Anybody switching to cheaper tools?

[racin72charger]

Yes I have but not for the reasons already mentioned. My current job has me working in a rough part of town and I know the insurance coverage for theft tops out at here. I’m not going to loose thousands of dollars worth of tools in my good box so I have my smaller box with lower quality tools here.

 

[dodge610]

Check out some of the recent tool box tours. These guys are buying some of the other brands Sunex,Tekton,Husky too mention a few. Not all snap on anymore just watched one last night. He commented a 10mm swivel socket at snap on was about $48.00 just 1 socket. Not sure how close on price he was but that seems a little insane to me.

 

[Vpick001]

Current Husky to me is a cheaper form of Gearwrench for the most part. I just don't care the the fit, feel, balance of what I've seen on display.

I suppose that makes sense since Apex manufactures tools for both brands.

I personally don’t care for Husky ratchets, but their ratchet wrenches are my favorite

 

[sberry]

I got enough. Its not a deal to me anymore. But if asked about value today the real deal is on the bottom of the price scale. The HF and the likes, some of the other generic white box items. I see the local auto parts store has a 12 inch adjustable, a very good one, 11$. It would be different matter if it was junk and didn't work then a 35$ proto class wrench might make some sense. This is the Western Forge wrench from China. Can rebadge it with confidence.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Nothing cheaper than the 30 to 50 year old tools that I own !

GJ has got me to buy a couple of new tools, including battery power tools, but I know I have spent less than $500 in the past 10 years !

 

[giants]

Yes, the beauty of it is the return. You don't got to do a lot of work to get 7$ back and you will still be using them 20 years from now. When we looked at some cheaper stuff to duplicate with we thought it would have a short lifespan, turns out it had got mixed in and used like another tool and shows no sign of limited service life, quite the contrary.
When we had field jobs to do would buy a few wrenches or screwdrivers to tailor, sometimes in the morning stop and buy a handful for the day etc. Broke a couple with impacts over the years, still use and like some of them. Forged combo wrench for 1.50 singles then. Retail.
They were a Godsend to chores, Could seed them out and still toss them in tractors and utilitys. I font need a truck wrench to put in a battery, like one that works, cost a dollar and don't fear carrying around or can leave on the job.

What brand(s) are you referring to?

 

[Robinson1]

Tekton sure has their act together. If I were starting out, I'd give them serious consideration.

- They have the best tool website on the planet and no-one even comes close
- They have a mix of mostly Taiwan and USA tools
- All of their stuff seems high quality
- They're innovative and seem to know what the market wants
- Prices are affordable

I'm curious how their tools hold up against the truck brands in a professional setting.

I'm seeing ALOT of Tekton and other import tools on service trucks around here.

 

[sberry]

Sears, Channelock wrenches, DeWalt, ATD, Napa, that stuff is all generic. You can buy it white box at some fleas. You can buy it white box and stamp Napa on it, charge a couple bucks more, put Irwin or Stanley on it.

 

[giants]

Sears, Channelock wrenches, DeWalt, ATD, Napa, that stuff is all generic. You can buy it white box at some fleas. You can buy it white box and stamp Napa on it, charge a couple bucks more, put Irwin or Stanley on it.

What is a white box?

 

[Robinson1]

I think hes referring to unbranded tools. Some manufacturers when they have a contract overrun will surplus the overrun with no makers marks

 

[sberry]

Nothing cheaper than the 30 to 50 year old tools that I own !

GJ has got me to buy a couple of new tools, including battery power tools, but I know I have spent less than $500 in the past 10 years !

Yes, , absolutely none cheaper than ones you got. Pay for themselves in an event again. My stuff is Sears based, I have added and duplicated but it's used and worn. As cash value it's really pitiful. As a working set is really good. Got stuff to get it done. If it would pay to get something better I would do it, new socket, new box but it's not worth it to spend hundreds or thousands to save a few minutes a week. Some you got to face as it happens.

 

[metlmunchr]

Check out some of the recent tool box tours. These guys are buying some of the other brands Sunex,Tekton,Husky too mention a few. Not all snap on anymore just watched one last night. He commented a 10mm swivel socket at snap on was about $48.00 just 1 socket. Not sure how close on price he was but that seems a little insane to me.

He was likely right on the money with the SO price. About 7-8 years ago I needed a 8 mm 1/4" drive flex socket for one bolt where nothing else would work. Found one at Sears, made in USA Craftsman, for $7. Out of curiosity I looked up the socket on Snap On's site, and at that time it was $39.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm not switching to "cheaper" tools; I'm still buying the most economical tools that fit my needs.

 

[theoldwizard1]

My stuff is Sears based, I have added and duplicated but it's used and worn. As cash value it's really pitiful. As a working set is really good. Got stuff to get it done.

It used to be you could buy Craftsman wrenches, sockets, etc on eBay cheap. Many times the seller would buy a set and break it up and sell the individual items at a good price.

Not any more ! The "new" stuff (likely forged off shore) is pricey and even the old stuff is over priced.

Anyone "collecting" Craftsman must have really fond memories of Dad or Grand Dad twisting Craftsman wrenches in the 50s, 60s and 70s ! (I resemble that remark !)

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Tekton sure has their act together. If I were starting out, I'd give them serious consideration.

- They have the best tool website on the planet and no-one even comes close
- They have a mix of mostly Taiwan and USA tools
- All of their stuff seems high quality
- They're innovative and seem to know what the market wants
- Prices are affordable

I'm curious how their tools hold up against the truck brands in a professional setting.

Angle wrenches are fantastic. Slightly different build/angles than snap-on, really I'd prefer to just have complete sets of each. I'm buying tekton for the bigger sizes, I have SO 10-19. Bungee cords are working well for holding calipers and intake manifolds. I broke one set of vice grips, the pin that holds the release handle fell out. Replacement (warranty) pair did the same thing after a few weeks. Just a poor design, it's basically just riveted/peened over. I have a set of their wrenches at home. A bit short, but work fine.

As many others have said, the gap between "cheap" tools and the most expensive shrinks by the day.

 

[PhantomEB]

I'm not switching to "cheaper" tools; I'm still buying the most economical tools that fit my needs.

TRUTH! This is how I been rolling all this time!

Nothing wrong with a good Husky box filled with Mastercraft tools and Powerfist hammers.