Originally Posted by garage sale GT

I think my method also reduces undue wear and tear on the axle threads because if you just hold the cone wrench any old way while loosening the locknut, then the cone will rotate with the locknut until the flats on the cone firmly engage the flats on the cone wrench. If the cone nut and locknut rotate while being locked together, they put an enormous load on the threads. In fact, if you've been doing your cones that way for a while, it wouldn't surprise me if the locknut strips soon.