I am average joe homeowner/hobbyist, for years I have used American made Craftsman tools [V series] (wenches, rachets, sockets, screwdrivers, etc), with a few off SK, Wright, KD, and Williams stuff thrown in.. As I was able to bought the craftsman professional line of tools which are good stuff. These days Sears is on its deathbed, and Stanley owns Craftsman and most their stuff is still sourced from China (but are being re-sited back to American manufacturers like Western Forge), and Harbor freight is stepping up it's quality there are plenty of okay quality tools on the market.
At the same time I am wanting to upgrade my tools to high quality ones because I have the ability. I also view spending on tools as a good investment since tools have the abiltiy to save you more money then they cost in the long run. As as added bonus high quality tools appear to retain good value. In my mind by high quality think of Snap on, Mac, Proto, SK, Cornwell, Matco for new stuff. When you ge to older tools there are other good brands in my eyes like Williams, Challenger, Blackhawk, etc.
What type of tools do you use? What type of user are you? Professional, or hobbyist?
I am coming to a cross roads where I can't justify new tool truck tool prices, but it seems that if you search you can find SnapOn, Mac, Matco, etc second hand for descent prices (maybe 1/3 to 1/4 of current list prices). What do you think is it prudent to buy these tools second hand knowing the warranty isn't necessarily valid? Is it worth buying an older wrench/socket set which may retain for $400 for $100 used? Or is it better to spend $50 on a China Craftsman/Harbor freight set?
Id say buy the older reliable brands even if "mileage unknown" if its something that rarely wears out.
I'm a hobbyist and I determine based on the tool's intended use and cost if I think its worth upgrading. I also research reviews and ratings of an item. I got a great set of SK tools many years ago in a trade for a car/ car work. Sockets, wrenches, etc.
I have consulted with large tool manufacturers and I will tell you that one facility will make many different brands of tools, using the same metal alloys and processing equipment. Buying new hand tools is a waste of money, there are boatloads of used tools available, and no receipt is necessary if you require warranty replacement. I've used many different brands over the years in industrial and automotive work. I've seen high-dollar tools fail catastrophically, and cheap tools get the same job done.
Keep your old tools, don't replace them. Chances are they are better than some of the new crap that is advertised as top of the line.
Companion (a budget brand that used to be sold by Sears, but were actually pretty decent tools), Craftsman, and Snap-On. The Snap-On are mostly used, and the local Snap-On guy has replaced or repaired the few that have broken. The tools I use most frequently are Snap-On (sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.), Craftsman are the occasional use kinds of things, and Companion are mainly the tools I bought when I first started wrenching.
Last year I bought a Snap-On battery impact wrench, to do suspension work on my little brother's Subaru, replacing all the struts, control arms, etc. I wish I had made that purchase YEARS ago, it was a major time and labor saver.
Craftsman have been iffy best for 50+ years and like most the no question "lifetime warranty" was made to drive customers to the stores/trucks/whatever because the "stores" know most will buy other things at same time.
You say Craftsman is junk, bad, etc. Sadly and Often Yes and for many years not just since Kmart bought them. In very short, Sears' Sockets and handles have problems but most Screw Drivers are junk for doing real work and quickly wear out the tips. You need their "Pro" line drivers to get harden tips. I only have a few of them and haven't worn out in 30+ years. Most sockets in "tool kits" are 12 points that strips 6 point heads/nuts. If you buy 6 point sockets will have much better results w/ damaged/rust frozen hardware. Or try any "Face loading" sockets/wrenches that like label says moves loads away from corners. Some socket handles are better then others and will take a lot of abuse.
Snap-on Matco and others are made better then "standard" Sears et al but not worth dealing w/ the franchise trucks that sells them. Then add many trucks often won't sell or honor warranties to an individual. You might get used but even then most sold at premium prices too because either seller believe the hype or believe the buyer think that, want to recover cost for buying from the trucks or both. Many sell junk/broken Craftsman @ premium too because think the buyer can just return to whatever under warranty. I have many worn out screw drivers and even now don't bother because will only replace w/ same crap tool that quickly wears out. You want to strip screws use Craftsman and other common brand drivers for consumer use. Phillips and Torx are the worse. When you can, better to use driver bits and whatever handle for the job because the bits are cheap and harden more then most standard tools. I have many handles of many types and just replace bits that wear out. But even then cheap bits can have same problem as basic tools and more so w/ smaller size like Torx < T15 or Phillip < P#2. Is why I have Wiha T5 to remove HP/Compaq Hard Drive and other screws for laptops.
