Many of the older torque wrenches have some kind of an analog indicator, so you wouldn't need to step through torque settings, just read the indicator.

But, if the piece has been assembled for more than a few months, and/or used, I would not consider such readings at all reliable.

I suppose a bit old fashioned, but I'd just go by what feels just about right. Perhaps that is one of the reasons for different wrench sizes. No 4 foot breaker bars on 4mm bolts.

If you're working on a vintage bike, it is quite possible that it wasn't ever assembled with torque specs anyway.