the most common, on American iron anyway.

Man. That Quinn stuff did a lot worse than the price you pay for them IMO. And yeah, more tests like this please. Loved the video.

What you didn't touch on is poor tolerance on many tube fittings aspecially after market fittings. Once they are exposed to winter for a few years, even the best wrenches don't fit well. There the Vice Grips rule.

Great test. I knew the Snap On would win. I have lots of Snap On but when it comes to line wrenches and hex/torx and all the other bit variations I will only use Snap On. When you absolutely can't screw it up the cost for the red kool-aid is totally worth it.

As far as I know, these wrenches are directional. The long jaw should be in tension, and the short jaw should be in compression, irrespective of whether turning CW or CCW. I get that sometimes there's only room to fit the wrench in one way, so you don't always have a choice. I notice that in the "Proof Torque" section of the video, where internal-hex sockets were used, that the load was applied 'backwards" through the wrenches - the long jaw in compression and the short jaw in tension. I would be very interested to see how much of a difference the direction of loading through the wrench jaws makes to the test results - it would be awesome if you were to test this! Anyhow, I really appreciate the effort you put into these videos!!

As mechanic for over 40 years, I can say Snap On flair nut wrenches are the best on the market. Yes they cost a lot, but they are worth it. But from time to time even they fail to crack a nut lose , so I had to use the Vice Grip brand. They almost never fail if you can fit them in.

Back when I started as a tech I bought the Craftsman wrenches (the ones you call vintage)and back then I was so disappointed in how badly they slipped on everything that I rarely ever used them. It's nice to see that pretty much anything you guy today is better than the old craftsman ones. I always preferred buying somewhere other than off the truck but there are certain tools that you just have to bite the bullet and spend a fortune on the truck ones. I have lots and lots of the old US craftsman stuff that I used and I still cuss at those tools today when I use them... They are seen with rose colored glasses by many.

In my 26 years as a mechanic Snap on has been my preferred wrenches in all categories I've used every brand under The Sun and nothing compares. Yes their very expensive but will pay for them selves in short time and you will always have the best tool to use every single time you need it .

As a not quite professional mechanic but definitely more then your average weekend warrior guy I literally went through almost all your wrench choices over the last 25 years and probably 300 cars that I have owned or messed with and I finally got so fed up with rounding off 60 or 70 year old brake lines that I manned up and bought Snap-On. I have never been more pleased with a line wrench, switching over to them I don't think I've had a single rounded flare nut even ones that were kind of rusty have came off. I find the same quality with the standard "OEX" part number open end box end wrenches when messing with regular volts and nuts. I am generally not brand loyal and buy whatever I think is good quality but when it comes to wrenches I'm definitely a Snap-On whore lol.

I have Wright brand wrenches, would be cool to see some of those. Also ratcheting wrenches rank chart would be interesting. Keep up the great work with whatever you do. Love the channel.

100% vicegrips are a must if your wrench collection is small. They've gotten me out of situations where I would've had to get a specific type or size wrench that I would rarely use.

I just want to say thank you for all the testing you do on this channel, and the thoughtfulness that has gone into making these tests relevant to real world usage. So helpful when considering new tools!

I have those Vice Grips - they are incredible! Living in the Great Lakes, rust is life(yes, it is indeed miserable) and those things just don't give a damn, put a pipe on the end and go at it lol. 10 of 10 would use and abuse again I suspect that the Snap-Offs might be too tight for the corroded junk out here that tends to grow in size lol Loved this test and love the video quality too, great work boys! Definitely down for more of this, if your sanity can take it of course, there's a LOT of work that goes into content like this.

I wonder how Teng tools flare nut wrenches would've tested out. I have a few of the sockets and combination wrenches and they work quite well. Love the dedication and attention to detail you guys put into each of your tests!

One small piece of criticism: the ratcheting open ended wrenches and flare nut wrenches, are more for running a nut, not so much tightening and breaking free. I don’t know if I’d call it fair to compare the ratcheting and non ratcheting, as they’re not used for the quite the same work. Other than that, great video as always 🤟🏼

I've been enjoying your vids for a long time. Sometimes (like now) I'm surprised by the amount of variance from brands in what I thought were simple "get this right" requirements. You guys let me know constantly whether I through my money away or not. Thankfully, you've guided me towards smart purchases too. Great job, thanks for everything & I'm always looking forward to another lesson.

