What Hand Tools to Buy?

[RUSSELL5000]

Guys:



On the TDR foum where I learn so much, here is a question that I hope will generate valuable opinions.



I woul like to replenish my hand tool supply after years of use, lost tools, wife use, kid use (and loss), ... Years and years ago I bought Craftsmen. Now it seems like made in China junk.



I am looking for ratchets, breaker bars, sockets, pliers, fixed wrenches, screwdrivers, mallets, small hammers, small saws, etc. I read some other threads and mostly was confused.



So, for me: looking to do all of the maintenance work, small amount of actual mechanic work. I am an office dweller, not using the tools on the job. What is your opinion of the best blend of quality and price for a guy like me?



Thanks!

 

[MChrist]

When we built our shop in '05, I went to Sears, bought a huge toolbox and filled it with Craftsman tools. My reasons were:
Better quality than other brands I have access to
Lifetime guarantee
Sears had almost everything I needed in one place

I haven't broken a single Craftsman tool yet, and although I don't abuse my tools, I'm not easy on them either. I've acquired random wrenches and sockets along the way, and they have broken using them the same way I use my Craftsman tools.
When I needed a few 3/4" and 1" impact sockets, I went with Snap-on. Expensive, but I haven't broken those. I had some "no name" sockets that LOOK similar, but must be made of compacted graham crackers judging by how they held up to a 3/4" Aircat impact!!
Doesn't sound like you'll be doing heavy use like I do at work, so for comparison I'll tell you how I did my garage:
Completely redid garage the way I wanted. Epoxy floor, floating cabinets, maple workbench, recessed lighting, etc. I threw all my weird, random mish-mosh of tools into some buckets and gave them all away. Went to Sears and restocked with mostly Craftsman tools. They sell self contained, plastic socket holders that keep sockets organized. I have standard and metric, 1/4" and 3/8" drive (so 4 trays) and that has covered everything I've needed to do around the house, including working on our motorcycles and lawn mower.
I made the mistake of buying GearWrench ratchet wrenches. They both broke during easy use and don't ratchet anymore. However, the GearWrench ratcheting wrenches have held up well. Those are the ones with a ratchet on one side and an open end on the other.
Personally, if my tools come in an organized set, I tend to keep them together and actually put them back!! If not, I would just toss them in the drawer and search for them when the time came.
Screwdrivers are the same. . Craftsman. They come in a clear plastic tray, have big rubber handles, are marked on the ends what size they are, and fit back into the tray when you are done.
I think for working around the house, this would be your best bet. Good luck.

 

[Jim W]

To me this is a hard thread to respond to. My reason is what are you planning on doing with the tools? Repairs around the house, auto work repair and maintenance or some type of hobby work like wood working?

I do woodworking, repairs around the house and maintain the vehicles and camper. My woodworking tools consist of purpose type tools such as LIE-Nelson cross cut and rip saws with hand plane from Lie-Nelson, Stanley (pre 1950 era) and VERITAS planes along with bench chisel and wooden mallets. Then my home repair tools are from either Sears/Lowes or Home depot; screw drivers (electrical type) wire strippers and pipe wrenches along with a Fluke meters (two one for camper and one at home).

My garage has several hydraulic jacks from 2 ton capacity to 12 ton capacity along with jack stands; these are rated from 3 tons to 6 ton capacity too. Then my shop tools are either metric or SAE and bought from Craftsman, Mac or Snap-on and Home Depot. These include Torx, hex keys and 6-point and 12 point sockets open end wrenches and box end along with some gear drive box end types. My three torque wrenches are Craftsman one is lb-in and two are lb-ft (one in camper and one in the garage).

Some of my hand tools are over 80 years old and are still in usable condition; such as two of my Stanley hand planes. Than some of my hand tools are brand new less than a year old. I was taught once that you only buy a tool once never ever pay for the same tool twice; so buy the best you can afford and buy it once.

Jim W.

 

[BarryG]

I am a diy person and try to do most of my home repairs myself as I do with the vehicle repairs. There are certainly some jobs that I pass on to pros for one reason or another. So I use my tools frequently but definitely not nearly as much as a professional mechanic or carpenter would in their career. So while Sanp-on, Matco etc may make better tools than craftsman or whomever I am unwilling to pay for them since my livelyhood does not depend on them. I have found craftsman hand tools to be adequate for the most part. I started buying them when I was a teenager and have been using them ever since. Yes I have broken a few of them over the last 30-40 years and Sears has replaced a couple that I have taken in though there have also been a couple that I did not take back for replacement as it was not the tools fault it was mine abusing the heck out of it. Their ratchets, sockets, breaker bars, screwdrivers, open and box end wrenches, pliers etc have done well by me. Hammers, saws, levels, power tools etc I am not as sold on craftsman but do have some. On the carpentry side of tools I definitely have more of a mish mash of brands.

