Hand tools which brand do you use .which brand would you use if you had the $

[Lesmore]

Which brand of hand tools do you have and use ...and which brand would you use.... if money was no object ?


Why do you use a particular brand ?


I use Canadian Tire Professional hand tools. At the time I bought them they were the best Canadian Tire had to offer. I've been happy with their quality, fit tolerances and durability.

I've had one tool fail...a ratchet...spring broke. It was fixed no questions asked by Canadian Tire...on the spot at one of their stores.

I looked at Sears Craftsman, but I preferred the CTC Professional brand.

I wouldn't mind having Snap-on....but their too much for my budget.

 

[one cut]

I use what ever I can get, most of my tools are from Craftsman (Sears) but a good number are also Stanley.
Got some other company's tools laying about Wera is Quite good.
Lux tools are not bad.

 

[Phog Allen]

Pliers for electrical and electronics work? Look no further than Knipex, Schmitz, and Tronex. In my opinion Klein no longer warrannts their price. Screwdrivers- Back to Klein for straight cushion grip. Wera, PB Swiss, and Felo for shaped ergonomic grips. Mechanics tools- Very subjective. Hobbyist? Al.most anything that fits the job. Pro or serious part time wrench? Truck brands likely. A nice alternative is Wright Tools. TOP quality and significantly less than SnapOn the last time I checked.

Cherrs, Todd

 

[Toothpick]

I have always liked Craftsman. I'm not sure if they still do the lifetime warranty but In the past I've used it flawlessly.

I would stick with American made tools and go with Sanp-On or Klein or Craftsman.

 

[Kilroy08]

Craftsman is now, for the most part, made in China. If I want Chinese tools, then Harbor Freight can't be beat.

 

[that_guy]

Have been using craftsman for over 30 years and would not consider switching. Lately have been getting some tools at harbor freight if they are only going to be used once or rarely at most. Can't see spending too much on a tool that is going to be sitting on the bottom of a box. If money were no object, I'd still stick with craftsman but upgrade to a snap on box.

 

[Mick]

I've always used Snap-on and Mac tools.

 

[Kentos]

For wrenching on cars cheap tools can equal rounded bolt heads and bruised knuckles. For everything else the cheaper stuff actually works ok IMO.

 

[mmack66]

I have a bunch of USA Craftsman tools that I have used for years on various vehicles, and they have held up fine for me.

If I had to buy new tools, and I won the lottery, I would go with Snap-On.

If I made a living with tools, I would buy Snap-On for the hardline tools, and fill in with other brands where needed.

 

[cb91710]

Craftsman is now, for the most part, made in China. If I want Chinese tools, then Harbor Freight can't be beat.

For hand tools, Craftsman is still far, far better than Harbor Freight. Electrics? It depends. The higher end stuff is still very good. The lower end stuff is comparable to ChicagoElectric.

And keep in mind that the Chinese Craftsman is a watering-down of the name with the addition of the budget lines, not so much the replacement of quality tools.
The hard chrome hand tools are still domestic, and for the most part, every bit as good as they were in 1975.
I've chipped the chrome off of sockets from the '2000s and '1970s.
I've "popped" the ratcheting mechanism in lever-type heads from '2000s and whenever I got my first one (probably early-80s.)


My personal collection is a mixture of Craftsman and Kobalt (Lowe's house brand), with a few Husky (Home Depot) thrown in. I haven't had a lick of a problem with either Kobalt or Husky, and they are more readily available than Craftsman. Sears adding K-Mart and Osh to their distribution channels helped some, but they simply don't have the location saturation of the home improvement stores.... and honestly, the only thing I ever go to Sears to buy is tools, so it's a special trip to buy Craftsman, and generally now, only used when it is an oddball tool like an oil filter wrench, Mighty-Vac, or something equally hard to find "in the wild".

For electrical tools, I like Klien, and Ideal or Paladin for network/coax.

I don't know if they are still doing it or not, but when Home Depot first started carrying Husky, they had a deal where they would exchange a broken Craftsman for a Husky.

 

[August West]

Snap-On--Hand tools.

Milwaukee or Craftsman--Power tools.

 

[bbotelhoHI]

what i own: craftsman hand tools for backyard mechanic work. husky hand tools to keep in the truck. skill mag-77 worm drive saw. dewalt 10" compound miter saw. skill table saw. bosch corded drill. bosch angle grinder. makita portable drill & impact driver. porter cable router w/ wood river 1/4" shank bits. CP air tools. husky upright compressor.

what i wish i could afford: vaughn cali framer. delta table saw w/ biesemeyer fence. festool router. festool hepa system. festool plunge saw w/ tracks. dewalt 12'' compound miter slide saw. hilti power tools. hitachi framing gun. paslode cordless finishing gun. bosch direct connect worm drive. i might be going a little off topic, but theyre still "hand tools" to me...heh... as for mech work, ill stick with craftsman. go garage sale-ing and buy up all the old wrenches and sockets i can find, trade em in at sears for brand spankin new tools! not to mention if i go full retard and break a tool, sears is only a short trip down the road.

 

[Senshi]

Typically Milwaukee and Estwing

My favorite hammer is an Estwing

 

[dogslife]

For my personal use it is primarily Craftsman. We use a mix of Craftsman, Snap-On, Blackhawk, and SK at work. For power hand tools I prefer Milwaukee, but also own some B&D, Skil, Craftsman, and off brand tool truck specials.

 

[Early Morning]

I currently use an old McGraw Edison drill from the forties or fifties. Milwaukee makes great stuff, except some of their drill bits are mega wimpy. I am not a big fan of rechargeable anything because I have burned out through too many drills. Regular hand-tools, Snap-on, Craftsman and Husky haven't given me too many issues. Greenlee makes some great knock-out punches. Taps ... never had one that didn't break on me at some point or another.

 

[hawgsquatch]

I have mostly Blue Point from when I was a mechanic. They are much less expensive than Snap-On and come from the same manufacturer with the same WARRANTY. I have cut wrenches in half and welded them to pipes to get to "special spots" and had the dealer replace them no cost.

 

[mmack66]

For hand tools, Craftsman is still far, far better than Harbor Freight. Electrics? It depends. The higher end stuff is still very good. The lower end stuff is comparable to ChicagoElectric.

And keep in mind that the Chinese Craftsman is a watering-down of the name with the addition of the budget lines, not so much the replacement of quality tools.
The hard chrome hand tools are still domestic, and for the most part, every bit as good as they were in 1975.

Almost all of the Craftsman ratchets, sockets, extensions, and wrenches are now made in China, with one or two of the ratchets being made in Taiwan, and the Premium ratchets still made in the USA.

 

[Heron]

Pliers for electrical and electronics work? Look no further than Knipex, Schmitz, and Tronex. In my opinion Klein no longer warrannts their price.

Strange. Knipex is significantly more expensive than Klein where I live. I use Klein, Greenlee, and Ideal. Husky and Kobalt are good, too. I always look for a lifetime warranty on hand tools, but that's not always a guarantee of quality. Harbor Freight has a warranty on their tools but they know you probably won't bother to go back to the store and return the tool when it breaks.

 

[Ender78]

I use either Cobalt or Craftsman

 

[Acmemfg]

Cost no issue? Snap-On for sure. However I have many many Crafrsman tools I have been using since I was in high school. That's over 45 years. No complaints about those tools