Many times you need to look at how often you use a given tool. Example: HF "cheap" torque wrenches, often on sale for ~ $10, are good and accurate for most people because only use them a few times per year at best. Many use them 1 x per every few years. HF sells "Pro" grade units and cost 10x more $. So I have cheap, 1 each for 1/4" 3/8" and 1/2", because I only use then 1 or 2 x in 5+ years. Is funny when I see HF tools @ flea markets etc costing more then just buying @ HF store near by. Funnier still when I see "Free" tools and favorites that often have deep discounts at HF sold at full retail @ flea markets. I stopping counting how many free DMM sold @ just 1 local flea markets plus many are very old and likely have battery is dead or leaking. I keep 1 or more and give them to whomever instead of loaning my Fluke etc.
Same for many Power tools, battery or corded. Example: I have a lot of Ryobi One+ 18v tools because I get most old Blue case tools at flea markets etc like $20 for power miter saw, $5 jig saw etc each that used a few times. Have some Green newer tools but cheaper then retail like did spend $80 for power drain snake w/ LiIon battery and charger. That Tool alone is ~ $120. Then bought New 6 a/hr batteries at HD under sale with heavy discount. If I break one of them, I have very cheap spares to replace most of them. Then I cut 2 blue flash lights so can use same Ryobi batteries on my Ebike. Yes, Ebike. What? Why? Because I can just buy more if I need more range and now have 9 a/hr batteries too and just drop in new batteries w/o F'ing w/ DIY hack "solutions." Ryobi One LiIon batteries have builtin battery protection and charge leveling and can get more Ryobi chargers if needed for cheaper then most others for Ebike and other uses.
------------------ Dr. Ian Malcolm: Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should. (Jurassic Park)
I have a Hodge podge of craftsman and generic tools. If they look good I would buy them as they are not going to get used every day and should be fine for what I do with them. Most were purchased at the store but some at the flea market. I don't rent, so if I need a tool I buy it. Weekend DIY they work fine.
At the house I use craftsman, harbor freight. If I need anything heavy duty or special I bug the guys at the shop and they let me borrow it, or in some case will come over and do it rather than lend their equipment out. Sadly (not really) my days of real wrenching are over for now, the owner gave employees such a low labor rate I can't say no to have the tech do it for me.
I have a Hodge podge of craftsman and generic tools. If they look good I would buy them as they are not going to get used every day and should be fine for what I do with them. Most were purchased at the store but some at the flea market. I don't rent, so if I need a tool I buy it. Weekend DIY they work fine.
That's the same as me. I started buying Craftsman when I was young and other than wearing out a few ratchets (they seem to last 10-20 years) I have not had any problems.
My first torque wrench was a beam type, which was a pain. I bought a cheap clicker and ended up snapping a rod bolt when it didn't click, so now my 1/2" is a Craftsman but my 1/4" and 3/8" are from Horror Fright. They don't get the kind of use that the 1/2" does. I have compared them for accuracy and they all seem to agree with one another, so I assume they are close enough. One thing I learned over the years was to always back the wrench down to zero before you put it away.
Except for a few very specific type of tools, I buy and use cheap (KMart/ Harbor Frieght) tools. A single expensive socket costs more than a handfull of cheaper ones and I can lose both just as easily. Same with paint guns...I do just as good with a $50 HF gun as the guy with a $700 SATA. Your spraying paint...its not rocket science precision needed here. You just need to know how to paint and how to adjust what you got.
Sadly (not really) my days of real wrenching are over for now, the owner gave employees such a low labor rate I can't say no to have the tech do it for me.
dan
Me too for a lot of it...But thats because somewhere when I wasnt looking it got cheaper to pay somebody to fix the vehicle than it did to pay somebody to fix all the damage I was doing to the creaks, groans and cracks of this body.
Nearly all of my standard hand tools are Popular Mechanics brand (sold by wal-mart 15-20 years ago, but look very similar to the current Stanley brand). I built the collection with a $10 purchase every time I went to wal-mart the first few years post college. I have used lots of other tool brands, but I like the popular mechanics stuff so much, I continue to buy them on eBay as I see them. The wrenches are smoother and longer than craftsman, which makes them more comfortable to use. Over the years I have killed a few ratchets, and 15mm sockets, but have never broken a PM wrench.
