Don't you hate it when you damage/dirty a new tool?

[Fedwrench]

Actually, I try to get new tools dirty quickly to lower their theft appeal. It's like a new car or shoes maybe, you're all careful until the first scratch or scuff. Tool wear is experience and character rolled into one. However, you can't keep any tools nice around a body shop.

 

[redwrench60]

When I first started working on cars for a living I was impressed by all the older techs tools and their well used appearance.The discontinued styles that you couldn't get anymore spoke of the long service life good tools provide.I remember being slightly embarrassed by the new appearance of my tools .Mine blend in pretty well now.

 

[wreckercologist]

When I first started working on cars for a living I was impressed by all the older techs tools and their well used appearance.The discontinued styles that you couldn't get anymore spoke of the long service life good tools provide.I remember being slightly embarrassed by the new appearance of my tools .Mine blend in pretty well now.

^^^^^This^^^^^

 

[Rusty32]

Ran into my 2 day old snap on krl box with an electric lift while piting a roof on a semi trailer, oops.

 

[D9H 90V]

The only thing that bothers me is my screwdriver and ratchet handles getting messed up so they hurt my hand when im using them, dropping one of my ratchets, or someone else damaging my tools, other then that what ever happens in a days work, they are there to make me money, but I do take care of them

 

[greasemonkey44]

got a brand new cman pro 7/16 from the g/f; the same day i got it i was doing battery cable on an old truck and arced right through that pretty chrome, hurt a lil but oh well
it still makes you sad itll never be as pretty as it once was

 

[bimmer630]

Two days after I bought my hard handle "racing" snapon screwdrivers I was pulling a floorjack over to a car and realized one of my brand new screwdrivers was stuck under the jack, and dragging it under the jack ground down one side of the plastic handle. Damnnit

 

[lgrlife]

"Tools are for work and play, not for display!" I just got a nice master set from Nepros tools, so just imagine. Well I don't mine getting the usual dent, scratch or scuff on my tools when there new. That just shows it's being used for its intended purpose ( I hope). It does bother me when someone else abuses them though!

 

[Gtamazing]

Tool are supposed to get dirty and I don't damage mine because they are used correctly. You must also get upset when you stain your pink coveralls too.

 

[Matt018]

Are you kidding me? this is one of the funniest things ive read all day haha.

 

[billymade]

Another reason to buy USED tools; already dirty, broken in, scratched up and read to WORK!

 

[2chipped]

Some of you must know a friend of mine..who after buying a used truck,then wanted to borrow mine.
He wanted pick up some lumber but didn't want to scratch his truck bed.....the answer was NO.

Sent from my Milestone PLUS using Tapatalk

 

[bsaint]

Its like a new pair of boots. The first scratch is always the worse. I try to keep my tools in good shape (I clean them and what not) but when it comes down to me staying late or getting home to watch racing on Speed TV, I dont give a sh**!

 

[Junkman]

About 50 years ago, I met a retired mechanic (that is what they were called back then), and he impressed upon me that when working on any piece of machinery, that it must be relatively clean, and when you were done, you clean all your tools before putting them away. He told me that you could take any tool out of his tool box, and run it across a white shirt, and it wouldn't even leave so much as a smudge. I am not that meticulous, but I do keep all my tools clean, and for the most part, you can wipe them with a white cloth and it will not leave a smudge. I use my tools, but I don't abuse my tools, and I always try to put them away clean. I have one place on the bench that I keep them if they are dirty, until they are cleaned and put back in the box. Only short coming of this is that occasionally, I misplace a tool, and don't realize it until cleaning day. Almost always, they do show up after doing a search.

 

[mordantly]

i HATE it when my new **** gets dirty!

 

[bsaint]

I hate when I loose a tool at a customer and since my job covers north america, sometimes that means its 500+ miles to the last customer.

 

[98TJ]

tools are for working

Exactly.

Says so on the Metabo box. "Work. Don't Play."

