Best tool brands?

I have some need for a good set of tools - expensive is ok if it will last a lifetime (mine, not theirs). I am writing this because I'm completely fed up with the $%%@* chinese made precision screwdrivers. Is Wiha good?

Anyone have comments on their favorite tools? It is really hard to find good reviews, especially for minor tools, despite Googling for it.

My micro reviews of my current favorites:

Metcal soldering system - very versatile with numerous tip choices, very quick to heat up (<10 sec). Great deal if bought used. Accessories are easy to get on Ebay.

Circuitworks no clean flux dispensing pen - indispensable for any serious soldering, lasts a long time.

Xcelite SAS 3210 wire stipper - Swedish made, wire stripper that is quite adjustable and has a wide capacity.
(Got it cheaply at Tesco)

Micromark polishing pads - foam sanding pads with grits from 2400 to 10000. Very good for polishing things, especially removing scratches from plastic.


Not so good despite the price:

Moody Acu-Min precision miniature screwdriver set - good construction, but the steel is a bit too brittle.

My father owns a garage so I started working there as a mechanic in 1970. He used SnapOn hand tools so that is what I learned with. There have always been lots of different brands of tools, but back then SnapOn were by far the best, and when using them every day you learn to appreciate the differences. I have seen other brands that people say are better than SnapOn but I've not used them personally and I'm skeptical that they are better. SnapOn tools were more expensive than the others back then, but I think the price difference is even greater now. However I have discovered that the lesser brands have gotten better. I realized that even my small set of SnapOn tools were too valuable to carry in my car so I bought another complete set of Sears tools for that. After using the Sears tools, mainly the sockets, ratchets and end wrenches, I've found that they are sufficient quality for discriminating use.

Another thing I learned long ago is that certain tools are more critical than others. IMO screwdrivers and ratchets are most critical and you should buy the best you can get. Next would be end wrenches and sockets, which should be of good quality but the modern Sears tools work well for me. After that are things like socket extensions, pliers and wire cutters, then last would be things like hammers, pry bars, etc. So rather than buying the most expensive of everything, you can save a little money by being selective.

SnapOn is truly KING and unmatched by any other hand tool. They even look great, but best of all, they feel "right" in your hands and they are one tough tool! Very expensive is the only drawback.

Professional mechanics will always go for the Snap-On or MAC hand tools and they are indeed the best, but in my opinion the average user is well served by Craftsman. Even a set of Stanley screwdrivers is usually sufficient for kitchen drawer duty. Wiha is a good brand, especially the tiny sizes used for electronics or watch repair.

Snap-on Tools! ! !

I agree with Snap-On as well - absolutely premium stuff.

I also like Craftsman for what they are - lifetime warranty and decent quality tools that work. Bonus is that replacements are hassle free and available in most areas.

Wiha - excellent precision tools as well - have several screwdriver and specialty drivers from them.

Crescent, Channellock, Klein, Bondhus, Ideal (my favorite wire strippers bar none), SK, Xcelite, and even some Stanley are all very good as well.

Check out these sites for fantastic hand tools, etc:

www.techni-tool.com
kassoy.com
www.micro-tools.com
www.tztoolshop.com/catalog.html
www.micromark.com
shorinternational.com (this one is really good)
www.cooperhandtools.com

And I have a lot more than that but these are some of my favorites. My advice - don't go cheap on your tools - they will last a lifetime and then some if you buy good quality and take care of them.

Enjoy,
Tim

Craftsman is #1 for me in hand tools.(The professional line is close to Snap-On flashiness)

Snap-On is nice but IMHO over priced.

I have had issues with returns/exchanges from Snap-On. Never an issue with Craftsman yet, although the buy out by Kmart has started to effect some of the warranty's

Sorry, double post. The forum stopped on me.

CobraMan said:

I also like Craftsman for what they are - lifetime warranty and decent quality tools that work. Bonus is that replacements are hassle free and available in most areas.

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Yep, Craftsman is sufficient for lots of work. Almost all our tools are Craftsman, we've used them pretty hard sometimes, and they survived. Besides, I like the lifetime warranty. (That's the main selling point for me, actually. )If you break or ruin any Craftsman tool, they replace it, no questions asked. (For example, even if you were prying with a screwdriver, or pounding on sockets with a hammer, if it broke, they replace it. Free.) Likewise, the replacements have always been hassle-free for us. All we've ever done is take the broken tool (just the tool, nothing else, not even receipts,) to the nearest Craftsman store. There they take the broken tool, and hand us a new tool of the same type free. We've done this probably about a dozen times that I can remember.

And no, I don't work for Craftsman. I'm just a satisfied customer.

CobraMan said:

I agree with Snap-On as well - absolutely premium stuff.

I also like Craftsman for what they are - lifetime warranty and decent quality tools that work. Bonus is that replacements are hassle free and available in most areas.

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I bought Craftsman for the reasons you said on the recommendation of a mechanic friend. Snap-On are better quality but unless you are a pro that has the truck come by it can be a pain to get replacements.

I may get Snap-On ratchet wrenches though since my Craftsman ones sometimes slip.

IMHO, you guys have not seen nothin yet...
check this link for a company that makes the best tools for the job:

http://www.hudy.net/xhudy/products/proddesc.php?prod_id=45&kategoria=65

nighthawk said:

IMHO, you guys have not seen nothin yet...
check this link for a company that makes the best tools for the job:

http://www.hudy.net/xhudy/products/proddesc.php?prod_id=45&kategoria=65

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Is that only if the job involves R/C cars?

drizzle said:

Is that only if the job involves R/C cars?