I am abusive to power tools (hand held grinders, 1/2" drill, etc) and have migrated to Hitachi in the last 5+ years as they have proven to be quite durable. However, the dewalt saws-all has put up with 20 years of abuse (can't say the same for their hand held grinders - I would kill them in 30 days).
Beyond the basic hand and power tools, I have a rather extensive collection of specialty tools and equipment. Some tool types it is OK to go cheap (harbor freight), and there are others where it pays to buy quality, and sometimes you just get what happens to be available at the time you needed it or come across it, it all depends on how often you will use/abuse them.
If you are working to hard to use the tool, buy a better one. The tools should be doing the work...
I use a combination from the spectrum. I have Craftsman, Harbor Freight, Proto, Allen, Snap-on, Husky, Kobalt and even some Starrett for measuring and other tools they offer.
I have a Husky 1/2" socket driver that was my Dad's when he was in the Navy and still works great today. I have 2 broken Craftsman socket drives that have seen a fraction of the use the Husky has seen. All of my Proto and Snap-on are sockets, swivels or extensions. I don't recall every breaking one. I've got many broken Craftsman sockets.
On the sockets, it's probably beacuase I baby the Proto and Snap-on. If I need to beat on something I'm not going to use one of those sockets, I'll break my Craftsman or HF socket in that size. For the socket drivers, I beat on the Husky of my Dad's and it has withstood easily what broke the Craftsman or HF. Just like my Starrett dial calipers. I'll measure wiped parts on the bench with those but dirt part's on machinery? Nope, I use my cheapy Rutland dial calipers for that. (I say machinery because over the years I've worked on machines with and without wheels.)
In the end I find that I use my Craftsman tools the most though because if I break them, they weren't all that expensive and are easy to replace. My biggest complaint on them though is the primary set I use was given as a Christmas present to me 20 years ago or so. Rather than having the stamped in sizes they were "laser etched" or whatever they called it. For many years now the most commonly used sizes have become very difficult for me to read the "etch". The socket itself has dulled with use and the etch has polished with use so you can't really see the etch anymore.
I can't say that, me personally, I would ever actively look to buy the top shelf tools. Even if I were to become a full time mechanic or go into factory maintenance. "But feel how smooth the ratchet is.".Yeah, because my hand get's tired because the ratchet I am using isn't as smooth... Or I'm damaging my hearing because the ratchet's click is louder. Any decently durable tool will get the job done, and that's all I care about. Getting the job done.
Power tools on the other hand are a slightly different story. I'll pay a bit more for those so I have something that's probably not going to crap out on me halfway through a job. But then I don't have a drawer with 10 4.5" angle grinders in it like I do with 3/8" ratchets.
[This message has been edited by Khw (edited 01-04-2019).]
I get many specialty tools @ flea markets etc and often cheap because many have no clue what that they are. Beyond car etc hand tools like a recent FLIR light meter costing > $200 for $10. "New" in the box but battery was dead and hard to open because have "rubber" cover hiding battery door.
Some I get them free because of the same thing. I keep some small items because is funny/weird looking but often can use them for other things like...
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
I seen many headlight aiming and wheel alignment tools but most are to big and/or too damaged to save. I did finally find a few versions of the old Hoppy DIY HL aimer that my Cave Headlights aiming is based on... All cost $1 or free because some have level w/ lost some of the liquid like this one so the bubble is huge.
CLICK FOR FULL SIZE
You turn the knob to zero the level back when the face is on the ground then aim your HL to match marks on top of the level. Is not as good as most shop units because can be hard to find even space but does work and can do the job in direct sun light.
First tools I bought with my own money (I was maybe 17 or 18?) was a Stanley inch and metric socket set, and I still have and use them. Beautiful sockets, engraved like fine jewelry. Made in USA. But most I've gotten since then have been a mix of Craftsman and many other brands. I have a handful from Wright (made in Barberton Ohio) and would buy more if I needed to. A few Snap-Ons too... You won't find a T-55 socket from Craftsman and the ones from Lisle will twist from use, so Snap-On it has to be. Matco, Wiha, Klein, Channellock, Vise-Grip, Bonney, Xcelite, Husky... and probably a few more are represented in my collection LOL
Back when I was serious about what tools I used and being in the auto parts business I had a fantastic set of Eastman and KD tools. Over time the customers demands for 'cheap-cheap-cheap' in all aspects of tools and replacement parts the KD /Eastman tools were replaced with cheaper off-shore items. I now have a mix of the old stuff, Huskey and Kobalt for the serious work and I have an assortment of HF tools for pick and pull duty. I purchase and use HF items especially for those specialty item I may only use on occasions and it's more cost effective to own and not use then rent and worry about getting the tool back in time. Hard to beat HF jacks.
