Hey all, havent posted in a bit, a little busy. That said, Ive been updating my tools a bit and Ive been doing some research before parting with my cash. You all may find this helpful.
We all want the good, pro-quality tools and dont always want to spend piles of money. I suspect most of you are like me in that you have a bunch of different tool brands from harbor freight junk to Snap-On. Ill spend a bunch on a tool I use all the time, but less on some others. Some people have fan-boy mentality on this, and treat tools like their favorite sports team or car brand, I don't get that?
For comparison sake, I used Metric Wrench sets. The prices of other tools seem to follow the same pattern relatively close.
I have a great set of Craftsman professional wrenches, and various other Craftsman Pro tools including my favorite ratchet ;). Ive had these forever and they were all made in the USA. Unfortunatly with the fall of the Craftsman brand Ive been searching for alternatives. I have read that they have started a new line called Craftsman Industrial. I think these are USA made tools. But as long as its not Chinese junk I dont care all that much. All things equal I will buy USA made tools, but all things are rarely equal.
I have these listed from lowest cost to highest.
- Craftsman: Full-Polish from Sears (If you have a sears store in your area any longer?) $49.99
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-profe...&blockType=G18
These look like my old Craftsman Professional set. However they are not the same, made in China. And right in the description it says, a great starter set for your tool collection. Hmmmm?
At some point I lost my 7/8 wrench, so I had to buy one quick. I ran to my local sears and picked up a cheap china-made Craftsman wrench. It worked fine. I also bought a cheap welding clamp from Harbor freight, its total crap.
- Craftsman Industrial: From Summit Racing, 12 Piece set for $61.97 plus shipping.
The Craftsman Industrial line I see now is completely different from a couple wrenches I purchased just a couple years ago, so Im not a huge fan of these any more as all the Craftsman brands seems to be faltering.
- Sonic Tools: 14 piece Combination wrench set, $125.
https://www.sonictoolsusa.com/combin...ch-14-pcs.html
Sonic is a new-ish tool company in the US. They have been around in Europe a long time. This is a mid-cost, non-USA but non-China professional tool company. They do an on-line business model, so for me thats the best way to buy and exchange tools. They also do these cool foam-inlay sets too.
I've spent a couple hundred dollars on Sonic tools of late; screwdriver set, hammer set, and pliers set and Im happy with these purchases, even got a nice discout recently. While not inexpensive, I feel like Im getting a pro-grade tool for a fair price. That said, I do like the full-polish high end wrenches, so I went elsewhere for those.
- Mac Tools: 14-PC. Metric Knuckle Saver Combination Wrench Set, $359.99
http://www.mactools.com/en-us/Wrench...nch-Set-12-PT-
Mac/Matco/Snap-On are priced very similarly. USA made and arguably the best tools made anywhere. BUT holy crap what a price jump!
I have, and very much like the SAE Mac wrenches. However the tool truck thing is a pain in the a$$ for a home-shop guy. I have zero access to any tool trucks, and I buy these from Ebay (to save money), or on-line from Mac at list cost.
You best really LOVE these tools to pay these prices.
Any other options out there for quality without selling a limb? Or examples of where you spend big money for something you really like?
We all want the good, pro-quality tools and dont always want to spend piles of money. I suspect most of you are like me in that you have a bunch of different tool brands from harbor freight junk to Snap-On. Ill spend a bunch on a tool I use all the time, but less on some others. Some people have fan-boy mentality on this, and treat tools like their favorite sports team or car brand, I don't get that?
For comparison sake, I used Metric Wrench sets. The prices of other tools seem to follow the same pattern relatively close.
I have a great set of Craftsman professional wrenches, and various other Craftsman Pro tools including my favorite ratchet ;). Ive had these forever and they were all made in the USA. Unfortunatly with the fall of the Craftsman brand Ive been searching for alternatives. I have read that they have started a new line called Craftsman Industrial. I think these are USA made tools. But as long as its not Chinese junk I dont care all that much. All things equal I will buy USA made tools, but all things are rarely equal.
I have these listed from lowest cost to highest.
- Craftsman: Full-Polish from Sears (If you have a sears store in your area any longer?) $49.99
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-profe...&blockType=G18
These look like my old Craftsman Professional set. However they are not the same, made in China. And right in the description it says, a great starter set for your tool collection. Hmmmm?
At some point I lost my 7/8 wrench, so I had to buy one quick. I ran to my local sears and picked up a cheap china-made Craftsman wrench. It worked fine. I also bought a cheap welding clamp from Harbor freight, its total crap.
- Craftsman Industrial: From Summit Racing, 12 Piece set for $61.97 plus shipping.
The Craftsman Industrial line I see now is completely different from a couple wrenches I purchased just a couple years ago, so Im not a huge fan of these any more as all the Craftsman brands seems to be faltering.
- Sonic Tools: 14 piece Combination wrench set, $125.
https://www.sonictoolsusa.com/combin...ch-14-pcs.html
Sonic is a new-ish tool company in the US. They have been around in Europe a long time. This is a mid-cost, non-USA but non-China professional tool company. They do an on-line business model, so for me thats the best way to buy and exchange tools. They also do these cool foam-inlay sets too.
I've spent a couple hundred dollars on Sonic tools of late; screwdriver set, hammer set, and pliers set and Im happy with these purchases, even got a nice discout recently. While not inexpensive, I feel like Im getting a pro-grade tool for a fair price. That said, I do like the full-polish high end wrenches, so I went elsewhere for those.
- Mac Tools: 14-PC. Metric Knuckle Saver Combination Wrench Set, $359.99
http://www.mactools.com/en-us/Wrench...nch-Set-12-PT-
Mac/Matco/Snap-On are priced very similarly. USA made and arguably the best tools made anywhere. BUT holy crap what a price jump!
I have, and very much like the SAE Mac wrenches. However the tool truck thing is a pain in the a$$ for a home-shop guy. I have zero access to any tool trucks, and I buy these from Ebay (to save money), or on-line from Mac at list cost.
You best really LOVE these tools to pay these prices.
Any other options out there for quality without selling a limb? Or examples of where you spend big money for something you really like?
Comment