[Captain of the 4-C's]

Looking for advice on where to buy the best tools a mechanic could own. 6 point, regular and deep well sockets for working on cars mostly. A tool box one can readily put in the back of a pickup truck to hold them. Northern Tool is the first place that comes to mind but I am sure there are mechanics here that will be in the know.

 

[Dubllung4]

Meijers has (had?) Tekton 50% off. Most of this is very good quality, some made in USA.

Milwaukee hand tools are good, Gearwrench is good as well. Best is pretty subjective, I'm sure you'll get plenty of SnapOn comments but I can't justify the price.

For mobility my tools all go in Packouts of various sizes. Much better than toting around a heavy steel toolbox.

 

[Ranger Ray]

Williams is a great alternative to SnapOn. Although they are owned by SnapOn now. Same quality, lower price point. Stanley Proto another good choice. You'll find them through an Industrial Supply House.

 

[Gillgitter]

I'm so old I remember when Craftsman were good tools.

 

[augerin]

I'm so old I remember when Craftsman were good tools

 

[augerin]

And made in USA

 

[Mike da Carpenter]

I'm so old I remember when Craftsman were good tools.

We were just talking about Craftsman Tools yesterday. We all remembered the lifetime warranty and how we used it for hammers and tape measures a few times a year. Saved quite a bit of $$$ over the years when they offered their warranty. In all honesty, there were much better tools out there, but their warranty was nowhere near as good as Craftsman’s.

 

[MichiFishy]

I've bought a few Tekton to try out. No complaints so far, and I can be hard on tools sometimes. Believe they are a Michigan owned company as well.

You can still find good Craftsman tools in garage sales or on Craigslist.

Meijers has (had?) Tekton 50% off. Most of this is very good quality, some made in USA.

Milwaukee hand tools are good, Gearwrench is good as well. Best is pretty subjective, I'm sure you'll get plenty of SnapOn comments but I can't justify the price.

For mobility my tools all go in Packouts of various sizes. Much better than toting around a heavy steel toolbox.

 

[Ranger Ray]

Tekton is an alright company. Some of their product comes out of China. I know company's that make product for them in Michigan.

 

[wyandot]

Very, very few would argue that Snap-on makes the best hand tools available. However, I don't think most of us need to lay out that kind of cash to tinker around in the garage on weekends. For my money, I like the Napa/Carlysle stuff I've purchased from my local auto parts store. Any plier purchases I stick to Channel-lock.

 

[NATTY BUMPO]

I'm so old I remember when Craftsman were good tools.

Over 90% of all the hand tools I have are Craftsman. And when my son was growing up he got Craftsman tools for birthdays and Xmas; a Craftsman SAE socket set, then a metric socket set, then a screwdriver set, pliers set, hammers, etc, etc etc. All made in the USA with that lifetime warranty.

I have only needed two replaced; a tape measure and a 3/4" socket which I ruined on a 50 yr Allis Chalmers tractor tire bolt. And both were replaced , cheerfully.

Those were the days...........

 

[Sin_X]

I've made my living for years turning wrenches, Snap-On, MatCo, Mac are all great tools and I have a lot of them, but you pay for them. If you need something reliable and durable for occasional use I suggest Williams for sockets or socket sets. They offer the same lifetime warranty as Snap-On on some of their tools. I have 3/8 and 1/4 sets that are clones to Snap-On. Pliers go with Channel Lock and for wrenches and screw drivers you can check out Husky brand at Home Depot, they are pretty good for the price.

 

[tincanary]

I'm big fan of German made tools. Knipex, Wiha, etc. I got my Knipex pliers and cutters from a garage sale years ago. My cutters are still stupid sharp and God knows how long the previous owner had them.

 

[Scout 2]

And made in USA

I think they are again after Stanley bought them out I had a ratchet go bad so I needed one right way. I bought oe from HD and it is the smoothest ratchet I have ever had, But the one that went bad was over 50 years old. I have a Matco 1/2 impact and that thing has the power to it. I use to put 1 1/ bolts in lifting eyes at work and them put a wrench on them and smack them with a hammer tomake sure they were tight. They never moved after using the impact

 

[jiggin is livin]

I'm big fan of German made tools. Knipex, Wiha, etc. I got my Knipex pliers and cutters from a garage sale years ago. My cutters are still stupid sharp and God knows how long the previous owner had them.

Knipex are great! Those flat pliers without teeth put adjustable wrenches to shame! Most versatile tool a guy can have.

Gear wrench is great too, especially for garage tools not used daily.

People mentioned Tekton, they will be a big name soon, probably like Gear wrench. They make some great stuff too, at an acceptable price.

Anything comes off a truck, isn’t worth it. I have a Snap-On box, full of their tools. My set up literally costs more than a lot of people’s houses, and I would NEVER do it again. I have a ton of other tools that do just as good of a job. I do like their sockets a bit better, but Tekton is close.

You can get quality tools from pretty much any auto parts store or home improvement place any more. Sure is better than it used to be.

Oh, I need to add, I have actually gotten some stuff from Harbor Freight that I really have grown to love. It ain’t pretty and it ain’t refined, but they work and I have abused them. I don’t sweat breaking it and having to replace it being that cheap and let’s face it, in the heat of battle on the work car, sometimes you gotta get nasty. I have yet to destroy anything, surprisingly. I have a 9.99 angle grinder from them and the thing has done it all. I’ll gladly spend another $10 to replace it when the time comes.

Point being, don’t get stuck on the get what you pay for thought. With tools, that is what the crooks are banking on.

 

[kroppe]

Good names on this thread.

Most German brands are good.

Knipex
Wera
Hazet
Gedore

Tekton is good, I have several of their torque wrenches

Kobalt at Lowe’s is good, I have some of their pneumatic tools. For the frequency I use them, they are far more than adequate.

There are a lot of good tools brands. Even if you earn a living from tools, the highest price point isn’t strictly required.

 

[jiggin is livin]

Good names on this thread.

Most German brands are good.

Knipex
Wera
Hazet
Gedore

Tekton is good, I have several of their torque wrenches

Kobalt at Lowe’s is good, I have some of their pneumatic tools. For the frequency I use them, they are far more than adequate.

There are a lot of good tools brands. Even if you earn a living from tools, the highest price point isn’t strictly required.

Exactly. Most tools you could replace 5-10x before you match Snap-On or Mac prices. If someone wants to pay that money for piece of mind, tax write offs, or something like that, that’s totally fine.

But don’t ever let someone convince you that you NEED to

 

[Bucman]

Williams have served me well over the last 40 years of turning wrenches. Their knurled handle ratchets out perform any other brand. Nothing wrong with cheaper tools if made well.

Lets not forget the Binford line!
AHH AHH AAHH

 

[perchjerker]

I wrenched for 30 years out of this box. At the time it was biggest baddest bottom box Snap on made. I also had the matching top box. But sold it off years ago

I cant really add anything to the comments on brands, its all been said. Just wanted to share a pic of this old girl, still serving me well in my garage

 

[Captain of the 4-C's]

Thanks for all the replies folks. I think you may have missed a brand name or two!:lol: I am going to check out the Tekton's - never heard of them until today.