Brand That Dominates Your Tool Collection

[Paco Pena]

Older craftsman is the biggest single manufacturer. I also have a lot of Blackhawk, Husky, MasterCraft. Shouldn't there also be a USA other classification for the Blackhawk, KD etc folks?

Paco

 

[ecotec]

mostly craftsman

some armstrong and wright

 

[apong23]

I mostly have Craftsman.

 

[cruiser808]

Opps, late to the party. Proto for me.

 

[rcsec]

As a DIYer, mostly Craftsman & then SK with some SO & Matco. Due to short $$ and the price of the imported tools (stubby & impact), it seems to be a constant temptation (buying imported)...so I wait a little longer & look a little harder for some domestic ones to come along.

 

[Dewaynep]

Mostly Craftsman, but that is changing the more I use them. I am switching over to SO for the majority of my hand tools.

 

[boostedgt]

the majority of my tools are craftsman and were christmas/birthday presents from my grandpa when i was a teenager. later i worked in a garage and bought snap on from the truck and after joining here last year i have grown to like other brands and vintage tools that include wright,sk,cornwell,proto ect. overall craftsman still rules the toolbox though

 

[Teken]

At work its 100% Armstrong . . . At home its two 42" dual chest Armstrong chests, with a smaller tool chest with all the other major brands out there such as . . .

Snap-On, Matco, Mac, Channellock, Klien, SK, Mastercraft, Proto, Cornwell, etc . . .

 

[Canadian Charlie]

Gray, Snap On, Mastercraft, European and Asian

 

[Danglerb]

By numbers, Craftsman due to all the socket sets, sizes, and types.
By weight, maybe HF due to hammers, unless you include the Craftsman boxes everything is in.
By dollars, Snapon, unless you include the Craftsman boxes and air compressor.
Honorable mention for Gearwrench due to all the cheap sets and types.

 

[dwm]

I can't even vote, I don't feel like any one company is dominant in my collection. I'm guessing that's true of a lot of us. No one brand covers all of the bases with quality tools when you mix automotive, general purpose, woodworking, metalworking, etc. By dollar amount, I think I'm pretty even among Snap-On, Craftsman, Bosch and Ingersoll-Rand. But there are a lot of other brands in my boxes. Wera, Wiha, Stahlwille, Toptul, Gearwrench, Dewalt, Hazet, Bondhus, Facom, Armstrong, Starrett, Mitutoyo, SIR... it's a long list. Then there's the cheapos typically bought the day I really needed them or just because I was in the store (or on the website) and figured I might use it once in a blue moon or needed something for the car emergency set. Pittsburgh Pro, Titan, et. al.

WEas this thread started to expose our various forms of the same disease?

 

[toolnut]

At one point I was 98% S O but over the last 10 years I have added a bunch of Williams, Proto,Diamond,Xcelite,Channellock,etc. This tool thing gets addicting and next thing is the amount of weight of the tools is unbelievable when you have to move them...

 

[fflintstone]

hand tools are 90% Craftsman.
corded tools Milwaulkee.

 

[jethro29]

full time technician and also night and weekend work at home so snap-on for me.

 

[american lockpicker]

For Powertools I only use Bosch the handtools are a mix mostly from Europe with a few things from North America or Israel.

 

[johnnybentwrench]

Craftsman wrench & sockets set purchased new in the early 90's are now what friends and neighbors use. I have different sets including Blue point,Stahlwille,Snap on,Herbrand,Hazet,C1 craftsman,stubby box end deep & regular,Challenger/Proto, PLVMB, S-K ++++. Way to much for a shade tree guy like me.

 

[Farma11]

Mostly Snap-on. Electrical tools are mostly Dewalt.

 

[DropZoneNET]

85% Craftsman
10% Stanley
5% Harbor Freight (mostly the free throw away stuff for loaning and light use), Companion, Kobalt, Husky, GearWrench, DuraBuilt, ViseGrip, and the list goes on.

The above is only hand tools.

I don't have much in the way of power tools, although I suspect that this Christmas will bring a mix of Craftman, Rigid, and Dewalt power tools (or many from one brand - if my list was used).

 

[PT Doc]

I'm just a DIY'er also. My dad was a Craftsman fan but was frugal. He thought highly of the Craftsman brand. He did recommend that I get a good set of sockets and wrenches to have around for projects. I was going to go with Husky but decided to go with Craftsman. This 150+ piece set was my first batch of tools that I bought and they have done the job for me. My screwdrivers are Husky and as long as I pick the right size driver they do a great job. I bought the Husky Pro 6 piece today to add to the drawer. I have been adding some HF hand tools simply because they are around the corner from my gym and have great pricing. There is obviously a quality control issue at times but cutting wire with a HF cutter works out well.

I have seen some sexier wrenches but in the end I have to ask myself if it's worth plowing large amounts of cash into tools that get used somewhat infrequently. For now, no. But at some point I could see wanting the sexier tools but by then everything will be made overseas. I like seeing the MADE IN USA on the tools. So for now I'm good.