One set of Craftsman that I have owned for 35 years now.
I do have a plethora of other brands. My Kobalt wrenches that I bought in the late 90's are my go to wrench. I do not use the Craftsman wrenches with my original kit.
For my trade, I generally stick with top end power tools. I like Ridgid now, but hated them in the past. I will not purchase anything DeWalt. Never had a good experience. Heavy duty is Milwaukee.
Owned only Porter Cable for air nailers. Same with my pancake tank. I have NEVER lost a gun to breakage of more than an hour in repair ever. I am overly careful and maintenance minded about them. I have watched guys spend hours working on their equipment on a job without ever shooting a nail. Cracks me up every time.
I care for my tools like no tomorrow. I will not leave them out, or at a job site. If it breaks, I write a sticky note and put it on my tach in the dash. It may take a minute to fix, but it is out of commission until it is.
I use whatever gets the job done. I'm not loyal to any particular brand name. However, my buying decision usually involves weighing how much I'll use the tool vs how much it costs. And I'm frugal when it comes to expendable / consumable stuff.
That said, I'm just a hobbyist who occasionally does side work. For a busy mechanic shop, the situation will probably be different.
Sorry but Xcelite plays the Electronic tools game via Jensen Tools and others but never made very well and been so for 40+ years I've seen. Have used and own many driver bits and sets and while Xcelite 99 is better then many of the knockoffs but not so much to make me spend the high dollar many tool stores/catalogs want over the years. Typical small set is 39 pieces @ ~ $250 including 2 handles and the plastic roll up pack. Companies buy them for com/IT jobs but often only a few like maybe 5 get used regularly, less for daily use.
Xcelite is made by Weller who is currently having some PR problems on YT and likely other before settles down on how some solder stations are made w/ no fuse on 120/240 power in.
Being a mechanic there are tools that we have to have that won't break. Now believe me I have seen people break the best of tools. Way back when you could count on the SK,Bonnie,Williams,Craftsman,Proto, ect. And of course Snap On. Now the game has changed. Even some of the Snap On sold Blue Point stuff is getting crappy. So we always have to find that happy medium of what we can afford and what is going to hold up. When I can I grab any of the older names I had mentioned. When I have to, I buy Snap On. However there are some that I use day to day that have surprised me. Newer Mountain, but the cost is close to Snap ON. What used to be SK is now Gearwrench. Now I may be biased. There headquarter have been and still are in Northern Maryland. But they have served me well. They, like others are out sourced(Tiawan), are decent quality. If you dig hard enough you will find most are. I have a 250lb digital torque wrench with angle meter. A few of the other techs/mechs use it and it has been dependable. The heavy parts(ratchet head) are made here, but the electronics from Asia. Another company that has totally surprised me has been Lowes Kobalt sockets and wrenches. Now I won't count on the ratchets. There is a 3/4 3/8 drive deep 12 point socket that I have used to take wheel locks off with. I have used this thing on about 6 different cars. Beating the socket onto the wheel locks with a 20oz. ball peen. Then with a Snap On reducer and 1/2 breaker bar, take the locks off. This has worked when the "special" OTC or Snap On wheel lock sockets didn't because they would slip or too bid in diameter to fit in the wheel. Not to mention for what it cost, I didn't care. I have been using some Kobalt wrenches and sockets for over 3 years and haven't broken one. I have lost more(damn 10mm). I'm not overly abusive on my tools, but they are USED. In the past I have broken the square part off a Snap On 1/2 ratchet, with out a cheater pipe. For ratchets I use my Snap Ons and I have a few Matco. For specialty tools older Lilse (impact driver, pitman arm puller, power steering pulley tool etc.) I still have a 30 year old Lilse pitman arm puller I still use. Newer specialty tools, OTC(ball joint press) and my favorite store for that is Tooltopia online.
[This message has been edited by cmechmann (edited 01-04-2019).]
