"Good Enough" Shop/Auto Hand Tools

[Hannibal]

It is a strange thing. If you experience enough failures, you will eventually accumulate a fair amount of knowledge.

Let's just say I've experienced more failures than most folks.

[Thundarstick]

All I was saying was I had no idea that there are open end wrenches with tiny teeth cut into back of the jaws that bite into the bolt head when the corners begin to be rounded off. Sorta like a mini pipe wrench. Maby they will still round out a grade 5 because the steel isn't as strong, but all the demonstrations I saw where with a grade 8.

[Petrol & Powder]

Don't overlook pawn shops when you have some time to kill. They often have top-end tools for sale at pretty reasonable prices. I have sorted through the box-o-tools that some pawn shops have and found Snap-On and Mac tools in there.

I've done the pawn shop crawl and it can produce good results IF you're knowledgeable.
1. Pawn shop pricing is often NOT good and most of the good deals you get in a pawn shop occur when the pawn shop made a mistake in their pricing. A used tool that is 95% the cost of an identical new old probably isn't worth the time needed to dig through the box of junk in order to find it. A used tool that is 110% of the cost of new one is decidedly NOT worth the price. I've seen used tools in pawn shops that were priced OVER new retail prices on many occasions.
2. You have to know what it is you're looking at. Just because something is old doesn't mean it was higher quality when made. There have always been cheap, low quality tools. The trick is to find the good deals on the high quality tools.

Finding good pawn shop deals can be done and if you have the time, it can actually be a little fun. Kind of like finding that seldom used "old .22 rifle" at a garage sale that turns out to be a Remington model 37 with a perfect bore.

[mold maker]

The only bargain I ever found at a pawn shop was the exit door. They usually make a better profit on buying and selling than most retail sales. I do enjoy perusing their wares though to pass time and always hope to see something they mispriced. It does happen but not often.
I once spotted a rather rare $20. gold coin priced as a common minted one. The owner gave me a half roll of silver dimes for pointing it out to him. Honesty pays.

[Lloyd Smale]

Company name can fool you. I remember back in the early 70s proto and Blackhawk tools were considered junk. today there both considered darned good tools.

I believe I only worked at one place that the Snap on truck stopped at. I thought there tools we're a little rich for me but I did buy a few of the most used tools from them. I liked Craftsman and Proto but I could only get them mail order from Sears and Grainger. I found that USA made Napa tools are a very good quality and there is a Napa store in most towns. The local Napa would have a yearly farm sale and the tools we're greatly reduced in price.

[alamogunr]

Not sure why Proto and Blackhawk were considered "junk" but I bought my first wrench set in 1965, about 6 months out of college. It was a set of seven Proto metric wrenches so I could do minor maintenance on my '65 Volkswagen. I am still using those wrenches. Now they are used, along with several added sizes, as much as or more than my inch standard wrenches although now, I prefer to let the dealer do my maintenance.

[HangFireW8]

Proto has never been junk. But they are an industrial brand not auto tools backed by a sales truck that visits mechanics on site.

Blackhawk is now a Taiwan import brand. Good stuff, I prefer their take on Vise Grips. Before that they were top end US made tools. Again not sure where "junk" came from... but I suspect the usual suspect, a certain truck brand talking trash about everyone else.

[starmac]

As far as I know proto was considered a top brand. they never, as far as I know got into the specialty market, preffering to work the industrial market rather than automotive.

In the early days blackhawk was good tools, then went to pure junk for a few years, not sure how good they are these days.

[mold maker]

Does anybody remember "Globe Master"?
Talk about junk. They even had a table full in the local grocery store. On some pieces, the packaging was tougher than the contents.

[jonp]

Craftsman Socket Set, Screwdrivers etc Made In USA I bought in Canada of all places. Some Kobalt impact sockets for a Kobalt Air Gun my wife bought me for Christmas. Works good. Most other stuff is HF as I don't see spending money for stuff I'm going to use once in a while. My air tools except for the gun are Bostich as I got them used from a friend that was a contractor. Rebuilt them with a kit and they work great.

I should say that if I were making my living with these hand tools I would not shop HF but pick up quality stuff probably through Yard Sales, Ebay etc.. except for dummy tools like crowbars, pry bars etc. I do have a 1/2in drill driver I bought from HF. Punched a bunch of holes in a concrete footing for anchor bolts and it works fine.

[Reverend Al]

Maybe you could find some tools in this flyer that would be of use to you?

[starmac]

I literally hate cheap pry bars, heel bars, alignment bars, etc they are less than useless as far as I am concerned.

[jonp]

Tell me that whale gutting knife wouldn't be useful somewhere.
Starmac: they work for the times I need them. If I was using them everyday then quality would be the order of the day. I kept a cheapo socket set in my truck for years and still have it. Got me off the side of the road many times..along with duct tape and zip ties with an occasional bungee cord thrown in for good measure

[starmac]

I keep cheap impact sockets in the truck, they do not fit as good, but will get the job done without fear of breaking them, I will not keep a cheap ratchet with them, too many busted knuckles for that, then you sit there with a socket you can't use anyway. lol

There for a while, and may still do it, but several cheap tool companies were building snap on look alike bars with the plastic handle, I have grabbed more than one and snapped i off, heel and alignment bars generally bend too easy for my tastes. It is rare that I have spent big bucks on prybars, but have a boat load of good us made ones I have picked up here and there.

[Omega]

I literally hate cheap pry bars, heel bars, alignment bars, etc they are less than useless as far as I am concerned.

I was putting in some corner posts and no matter where I chose to dig, I'd hit a large rock, my post hole digger just couldn't manage. So I went to HF, and got this cheap, by half of most places I checked, bar.
https://www.harborfreight.com/17-lb-...per-93612.html

I figured I'd beat the mess out of it but no, the limestone rocks were no match. Cut my time in half at least putting in the rest of the posts. And since it's just a bar, I expect for it to last me a lifetime.

[Bazoo]

The older Kobalt tools were made by snap-on. I had a run of sockets, and screwdriver set. Dang tough. Another lesser known brand, that I have run into that I thought was pretty good was Easco. My favorite pawn shop in town sells USA made wrenches for 2.00 each I think, and others for 1 or something. I've bought several, need to go back.

[M-Tecs]

When I made a living with tools to purchased only high end stuff. Recently I need some sets for the truck and cabin. Lose to theft is a very real possibility. Most of the big box stores carry cost effective tools that still have a lifetime warranty. Those are the one I purchased. I have used some a far amount and they are holding up well.

[Lloyd Smale]

I'm not sure but will say my kobalt ratchets are very similar to snap on.

The older Kobalt tools were made by snap-on. I had a run of sockets, and screwdriver set. Dang tough. Another lesser known brand, that I have run into that I thought was pretty good was Easco. My favorite pawn shop in town sells USA made wrenches for 2.00 each I think, and others for 1 or something. I've bought several, need to go back.

[EDG]

One of my uncles was in the US ARMY right after the Korean War. He was trained to maintain heavy generator engines. He got out of the army with a nice set of Proto combination wrenches in a OD green cloth roll. I have never seen a single junk Proto tool.