This video was perfect timing. I recently discovered that my GearWrench 6 piece standard set apparently grew wings & flew the coop. It is a set that I hardly use & haven't laid eyes on it for quite some time (6-9 months, maybe). I was casually looking for a replacement set & this video has given me a lot of information that will help me when shopping for a new set. Thanks

Can I just say that I'm happy to see I'm not the only one who has a terrible time trying to use the Lowe's website. 9 out of 10 times it just crashes lol

I’m usually a Project Farm kind when it comes too tool testing, but these are some really in depth tests, can’t believe I accidentally bought one of the top dogs on this test lol

I truly injoy learning about tool quality. I am currently trying to build up a tool collection for repair work on personal and family vehicles. Your comparisons help me make a more informed decision on which tools to purchase. So thank you for the educational content and I look forward to seeing a lot more.

Thank you for a great video. I'm thrilled to see you guys branching into other tool types. I hope that videos and channels like yours prompt toolmakers to make better tools. Looks like a tighter tolerance would have helped the other tools score better. I don't know that a tighter tolerance would cost the toolmakers more money, so I hope they're watching! Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing 🙂

Great job keep it coming ! It would be interesting to test snap on sockets… When I was a mechanic I had some sunex sockets and snap on sockets and the snap on sockets although they seemed to have better tolerances, they also seemed to be the softest. My snap on sockets showed significantly more wear after little use then the equivalent sunex socket. Food for thought :) Fan from Canada.

Before i even begin watching this one and with only knowing that Snappy and 9 others are involved, I’m certain that Snap-On takes the win only because I’ve been wrenching for 30yrs in Nyc’s harshly snow salted environment, under those conditions i went through so many great combination wrenches that didn’t meet the task when doing wheel alignments because for those that live in similar areas already know how tough tie rods can be to deal with so the only wrench that would do the job is the Snap-On flank drive plus, as for line wrenches Snap-On and nothing else so let’s see who wins it

Love my Snap-on line wrench set. Had it for over 10 years and still working great.

Best wrench test video of any kind ever made. The extra work really shows here. thanks for including the alternative wrench types as well. Some day it would be great to see an ongoing wrench testing series of 9/16 - 10mm wrenches of all types and manufacturers. just because..... It would make a massive database eventually.

Since some of these wrenches had a difference in the jaw configuration ( being rotationally offset from a perfect "inline" configuration to the handle ), it would be nice to test those particular wrenches, or maybe all of them, for CW and CCW performance. There may be some differences due to a longer jaw/side of the wrench being subjected to stress differently and flexing more in one direction than the other. Most of the time, these wrenches are needed to be called in to remove fasteners that can't be approached with a socket or box end wrench, in the hopes of breaking them free with no or minimal damage, so the primary focus should be done on checking them in removal torque, but even your initial jig called for a fastening /CW rotation.

Since the threads only take 40 ft lbs it would be interesting to see how much of the bulky vicegrips head can be ground off while still giving 40 ftlb of torque. If the head can be reduced to about the same size as a regular line wrench then it would be the best in all cases since it adapts to rounded fittings.

I'm a new mechanic, when it comes to buying tools i always watch your page for your reviews! Keep it up, love your content.

Excellent video, and you guys have added extensively to the amount of tests and videos you can produce. Great job as always

Really enjoyed the graphics in this one. Also happy to see the value of Snap-on here.

Would have been interesting to see what Knipex's plier wrench design could have accomplished in a use case like this.

This is one of the most interesting and useful run downs I have ever seen. Great work. Makes me seriously rethink the "Power Torque" set I grabbed at the O'Reilly's one evening in a pinch, though they have been decent so far.

I didn't know I needed to see this video today, but when I saw the title I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO click on it. What a fantastic comparison. Thank you for passing on the knowledge to the rest of us. P.S. I have the two SK sets so this makes me feel a little better about spending the money on them as a hobbyist (except of the whole breakage thing). The Snap-On does seem to get the wrench to have if you have to make money with them though.

Would love to see Knipex raptor (87 41 250) compared to all of these, it is 40usd, but the grip it offers is just stupid, i was worried more about box-end wrench slipping off of banjo bolt than raptor loosing grip on 20 year old honda fuel filter...

I mean how would you know without a channel like this? Thank you!

Don't mess around, just get the Snap-On, at least for the more commonly used sizes. For high torque applications, I find the Crowfoot style flarenut wrenches even better as they tend to spread less, plus you can use a torque wrench on them.