I am average joe homeowner/hobbyist, for years I have used American made Craftsman tools [V series] (wenches, rachets, sockets, screwdrivers, etc), with a few off SK, Wright, KD, and Williams stuff thrown in.. As I was able to bought the craftsman professional line of tools which are good stuff. These days Sears is on its deathbed, and Stanley owns Craftsman and most their stuff is still sourced from China (but are being re-sited back to American manufacturers like Western Forge), and Harbor freight is stepping up it's quality there are plenty of okay quality tools on the market.
At the same time I am wanting to upgrade my tools to high quality ones because I have the ability. I also view spending on tools as a good investment since tools have the abiltiy to save you more money then they cost in the long run. As as added bonus high quality tools appear to retain good value. In my mind by high quality think of Snap on, Mac, Proto, SK, Cornwell, Matco for new stuff. When you ge to older tools there are other good brands in my eyes like Williams, Challenger, Blackhawk, etc.
What type of tools do you use? What type of user are you? Professional, or hobbyist?
I am coming to a cross roads where I can't justify new tool truck tool prices, but it seems that if you search you can find SnapOn, Mac, Matco, etc second hand for descent prices (maybe 1/3 to 1/4 of current list prices). What do you think is it prudent to buy these tools second hand knowing the warranty isn't necessarily valid? Is it worth buying an older wrench/socket set which may retain for $400 for $100 used? Or is it better to spend $50 on a China Craftsman/Harbor freight set?
I can't really call myself a professional since I don't do any of this stuff professionally (as in, I don't get paid for it).
But, for sockets, I ONLY use / buy American-made / forged sockets. I have a set of Blackhawk, which was given to me by my uncle when I was 19. The rest of the stuff I have is all Husky, and a few odd Craftsman.
Screwdrivers, I have all kinds of crap.
For rechargeable power tools, I exclusively buy Ryobi. I know it's Chinese, but you get huge bang for your buck. It's probably the highest quality stuff you can buy that isn't dipping into the Makita / DeWalt pricing.
I also have a few older power tools that you plug in... I have an older DeWalt power drill that's I got new in 1998, and I've used it for everything.
Big tools... IE: chop saws, table saws, tile saws, you name it... I buy all from Harbor Freight. I've cut 4,500 sq-ft worth of tile from my $250 Harbor Freight compound sliding 12" tile wet-saw, and it still works like it did when it was brand new.
I also have a 12" sliding compound miter saw that works really well too... restored two homes with that.
I've also got a lot of pneumatic tools, mostly Husky (no idea what the real brand is...)… I do like good tools, but it just doesn't pay for me to buy really expensive tools.
Ive got a whole mix of stuff. Im a craftsman guy(used to work at sears when I was 15-17), but ive got just a boot everything. Current craftsman stuff is garbage, the older the better. i have some of the star trek ratchets and recently found a way older one that works great. Cordless tools- im a ryobi guy. they have so many random tools that fot their batteries, theyre super cheap, and when people wanna break into your truck to steal your tools- they see they ryobi martian puke green tools n go rob somebody else. I have a kobalt go-thru socket set, its ok but the printed sizes on the sockets are practically impossible to read. Ive got some harbor freight junk that for the tools ill use once in my lifetime. I hate dewalt, on the jobsite dewalt was the "cool guy" tools to have cuz they were pricey. They laughed at my cheapo ryobi tools. But I can replace my whole ryobi tool set for $129 biotch! Im not nice to my tools, I dont maintain me. Ill go buy another if it needs serious maintenance. I have 2-3 of any tool at any time so no down time. I have some old tools customers thatbwere like me in their younger days have given me and the quality is crazy good. It wasnt about money back then it was about being the best. Pride. AMERICAN PRIDE BIOTCH!
My first tool set purchase was in the late 60's in high school and they were New Britain. Never wore any out but over the years they either got lost or loaned out. Now I have a combination of everybody's brand. This is hard to believe but the hammer I still use is over 30 years old and I only replaced the head once and the handle twice. Yep, same hammer!
Spoon
------------------ "Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut
My tool boxes are over flowing with SK, Gear Wrench and some Craftsman tools. I have a pretty large selection, some (most) of which I have duplicates of because I either loaned them and it took forever to get them back or, I simply couldn't find it and went and bought another one resulting in the multiple sets when I got back home from the store and saw them sitting right where I left them the last time I used them. Yeah, it's embarrassing.
I've found that Pawn Shops are a wealth of treasures for most hand tools. I tend to steer clear of power tools there. Reference the quality, the new good tools are too expensive so, I tend to keep my eyes open for the older quality used ones.
