Hand Tools

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petersonra said:
I vote for Greenlee, just because I have a friend who designs them.
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I stay away from them only because they're made in China. I like to keep my money circulating in the states if I can.
 
Jim W in Tampa said:
Why is he doing field work ???????????????
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Well not just that, it seems there tons of tools, I missed the thread peter had made, and others made some
Great Tool Statements.

It just seemed that everyone stated trade tools, by all means get them a starter set of flats and stars, or the 6 in one. some pliers, small pipe wrench, a set of nut drivers, channel locks you might as well get them a tool caddie to hold this load. :roll:

It's just that it could well be tailored to a niche application better known by the Giver...

Knowing of kids even an emergency tool of anything would be more than they probably have now. :)
 
In case someone did not know, you can get the replacement bits for the 10-1's from Klein. Check your local supply house.

Aside from one nut driver that lost its chrome....I love Klein and have had no other problems. (Minus a slight hole in the wire cutter /stripper that was operator error) I have another set of Klein screwdrivers in my general tool box because they hold up so well.

Keep an eye on-line...you can catch some specials at the depot that are not available in stores...but the stores will honor the online price.

c2500
 
I prefer mostly Klein hand tools, rubber gripped screw drivers, nut drivers, and pliers. For pump pliers I still think that Channel-Lock makes the best ones out there. I've tried other brands that self adjust (hated them), the new ones from Vise-Grip that have a push button for adjustment (I would rate them a 5 on a scale of 1-10) and still end up with Channel-Lock 930's in my tool pouch.
 
cschmid said:
my most favorite tools are the one you buy that have this printed on them Ugly stick, rapala, berkley, evinrude, lund, spartan, silverodo..:grin: :D
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That's very understandable if your domicile is in Minnesota.:grin:
 
JohnJ0906 said:
Dereck, what exactly is your son looking for? Household fix-it tools, automotive, electrician?
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Basic handtools for automotive, household repair, etc... He is not a sparky, rather a mechanical engineer grad.
 
oh then buy him a set of golf clubs and give him the name of a good handy man for all the honey do lists..then load your golf cart and pick him up on saturdays for some family time..just dont let him win all the time..

Or get him really nice set of SNAP ON tools and help him build hot rod in his garage..
 
Put myself through college (I'm an electrical engineer) working on cars. Had a myriad of Craftsman, Matco, Mac, Snap On. Whenever there was an issue with Craftsman, exchange has been made with NO problems. Snap On was always a hassle, Matco/Mac was 50/50. Snap On was by far the most expensive and I will never buy them again. Their chrome finished wrenches and sockets were slippery when they got a little bit of grease on them (imagine that happening working on a car!). The Craftsman have a little rougher texture so this doesn't happen.

You know you buy a lot of tools when the snap on truck makes a regular route stop to your house. Which happened until they started giving me issues on replacing de-chromed sockets, broken hammer handles, etc.

Recently had a driving rain in the morning that drove through the gasketed sides of my truck top. Tool bag got soaked. Ever single Klein (screwdrivers, needlenose, linesman, channel locks) in the bag rusted within the 8 hours when I discovered the problem when I went to get a tool about 4 PM. All Craftsman A-OK. But I still will only use Klein linesman pliers.

For hand wrenches, try Gear Wrench. Have used these working on changing transmissions, engine swaps (once a gear head, always a gear head), etc. and have only had one failure, which was quickly replaced. They are a ratcheting wrench which is really great when you're in a tight place and nto enough room for a ratchet and socket. Craftsman also has a version of these, but mine are over 10 years old when they were over $150 a set for SAE and metric. Now they're down to $35 or so per set

Husky (Home Depot) - have a couple of their socket sets - is also pretty good, but beware now you have to keep your receipt to prove the lifetime warranty.

Stanley Fat Max extreme 16' tape measure

For cordless over the years, I've owned Makita (what a piece of crap - batteries lasted about 10 minutes after a full charge and drive 3 screws), Bosch, Porter Cable, Hitachi, Craftsman and Dewalt drills. Preference is the Hitachi for shooting a lot of screws as it just conforms to my hand really nicely. For the most torque and longest battery life, Dewalt. Building a house where I drove over (300) 3 1/2" screws before the battery died. But the 19.2V Craftsman is a really good value.

Now having worked with my hands for over 25 years as a field service engineer, electrical contractor, etc. and based on your comments that these tools probably will only be used casually, stay with Craftsman. Regardless of when your son goes to, there will be a Sears around to exchange any problems. Unlike other replies, I have had great success with Craftsman - most of the tools are still the originals, while I am on my 2nd or 3rd Klein. And exhanging Klein is a pain in the ass!
 
Klien stippers ,crimpers, cable cutters, screw drivers. Makita portable driver,angle drill, Milwaukee hole saw,sawzall, Green Lee linesman pliers, side cutters, needle nose, Snap-On wrenches and sockets, Hilti hammer drill. Fluke Multi-meter, ampmeter, voltage "sniffer",Ideal "Wiggy". Alligator clipped jumper wires (I wouldnt leave home without them) One very important tool people neglet to list is several realy heavy duty extension cords with the expensive Hubble plugs. Stuff stays plugged into them.
 
I used to have a decent set of Stanley hand tools, but after ravaging those I switched to Mastercraft. (basically equivalent to Craftsman but sold at Canadian Tire) I bought a complete set of screwdrivers, pliers, etc with a toolbox for $150. Their lifetime replacement is great. I've only broken a philips screwdriver and diagonal cutter (both were my bad... too strong for my own good) and I walked out the door with replacements in 2 min or less) I still have some great Stanley FatMax gear: Tape measures, hammers, levels, etc. I have a 75pc Stanley Challenger socket set, but it's taken a backseat to my new 150pc Craftsman set.

The bulk of my 'sparky' tools are Greenlee: fish tapes, conduit cutters and benders, NailEater augers, flex drills, wire strippers, etc. Even have a couple of those screw-holding screwdrivers. My supply house carries mostly Greenlee, so it's a convenience thing. IMHO Kline and Greenlee are interchangable, it just depends whether you prefer yellow or green.

The bulk of my techie tools are Harris and Fluke (which now owns Harris) Test sets, fox and hound, impact tools, etc. I do alot of cable ties so I own 3 Panduit guns. I've also got a Siecor fiber optic toolkit worth over $3k. Most of my power tools are DeWalt.

Oh, and my favorite extension cords are neon yellow 75' 12-ga that I bought at Costco 8 years ago for about $65 each. Still going strong...

neon-yellow_100.jpg
 
e57 said:
At that price it had better be...
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It's got a ton of outer jacket. The cable's over 1/2" diameter, but it's still fairly flexible below freezing, way better than most orange contractor-grade stuff. I use CordPro reels to keep a couple of them under control.

e57 said:
The cord cap just keeps moving back inch by inch....
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Here you go... a real time saver:
Worst+Extension+Cord+Ever.jpg
 
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dereckbc said:
Basic handtools for automotive, household repair, etc... He is not a sparky, rather a mechanical engineer grad.
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If these are occasional use tools, I wouldn't go high-end, personally. It really isn't like those of us here-we get the best, because we use them all day, every day.
Stanley, Craftsman, Husky should do him just fine. A Riobi cordless drill.
 
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