 

[mikevango]

I don't think I got a dominant brand. Mostly sk and craftsman sockets. Snap on, sk and cornwell ratchets. Cornwell Napa and gearwrench combos. Snap on and mac screwdrivers. Channellock and snap on pliers. Craftsman blue point and snap on hammers. Just a mix of the best tools I can find at the best price.

 

[crewchief888]

my tools lost their "sexyness" a long time ago

the wife has all the **** stuff

i do understand where you're coming from,

anything shiny in any of my toolboxes looks like a turd in a punchbowl

 

[canuckian]

at the moment, mine's mostly older Canadian made Mastercraft with some of their newer china made junk and Husky thrown in. Also have some ChannelLock, Wiss and Knipex and a few S-O ... but piece by piece I'm upgrading to nicer tools (got 3 ebay auctions worth of S-O in transit at the moment!) , wether it be Snap On or other premium brands it doesn't matter to me. I just want the best tool for whatever job I'm doing and tools that can be warrantied with little or no hassle. I'm starting to like the European stuff lately as well so that may fill a drawer or two in the future.

 

[Kirbot]

Any old American brand that I see at the flea market.
As a matter of fact, in my set of 1/2" drive deep sockets, I don't think I have two of the same brand.

But If i had to pick one, I guess I have more Craftsman than anything else.

 

[dodge610]

I use to buy SO and Matco from the trucks For my shop box Them i started cratsman Then of course sears ticked me off with there people in the tool section that did not no squat and did not care if they helped you or not so i quit buying Craftsman for years then decided to put another cabinet in the house garage went mostly with HF i know your thinkin WTF did he go brain dead no just trying to save money.

 

[bonebrake22]

ratchets and sockets are Snap-On, wrenches are Cornwell

 

[NOTABLAZER]

Honestly,I can't think of one brand that i have more of than another,there's a huge variety. Lately I've been slowly replacing the "cheapo" stuff I've had for years with better quality stuff.

 

[bsaint]

Unfortunately its Snapon and I wish I saved money and bought less expensive tools.

 

[RRmech]

Ratchets, sockets, and extensions are mostly Wright.
Wrenches are mostly KAL-USA.
Everything else is a mixture of mostly older American-made tools.

Steve

 

[supertooljunkie]

Probably about 35% older C-man. Then another 40% made up of an equal amount of Snap on, SK, and Mac. Then finish up with Proto, Kobalt, Williams, GearWrench, Channellock. I have some Plomp, Indestro, Durachrome, Toptul, well basically some of just about everything.

 

[JeepinJ]

My box is fairly balanced. Mostly MAC and Matco. I still have a ton of Wright, Armstrong, Proto, Cornwell, and Craftsman though. I sold off most of my Snap-On except my favorite TL72 ratchet when I stopped wrenching for money.

 

[peterbilr98]

85% snap on the rest craftsman hf sk williams mac cornwell ir cp gray proto otc lisel and other brands i like trying all brands

 

[fordcragar]

I started my tool collection over 50 years ago with SK tools. Sadly they aren't as easy to find as they once were.

 

[cosmik binturong]

lots of french(eternum, sam, sibille, mob, facom, old peugeot, lauravia...) and european stuff(felco, hazet, gedore, stahlwille, beta, pb, wiha, felo, etc.) some nice japanese and taiwanese ones too for the bikes and computers(shimano, hozan, rubicon, anex, vessel, toyota...), a few american made(armstrong, imperial brass, snap-on: one wrench from each )
almost nothing from mainland china: roadside founds mostly.
gotta get more international now!

 

[Homoudont]

Master Mechanic was my first large serious tool set. I think I got a 300 piece set on clearance for $100. I've been slowly replacing the most commonly used tools with higher grade tools, but the Master Mechanic has served me well. So I voted Asian since Master Mechanic is made in Taiwan.

 

[Flange]

I voted European because my screwdrivers, metric wrenches and most of my pliers are Beta.

Most of my sockets are Snap On however.

Imperial and Whitworth wrenches are mainly a mix of Britool and King ****

I also have lots of other brands that have been acquired over the years although these are almost all either Made in England or Made in USA.

 

[a-fordable]

SNAP_ON! dominates, from years ago!-as a retired TECH!-If I had it to do over, I would pick up what I could find, and use snap-on for specialty. Ofcourse-this is a different tool world today. Most of mine were purchased 50 years ago!

 

[jetz]

Wrenching is my profession, so the majority of my tools are snap-on followed by Craftsmen USA (not Canada).

 

[Alfajuj]

Hazet 50%
Snap-On 30%
the rest:
Wiha
Koken
Stahlwille
Elora

 

[Murphy4570]

Hazet 50%
Snap-On 30%
the rest:
Wiha
Koken
Stahlwille
Elora

So, do you go digging in graveyards a lot?




I mostly have Snap-On, with some Matco, small amount of MAC and Cornwell, and HF/Craftsman small amounts as well.

 

[bimmerZ5]

I'm mostly Craftsman from two major sets I bought about 10yrs ago. But, in recent years, I've been buying a lot of Gearwrench. A few SK and HFT stuff too. It's affordable and I've never had any major issues for my needs.