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I have one of these. I bought it a long time ago and as I got better with tuning I realized it isn't very helpful in fine tuning. It utilizes a tensioned ball and cup detent that has a small dial with numbered settings. The idea being that the tighter you set the tension the more torque necessary before the ball will break free of the detent. At looser settings there is more inaccuracy in the consistency of the tension from turn/break to turn/break. At higher tensions, I found that it is more consistent.

I tune by sound and feel now.

The Evan Torque Key does have some good uses though. I have a 14x5 maple snare that I like to keep tuned tight. I also have a 10x6 popcorn and a couple of piccolo toms that I keep very tight as well. When I replace these heads, it's very convenient to use the Torque key at a higher tension to establish a nice tight and even setting of the new head. When I go to fine tune the drums, I'm very confident that all the tension rods are at equal tension before I start making my ¼, ½ or larger turns with a normal tuning key.

Of course this will work on all the tom toms and bass drums but I never have them tuned high enough for the torque key to give me the same feeling of confidence that at a looser tension on the Torque key it is accurate. I think it probably was when it was brand new but by the nature of the design I think there becomes uneven wear on the ball and cup detent. Now that I think about it you could overtighten a tom tom head and then loosen it evenly so the Evans Torque Key is useful in establishing an even overall starting point.

Another reason I stopped using it in general tuning was that on my snares, the snare beds dip to varying degrees from drum to drum. On almost all of my snares, I don't have the 4 tension rods that are nearest the snare beds set the same as the others. Another drummer pointed out to me that sometimes this is the reason that you can get an annoying ring from the reso head. I'm not so sure about that but I do go for a consistent tone from tapping the head near each rod and sometimes that means that the rods near the snare bed are set differently.

It's not really an expensive item, so if you find it an advantage in being able to establish even tension when putting on new heads, you may want to pick one up.