I definitely enjoy your videos and I do appreciate the amount of time and effort to make them as accurate as possible. I was wondering if you could test different socket brands to find out the maximum amount of torque that can be placed on various sizes before failure.

Would have liked to see a MAC and a Cornwell just to see how the truck brands stack up to one another. Perhaps a Proto & Wright for the industrial type wrench turners. Job well done, thanks for sharing and continuing to create relevant videos.

I really enjoyed this test. And the animated graphics were excellent.

I use vintage Britool. They are great. Very tight indeed. I've tried the Vis Grip / Irwin on a rounded flare nut, absolutely shite in the real world. It cammed up and off the knackered flare nut which was right against a mounting. In the case the hard line and the flexi pipe both had to be replaced. As you siad this test shows what a flare wrench needs - tight tolerances and non springiness! The fact so many of these - Even quite pricy ones - were baggy and the jaws were visibly opening boggles the mind

Yes, the ones I used when I did propane installs. Had two types both non-sparking- one was bronze, the other was bronze/aluminum alloy. They are softer material whereas the wrench wears easily.

Cool vid! I bought new Craftsman metric set to do a steering box. I didn’t feel it was tightening well during reassembly, it kept slipping. Bought a crows foot flare nut in the same size, Sunex, which was thicker and gave the extra 1/4 turn needed. It was an awkward angle but real world. A similar comparison as this vid with crows foot flare nut would be. I would of preferred a whole crows foot set having that experience

If you guys do open wrenches I'd love to see you test wright tools wright grip 2.0. Seen some demo videos on them and they snap rounded nuts with no problem.

Excellent review - thanks. Have medium and large vice-grips of this style and was immediately impressed with their holding and versatility. Will now look to Snappy for tight access stuff (when can afford).

Some of the old Craftsman USA made hand tools were very good for consumer grade stuff. Particularly their open and box end wrenches. Some of the nicest I've used. I have used some that were a bit sloppy in their tolerance though so it sort of depends on what year they were purchased as far as that goes. Their ratchets, however, were probably the worst I've ever used. The detents on the ratcheting mechanism were like the Grand Canyon apart and I'd say I got on average about 3 months use out of each one before having to warranty return it. I did this about 3-4 times before I bought a Taiwan-made teardrop ratchet to replace it permanently that lasted me 15 years of literally beating on it with a hammer. This eventually chipped the gear teeth off of the ratchet wheel. I'd probably still be using that one if it wasn't for the abuse I put it through. Suffice it to say, it's not all unicorns and rainbows with American made back in the day. You know all that cheap Chinese garbage that you can buy? We made the same garbage here well into the '90s before it was offshored completely. There's a lot of old cheap American garbage that was sold over the years, most of which got tossed, which is why you only see the good stuff still hanging around, which then leads people to attribute this mythological awesomeness to it. Oh I almost forgot about the Craftsman cast iron top belt driven 10 inch table saws. Those were dirt cheap for what they were (still are used) and will rival some very expensive professional table saws if set up properly.

This is the content I’ve been waiting for!!!

I wish you had included a pliers wrench.l Would be interesting to see how well that works putting significant pressure on the flats.

This was a really good video. it certainly confirms what i've seen over the years. A while back i switched to the smooth jaw Knippex for any brake line stuff like this so the nuts don't get damaged and they don't slip. but it's annoying because sometimes the fit is really tight to get them on there.

the phone buzzing at 7:06 is so good

that snap on price is hella high if it's really bad, grab a torch, we all know why. Great video thanks for the info

Can you add Wright Tools to your hand tool testing? There a USA made brand and way cheaper then snap on.

I enjoy the graph you provide for everything you do.

Great analysis. Very good to know. Thank you for putting in such extensive work

This is fascinating. I've never seen this vise-grip, so I just ordered one (thanks for the link).

In my opinion the best flare nut tool is Knipex pliers wrench. They will break loose a rounded nut with ease.

Great video, I love your channel. Glad to see SnapOn and SK bring it and pleasantly surprised by the new Craftsman!