If it bugs you, put some Goo Gone on a rag and wipe them down.

They'll be clean and smell good.

I tools are getting dirty that means work is being done and money is being made.

Consider it a notch on the ol' bed post.

 

[wreckerman5357]

So, today I went in for a second job at a body shop and the guy asked me to do some work for him on a couple cars. I used my brand new gearwrench ratcheting screwdriver set to take off a bumper and remove a door panel. I had the case sitting open next to a door I was body working and I noticed a little bondo dust from sanding had fallen onto my tools and I was like "oops" and closed the case.... well I got back into my work, finished the panel and primed the area. When I got ready to leave I grabbed the box and saw that not only was it dusty as hell, there were specks of overspray all over it.

Now I'm just sad.... I vow to never have my regular hand tools anywhere near where I am doing any kind of body work or painting of any kind. I hope I can clean up the case and have it look new again.

Try working in an actual bodyshop. All your tools and box will be perpetually dusty from sanding dust and overspray. My toolbox gets blown off every day and is dusty again within an hour the next day. You can see an outline of where each tool goes on the drawer liners. It's not going to hurt your precious Gearwrenches to get some filler dust and a little overspray on them. The only way to keep your tools from getting dusty doing bodywork is to not do any bodywork. I don't worry about the dust on my tools, I just put on my big boy pants and deal with it.

 

[GoBlue]

Tools are like shoes: you want them to look well cared for, but well used. Or maybe like a CCW with honest wear.

Exactly...nothing wrong with honest wear.

 

[Coolabah]

About 50 years ago, I met a retired mechanic (that is what they were called back then), and he impressed upon me that when working on any piece of machinery, that it must be relatively clean, and when you were done, you clean all your tools before putting them away. He told me that you could take any tool out of his tool box, and run it across a white shirt, and it wouldn't even leave so much as a smudge. I am not that meticulous, but I do keep all my tools clean, and for the most part, you can wipe them with a white cloth and it will not leave a smudge. I use my tools, but I don't abuse my tools, and I always try to put them away clean. I have one place on the bench that I keep them if they are dirty, until they are cleaned and put back in the box. Only short coming of this is that occasionally, I misplace a tool, and don't realize it until cleaning day. Almost always, they do show up after doing a search.

Sounds good- why wouldn't you look after your tools ? Shows pride & professionalism

Two days after I bought my hard handle "racing" snapon screwdrivers I was pulling a floorjack over to a car and realized one of my brand new screwdrivers was stuck under the jack, and dragging it under the jack ground down one side of the plastic handle. Damnnit

Yeh- ***** bigtime I've done similar this is NOT normal wear & tear and anyone who says "it adds character to the tool" is a jackass !!!

The only thing that bothers me is my screwdriver and ratchet handles getting messed up so they hurt my hand when im using them, dropping one of my ratchets, or someone else damaging my tools, other then that what ever happens in a days work, they are there to make me money, but I do take care of them

,,, true professional. If it happens, it happens don't loose sleep over it if it still functions but you wouldn't screwup your tool on purpose like some previous posters advise.


I grew up poor with few possessions that I could call my own until I got a job of my own when I left home. I sure as heck look after ALL my stuff now as I value it. Do I throw my tools across the workshop ? Do I use a wrench as a hammer ? Do I use a screwdriver as a prybar ? No.
Do I have a ***** fit if I accidentally crush a tool when I sit my fat a$$ down on it ( LOL ) or whatever ? No.

Personally - I work with my tools with precision. Maybe I would have made a good brain surgeon ........but that would have been like working on cars and never driving beforehand , I'm not sure I passed the "need a brain" requisite...
So- I buy second hand tools too- they won't look worse for me owning them anytime soon now...
My new tools look darn good for a long time 'cos I look after them... cheaper too as you don't need to replace them. Just for comparison, in Australia generally if you break a tool , you end up BUYING A NEW ONE YOURSELF as our warranties are nowhere near what you guys get in the USA...

