Best Value Tool Brand

[Anonymous No.1718257]

What is, objectively, the best value tool brand? On one end of the spectrum you have the shittiest dollar store screw driver you can buy for pennies and on the other end you have things like snap on, wera, etc.

Like all things, at a certain cost you're not making leaps and bounds in quality improvement so what would you call the sweet spot? Obviously you can find great deals at auctions and pawn shops but lets say you wanted to buy a 3/8" ratchet right now, who sells the best value?

[Anonymous No.1718265]

>>1718257
"It depends"

There is no actual answer.

[Anonymous No.1718270]

>>1718265
This. Varies by tool, application, location, etc. Some would argue Snap-On and the like isn’t really ever worth it. If you’re not getting visited by the tool truck guy regularly I’d definitely agree but I also can't deny there’s value in the warranty if you ever use it and in the payment plans. Sometimes your need for a specific tool outpaces your available funds and, so long as you don’t allow yourself to get carried away, their financing options can be considered a pro.

I would argue it’s almost impossible to deem any particular tool or tool company the “best,” but we can definitely identify inexcusably shit or exceptionally good tools.

[Anonymous No.1718274]

>>1718257
Tekton

[Anonymous No.1718276]

>>1718265
>>1718270
Let me rephrase, what's your sweet spot? For arguments sake, I'm thinking your most commonly used hand tools like open end wrenches, screw drivers, and ratchets.

Snap On's warranty is great but I've never had home depot deny a husky hand tool warranty either.

[Anonymous No.1718281]

Tools will get lost before most of them break. Snap on is not all that great or made any different that say Stanley or kobalt who I'd say would be the best budget tools that hold up. Or just pick up something from harbor freight that is cheap cheap and if it does break then figure what you want to do with your money about getting better quality.

[Anonymous No.1718285]

>>1718281
At a certain price point it's not about what they're of, it's about tolerances and quality control. I'm not worried about breaking a socket as much as I'm interested in what's going to do the job with the least amount of hassle for the best price.

I've already got every tool I need and some of those are snap on and some are harbor freight. Moving forward I want to get rid of tools that cause frustration and replace them with something I can pass down to my kids.

[Anonymous No.1718287]

>>1718274
Thanks for this answer, I'm going to try them out for sure

[Anonymous No.1718450]

>>1718257
>Snap-on
>Green handles
Shut up and take my money.

[Anonymous No.1718453]

>>1718257
Proto

[Anonymous No.1718456]

>>1718257
Husky

[Anonymous No.1718457]

>>1718257
Masterforce is fine too

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1718460]

>>1718257
Ratchets? Go with Gearwrench. Pic related will probably go down to like $80 for Black Friday, but it’s still a steal at $100.

For sockets and ratchets and all that, Gearwrench, Tekton, Husky, Sunex, even Craftsman or Kobalt if you catch a good sale.

[Anonymous No.1718471]

>>1718257
If I needed one RIGHT NOW I'd be going straight to ye olde harbor freight for some Pittsburgh tools. So cheap that I could probably buy 5 ratchets and it still wouldn't cost as much as the home Depot one.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1718492]

>>1718471
The $20 Husky ratchets are nice though. And the $20 HF Pitt Pro ratchets are pretty close in quality.

You can get a $5 round head ratchet from both of those places, but they suck.

[Anonymous No.1718651]

Used - garage sales I've almost completely replaced my shit taiwan stanley wrenches with USA craftsman, blackhawk, SK, & a USA made Napa.

Sockets still need work have gained lots of nicer USA made stuff but no complete sets yet

Ratchets - USA made craftsman now outside fo a few

screwdrivers - found some usa made craftsman and klein

pliers - channellock brand used

no reason to buy new unless you need it right now

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1718705]

>>1718651
A lot of that stuff is boomer memes that aren’t nearly as nice as modern Taiwan stuff. US made Craftsman drivers are meh, a lot of Channellock too. And the old Craftsman ratchets are so terrible to use compared to some newer Gearwrench. If you do use those, make sure you get the ones with the metal selector switch, they started getting a lot cheaper in like early or mid 00s when they did the plastic selector switches.