Nice test! I have a "vintage" - from the mid 2000's - Made in USA Craftsman Professional Series flare nut wrench set I bought new (oh no that was actually almost 20 years ago!). They are a polished finish straight beam design. They always fit loose for the most part and I've had poor experiences with them with vehicles from the 70s-90's.. Except for on my '89 Lincoln where they fit the brakes line flare nuts perfectly. Go figure? A quick check with my calipers shows 0.0055in oversize on the half-inch end and 0.0095 (!) on the nine-sixteenth. Part number 42092.

Never heard of this still style of vice grip. Looks like an excellent design. Even if they are only able to crack off a nut due to size, then use a cheap line wrench. For speed and convenience. Why didn't you put a pipe on the the vice grip or even ring end of big spanner, i thought that was a standard thing.

People will hopefully start to realize a wrench is not just a wrench. There's quality difference

One factor, in the 'thin' nut test, up against the washer, is how much chamfer or overhang between the edge of the wrench and the hex internal of the wrench. Some wrenches waste a lot of their bite. Be interesting to lay these on a belt sander till they are all square and flat, and try again.

I give the Snap-On ratcheting screwdrivers to people as gifts. My personal Snap-On ratcheting screwdriver lasted from 1989 all the way to 2018 when it was stolen, but I'm sure it's still working somewhere. I was visiting a friend (who is a mechanical engineer) who likes to work on vintage Jeeps, and I noticed that his wrenches and sockets were all Snap-On. I said, "Hey, Snap-On! Good stuff!" And he said, "Yeah, you gave me that screwdriver about 20 years ago. I didn't use it much at first, but it grew on me, and I even bought a second one, an orange one, so I didn't have to change tips as often. Then I bought a socket set, which I thought was way too much money, but there's a big difference between the price of a tool and the satisfaction you get from using it, because these days they're the only tools I use."

I will absolutely sing the praises of the Irwin 4LW/7LW/10LW hex vise grips. I used the 4LW on a 10mm flare nut that was absurdly soft and rounded, it’s my savior. For $12 or so a pair, I recommend getting them for your box.

Love these test series! Awesome info!

I’m kinda disappointed you didn’t test Wright tools or tribus ratcheting line wrenches. If I had to guess, Wright would give snappy a run for it’s money. As for tribus, I’d be interested in seeing how that ratcheting mechanism holds up.

I have an old Proto set that is amazing. They grip the nut in a different position than most others. 3/8 and 7/16 size is my most commonly used

Fantastic video! Although it makes me sad that I just bought some GearWrench line wrenches in larger sizes. I was debating if it was worth trying to find some lightly used Snap-On ones. Now I know. And I'm definitely ordering one of those Vise Grips.

Great video. I use a little coarse valve lapping compound to get a little more grip. Sixty percent of there time it works everytime.😀

I love this channel, and more hand tool tests would be very appreciated!

When I bought my 1974 Honda Civic from my brother, I needed to do a LOT of things starting with replacing the oil pump, head gasket, rings, crankshaft bearings, and the brake bleed nuts on all four brakes. On the left front caliper, nothing would remove the nut, so eventually I had to replace the caliper (although I got away with using it or a while by drilling the nut out by hand, and picking out the pieces of thread. (Heli-Coils were new and very expensive in those days, and I was doing all the work myself, only buying parts when necessary, usually from junk yards.) I bought my one and only Snap-On tool: a 10mm flare nut wrench, so I would never again mess up my brake bleed nuts, and I got by for at least 2 years before I had to replace the calipers, with nary a leak from the nut. So these results match my entirely unscientific testing from over 45 years ago.

I have a set of Snap-on flare nut wrenches that I bought back in the early 80's when I was working as an auto mechanic. My set is different, though. Each wrench only covers one size, with a flare nut wrench on one end and a very thick open end on the other. I don't know if they still make this style of wrench, but the thick open end actually worked well enough to get me out of a pinch a few times when the the flare nut end just wouldn't fit. Really enjoyed this video. Thanks!

Saw an aVe video on 6 vs 12 point box end wrenches. Would love to see different wrenches compared with a harness tester and maybe torqued to either slippage or failure. Love the content, keep it up!

I weld T-handles to all my Vise-Grip adjustment knobs (~3"long), lube the screw threads with anti-seize and am thus able to apply FAR more force than a manual squeeze. It's not a new idea and allows grabbing objects much more firmly than an RSI-inducing manual squeeze while facilitating easy release. You can also tighten Vise-Grips using other tools but the T-handle is glorious. IMO the score would be higher modified.