 

[Gregg33]

Getting a tool dirty doesn't really bother me, I actually enjoy cleaning up stuff once I'm done a job (assuming I have the time). Scratching stuff doesn't really bother me either, especially if it's a used tool, which many of mine are, but when I bend or break a tool, it does bother me, expecially when it is a vintage tool that isn't easily replaced, but the only alternative is to not use them at all and my Canadian and American made tools weren't built for display! Every tool in my box, no matter how new and shiny or how old or rare has the potential to be put into serrvice!

 

[vintagefan]

It doesn't take much more effort to treat your tools like any other valued possession, than it does to kick a brand new $40 wrench across the concrete and completely destroy the integrity of the chrome finish.

Tools are certainly supposed to wear over time, but it makes me cringe when I'm working with someone and they are standing up doing some wiring in a box, and they just throw their screwdriver (or whatever tool they happen to be using) on the ground like a kid in a high chair throwing his lunch.

There's no need for used tools to look like they've been chewed on by a tyrannosaurus. I've got tools that are 15-20 years old, heavily used, and still look close to new.



edit: Plus, what a person's tools look like has a HUGE bearing on whether I'll be willing to loan them one of my tools.

 

[geologist]

I've got a few wrenches that have skated across pavement (long story) but **** happens I guess. I use my tools, but they're tools. The only tool I own that get treated like absolute royalty is a hammer that belonged to my Dad (RIP). It gets a wipe-down and wax. Everything else gets wiped off and oiled occasionally. Generally speaking, I take pretty good care of my tools (no rusting problems of any kind) and I don't beat them all to hell by trying to make them do things they weren't designed for.

 

[Larwyn]

Marks and scratches makes it easy fro me to tell my tools from yours and the new unused ones. A good coating of grease mixed with brake shoe dust serves well to send those who would borrow tools on to a different "victim" (also prevents rust).

The dirty tool trick actually worked for me many years ago when I was working as front end and brake mechanic at a tire store where the tools were provided by the employer and available for all to use. The tools that I did not want to walk off were liberally covered in grease and dust as soon as I got them to the alignment/grease pit. I used this "tool protection plan" to some extent over the next several years with good results.

These days, I'm retired, work out of my garage and have the luxury of keeping my tools out of the hands of others without an "anti-theft coating". I wipe em off and put em away, no spit shine for my tools.

 

[cotjocky]

Some of you must know a friend of mine..who after buying a used truck,then wanted to borrow mine.
He wanted pick up some lumber but didn't want to scratch his truck bed.....the answer was NO.

Sent from my Milestone PLUS using Tapatalk

I know a guy like this. This is the kind of guy you would love punch in the face most days.

 

[ajchien]

I don't mind scuffs, nicks, chrome loss, hammer marks ...

But the things that annoy me are:
1) comfort/plastic grips that crack, peel, or fall apart
2) that grime that seems to be attracted to my 10mm sockets
3) rust

 

[tbobbo]

My wife is clean and my tools are dirty. I have way to good looking of a woman at home to stay at work polishing wrenches. I will clean them if I have time at work. Most of the time I have work thats waiting for me.......some days I could work 24 hours. My stuff is organized, wiped off, but not polished. I drop brand new wrenches and dont think twice about it. I am a jerk about tools that I have not used yet.........no one else gets to borrow them till I break them in first.

 

[Robbie UK]

The best tool for me is the well used, with honest scars, clean and lubricated tool.

Worked in a friends garage the other day. His tool box looked shocking but on closer inspection everything was religiously oiled and serviced. The inside of one of his air impacts looked like the inside of an operating theatre whilst the outside looked like it had been used at a gravel pit. On the underside of his toolbox lid was a service schedule for all his mechanical tools which he has been sticking to for nearly 30 years. The cycle life he achieves from his tools would keep a tool supplier awake at night.