Hand Tools: The highest quality/value

[mrblond]

I don't have Snapon tool one except for a Blue Point oil filter socket for the giant oil filter on the Cummins. Works good too, better fit, better then the identical Chinese knock offs from Pep Boys. The knock offs are too tight and all though they look the same they are not identical.

I always wanted some Snapon sockets/wrenches with a pivot head 3/8 and 1/2 drive etc.

Whats starting to bug me is the new style bolt I keep running into with a star like pattern to be used with 12point sockets or the boxed end of a combination wrench only.

btw, a good set of 14 combination wrenches are really life savers.

 

[Scott Brady]

Does anyone have experience with Proxxon tools?

 

[Streakerfreak]

Does anyone have experience with Proxxon tools?

Wow freaky is that... I just ordered a Proxxon 9-piece Offset Allen Key Set not more then a half hour ago from Best Rest Products. I was looking around at tools and thought I would give another company a try. I don't know if I would go ahead and buy a tool kit from them. From everything I have seen on line they are not the best.

 

[RgrBox]

I have one of th ebest sets I've ever owned in my life that I picked up over here in Switzerland.. Swiss brand, "That as of this moment has left my mind". Cost a bundle but I've never broken one of them. And I've put them threw the ringer.. along with friends who've borrowed them from them to time.. I need to get some more stuff sooner then later to complet me kit..

RB

 

[Bad Voodoo]

Does anyone have experience with Proxxon tools?

Gotta say, I've always been a fan of and have a fair share of GearWrench stuff, but I'd have to purchase a la carte to come up with a 1/4-1/2" inch drive metric-only set as relatively comprehensive as the one Scott pictured from Proxxon. They have a pretty spiffy 1/4" drive set that comes in a 10x5x3" powdercoat box for about $60 bucks, seemingly perfect for a touring bike:

For those interested, I'd bet good money that GearWrench is something close to the best dollar value for quality tools going these days, and they have a "free tools" special running right now!

 

[DH2002]

I got a Craftsman;s mechanic set a few years ago and I love it. I even completly destoyed a ratchet by using it as a breaker bar and I walked into Sears handed it to them they walked over to the shelf grabbed a new one and that was it. I grew up with Craftsman and I have to say I most likely will never switch.

 

[biglos454]

ive used craftsman and snap on tools my whole life and i cant complain about either 1. i tend to use craftsman for everyday stuff and most of my specialty tools are snap on. also ive recently started using Armstrong tools. that brand is dominant at the chemical plant that i work at and ive put some pretty serious abuse on them and never broken any. ive even used a 1 inch ratchet as a breaker bar to break some very old and rusted flange bolts on a 12 inch pipe. jumped on the ratchet and it held my big **s no problem lol. any1 know if they sell commercially or just to the industrial market?

 

[ExpeditionJeep]

Interesting thread and something I have thought a lot about over the years doing a few different gigs including a pro mechanic (Chrysler tech for most of those years) and as a result I have a lot of high end Snap on and similar tools as well as a few Craftsman hold outs. In my opinion it comes down to this, if I am making my living as a flat rate tech I need my tools to not break in the middle of the job as this will cost me money and time. Beyond this, the Snap on truck will pull up once a week to solve any issues I may have encountered and that is greatly more convenient than heading to sears, home depot or lowes for a replacement. For the average home mechanic, it probably doesn't matter if your 1/4 drive ratchet will take 75ft/lbs before failing (MAC used to build one like that, not sure if they still do), but it will cost a pro money if that ratchet fails and I believe that is the most important difference. That said, for a true back country rig that can't take duplicates of tools for space/weight reasons I would go high end all the way. After all,what good is the replacement part if the tool to install it breaks during the process. Deepest, darkest Africa seems like Snap on country to me.
Marc

 

[GCRad1]

Beta tools

WOW! What an AWESOME THREAD - TOOLS!!!!

OK, I have had a little time around the motorsports paddock, trips to WRC, Autosport, etc. and if I had "all the money" I would have to have BETA TOOLS for my garage kit!!!

While Beta does have a US importer, it takes time for people to change. I grew up using Craftsmen, all of us have!!! But it is fun to research and know there is better and or something else to dream about. We are all passionate about tools! So here is "tools" + MOTORSPORTS!!!

BETA MOTORSPORTS:
"There is simply no other hand tool company in the world that can claim an international racing heritage as strong as Beta Utensili. The company, from its home next door to the world famous racing circuit of Monza, has been directly involved in motor sports since the early ‘70s."