Heat treatment must play a part in the equation. Very impresses with the snap on. I have the old raised panel craftsman and have found the reliable.

actually, now that I'm thinking about it, there's a tool that would have been interesting to see in this video, but it's no longer sold. Originally it was called the HexForce "Wrap Around Wrench" sold by AGS Company, but was quickly purchased by EZ Red and rebranded as "Butterfly Socket". From EZ Red, they were sold rebranded by Bluepoint and Mac, maybe also matco. Personally I *love* mine for getting off tie rod jam nuts without needing the hot wrench, but they were marketed as an alternative for flare nut wrenches. If you want to borrow some, I have a EZ-Red DSS3 set, and a Bluepoint equivalent DSS2 set.

Here is a trick that I haven't seen anyone else use but since I am no genius we can be assured someone else before me has used the process. I discovered this in my early years of automotive repair when I didn't understand how much difference there is in tools and bought a set of Black Hawk line wrenches. In those days half or more of the GM and Chrysler cares came in with the fuel line nuts rounded off from bad practices including vice grips, open end wrenches, over tightening and cheap line wrenches like me. Some times the line nut was just egg shaped. I put my cheap line wrench on by driving on if need be and use a round jawed vice grip on the wrench to prevent spread. I also use the process with my Snap On wrenches on good nuts that are over tight to prevent damage. I have a 5/8" and a 1/2" Snap On line wrench with vice grip teeth marks from many years of use. This works about 98% of the time. Still at times cutting the line and driving a socket on is the only salvation for other parts.

This was great. You guys are awesome. Would love to see ratcheting box wrenches (with non ratcheting as control) and ratchets in different sizes.

The Vise Grips tested here are at best a last-resort tool for a oil/hydraulic line or bleeder. I have a couple of the same style but larger (10LW) around the shop that get used for securely holding pipe and tie rod ends and such and they are great for that. Just glad I never have had to give a thought to putting them on a hex nut of any sort. I guess if you want to cheap out on your flare nut wrench set you better get those vise grips too. lol! I'd just hate to be the next guy that had to work on anything you touched with them and didn't replace after. Special thanks for helping to verify the worthiness of my purchase of full metric and sae sets of snap-on line wrenches. Back when I shelled out the extra coin for them there wasn't that great a price diff between them and the Matco set and almost went with them instead. Now I'm extra glad I didn't.

I'm so excited for these hand tool tests

This is the video I wanted but had no idea would happen! I've been debating on getting the Snap On ones for some time now

I am an older John Deere mechanic and always needed a line wrench to take off a water temperature sensor from the head, super thin 5/8 nut. No room whatsoever the true test of a line wrench to me. No room for error and if you rounded it required a new sensor/gauge combination. We always bit the bullet and had a Snap-On. Wonderful video.

After struggling with flare nuts years ago, I bought a set of used Snap On wrenches off eBay. I’m just a home user, but considering the aggravation of stripping flare nuts, it was money well spent.

Awesome testing! My go-to for line fittings is the largest adjustable wrench (with the thickest jaws) that I can fit and still turn- wiggling it and snugging the adjustment down between each pull. Your tolerance test was great that you accommodated rusted away fasteners like we see from rust and road salt. Can you do a short video, to take those damaged fittings and try a 12 or 15 adjustable wrench on them?

This level of content is tremendously good. As far as I am concerned this scientific approach to testing is the gold standard for discussing pros and cons of different tools. This approach makes sure brand loyalty or preconceived notions do not play into the results. This is literally deciding brand or model for tool purchases for me as a professional auto technician, as well as forwarding your videos to other techs when discussing new tool purchasing.

always clear concise reviews!!!!!!

My vintage Craftsman still going well for me. Nice to see the Snap On doing well.

Good testing! I wish Wright had been in the test, since their box end wrenches seem to be the best. I really like SK as well, but I was still surprised they did so well. I really didn't think the Matco would do as well as it did either since their regular wrenches seem just OK.

Excellent! Thank you for posting.

I love the homage to Project Farm in how you laid out the comparison, and how much energy and thought you put into the work. Also, "not amazing."

this was very thorough and well received. To improve this going forward, get someone to make yo an enclosure to secure the wrench's so that when they fly out or snap you dont injure yourself. Also, looking at the top three vs. cost: SK+Vice grip > Snap-On+vice grip? You can get two sets for the price of one vs. what is the range of PSI/Torque you should be aiming for to ensure you have a good flarenut remover?