Your favourite tool brands

[Rx7man]

We all have the brands we like, and not all of the best brands are best for a specific tool.

Small pliers I like Snap on, unfortunately I don't have any
Screwdrivers - Vera.. really like them.. hardened tips that just don't wear out
Allen keys - B0ndhus
wrenches, sockets.. .I have all Craftsman.. not the best, but they do OK for what I need
Knipex makes some darned good pliers too.. they have some like channel-locks but with finer adjustment

Power tools here are nearly all Makita.. the 5" grinders are great, and I like the 18V lithium tools too.. I've got 2 sets of 1/2" drills and impact guns, a 3/8th angle drill (expensive, not used very often, but a life saver when you need it). We have a 550 RPM Bosch 1/2" drill that will break your wrist in the blink of an eye, and a Craftsman 1100/2200 7.5A 1/2" hammer drill.. also in a dewalt flavor, it's seen years of beating and still works good (chucks are weak though).

Air tools I'll take Ingersoll Rand any day.. had CP and didn't like them.. I got a bunch of chinese stuff too for the occasional use.. palm nailers, air shears, etc, but the impact guns are all IR

Specialty stuff is usually KD tools, because that's what I can get locally.. OTC on occasion

 

[president]

otc for sure their vehicle front end tools are great ,pullers are amazing
sadly now they have a new line made in ,?where else!

 

[Landmark]

Anything that has a lifetime warranty.

 

[Bobosocky]

not a whole lot seems to be made in US anymore. i have tried to pick up USA craftsman stock when i see it. I think all that is left is 'new old stock' that occasionally would show up on store shelves. the syracuse farm show had a dealer last winter with a boatload of USA craftsman stuff.

most of the stuff that is still made in USA is just way out of my price range.

 

[Franny K]

I think this belongs in the off topic forum.

 

[LogSawyer74]

Used to buy lots of craftsman stuff. Now that it's all Chinese, craftsman is off the list for me! I've found S-K to be the best combination of price, quality and still US made. NOTHING made by S-K is imported. At least that's what their website says, and I've never ran across an Asian SK tool. And I think the quality of S-K is as good as Snap-On, Matco, etc. The only S-K tool I don't care for are their ratchets. Seem to be a little behind the times with the round head and no handles with good screwdriver/soft type grips. Ebay seems to have the best prices. Wish there was an SK tool truck that came around....

 

[MGoBlue]

Wiha!

 

[strtspdlx]

After spending 10s of thousands of dollars in snap on tools. I'll say anything that has a lifetime warranty that I can easily exchange (no shipping or wait time) and isn't priced ridiculously. $100 for a ratchet is insane but when you feel how smooth they are it's worth every penny. I'm a mechanic so I need decent tools at hand everyday.


Regards-Carlo

 

[Ironworker]

I have an old craftsman rolling toolbox with mostly craftsman stuff and a mix of various other stuff that I bought as I needed and was most convenient to buy at the time. I'm not really brand loyal as I don't make a living with my tools but if I did I'd probably stick to one brand like snap on.

 

[J.Walker]

One of my favorite files is a Nicholson flat file. It's .040 thick. I use it on the inside of the bar rails.

 

[strtspdlx]

I will vouch for Nicholson files. I have some that area easily older then me. So long as you take care of them they work fantastic.


Regards-Carlo

 

[Rx7man]

Beware of Nicholson files.. they are a 'sold out' brand.. a lot of the new stuff is chinese.. they definitely WERE very good... Other "sold out" brands are Delta, Bosch and a bunch of others.

I do like a 'no questions asked' kind of lifetime warranty.. I've had trouble with Mastercraft, especially on discontinued lines they won't honor the warranty unless you have a receipt.. and that's BS

 

[LogSawyer74]

Channel-lock is another brand I really like. Haven't 'sold out'. Still made in PA, still very high quality. Seems like the price for channel-lock has actually decreased in the last few years. Don't know how that's possible, but I try to support them when I need new pliers, needle nose, side cutters, and channel-locks, of course. I agree Rx7man, lots of brands are parading the old name on new stuff coming from overseas. Others include: Vise Grip, Milwaukee, Crescent, even some of the Matco and Mac tools.

 

[Rx7man]

I haven't noticed a difference in quality in Vise Grip since they went overseas.. I rounded off the teeth on the domestic ones just as easily.. They're one of those tools you just have to replace every once in a while.. especially if you use them for welding. I don't have very much Milwaukee stuff.. That Craftsman drill I mentioned in the OP has a very similar model (different case, same internals probably) as the Milwaukee equivalent, but the Craftsman/Dewalt version is shorter, which I like

 

[Guido Salvage]

Wiha!

Got these for $4.00 yesterday.

 

[MGoBlue]

You suck!! Big time. These [Wiha]are quality tools. I've used them in the printing industry for years and they remain very reliable, especially their hex wrench sets.

 

[rob066]

Got these for $4.00 yesterday.

View attachment 450751

Nice buy but the most important is missing for stihl T27

 

[Rx7man]

There's a pet peeve of mine.. wrench sets that aren't all-inclusive... best one I saw was a metric gear-wrench set that was pretty much all the odd numbers up to 14, and all the evens above that. I think the 13 was about the only wrench in the set I'd every used. They evidently had a bunch of extras they had to turn into a kit so some housewife would buy them..

 

[Termite]

I quit buying crapsman years ago. But still have some. In hand tools I like S&K and Armstrong. Power tools I like Milwaukee. Old power tools I like Cresent, Oakley, Dewalt and Unitronx.

 

[middleagemutant]

For electrical I like Klein uninsulated and Whia insulated screwdrivers Knipex style of adjustable pliers, Klein dykes and linesman pliers and strippers are great and Fluke for meters and Thermography.