 

[mwilson]

Screwdrivers - Snap-On for the important "you got one shot at it" screws. Also Snap-On in my DIY electrical bag.



Craftsman and other assorted brands for routine abuse.



Mike.

 

[sg5054]

If your just a DIY at home king of guy I would say Sears for the majority. You can't go wrong with a quality set of screwdrivers like Mr. Wilson says. I found Snap On and Matco screwdrivers more to my liking. I have a full set of each. You can walk on to any tool truck if you see one and go shopping. They will be happy to serve you. Get his card and if you have a "broken" just call him and find out where he is.
I used to be a Matco dealer and also a diesel mechanic for many years. I had a guy who walked onto my truck one day and said he wanted to by some tools. He dropped 400 cash on the spot. He came back again and bought more a couple weeks later, set up an account and became a regular. He probably bought 5 -8 k from me. He wasn't a pro mechanic either. Regular guy but had a "habit". We called him a tool junkie. If he bought a wrench set in SAE, he had to have the metric to match.

 

[Dl5treez]

My tool collection has a bit of everything in it. From Harbor Freight to Snap-on and everything in between.

No one brand makes the best of everything--as times goes on, depending on how much you use tools, you'll learn who makes the best of what.

For a homeowner/weekend warrior, it's hard to beat the Craftsman/Husky/Kobalt/NAPA offerings in terms of value for the dollar. If you're wrenching for a living, or have hobbies that require serious wrenching, then you can move up as needed.

I would list my collection but honestly it would take way too long. Most of it is Snap-on and Proto, with a bit of Matco, and a whole bunch of small odd ball labels most folks haven't heard of.

 

[Wayne M.]

I'm having a hard time getting over Craftsman going to China. Really. That being said, You can't go wrong with what you can get from sears- in one stop. MChrist, you mentioned GearWrench twice, did you mean to say "GearWrench" the actual brand, and then gear wrench as in Craftsmans version of a gear wrench? I did that and the Craftsman versions are junk. The actual "GearWrench" items are decent, and they come in a box wrench, not just combination wrenches.

I am a Mechanic in the trade and I have posted about my sets before. At work it's a mish mosh where the important stuff is top flite. At home, it's mostly top flite. Nobody mentioned MAC Tools. I like their stuff, especially their wrenches. If I see an oddball brand, I'll pick something up as well. A Cornwall socket was the last oddball item I got. It IS getting hard to find quality without getting on a top flite tool truck. For my job, I need top flite snap ring pliers (that's one example of a tool where there is no compromise!) and I've tried Craftsman and others like that. It's gotten to the point that I had to grab a set of Channelocks from Northern Tool when I was making an order for other items. I can't justify Snap-On prices for where these pliers will go.

When it comes to the other trades, like wood working tools, etc, I go with whatever the big box stores have. My drill press is a recent floor model Craft, my table and miter saws are Delta. I look for the best deal on that stuff.



Main thing is to have fun setting up shop!

 

[RichMorris]

Bought my first 206 piece set of Craftsman tools in 1968 and have been adding to it ever since. Experience with car (1960 Triumph TR3 rebuild from ground up) repair, piano rebuilding, home repair, 5th wheel rv, etc I have come to the conclusion that the hand tools are good but if you have to plug it in or put gas in it you are better off looking elsewhere. I agree with the premise of buying the best you can afford and making them last.

 

[Dl5treez]

MAC tools. Good stuff but in my area the dealer network and support have been historically way too hit n miss for me to be comfy buying them.



Same with Cornwell.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

If a person is going to buy the Craftsman name with China steel under it, might as well by the Kobalt brand or Huskey

I was a full blown supporter of Craftsman until la few years ago. Their ratchets of some of the worst quality: especially 1/2". If I ever broke a ratchet before, they'd walk me to the rack, pull of a new ratchet and off I went. Now they exchange it with a rebuilt that comes from a cheesy box under the cash register. About 2 years ago, I bought a brand new pro-grade (whatever they call it) ratchet and the gears broke soon after. I went to exchange it and they handing me one that looked like it was used as a hammer. They refused to give a new one but offered to send my end for rebuilding and I'd get it back in about 4 weeks. NO f'n thanks. I took my broken ratchet and now use it for a emergency hammer.

