What brand of hand tools do you prefer?

[thunderuncle244]

I got a husky 300 piece set but i realy like milwaukee tools

 

[scotts90ranger]

Where do people even buy cornwell? I have an old 1/2 socket set I found at a yard sale and they are great sockets. Of course it could because they are old and the new ones might not be as good.

I believe they just have tool trucks like Snap on, my friend that's a mechanic prefers Cornwell but still buys a lot from snap on...

 

[97RangerXLT]

always liked the pre chinese made craftsman, but the pre 90s were the best. for modern sockets/ wrenches, Crescent makes a fairly decent tool. Sunex wrenches are surpisingly affordable, the only gripe I have is that they aren't finished nicely. chromed, but still have sharp edges/ casting burrs. decent otherwise. Harbor freight makes a pretty decent hand tool as well, even the low end Pittsburgh is not horrible. Icon is going hard after Snap On for the pro series. I have a set of 1990s era Pitsburgh wrenches that I got for christmas from my grandpa, who ordered Harbor Freight from a mail order catalog quite a bit for his farm that early set of wrenches is cheap junk compared to the modern pittsburgh.

AJ

 

[Roert42]

I prefer Klein for my screwdrivers and pliers.

Sockets and ratchets are a hodge podge of mid tier stuff that I bought as needed. Huskey, Craftsman, Tekton, Carlyle.

A lot of my stuff was free or almost free. Drawer or punches and chisels, who knows. Hammers are all 60 years old...

If I need to buy something I try to do some research and figure out who makes the best version, or who the OEM is for the big brands, and buy that.


The nice thing about the current world we live in is that if you need a tool you are not at the mercy of whatever store is in town. You can take some time on the internet and find out who makes the best one and try to find the best price for it.

Lang makes thread chasers for Snap-On/ blue point. Three piece set of thread files is $85 from SO website, Lang will sell direct for $45. Got an orange handle instead of a red one.

 

[sgtsandman]

I have a mix of brands from auto parts store tools, hardware store tools, to Harbor Freight. For what I do, they work fine and often have a lifetime warranty on them. So, I don't see the point in buying better. Plus, from what I've seen with Snap On, Proto, etc at work, I don't see any benefit from buying the premium brands.

Power tools, I've bought what was supposed to be the best a few time and had them fail at the same rate at the cheap stuff. So, I buy them either at Harbor Freight or the local hardware stores and just run with them.

 

[Li'l Work Truck]

Power tools, I've bought what was supposed to be the best a few time and had them fail at the same rate at the cheap stuff. So, I buy them either at Harbor Freight or the local hardware stores and just run with them.

Running with them is likely the problem. Walk slowly and do your best not to use them as a hammer.

 

[sgtsandman]

Running with them is likely the problem. Walk slowly and do your best not to use them as a hammer.

Hey, if the electric hammer is what you have in your hand at the time, it's the right tool for the job!

 

[bobbywalter]

I have almost every brand under the sun but here are my favorites:

Sockets: Gray Pneumatic is my #1, Carlyle is #2, then Sunex, Craftsman, some Harbor Freight
Wrenches: I am almost exclusively old style Craftsman but I do have some specialty Proto, Snap-on, Mac, and Matco
Ratchet wrenches: Gearwrench and a handful of Icon. Nothing beats Gearwrench here.
Ratchets: Gearwrench is my go-to, then Duralast and Evercraft cheapo's. I have 100+ ratchets including some high dollar ones... sometimes the cheap ones just feel better.
Screwdrivers: Milwaukee is my current favorite, Craftsman for nut drivers
Picks: Snap-on... they make the best picks out there.
Normal pliers: Channellock brand but Proto is a close #2
Slip joint: Knipex, nothing is better
Crescent wrenches: Old Craftsman & Proto
Needle nose pliers: Snap-on & old Klein (not new Klein) are my top #1, Milwaukee is a distant second
Hammers: Snap-on, Estwing, Matco, Lixie are my favorites
Vise grips: Old Peterson vise grip or Irwin are both good, and oddly so are Hart and Duralast.

Some brands are really good in some areas and not others. Gearwrench makes what I think are the best ratchets out there but their sockets suck donkey balls. Carlyle sockets are so good but I'll pass on a lot of their other tools... Matco is almost all rebranded & price doubled other brands, Mac has been crap for a while but used to be pretty good. Milwaukee is stupid expensive for what they are and not top quality either. I'm kind of a Snap-on snob but it has to be new stuff - I don't really care for most of their old tools (90's and older.) There are some really common ones that you can pick up cheap too - I have never had a bad Proto tool and you can pick them up CHEAP.

