Prowler 

My experience in three shops has been that the frequency of use (“occasional”) has little to do with it. The strength of the wrench and the tolerances of the wrench are key. Any cone wrench can loosen and tighten a fairly loose lock nut. The test is the really tight fittings that have been unmoved, even corroded for years. As you apply more force to loosen the nut (or to turn the cones away from each other) you apply lots of force to the two “corners” of the flats in the wrench slot. Weaker/value priced wrenches with softer steel can experience damaged slots or spread jaws. Wrenches that we’re not made well may have slots that are too wide: ex 15mm jaw that is too much greater than 15mm. The surplus gap between wrench and fitting speeds the deformation.

These issues exist on any standard open end wrench but those are usually so thick they will survive. Cone wrenches are more vulnerable. At the shop, I see even Park cone wrenches that are deformed as we deal with everything - old wheels, corroded wheels, gorilla overhauled hubs, machine built wheels. SO whether or not the user is occasional or frequent, it’s a matter of the hubs he’s working on and the forces required. I occasionally cold forge the deformations on our anvil to restore a Park wrench but that’s a temporary fix. They are doomed and new ones are ordered. My personal view is that the Park tools are worth the money.