I've been buying Mac lately.

 

[Grizzly]

For DIY you can't go wrong with Craftsman, even if they are made in China.

george

 

[Wayne M.]

For DIY you can't go wrong with Craftsman, even if they are made in China.

george

It's a sad fact. Another loss is SK. I have a lot of SK. IMHO they have (had) the best ratchets. It's my preference. I won't use a craftsman ratchet to drive a nail. Lol.

 

[Gonzo 1066]

Being a kind of professional mechanic I come from a diffrent perspective. My toolbox was mostly Craftsman 25 years ago, As normal breakage-loss happned I replaced with all SnapOn. VERY happy with that decision excellent quality however this comes with a price. For the ocasional wrenching NAPA,Home Depot etc should be just fine.

 

[Bill Stockard]

If a person is going to buy the Craftsman name with China steel under it, might as well by the Kobalt brand or Huskey

I was a full blown supporter of Craftsman until la few years ago. Their ratchets of some of the worst quality: especially 1/2". If I ever broke a ratchet before, they'd walk me to the rack, pull of a new ratchet and off I went. Now they exchange it with a rebuilt that comes from a cheesy box under the cash register. About 2 years ago, I bought a brand new pro-grade (whatever they call it) ratchet and the gears broke soon after. I went to exchange it and they handing me one that looked like it was used as a hammer. They refused to give a new one but offered to send my end for rebuilding and I'd get it back in about 4 weeks. NO f'n thanks. I took my broken ratchet and now use it for a emergency hammer.

I've been buying Mac lately.

I have two big roll around tool boxes filled with Craftsman tools (including a few Snap-On specialty tools) that I have accumulated over the past 50 years. I have had a different experience than you when returning my broken Craftsman tool. The small Sears store in our small east Texas town is privately owned (a neighbor) and when I go in with a broken tool, they take the broken tool and get my name and address. In a couple of days a new tool arrives either via USPS or UPS. So far, I have no Craftsman tools made in China which includes a few tools I've purchased within the past year.

Bill

 

[JLeake]

Another perspective, I have a large tool box of mostly Craftsman like others. However as a frequent user of Snap-on tools at my very good friends shop, there are some basic differences that are worth noting. The sockets and box end wrenches from Craftsman are noticeably thicker than Snap-On and I have had cases were the only way to make a Craftsman socket or wrench work was to grind it down. However the Snap-On's are quite pricey. For the money since Craftsman as gone to China any of the stores or tool trucks stuff works IF they have a decent warranty, and Sears warranty in general is much worse than what we used to get from Sears as JHawes stated. If money is no object buy Snap-On or one of the other pricey tool truck brands, otherwise craftsman or kobalt or similar seem to be a decent cost effective way to go.

 

[BDaugherty]

Easy. Go buy a decent shop tool box from Lowe's, sears, home depot, etc. Buy one of those deluxe mechanic tool sets like the craftsman one or equivalent. Keep it organized and buy additional specialty tools as you need them. Before you know it, you will have everything you need without spending money on tools that look great at the store, but you never use them.

 

[GCroyle]

I'll just mention a name that doesn't get much publicity and I don't know how much they have anymore http://www.wrighttool.com/ my Dad IIRC sold them some steel back in Cleveland when he worked for various steel service warehouses and he picked up a starter 3/8" set. It dates to 1963 and I honestly don't think I have ever broken any of it and the ratchets are first class. Never even seen the inside of any of my 3 3/8" drive ratchets.

 

[BILLUA]

When I had my own shop building high end custom golf carts (15-25K$) My philosophy was Craftsman for hobbies, Snap On for earning a living...

 

[Wayne M.]

I'll just mention a name that doesn't get much publicity and I don't know how much they have anymore http://www.wrighttool.com/ my Dad IIRC sold them some steel back in Cleveland when he worked for various steel service warehouses and he picked up a starter 3/8" set. It dates to 1963 and I honestly don't think I have ever broken any of it and the ratchets are first class. Never even seen the inside of any of my 3 3/8" drive ratchets.

I have a set of 3/8 impacts for work that get used heavily. They were a swap meet score. I'd buy more if I could find em locally.