[Healeys] Knock off wrenches

[Bob Spidell]

I've been beatin' on knockoffs for decades with a 4lb lead hammer, with 
nary a nick, scratch or damaged threads.  The only time I damaged a 
knock-on/off was when I didn't have a lead hammer and used a block of 
wood and a 4lb sledgehammer; it chipped the chrome.  Go figure.

On 1/21/2020 8:08 PM, Mirek Sharp wrote:
>
> For 46 years I have just used the copper-headed Thor hammer that came 
> with the original tool kit.  I have the same set of knock-offs for 
> those 46 years and when I restored the exterior I kept them because 
> they nicely display the patina of a 46 year old car.  The ears of the 
> knock-offs are a bit flattened, and the underlying brass shows through 
> in a few places, but that is what happens when you use the right tool 
> supplied by the factory and they look lovely.  I whack them pretty 
> hard holding onto the very end of the handle to get the maximum 
> leverage on the swing, always with the wheel off the ground so they 
> centre properly, and so I can turn the wheel as to position the ears 
> in the right place for a square blow.
>
> Somewhere I saw a picture of a mechanic hammering a knock-off on a 
> centre-lock wheel on a front-engined formula 1 car (in my mind’s eye I 
> see a Maserati), and he had a massive hammer, not the dinky Thor we 
> have in our too kits, and he was wailing on it.  I am not suggesting 
> we do that; it was a race car and all the parameters are different, 
> but it did suggest to me that we don’t need to be gentle.
>
> Then there is the aesthetic.  I can’t say it better than Peter Egan:  
> “However you do it, there's nothing quite as satisfying as smacking a 
> knockoff. It feels like an ancient, embedded human prerogative, like 
> releasing an arrow from a longbow or skipping a stone across a lake. 
> If you've never owned a car with knock- offs, you probably owe it to 
> yourself and your ancestors to get one. Knockoffs provide both tactile 
> involvement with your car and participation in one of the sport's most 
> sacred rituals. Without which, as Jim Morrison would say, true sailing 
> is dead.”
>
> I have been whacking them for 46 years and have never stripped a 
> thread or had a wheel come off.  I love the ritual and the horrified 
> stares from uninitiated and/or ill-informed on-lookers, so I’ll just 
> stay the course.
>
> Cheers, Mirek
>
> *From:*Healeys [mailto:healeys-bounces at autox.team.net] *On Behalf Of *Tom
> *Sent:* January-21-20 9:06 AM
> *To:* Healey Mail List
> *Subject:* [Healeys] Knock off wrenches
>
>
> Are either of these two items useful?    From the Moss catalog:
>
> Long Handle Knock-off Wrench
> https://mossmotors.com/long-handle-knock-off-wrench-eared-knock-offs
>
> Protective Knock-off Wrenches
> https://mossmotors.com/protective-knock-off-wrenches
>
> - Tom
>
>

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