^ This. While I've sold most of my newer stuff after leaving wrench-turning as a career behind, I still own some pieces of snap-on that are easily as old as I am and they still perform flawlessly.

For those trashing one brand in favor of another... Here's an interesting read: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/a...hp/t-2228.html

TLDR, everything comes from one of three houses.

Here's my two cents as a chronic tool-buyer... Put the majority of your tool budget towards the things you will use the most often.

About 85% of my sockets and wrenches are Craftsman from 15-20 years ago. The other 15% is comprised of Matco, Snap-on, Proto, and Harbor Freight. My junkyard kit, with the exception of a Snap-on 3/8" cordless impact and cordless screwdriver, is 100% harbor freight, and I have yet to have a single issue with HF's hand tools. Their reputation suffers largely at the hands of their crappy power tools, and their lifetime replacement warranty is as good as anyone else's.

Things I wouldn't buy from harbor freight: pliers and screwdrivers. Extra money spent in this area will benefit you greatly. I am very partial to Klein for both of these items, but I also have screwdrivers by Matco and Snap-on that I will never part with. Knipex (Germany) makes some really outstanding pliers as well, although they get pricey. Another really good brand for pliers is Channellocks (blue handles, found at Home Depot, not sure if lowes still sells them. Lowes seems to have declared war against any hand tool that isn't kobalt)

I've also noticed some hand tool offerings popping up from Milwaukee. I'm not sure who is making them and I haven't bought any yet but the quality looks good, and if it's on par with their power tools, they should be pretty great.

Another thing to drop extra $ on and never look back: Files. Good Nicholson files(lowes or home derpot) work great. I have a set of files from Snap-on, however, that are hands down the best I have ever used. I could sharpen a sledge hammer with these things.

Bottom line... Buy what you like and works for you, just know that in a lot of categories, you get what you pay for.

 

I have this set and couldn't be happier with it.
Professional 301 Piece Mechanic's Tool Kit
http://m.harborfreight.com/professio...-tool-kit-6931 plus with a 20% off coupon it's even cheaper.
Take in mind it lacks a good set of wrenches, 1/4 extensions, and 12 point sockets. With this kit you can pretty much fix anything. Down side case sucks and is heavy to carry around if you have to.

Craftsmans tools have been going down the drain since about 09 when they brought out the new style of Evo tools the black and silvers ones. Recently the last year none of there tools have the made in the USA stamp anymore. Don't get me wrong craftsman are great tools if you know what to buy, but is the one thing that is keeping sears alive today.

Matco, snap on, mac, Cornwell, and sk have been around as long time as well but you also pay a pretty price for the name also. Are they worth it? Yes and no.

Husky and kobalt are also good sets both have pros and cons.

It also comes down to if you break something how long is it going to take till you can get a replacement. Lowe's, home depot, sears and harbor freight are all over, so replacement is somewhat easier.

As for the rest you have to find either a tooltruck or a distributor to either replace or repair your broken tool. If you work in a shop it much easier as they come around once a week. But can take up to a month if they have to order parts.

Get what you can afford you can always upgrade plus you can never have enough tools.

 

Agreed. HF's hand tools are fine, with the exception of screwdrivers and pliers. Channellocks and Vice-Grips for any type of pliers. Worth the extra money. Any Milwaukee stuff I've bought has been exceptional. HF's power tools are junk.
I have that same HF toolkit as my junkyard and in-the-jeep box. I broke one screwdriver, (using it as a prybar, so my bad), and a breaker bar (easily replaced). Well worth the money, and yeah, the wrenches are lacking, but I got an SAE and metric set from HF, that I keep in a separate toolkit, with all my Channellocks, Vice-Grips, and the like...buy wisely, and you can have a decent kit for not too much scratch.

 

Adam buy whichever brand has more stores in you area for ease of warranty returns. I would not worry about Sears/Craftsman if Sears does go under someone will buy the rights to Craftsman tools and keep them alive.

 

I seem to recall that at one point Sears and Home Depot were in talks to get Craftsman tools into Home Depot to battle Kobalt. Then Kmart bought Sears and started carrying Craftsman tools, and the whole Home Depot thing evaporated.