Just my 2 cents, I have no patience for shitty hand tools but I'm not willing to spend a premium for Snap-on so I shoot for the next level down if I'm buying new and also pick up a lot of used stuff from pawn shops.

yeah....thats reasonable.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I have a mix of Craftsman, Kobalt, Harbor Freight, and random pieces from the local parts store from when I was in the middle of fixing something and needed a tool. I've never owned a 'complete set' of anything just smaller sets like wrenches or sockets.

About 7 years or so my son-in-law's parents bought him a complete Craftsman mechanics tool set and a toolbox which was weird at the time because he doesn't wrench on anything. I ended up unboxing it and organizing his toolbox which was a benefit for me incase I was over over there and needed to work on something.

I've often wondered if many people have large matching tool sets like that or if they're like me and have a mix of things depending on what they needed and where they were shopping.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have a mix of Craftsman, Kobalt, Harbor Freight, and random pieces from the local parts store from when I was in the middle of fixing something and needed a tool. I've never owned a 'complete set' of anything just smaller sets like wrenches or sockets.

About 7 years or so my son-in-law's parents bought him a complete Craftsman mechanics tool set and a toolbox which was weird at the time because he doesn't wrench on anything. I ended up unboxing it and organizing his toolbox which was a benefit for me incase I was over over there and needed to work on something.

I've often wondered if many people have large matching tool sets like that or if they're like me and have a mix of things depending on what they needed and where they were shopping.

I was on a Harbor Freight group on FB for awhile, it is amazing how many people on there basically collect matching sets of tools.

 

[Roert42]

I was on a Harbor Freight group on FB for awhile, it is amazing how many people on there basically collect matching sets of tools.

That’s a thing with some of the SnapOn people.

Gotta have all matching green handles to go with the color of the toolbox.

 

[thunderuncle244]

I prefer Klein for my screwdrivers and pliers.

Sockets and ratchets are a hodge podge of mid tier stuff that I bought as needed. Huskey, Craftsman, Tekton, Carlyle.

A lot of my stuff was free or almost free. Drawer or punches and chisels, who knows. Hammers are all 60 years old...

If I need to buy something I try to do some research and figure out who makes the best version, or who the OEM is for the big brands, and buy that.


The nice thing about the current world we live in is that if you need a tool you are not at the mercy of whatever store is in town. You can take some time on the internet and find out who makes the best one and try to find the best price for it.

Lang makes thread chasers for Snap-On/ blue point. Three piece set of thread files is $85 from SO website, Lang will sell direct for $45. Got an orange handle instead of a red one.

i use channel lock brand pliers the pin has less slop that klein tools

 

[Curious Hound]

Yeah. I gave up on matching sets many, many moons ago. I try to buy the best that I can reasonably afford when I need something. And good quality, good condition used tools are prized more than brand new sets in my shop.

 

[pjtoledo]

first real set of tools was Indestro brand bought at ACE hardware about 1969.
1/4, 3/8, 1/2 sockets and combination wrenches to 1"
I worn out many of the sockets, grit 'n dirt may have ground them down, or just so-so metal.
still have the Snap On 3/8 swivel ratchet I acquired in 1975, works great. keep the teeth clean!
bought a S-O 3/8 socket set in 1977, still have all of them but the 1/2 size wore out.
from there it was buy whatever was close as needed.
Craftsman, SK, Proto, Husky, Tekton, Dewalt, more than a few various Chinese.

have a Herbrand 1/2 breaker bar and 3/8 ratchet that my father bought about 1950.

 

[Shran]

I don't mind variety in brand but I try very hard to keep things in sets for the most part. One brand & style of wrenches in one rack for example...if I don't have them all, I'll find the missing ones. Looking at a rack of mismatched wrenches is depressing, might as well throw them away and play video games instead.

Thinking back I remember when I was in my late teens/early 20's and had enough tools to mostly fill a medium size tool bag and that was it. I got a lot of wrenching done out of necessity but none of it was easy or fun.

I mentioned buying a lot of stuff from pawn shops... that is a luxury that many don't have... there are a couple really good ones here that sell loose tools. I hit up pawn shops all the time when I'm out of town and very few of them are like the ones here. Most don't even have bins of loose sockets and stuff. I figured out that if I go in once a week or so I have a good chance of finding new stuff and I know which employees don't care about max profits. Yesterday for a example I picked up a brand new Klein magnetic nut driver thing and a Hakko soldering iron... for $3!!! Shop often and find the good stuff!