[Anonymous No.1718756]

I'm really thinking about all this more theoretically than anything. I think it would be cool to have a scatter plot that had quality on one axis and price on another. Price is easy to find but comparing differences in quality is a bit tougher.

I wonder how many of these different tools are made in the same factory and what the true differences in metallurgy and QC are.

[Anonymous No.1718780]

>>1718705
Most of the time it isn't the tool but the user.

[Anonymous No.1718785]

>>1718257
yard sale
garage sale
flea market

these are the places where you should be buying your tools at. everything else is either a massive scam or garbage-tier tools.

"middle ground", in pretty much everything, is gone. these days, you can either buy top-of-the-line stuff at huge prices or shit-tier garbage that's rebranded and repackaged in million different ways. those are the only ways that companies can stay in business.

[THe_KvD !ZNBx60Gj/k No.1718890]

>>1718780
No, Craftsman 36t box ratchets just kind of suck to use. When you finally try something else, even mid-range Taiwan stuff, it’s such a huge difference.

Go spend $20 on a Gearwrench 84T basic 3/8” ratchet from Advance Auto and you will never go back to the stubby Craftsmans. That extra 2” and smooth action is a giant difference and it’s nice being able use a 3/8” ratchet on nuts >15mm without a cheater bar.

[Anonymous No.1719936]

>>1718705
I'm buying mostly 80's or earlier c-man but have been selling most of that and keeping the blackhawk, sk & proto

[Anonymous No.1721407]

>>1718257
Local brand with lifetime warranty your local professional mechanics swear by.

[Anonymous No.1721412]

>>1718890
Stubby ratchets exist for reasons. I am most often using them in confined space where longer handles just won't fit.

[Anonymous No.1721436]

I had Dollar tree screw drivers for 15 years. They are fine. So I would say it depends on the tool. Obviously most dollar tree tools are shit. I was 17 when I bought them.

[Anonymous No.1721446]

>>1718257
>best value
Economics 101 here. This is important. Value is something subjective that depends on the preferences of each individual, not on anything intrinsic to the thing being valued. The concept is fundamentally non-objective.

So the value of a tool depends on what a person wants it for. Functional use varies. Some people have preferences for aesthetics or build quality independent of function. Local warranty support may matter. And value is only one part fo the consideration. Cost effectiveness also depends on budget and service life needs. These naturally vary from person to person.

That said, I understand what you're asking. For most normal people doing DIY stuff, midrange options are generally good. That avoids most of the cost of high-end tools while avoiding most of the problems of discount tools. Something like Craftsman or Tekton for sockets, say, or Ryobi for cordless power tools. Harbor Freight tier tools can be perfectly serviceable, particularly simpler non-power tools where there are few points of failure, and loose quality control is less likely to bite you later. Conversely, better brands tend to have more reliability and better fit and finish, which is more important for complex tools and where high performance is needed.

So maybe you have a few Tekton channellock pliers for general use, but have a pair of Knipex Cobras for when you really need to bite into a stuck nut, say, but don't need that often enough to justify a whole set of them. I have a bunch of Hyper Tough bar clamps for light clamping, and the low cost makes it inexpensive to throw dozens of them at something if I need a distributed clamping force. I also have a few top of the line Irwin heavy duty bar clamps for when things need more concentrated convincing, and a High-Lift Extreme jack that can provide several tons of clamping or spreading if needed. Optimizing your tool selection to meet your needs and budget takes careful consideration.

[Sage !n/ZnkB9jUw No.1721458]

>>1721412
The Craftsman ratchets aren’t stubby, they just suck.

[Anonymous No.1721519]

Honestly, most of my toolbox is Kobalt stuff I got at Lowes. It works great, though I guess they recently changed their warranty details. Thankfully I haven’t had to replace anything.