Kmart bought Sears and formed a new company under the Sears Holdings name, but make no mistake, Kmart is the driving force there. If the company decided to dump the Sears brand, Kmart would still carry Craftsman tools.

If Kmart/Sears Holdings were to go belly up altogether, one of two things would happen: Either Craftsman would spin off as its own company, or another company would jump in and buy Craftsman. Craftsman is already owned by KCD IP, LLC, a Sears Holdings subsidiary that also owns Kenmore and DieHard. It's already packaged up for fairly easy sale or spinoff. Best case scenario would have Home Depot picking them up. Worst case would be one of the Chinese suppliers buying them, but even then I would expect deals to be made with distributors in North America almost immediately.

So I would not worry a whole lot about Craftsman's longevity. The brand will be around, and the warranty will likely be honored by whoever buys it in order to maintain a sense of quality and continuity.

But Kobalt is still better.

 

Back to my OP used tools usually make a good buy and if it happens to be a set with a few pieces missing its a bargaining chip for you. The ones that are missing can be bought as singles for that brand.

I bought a large set of Snap-On tools one time from a guy that loaned his tools out to others the best way to lose them. If his sets had been complete they would have had a used value of 5-6k but I bought everything for $1900 cash. That set started the box (MAC) that is built-into my enclosed race car trailer.

It takes many years to build up a good set of tools and when you buy, buy the best you can afford and consider them a lifetime investment.

 

My favorite tools at work are Klein, one of my favorite brands.

I will second the Milwaukee hand tools, recently bought a set of their Tin Snips. Top notch quality.

 

here's a tip i use when buying tools, find someone you know who is in your local community college. a friend, coworker, relative, or even someone you don't know too well. college students get 50% or more off of snap-on tools, or matco, depending on what the school goes with. i did this before i enrolled in Autotech at my local community college, just bought $6000 worth of tools for around $1900. great warranty as well.

i also agree with the downgrade of craftsman's quality. i use a socket set from them that is twice as old as i am, got it from my grandfather, and all my buddy's have broken newer craftsman tools while mine still hold strong.

at the end of the day, just go with your budget. you don't necessarily need top-quality tools unless you're a professional.

 

too bad canadian tire isn't south of the border.
i have this 400pc mastercraft professional kit, trays fit in my mastercraft tool chest. every piece has a lifetime no questions asked walk in warranty from any canadian tire store across canada.
matter of fact, i have two of these kits, one in my garage and one 320 piece in my shop. i would've gotten two 400 piece sets, but they only had one left.

the 400pc set retails for 700 but are usually on sale for up to 70% off from time to time.

so if you can get across the border anywhere, there is usually a canadian tire store in every city and just keep an eye on their flyer available online at canadiantire.ca

i love klein screwdrivers, but for the price, mastercraft are great and again, every mastercraft tool has a lifetime warranty.

 

I turn wrenches for a living and have snap on, mac etc.most of my everyday tools are kobalt.great warranty no questions asked.i have bought some of the specialty kits kobalt sells and broken components they dont sell separtly and the gave me replacements from a new kit no problem.

 

One way to collect a lot of tools is to buy one every paycheck. I started last year and now I rarely don't have a tool I need

 

There is a Mastercraft brand in the US but from what I've read, the two brands are not related. I have no idea about the quality of the US brand since we don't have Menard's in this area.

 

I was at a large Sears store recently looking at their tools as I needed to replace a socket (2 3/4") that I had broken and a break-over bar also broken by abuse (6' cheater pipe) both were 3/4" drive. I was working on a Tractor at the time when they broke, should have used the 1" drive to begin with but to lazy to go to another bay in the shop and get them.

They replaced them nut the new pieces were more shiny but lighter than the old ones, time will if they hold up as well. But all the newer tools are that way.

 

I've used some of the Mastercraft from Menards. Quality seems to be middle of the road, similar to Craftsman. I used to buy a lot of Craftsman stuff, but my current favorite is Kobalt.