Torque Specs - kfg-m or kg-m? What's it all mean?

[Rianna]

So sorry, Agent Bob! This time it was my fault and not the cheap tool's. I was very tired after not being able to sleep for 2 nights when I typed that. My torque wrench actually says METER KILOGRAMS and FOOT POUNDS.  

Here are some bits and pieces of info I found online and where I found them. I won't pretend to understand it all. But these pieces seemed easier to understand than reading about newton's force and such.

kg-m         kilogram -meter         http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/kg-m
the mks gravitational unit of work and energy equal to the work done by a kilogram force acting through a distance of one meter in the direction of the force. About 7.235 foot-pounds

kgf-m         kilogramforce   -meter         http://www.answers.com/topic/kilogram-force
Symbols kgf, kg-f, kilopond. (Metric) A unit of weight, i.e. force, represented by 1 kilogram of mass (kg or kg-m) subject to standard gravity.

To convert kg-m to ft. lbs. multiply by 7.235
To convert ft. lbs. to kg-m multiply by 0.1383

kg-m x 7.235 = ft-lb
ft-lb x 0.1383 = kg-m

And a handy chart for approximations if you're not up to the math from this manual:
http://chadt.us/ac/Sect1.pdf

[oswaldters]

Okay, so I'm getting tired here and may be borderline delusional, but it's looking like kg-m is the same as kgf-m?

[Rianna]

That's what I said, oswaldters!

[Agent Bob]

After I typed what I did and posted it Rianna, it dawned on me it might be a typo. Sorry.  Please don't  take my cheap tools comment as a dispareging remark also. I've been burned more than once where I had to go out and replace the cheap crap i bought with a good one. Wrenches made with soft metal come to mind. They look nice and shiny, but quality wise the metal is mush. That's why you pay more for a quality wrench...for the stuff you can't see.

[Rianna]

Hey, no problem, Agent Bob. Understood. Cheap tools make me crazy. Speaking of soft metal. I should post up pics of the sockets I mangled trying to break loose those brake mount bolts. It would be a clear picture of exactly what you're talking about.