« on: January 11, 2018, 09:17:22 PM »
I have bought several tools since I have been working on my TAF playfield swap, so I consider this on-topicish
So it was not long ago that I broke a set of Craftsman needle nose pliers. I thought; "Great, Ace Hardware now carries Craftsman tools so I can swap them there as they are right down the street". Wrong. Ace requires a receipt showing you purchased the tool at their store. That coupled with people telling me most Craftsman tools are now for the most part made in China (I have not been in a Sears in at least 5 years so I can't verify this). Because of this it looked like I'm done with Craftsman and I decided to upgrade my hand tool collection.
I thought about going to Snap-On or Mac but but the cost was stupid, nice tools but you are paying a super premium as they generally cater to people making their living off of the tools and provide on-site delivery and financing... coupled with a massive mark up on the price.
So after a bit of internet research I started buying some new reasonably priced (compared to Snap-On) professional hand tools, so far I have bought:
- Wiha heavy duty screwdrivers. These are amazing compared to my Craftsmen ones, hard to describe how much better these grip the screws but they do. Would never go back to inferior screwdrivers.
- Wiha T-Handel ball end allen wrenches, first set of T-Handled wrenches I have owned, really like them but cannot compare to others as this is virgin territory for me, but if I was to guess, these are top notch compared to most other comparably priced brands.
- Various Knipex pliers; Holy shit, these things are amazing. From their Cobra pliers to their diagonal cutters I have not found any of their tools that I do not like.
- Klein wire strippers, how in the hell have I been using shitty wire strippers for the last 3 decades when these amazing strippers can be bought for under $20
- Tekton punch set, I bought the set that includes 18 punches with both pin and roll pin punches (reverse taper so they don't get stuck) an amazingly simple set of tools where quality of materials and manufacturing makes a huge deference.
Any other reasonably priced great tools you would recommend?
« Last Edit: January 11, 2018, 10:25:18 PM by Mamushka »
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