Another What’s The Best….thread

[TheToolEnthusiast]

I got a lot of great feedback on a similar wrench thread so it got me thinking, in your opinions what are the best

Ratchets, Sockets (Chrome and/or Impact), Wrenches, Pliers, Screwdrivers, Locking Pliers, Hammers and maybe air or electric tools?

that money can currently buy? Thank you in advance.

 

[Ton ton]

Klein Spud nut wrenches.

 

[speed bump]

The ones you pay someone else to use.

 

[Finance Guy]

in your opinions what are the best

Ratchets, Sockets (Chrome and/or Impact), Wrenches, Pliers, Screwdrivers, Locking Pliers, Hammers and maybe air or electric tools?

Here is an interesting thread that covered some of this:

Tool brands ranked by quality.

I would like to get peoples thoughts on their top 2 tool brands for each of these categories. 1. Screwdrivers 2. Sockets 3. ratchet handles 4. Pliers 5. Wrenches. Must be from real world experience and not marketing /word of mouth /etc. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

www.garagejournal.com

 

[619DioFan]

Using your money ? - Snap-on

Using my money ? - HF

 

[garfunkle24]

Using your money ? - Snap-on

Using my money ? - HF

There's very little that Snap-on makes the very best of. Consistently pretty good but far from the best in many categories.

It's a complicated question though. I couldn't even narrow it down to brand X makes the best screwdrivers or brand Y makes the best pliers etc. For example pliers; I like Knipex and NWS, definitely so for waterpump pliers, but some people rate Snap-on and Klein cutters more highly (although I like the German stuff TBH). I like PB Swiss, Felo and Wiha screwdrivers but maybe someone like Vessel is better for JIS drivers. I like Snap-on flare nut wrenches but prefer Hazet 600N flat wrenches. And so on and so on...

 

[Finance Guy]

There's very little that Snap-on makes the very best of. Consistently pretty good but far from the best in many categories.

Such as … ?

 

[garfunkle24]

Such as … ?

I added to my prior post but there's plenty of other examples. Pinless impact swivels, various cordless and air tools, adjustable wrenches IMO, pliers and locking pliers...

 

[Finance Guy]

Pinless impact swivels

Used to be Matco ... who now?

various cordless and air tools

Milwaukee and Ingersoll Rand

adjustable wrenches IMO

Irega > Bahco?

pliers

Knipex/NWS > Snap-On ... except long nose?

locking pliers

I thought Snap-On rebranded Grip-On ... who is better?

 

[garfunkle24]

My impact swivels are CMan Pro but the same as the Matco, which I think they still sell? I might be missing your point on that one. Yes I prefer Irega to Bahco. You have me on the locking pliers though. I forgot that Snap-on rebranded Grip-on which is especially dumb as I own some...Seems you agree on the others?

Anyhow, while there's obviously some personal preference involved, my main point was that saying Snap-on makes the best of everything would be simplistic at best.

 

[RivennHewn]

You might get better results ************ than starting another “Best of” thread.

 

[Finance Guy]

I might be missing your point on that one.

No, I was not arguing ... just curious which specific tools you think Snap-On is inferior (relatively speaking), and who the better manufacturer(s) is. My post attempted to summarize the general consensus here and compare to your comments.

You mentioned pliers ... what's your preference for long/needle nose pliers?

 

[garfunkle24]

Besides a few outliers like Engineer screw pliers my pliers are Knipex or NWS. I must have 10+ pairs of Knipex needle nose and a few NWS. I actually really like them all. It really depends on the particular plier but NWS would be my favorite. I do find myself reaching for the Knipex 4-in-1 electrical plier a lot though, even when not doing electrical stuff. I just really like the size and feel. I did have a set of the Snap-on Talon grip ones. I thought the cross-hatch jaws would be good. They didn't hold up for me. YMMV.

 

[Ton ton]

Channel lock linesman pliers are the bomb. Your mileage may vary.

 

[sweet victory]

I thought Snap-On rebranded Grip-On ... who is better?

Snap On now rebrands the USA made Malco Eagle Grips which are friggen awesome.

 

[Finance Guy]

Snap On now rebrands the USA made Malco Eagle Grips which are friggen awesome.

I still far prefer the release mechanism on the Grip-on’s.

 

[ambenz]

There is a lot to be said for the "Ole School Tools" like Craftsman Crown Top and King Seeley.
"They just don't make em like they use to!" seem to still ring true.
Never give up the garage sale hunt but if you have to have new, good luck finding that quality item.

 

[Zewnten]

All tool quality is application specific. Working on PCB's going to space has different tool requirements than cutting greasy zip ties in an engine bay, which is different than cutting hardened wire.

As fror Snap On not always being the best: I have a Snap On air hammer, couldn't drive out a bushing so I grabbed my Atlas Copco, did it no problem.

 

[Walkers]

I bought most of my SO tools decades ago, but have upgraded some, such as ratchets as needed. I definitely prefer SO wrenches, sockets, and ratchets over anything else I have used. Pliers, I have a variety, all were the best I found at the time I purchased. In joy my old Snap On Vacuum grip diagonal cutters, as they are like old friends. My Knipex snap ring pliers are flippin awesome! Have a variety of Channelock that work very well. Screwdrivers, I have the old hard handled SO, I could swap to another brand and not notice much, they are just screwdrivers.

So, are my decades old wrenches the very best? Well, they were state of the art when purchased, they will last me the rest of my life, and then I’ll see if I can take them with me. No sense in replacing them with something else, as there haven’t been that many improvements since mine were new.

