Being a Aerospace Engineer, I would hope you just keep that old beam style torque wrench strictly as a memento and don't really use it.

 

No, I have not used it in many, many years. Never really liked the beam style but my dad thought I should learn young and probably was tired of me stripping or breaking the butter bolts on the Japan bikes I had. I always question just "how" straight I was looking down at the indicator or was I looking a little over to one side or the other - All the while trying to hold the handle properly to get the right pressure and in its middle float area.
But, I would not ever get rid of it - actually, I never get rid of any tool. I love tools.

 

I have the same problem, I can't seem to part with tools either. And I let my Freshman Football playing grandson torgue the trailer wheels with my old torsion bar. Gotta teach 'em old school before letting them touch the expensive stuff!

 

In another life, my nickname in certain circles was "Dr. Torque." I broke/stripped more fasteners than I care to count.

Because of that, I now have 4 torque wrenches. 2 old beam types I used for years, and 2 new clicker types bought a couple years ago. I knew I needed to upgrade. The old ones are wallhangers in the shop.

 

I currently have several CDI click-type torque wrenches , and even have a couple CDI digital, and digital with angle torque wrenches.... However, I could never bring myself to throw out my old Craftsman beam-type torque wrench. I bought it in 1973, and used it to repair/build my '67 Mustang 289 HiPo engine and a few years later when I built my '64 442 330CI engine...



While I don't use the old beam-style wrench any more, a couple years ago I spent some time researching to see if it would still be accurate. I didn't save my findings, but there many references saying that beam-style wrenches are often more accurate than many lower quality click-style wrenches. Also many references stating that as long as the pointer is centered, the wrench isn't corroded, bent, or has a history of being abused.... It would most likely test accurate even after 30+ years of proper use or proper storage...

One of these days I will compare it to one of my more expensive, digital torque wrenches...

 

I must have read the same article on the beam style. I kinda recall them saying the upper and lower 30% (?) were not accurate but middle 40% is...... Kinda made sense to me.