"Some of the World Championships have been the result of collaborations with such famous F1 teams as, Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, and Brabham. As a matter of fact, over 100 F1 drivers, including world champions: Niki Lauda, Mario Andretti, Jody Scheckter, Keke Rosberg, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill, and Michael Schumacher have trusted their cars to mechanics using Beta. Involvement in Motorcycle racing has contributed even more to the list with World Championships in almost every category and a list of riders that includes, among others, Barry Sheen, Kenny Roberts Sr., Kevin Schwantz, Kenny Roberts Jr., and Valentino Rossi."

++: http://www.procarestores.com/company/index.php
"On January 8th, 2004, Scuderia Ferrari and Beta Utensili announced that they had established a technical and commercial agreement."
- sorry FALCOM

A quote of BETA's history:
"Beta Utensili is widely recognized as one of the great tool factories of the world. As with most great companies, the story of Beta Utensili began with the vision of one man. It was during the 1880’s when a young Alessandro Ciceri founded a metal forge in northern Italy."

TOOL BIBLE in hardback form:

I have one of these books and it is just SPECTACULAR!!! It's big, it's thick and HEAVY! Not sure if these are even available any more as the book is printed over-sea's and where shipped over - additional expense!

I do have a small assembly of Beta Tools at my office and just their screwdrivers alone are simply great!

You will see a lot of GP motorcycle mechanics using their t-handles and ratchets too. It's all trickle down from motorsports... in the mean time, start checking out their site: http://www.procarestores.com/product/general_catalog/index.php


And yes, I do not work or have any affiliation with them other than I knew the guy who started the US importing of the tools while I was working in motorsports. You might bump into them at the PRI show in Florida.

While I am waiting on my fully funded global adventure tour sponsorship... HAHAHA...
I will keep using my Craftsmen Tools, a couple of Snap-On pieces and of course my Beta screwdrivers and pliers.

sorry for the PR job, but yea, I'm passionate about these kinds of things too!

 

[Yudda]

Beta Tools !

Here in Israel they are well known....i worked with a garage that only worked on the armored vehicles of the different national embassies. US, Canada etc....
as you can imagine, we have quite a few armored Suburbans running around.

The shop only had Snap On and Beta. The shop looked more like a Laboratory than a garage.

In downtown Tel Aviv the Beta rep has a store.... & bottom line......
Incredible tools.......with incredible prices.

One day.

rob

 

[XJINTX]

I have and have used Craftsman for years (I'm Old) and no real compliants. I do a lot of work but not now nor was I ever a professional and had to rely on them. That said here has always been my issue.

I have an adult son and both now and when he was a teen he liked working on cars and trucks with me or his friends.

Tools always seemed to get mixed up or even turned up missing. Not on purpose ( I hope) just that everyone has Craftsman and they get mixed or somebody does not realize they grabbed wrong (not theirs) tools.

If I had to start all over again I'd probaly move to higher end tools just to prevent the hassles and have the quality provided.

NOTE: I am not complaining about Craftsman or blaming anyone... heck I have some tools I know are not mine

 

[ExpoMike]

Early in my wrenching days, I mostly used Craftsman and still have a fair amount of them. A buddy who had access to a Snap On truck started getting me replacement things (ratches, screwdrivers, sockets, etc.) for Christmas and birthday presents. Once I started using them, man did I feel a difference in my work. I love the handle shape of the Snap On rachets and reduced my hand fatige greatly. I also found Snap On screwdrivers (mainly Philips tip) would get screws out that my Craftsman's would only strip the head off. Also the handle design of the Snap On drivers didn't give me blisters like the Craftsman ones did.

As the years have gone by, I have replaced much of my high use items with Snap On and buy Craftsman, Allen, SK and a few other brands for low/one time use items. I mainly use Gear Wrench for my open/box wrenches and my Craftsman ones are backup. Air tools mainly IR but a coupel Snap On items.

One thing I really like about Snap On sockets is the Flank Drive build of them. They place more load on the flats of the nut/bolt and not on the points. Less likely to round off and more force transfered, more likely to loosen, especially old, rusty bolts/nuts. I have split a couple Craftsman sockets.

I do have some Harbor Freight stuff but those are very low use items or hard to screw up items like a dead blow hammer or die stamps.

I have been looking at picking up a "set" of tools to build up a kit for the Jeep. Bad part is most kits, though good priced, don't have the larger size stuff which adds $$$ to the overall cost and I then end up with a bunch of small size things I can't use too. Figure I'll piece everything together over time.

 

[BIGdaddy]

I'm a craftsman guy. I have two sets that were handed down to me that have handled 99% of my work.

They're easy to replace, comfortable and don't cost an arm and a leg.

my .02 cents

 

[luk4mud]

Craftsmen in the garage, a mix of Crescent brand (Costco special) and HF on the trail. The Crescent brand has 5+ years on it and has actually held up pretty well and when I leave a socket on a rock somewhere I don't cry much.

 

[Scott Brady]

Any more feedback on the Proxxon brand?