 

[garfunkle24]

Those Malco pliers sure seem like high quality tools and checking them out on Amazon the pricing reflects it. I'd like to try some. I am partial to the Grip-on release mechanism though, all the others seem like the "wrong way" to me and my knuckles have had a few disagreements with the release on "regular" Vise-grips when I've had them clamped very tightly on something.

The Snap-on stuff I would be least inclined to trade for anything else are my prybars and heel bars, both regular and indexing.

The roll-pin punches are great but I suspect they are re-labelled Mayhew as many SO punches/chisels are or at least were (the 150 series). The square profile extractors with a twist in the end are good too, up there with my other favorites, the square profile Proto ones. Flank Drive/FD+ wrenches work great but I prefer the beam profile on my Mac and Hazet wrenches. The forged snap-ring pliers are good but I prefer my Knipex precision ones.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

Best ratchets? Snap-on in my opinion.
Sockets: probably Snap-on though I would not pay full price for their chrome sockets impact sockets maybe.
Wrenches: honestly I really like the old Craftsman ones but they can be rough on the hands at times. Snap-on or Capri would take that spot for me if buying today.
Pliers: Snap-on too I much prefer them over the Knipex because I like the grips better and they are available in more colors.
Screwdrivers: Craftsman USA very comfortable handles, smell good and work well. Snap-on hard handles are good as well but pass on the instinct handles.
Locking pliers: used to be Irwin back in the day now it’s Malco.
Hammers: Estwing and Vaughn.
Impacts power: Milwaukee and Earthquake.
Air impacts: Earthquake and Snap-on.

All just my opinion of course. And no I’m not one that believes every tool has to be Snap-on or whatever just some things they do make the best of in my opinion and it’s high quality. Except their power tools never ever cared for them they feel ok but seem underpowered to me.

 

[IndyGarage]

Everybody has limited personal experience - If you've invested in Snap-on, you are likely to say that's the best. If you only buy Ford trucks then you are going to say that's the best.

I've used a lot of tools, but not many brands. Here's the list I've settled on:

Sockets: SK
Ratchets: Wera Zyklop, Wright
Screwdrivers: Felo, Wera, PB Swiss - take your pick - I like PB best to use, but they and Wera take a lot of time to clean up.
Wrenches: Wright
Pliers: Knipex
Vise: Parker, Reed
Cutting tools: Fiskars
Meters: Fluke
Multitool: Leatherman
Gas lawn and garden tools: Husqvarna
12v Cordless tools - Bosch
18v Cordless tools: Makita - Milwaukee is a close second, but nearly every Makita tool is good and they have the widest variety of tools I need
Small gas engines: Honda - pressure washer, lawnmower, snowblower, motorcycles,
Cars: Toyota/Lexus
Car lift: Mohawk
Forklift: Nissan, Toyota

 

[2ndGearRubber]

IMO, on performance and usability alone -

Combo Wrenches - wright grip
Ratchets - snap on dual 80, especially on designs like 18" flex head. SK round heads just -feel- good for me, I really like those.
Extensions - koken with the FAT knurling
Wobble extensions - snap on
Sockets (outright griping power) - Snap on FDX (Too many good sockets to really split hairs beyond that)
Impact sockets (outright gripping power) - Matco non-slip.
Locking pliers - Malco (snap on rebrands now)
Pliers - knipex/snap on/channel lock/tsunda/engineer/wilde/etc. Lots of good ones.
Electric - M12, too cheap for m18 so I use air.

IMO koken wins holding-sockets, much better than magnetic. Wera? has holding function bit sockets, so they're amazing in that category, but my go-to are half cut VIM sockets. Liking my astro pneumatic stubby and universal sockets. My new stubby impact from them is awesome. SP air for air-ratchets, they have impact mechanisms and are strong. Norseman vortex point just chew through stuff, but I usually reserve those only when needed. Nupla and trust-cook deadblows. I like the nupla handle more, I'm thinking the TC will last longer. Wilde pry bars with the plastic hard handles, I like williams for hard handle drivers as I dislike almost all manner of comfort/soft grips.


Screwdrivers are a handle preference thing. It's almost all preference for a lot of things. Matco makes a great ratchet, thinner than snap-on. But without warranty service is it worth it? Buy a similar gear wrench with a crappier mechanism for the flex head? Buy a matco and swap out GW guts when required at your own cost? What if the situation is reversed, you have matco, but no snap on driver? Proto, snap on, and wright all make very nice wrenches. Well wright don't make long pattern, so if that's what ya want they lose that category. Short answer - it's complicated. Lots of great tools out there. I got snap on boxes stuffed with every brand around and they're all valuable members of the team that get the job done. Most of my stuff isn't snap on, despite what people assume by my storage.

 

[Finance Guy]

SP air for air-ratchets, they have impact mechanisms and are strong.

Who is SP?

 

[vssjim]

SP Air Tools https://www.spairusa.com/

 

[2ndGearRubber]

SP Air Tools https://www.spairusa.com/

That's them. Made in Japan. Good stuff.

SP-7730 3/8″ Reaction Free High Speed Impact Ratchet

www.spairusa.com

That guy does NOT play around. Very nice tool when combined with low profile sockets or swivel sockets. Best of all, it has a ratchet mechanism, so if something is super tight, you can break it free by hand. If something starts fighting, you can manually ratchet while impacting.