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Make sure you scour pawn shops for Wright stuff. I’ve gotten a lot of wrenches, ratchets, and sockets for next to nothing because most aren’t familiar with the brand.

For your scissors, consider the classic Klein electrician's scissors. Forged steel, not stamped, with hardened blades. You can get them in nickel coated or stainless, bare or with plastic-dipped handles. Tough and durable, yet versatile and precise. This is the standard tool for pros who...

Ooh! Celebrating your deal, but crying for the guy who pawned that Martin!

I got one of these, too, for my Troy-bilt Horse lawn tractor. It was cheaper than a rebuild kit and I needed to get up and running fast. Much quicker to install a new one than to clean and rebuild one. I only expected it to last long enough to give myself some time to rebuild the original. Two...

Here's my latest haul. 6 3/8 drive Snap-on metric impact sockets and 4 Craftsman USA-made "g" sockets that look like they've never been used – for a grand total of $5. The guys behind the counter were whispering about the the Snap-ons, but they were loose in a bin, not in a set. Again, $5...

Here ya go! Probably my most used tool is a pair of Channellock 449 9 1/2 inch High Leverage Diagonal Cutting Pliers. Tougher than nails! Literally! They will cut nails, but because they are offset, they will usually pry them right out. I use them for auto and lawn mower repair (cotter pins...

Love my 3870. I finally was able to grab one in good shape on eBay at a reasonable price. The only complaint I might have is that the chrome seems to chip off too easily. 3870s that are in mint condition go for exorbitant prices on eBay. The ones that are more reasonable often have bad damage to...

Figured I might might throw in here. Just yesterday, I was looking for a decent 1/2" 3/8 drive socket at a pawn shop and found a Husky USA and a Stanley USA in the same bin. They are identical, except one says Husky and one says Stanley. Gotem both, just because. I hardly have any matching...

Just paying it forward, I guess. Love this forum because of the range of needs and experience amongst posters. Today, I was organizing and trying to figure out what else I might really need vs what I want (which is everything, of course). I'm sure there's always someone coming along like I did...

While there are some stories of failure in ratcheting wrenches in high torque situations here in this thread, ratcheting wrenches might be stronger than they are often given credit for, when it comes to breaking loose fasteners. Of course, it depends on the mechanism and the quality of...

It's not surprising that the DeWalts have the same open, non-slip design as the Protos, since they are both Stanley owned. I find that the DeWalts have slightly more squared edges on the beam than the Protos. The DeWalts have pretty decent chrome compared to similarly priced wrenches, but I...

I'm sure the original poster has long since made his decision, but I figured I might chip in, anyway. Proto has two lines of ASD USA-made combo wrenches. The standard ASD line has matte-finished chrome and is more standard in length. Fairly comparable to Wright, but the Wright matte finish is...

I know this thread isn't too recent, but I figured I'd chip in my 2¢ worth. I'm a shade tree mechanic, more out of necessity than love, but I do love to have great tools to get the work done. I buy most of my tools used or deeply discounted through eBay and by frequenting local pawn shops. I...

Any "proper" pair of linesman pliers has a slight gap between the jaws, as you noticed. That is because the tip is made for grasping and twisting copper wire to do splices and such without crushing the wire. However, the cutting blades should touch evenly across their edges. If yours don't...

Finally got an SK 3870. There's nothing wrong with my GearWrench 3/8 roto, but I couldn't resist. Pretty good shape. Like I said before, I've noticed that a lot of the 3870's have chrome chipping on them. Which I always thought was weird since SK is known for their excellent chrome. This one...

I didn't think about calling Wright. But I found that second 3400 so soon that it didn't really matter. I kind of like having one with the old 41-tooth mechanism. I probably won't use it much, but it's really smooth and actually has less backdrag than the dual-pawl version. Like I said, I used...

Thanks for all the swell responses. I usually overthink these things. I appreciate the feedback. I haven't bought anything yet, but probably will fairly soon. There's a small deck in my future, so I can see cutting notches in posts and some trimming where a circular saw won't work. But the more...

I've got a perfectly fine pair of high quality linesman pliers, but they aren't Kleins. Like I said in an earlier post, I bought an old pair of M. Klein & Sons linesman pliers on eBay, just to see what the fuss is all about. I got them and cleaned them up some. They had a fair bit of surface...

Pardon me for dredging up an old thread, but I've been cleaning up some tools I acquired from pawn shops. I've found that chain lube satisfies a lot of desired functions. It functions as a mild solvent and rust remover when it's wet. Once it dries, it functions as a rust inhibitor and...

It's funny. Those tootsie roll handles look low quality, but they work quite well in the real world. They fit really well into your hand, even though they are short – they fit into the palm and your pinky, ring, and middle fingers. You can get a lot of torque on these things, and they are tough...