The truth be told, the world would be better off if I had never tried to turn wrenches. Should have stuck to the male modeling career.
Rams
[This message has been edited by blackrams (edited 01-05-2019).]
I have consulted with large tool manufacturers and I will tell you that one facility will make many different brands of tools, using the same metal alloys and processing equipment.
Exactly this. I calibrate workshop tools. Must are the same items with the "makers" stamp/sticker on.
Torque wrenches for example. Of the hundreds of "makes" there are basically only a few different brands:
Cheap junk = sealey/draper/Nielsen/toolzone/Teng/silverline etc etc ... All identical with a different sticker and wildly varyng prices for the same thing.
Used to be good now junk:. Britool, Kennedy (it's a Britool with a different stamp)
The majority of others are Norbar but rebranded..... Norbar, Sykes Pickavant, Halfords, Worth etc etc ... All are Norbar.
Snap-on bought Norbar last year. Possibly as they already had the accuracy required for aviation industry.
The Rolls Royce of torque wrenches is the Stahlwille. Brilliant in all aspects.
I test hundreds of different workshop tools every week and you get to see that there are in fact very few individual designs and an awful lot of rebranding.
You certainly do not always get what you pay for!!! Some expensive tools are utter junk. Lots of items you pay over the odds for the name.
Exactly this. I calibrate workshop tools. Must are the same items with the "makers" stamp/sticker on.
Torque wrenches for example. Of the hundreds of "makes" there are basically only a few different brands:
Cheap junk = sealey/draper/Nielsen/toolzone/Teng/silverline etc etc ... All identical with a different sticker and wildly varyng prices for the same thing.
Used to be good now junk:. Britool, Kennedy (it's a Britool with a different stamp)
The majority of others are Norbar but rebranded..... Norbar, Sykes Pickavant, Halfords, Worth etc etc ... All are Norbar.
Snap-on bought Norbar last year. Possibly as they already had the accuracy required for aviation industry.
The Rolls Royce of torque wrenches is the Stahlwille. Brilliant in all aspects.
I test hundreds of different workshop tools every week and you get to see that there are in fact very few individual designs and an awful lot of rebranding.
You certainly do not always get what you pay for!!! Some expensive tools are utter junk. Lots of items you pay over the odds for the name.
With your knowledge, hook us up with useful info, Which tools are the better quality and the lower price please
For my power tools, I like the Makita brand. Durable, powerful and last quite a long time. I had a Makita sawsall and put that through hell and back, finally broke it have 8 years of very hard use. Bought another one. Hand tools, I've always had good luck with the Craftsman brand. Have the odd Snap-on stuff but as a private individual, hard to get your hands on Snap-on and of course, quite expensive. Have a variety of SK, Snap-on, Craftsman and a few others. When it comes to Chinese sockets, ratchets, don't waste your time.
Originally posted by 2.5: With your knowledge, hook us up with useful info, Which tools are the better quality and the lower price please
I am not sure how our tool brands in the UK would relate to US makes but no doubt they do.
In terms of items that require calibration, If money was no object then all of my kit would be Stahlwille!
We have a parts/tools store here called Halfords. It is nowhere near as trendy as snap-on or Norbar but it did make me laugh when one of the techs at a workshop got a ribbing for using "a crappy" Halfords torque wrench. I helped him out by explaining to them that his "crappy" torque wrench was not only cheaper than theirs but also had better internals (from the Norbar professional range) and that they were all made by the same company.
The handle locks have a plastic gear and mine had worn, I could have changed myself but decided to return as Halfords have a lifetime guarantee, so 13 years later I walked into the store with no receipt and walked out with a brand new one, no fuss.
In terms of multimeters, the obvious is Fluke, which again is rebranded under other names and very good but expensive....and often have large/ expensive fuses. I tested a batch of "Benning" meters at an auto training centre and they were amazingly accurate even at low ohms settings and much much cheaper than Fluke.
Rachets, wrenches and sockets that get used a lot, cornwell. The rest are new or used snap on, or Craftsman . with h/f making up the junkyard crawl tool bag. Very few hand tools that I don't have that I'd need to now buy, but a tig/plasma,metal brake, shrinkiner,strecher, etc will be in the want column.
Check out this vintage craftsman I found at my moms the other day, made me think of this thread. Check out the old logo, had to hit it w some 1000 to get it to show. I think ratchets before the star trek communicator ones. works like a champ
