Bolster
Well-known member
Thought it would be fun to see people’s most useful hand tools; hope you post your favorites here so we can see them. Currently I am restoring a house, which has a major influence on the hand tools I’m selecting. (If I were building a car, it’d be a different set, obviously.) Anyway, these are the hand tools I currently can’t live without. Wish I could permanently attach them to my body so they were available at all times.
- 12V Makita Driver. Nothing spectacular about it except that I’m always reaching for it, and that it always works without a hiccup or complaint…
- Blue Point Mini Ratchet BTWS. Humble little tool that has saved my bacon on many occasions. Wish the knurling didn’t extend to the edge of the thumb button, as it kinda tears up your thumb when pressing down. I actually use this in place of a 1/4" ratchet (with hex-end nut drivers) quite a lot.
- Spyderco Caly III Knife. Has been used to death, and still looks and works like new. VG-10 “super steel” has excellent edge holding, and yet relatively easy to sharpen on my Sharpmaker. Solid lockback design (don’t like linerlocks, have been cut by them when the linerlock fails.) Clips away in the pocket and you don’t know it’s there till you need it several dozen times a day.
- Snap-on Stubby Ratching Screwdriver SGDMRC1. Need I elaborate on what a handy tool this is? No, I don’t. I can’t live without it.
- Deep Etched Metal Rule. For precision measurement of small distances, you can’t rely on a sloppy tape measure. This one is a US-made General, with inches on the back. Do not get a rule with a “printed on” scale. Won’t last. Must be deep etched. I often use the metric side because it's so much easier to calculate. This rule often gets used in conjunction with a metric Stanley tape measure (which I forgot to include in the picture).
- Sharpie Pen. So useful when taking something apart, to label how it goes back together. This is a silver one which works great on dark parts.
- Knipex Insulated Needle Nose Pliers. Just the ticket for electrical work. Maybe a little too nice to use? Use them anyway!
- Sliding Square. This is not a nice one, it’s just the one I have. Should upgrade to a Starrett. Extremely useful even though it's only an Empire. If it had metric on one side it would substitute for the General metal rule. Suggestions on replacement would be appreciated.
- Antique Awl. Use it all the time to pilot holes.
- 12V Makita Driver. Nothing spectacular about it except that I’m always reaching for it, and that it always works without a hiccup or complaint…
- Blue Point Mini Ratchet BTWS. Humble little tool that has saved my bacon on many occasions. Wish the knurling didn’t extend to the edge of the thumb button, as it kinda tears up your thumb when pressing down. I actually use this in place of a 1/4" ratchet (with hex-end nut drivers) quite a lot.
- Spyderco Caly III Knife. Has been used to death, and still looks and works like new. VG-10 “super steel” has excellent edge holding, and yet relatively easy to sharpen on my Sharpmaker. Solid lockback design (don’t like linerlocks, have been cut by them when the linerlock fails.) Clips away in the pocket and you don’t know it’s there till you need it several dozen times a day.
- Snap-on Stubby Ratching Screwdriver SGDMRC1. Need I elaborate on what a handy tool this is? No, I don’t. I can’t live without it.
- Deep Etched Metal Rule. For precision measurement of small distances, you can’t rely on a sloppy tape measure. This one is a US-made General, with inches on the back. Do not get a rule with a “printed on” scale. Won’t last. Must be deep etched. I often use the metric side because it's so much easier to calculate. This rule often gets used in conjunction with a metric Stanley tape measure (which I forgot to include in the picture).
- Sharpie Pen. So useful when taking something apart, to label how it goes back together. This is a silver one which works great on dark parts.
- Knipex Insulated Needle Nose Pliers. Just the ticket for electrical work. Maybe a little too nice to use? Use them anyway!
- Sliding Square. This is not a nice one, it’s just the one I have. Should upgrade to a Starrett. Extremely useful even though it's only an Empire. If it had metric on one side it would substitute for the General metal rule. Suggestions on replacement would be appreciated.
- Antique Awl. Use it all the time to pilot holes.
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The Incra stuff is pricey but can't be beat for accuracy or repeatability which is great if you are not completely organized and discover you need one more of something after you have moved the fence. The Excaliber overarm blade guard makes cutting even MDF virtually dustless.
Seriously, nice stuff you got there. Puts my crappy garage to shame. 