Cheap vs Expensive tools

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As of now, the nicest tools I have are my US made Craftsmans with my name laser etched on them. My 3/8" is slowly dying though despite the fact that I "saved" it many times by using my cheaper less sentimental 3/8"... Such a shame.

While I appreciate nice quality things, I am poor and need to watch how I spend my money. A Snap-On ratchet used to simply keep my Jeep on the road isn't a wise move IMO.

I am sure I can find a decent quality US made ratchet for around $40, but honestly the warranty hassle is what keeps me away. HF, Lowes, random parts stores etc. would all be easier to exchange a broken tool.

There is a Saturday morning swap meet every weekend that I have been meaning to go to though. I am not above buying used things and if I can get a good deal on a quality tool, why not?
 
Buying "the best" is satisfying, but (in the UK at least) there is a significant snag.

They get knicked.

Not long before leaving for the UK I had my toobox (mostly Hilka, which were good when I bought them, some Britool, Sykes-Pickavant and Halfords Pro) swiped from my broken-into car, and its happened before. As an apartment dweller forced to work in the street this is an unavoidable hazard, and I came to the conclusion that it unfortunately contra-indicated the best tools.

In Taiwan that risk is very much lower, but if I have to return to the UK I'd probably have to leave tools behind, so I've gone fairly cheap unknown (to me) stuff (AKRO, Black Hand) probably Chinese but they might be Taiwanese, and some Stanley which are probably Chinese and seem to have the worst price/quality ratio but very shiny chrome.

Slightly to my surprise, they've been OK. I've broken some screwdriver T-handles and that's it. I've always got the option to buy a one-off "best" item (usually King Tony) if I come across an especially tough nut (provided I don't smash my knuckles finding out, of course).

Thats different from sourcing all your tools "as needed" which would ensure that, for an extended time, you are guaranteed to never have the right spanner.

In the abscence of autojumbles/used tools etc, which aren't available here, it'd also be much more expensive than buying sets.

It could be that because corrosion is less of a problem here, tools don't need to be so good. My car was unusually rusty, but I gave it a good spray down with diesel/oil when I bought it, which might have helped.

The exception is motorcycles, which I hadn't really worked on in the UK, and which are chronically afflicted by [censored] little cross-head screws that get welded into alloy engine casings with corrosion.

I eventually stumped up for the most expensive Japanese hit-it-with-a-hammer (I have to add that for an American audience. In the Yook its assumed) impact driver I could find, (Ko-ken "Attack Driver" - Tora! Tora!, and Banzai!) and discovered that (contrary to what Draper had taught me) impact drivers can actually work.

Good tools are just...nice, unfortunately.
 
I have a set of combo wrenches that say they were made in India, they have served me well for over 50 years. Some of the chrome has worn off down to the copper plate, but it has nothing to do with how well they work!

Yes they are forged, not from punched sheet steel.
 
I found a flat head screw driver at a junkyard out near S. Bend that was in about that shape. The chrome had worn off, but you can tell it had been through a lot. The head was still in great condition too.

Cant tell the brand though.
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
What is kind of saddening is having a primo, pristine high-end collection of well cared for tools that find no use after the owner's passing.



This doesn't always have to be the case. I see it a bit differently especially if there are males in the family line.

For example, my grandfather worked for a single Ford dealership for 40 years. He marked his tools with a "w". I have been using some of his old tools for my entire adult life now since he died back in the late 1970's. I remember with fondness once early in my attempts in working on my car when struggled and still couldn't get a fastener loose. A bit later that day I changed over to grandpa's old tools and it seemed something magical happened as the bolt backed right out. Regardless, there can be something special about using a tool that was your grandfather, dad or uncle's.

My daughter got her first car last year and moved out of state. Included in the small collection of tools that I sent with her was a ratchet and extension with the "w" mark on them. I told her those were used by her great-grandfather because she wasn't born until 15 years after his death.
 
Fluid extractor is a tool, right ?

I bought a cheap Topsider in 2000 when I bought my E430, I didn't use it because I had 4 years free maintenance with MB at that time.

I loaned it to my BIL, he used it to do oil change in his BMW and MB. He said he had some problems the first time and it totally broke the second use, he could not finish the work with it. I think I paid somewhere around $40-50 for it, and it had been used for less than 2 times.

I then bought Mityvac 7201 for around $60-70. He used it several times and I had been using for more than 10 years to do these: oil changes, ATF and bleeding brake. Total usages is about 30-40 times so far without failure.

Some tools are much better than others, and if you can use it for many jobs it is much better value than a cheap one that broke on second use.

I had very bad experience with Topsider, that is why when someone asks about fluid extractor I try to steer that person away from it.
 
not if you shop estate sales like i do.
lots of high quality tools and even radio gear to be found at them.
many of my tools come from estate sales and flea markets.the rest inherited.
harbor freight stuff is great where the risk of loss,theft,destruction, is high.disposable stuff for single use or infrequent use.
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28
What is kind of saddening is having a primo, pristine high-end collection of well cared for tools that find no use after the owner's passing.
 
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