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Not really. Like bjn70 has said screw drivers are the most critical tool.
Other than Allen wrench, Hudy also makes both slotted and phillip heads screwdrivers that can do the job on many things beside R/C cars.

I believe they have an online shop for U.S. customers. Check it out at http://www.rcamerica.com/xshop/

Snap-on nut here! Yes there is a difference.
not much dispute on who makes the best hand tools.

real question is, is paying Snap-on premium worth it?
if one is making a living turning wrenches, it's much easier to justify.

compitition has caught up with Snap-on. I've seen std combo box end wrenches from craftsman and other lines that come very close to Snap-on quality. box end rachet wrenches were marketed by other companies before Snap-on.

yes Snap-on has a lifetime warranty, but you need to track down a snapon truck. then it's independantly owned. warranty is contingent upon being a customer for you are using his inventory. I've not had any problems getting tools warrantied, especially worn screwdriver blades replaced.

craftsman's lifetime warranty is easiest. Sears stores keep normal hours and warranty exchanges are no fuss. but no way they can provide same level of service a proffessional snapon truck can. but cost is a fraction of snapon.

traditionally snapon values hold up very well. rates right up there with guns, rolex watches, leica, real estate, etc..

it's not unusual for mechanics to have 50k-100K invested in snapon tools.

here's link to few of my precision tools
http://candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=102870

I'd have to say, it depends on the tool, and it's intended use

Seriously

For instance - screwdrivers. First, you MUST realize that screwdrivers DO wear out, particularly if they ever "cam out" of the slot/hole in the screw - ideally, it never will, but when you have to remove a damaged screw..... The BEST thing about slotted screwdrivers is that you can regrind/redress the tips - you can NOT do this with phillips. Now lets talk about Phillips head screws. Make sure you use the right size. Also make sure that you are actually dealing with a phillips screw - Not Pozi-drive, or Reed and Prince, or the Japanese ones that look exactly like phillips, but are shallower, and use a different screwdriver

Now, if I'm working on a car, a hoist, the bathroom, etc, yep snap on makes good ones

If I'm working on a rifle, or electronics, or the like, probably the best out there is sold by Brownells!!

Wrenches - Snap-on. Matco and Mac are a close 2nd. Can't justify replacing some of my (old) Craftsman, as I no longer use them enough - back when I worked with wrenches for a living, I spent the $$ to buy all the sizes I used in either snap-on or Matco (basically 3/8 through 3/4)

Hex keys? Real Allen brand are OK, I like Bondus

Rulers - Starret - Matt Chrome finish

Calipers - digital have to be Mitutyo - vernier? Depends - if you are going to pull out a set of masters - get the Starret - Dial? Your choice

Mics - now your getting into religious wars (if I didn't go there with the Calipers) - for regular Mechanical "thimble read" Mics, I like Starret - OLD B&S are good - digital? Like the Mitutoyo again - they just seem to do digital "better" That said, by box has all 3 brands in it, mostly because I bought a LOT of my machine shop tools from retired machinists, and I probably have more Mics than I'll ever use (I probably have enough 1" Mics that I COULD use them as C clamps - but I don't have one 3 to 4')

Rayearth

It sounds as if you use your tools mostly for small electronics and that sort of thing. The Wiha phillips drivers are great for working with metric screws. They fit the metric screws so well that you can frequently stick the tip into a horizontal screw and the driver will not fall when released. I turn screws every day. That said, I couldn't live without my craftsman racheting mag tip.

I agree with most of what has been written so far. But, the Sears Craftsman warranty has a glitch. The replacement tool may not carry the same warranty. Here are a few examples.

Their Craftsman hand impact wrench used to carry a lifetime warranty, but a few years ago Sears changed the packaging to indicate a 1-year warranty instead.

Sears no longer sells the Craftsman multitool I bought. It was made by Schrade which went out of business.

I have Craftsman pocket knives, but Sears relabeled their knives with the Sears brand instead of Craftsman so they don't carry the warranty.

I overheard a Sears hardware salesman telling customers that Sears plans to carry some name brand (e.g., Stanley) hand tools in place of their Craftsman equivalents.

Bondhus makes excellent allen wrenches, both sae and metric. They're the only ones I've used that have actually gotten *better* with use.

I was partial to the old style Craftsman Industrial (black handles) screwdrivers, but the new version leaves me cold. I have some Klein screwdrivers that I like a lot.

I like Klein, Crescent and Channel Lock for pliers, wire cutters, strippers, etc.

GMC (not the car company) makes the best coax, phone, data RJ-XX crimper I've ever used.

Ideal for punchdown tools, Clauss for shears and scissors

Snap On for ratchets.

Wiha for precision tools, especially small screwdrivers, including torx. I have a set of Wiha security torx in very small to average sizes that have come in handy a million times.

Fluke for my meters, Radiodetection for my locators, cisco for my routers.

Arcam for my stereo components

Park and TacX for specialty bike tools, though Pedro's stuff is quite nice. Campagnolo for my bike's drive train.

Milwaukee for my Sawzalls and drills and circular saws (though I'd get Festool if I thought I'd notice a difference. I'm not that good.), Delta for my grinder.

Marples (old kind) for my chisels, Record for my vises, Miller for my welders, though my Lincoln buzzbox still works great.

Springbank for my Scotch and Blanton's for my bourbon.

Knipex brand for pliers (in all sizes).

cyberhobo said:

Knipex brand for pliers (in all sizes).

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I second that. These are the best adjustable pliers I have used.

I haven't heard any recommendations for Vise Grips. I'm curious what the opinion of professionals is toward these tools. I find them to be very useful and of good quality.