Quantity or Quality?

[Bolster]

Quantity or quality, which do you prefer, if you could only choose one? (Sure, we all want both.)

I see all these threads where people are buying boatloads of tools, which is very cool, but I can't see myself buying that way. I'm seeking particular things, and am reasonably picky about quality or brand. So I'd go quality over quantity. Am I unusual?

 

[welderwink]

Quality by far. Having lot of what I would call junk around is worthless.

 

[fr0mastaj]

Not sure who would really choose quantity...
________
Motorcycle tires

 

[Kev442]

The only time I have ever gone for quantity was with the large HF wrenches. I use a 1 1/4" and 15/16ths, etc wrench less than once a year, so I bought the whole set to use each one once a year. I figure even Pittsburgh will last me my lifetime at that rate and I absolutely detest adjustable wrenches.

 

[Merkava_4]

Quality!!

**********

 

[billymade]

I think when I was first starting out... it was quantity; once I started working with pro high end tools... quality became the new obsession! I would rather have that truly great performing tool that lasts a long time; rather then tons of cheap stuff that never really does the job well, anyway!

 

[Packard V8]

Quality is a moving target. Many of us buy bargains as they appear, take out the best stuff and pass the rest along. What is not of sufficient quality to interest Bolster or others here is a great starter set for the young/impecunious.

jack vines

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

I didn't vote because it depends on what we're talking about...

 

[wrenchr]

Quality for sure................................

 

[expatriated]

Quality. No question.

 

[MechanicNamedJohn]

Do I really need to say what my choice is? Though you may need to be more specific on what our options are.

 

[Bolster]

Quality is a moving target. Many of us buy bargains as they appear, take out the best stuff and pass the rest along. What is not of sufficient quality to interest Bolster or others here is a great starter set for the young/impecunious.

Well said. We mustn't ever forget the impecunious. And I should add, what Bolster thinks is quality, may leave others non plussed.

Honestly I am debating the "volume purchasing" approach, weeding through and selling the rest...just not there yet. I'm still in the "buy less and pay more" mindset.

 

[Bolster]

Do I really need to say what my choice is? Though you may need to be more specific on what our options are.

Ha ha...but no, I don't want to get more specific, it's a theoretical question. Would you prefer a FULL toolbox of mediocre tools, or a QUARTER FULL box of upscale tools? Clearly you can do more with the full box. There's definitely a case to be made for more quantity of lesser quality, because you can still complete the job. So the guy next to you has a $40 pair of needle nose, what if that's not what the job calls for?

 

[FordToughF250]

Thats what I was thinkin, if you only have 1/4 the tools how are you suppose to do the job?

 

[Scout Driver]

Ha ha...but no, I don't want to get more specific, it's a theoretical question. Would you prefer a FULL toolbox of mediocre tools, or a QUARTER FULL box of upscale tools? Clearly you can do more with the full box. There's definitely a case to be made for more quantity of lesser quality, because you can still complete the job. So the guy next to you has a $40 pair of needle nose, what if that's not what the job calls for?

Depends on what most people consider mediocre. My RemLine box is stocked with newer Allen tools, some old Craftsman, old Thorsen, chinese Thorsen, some weary looking Buffalo Barcalo and other great Americans, plus some other lesser name Asian tools. Never have I considered my tools mediocre. I've never owned a truck brand tool. I've used some of my uncle's Snap-On tools and have an appreciation for them too. But what I have has suited my needs. I'm proud of my tools and the work that I have done with them. My professional DeWalt polisher has made me just as much money as my Harbor Freight body hammers. I'm not a pro wrench, but give me a full box of good tools. Not mediocre, not upscale, just something that suits my needs.

Scott

 

[Steve from Socal]

Quality is supreme. Now about the weight over the worth; you should build your tools from a core set that gives you the tools most often used. Yes the guy with tons of tools may have a tool you don't but, even the guys with massive tool chests have a need for something different every once in a while.

I don't have a massive number of tools; yet I have not found too many things that kept me from doing what ever needed to be done. I don't have short, medium, long, flex, impact, 6point, 12point, 8 point, hex, torx, triple square, etc, etc. I do have wrenches and sockets, screw drivers and pliers, hammers and punches, pullers and special tools as needed.

A good case in point is metric taps and dies, I have individual sets of taps and dies in the sizes I use. I don't have a kit of things that resemble taps and dies in an attractive blow molded case. All my taps are HSS ground thread in sets of taper, plug and bottoming, all my dies are HSS adjustable dies. Do I have more in them than the plastic cased kit, yes but not that much more and I have taps that are useful for blind holes and dies I can tweak for fit.

I have good quality tools because I would rather buy a tool once and know that it will perform when needed. I can understand the guy that buys the *** piece set from Sears or Harbor Fright because they don't really know what tools they need and use their tools once in a while.

For me personally I know well ahead of time if I will need to buy a tool or tools to do a job(most of the time) if I have some catastrophe and need a tool right now I will go to the orange palace of smelly rubber. I also buy stuff that I am rather sure will be one shot use tools like a 12.00 spray gun.

That is not to say I don't like a bargain or want to get the best bang for the buck. I just means I will spend some time qualifying the best products at the best prices. The hunt is half the fun, you can ALWAYS buy retail, searching for something and finding it way below list is very rewarding both financially and psychologically.

Steve

 

[matthew]

It's a matter of balance. Since I'm not a mechanic by trade, I can't justify buying much of the high end stuff. But you can often get a tool that's 90-95% as good as a truck brand would be, and only pay 20-30% of the price. Which in my books is a good compromise as compared to something that's, say, 50% as durable at 10% of the price.

 

[back2class]

I think some of both. Never low quality though! I got rid of all my "vanity" tools. My $4 set of Stanley extensions for instance, work as well as my $100 snap-on ones did. That is not to say all top line tools are for vanity. Snap-on screwdrivers really are worth it and quality wrenches that don't spread are too. What I did was look at my tools and honestly asked myself if the $1 flear market Utica plier would get the job done any less well than the $20 snap-on one. So would I rather have lots of junk?....hell NO. But I would rather have a very well filled out set if random inexpensive stuff than a few bling items. That often means used but in new I would rather have a full set of Craftsman sockets over 1 set of snappys.

 

[Merkava_4]

I didn't vote because it depends on what we're talking about...

Shaved verses hairy.

 

[welderwink]

Shaved verses hairy.

well said....

 

[Stick Figure]

When talking about tools, i think your best bet is to start more with quantity, assuming quality is still decent. For a first time buyer, picking up $200 off the Snap on truck is going to get them nothing, the won't be able to work on much of anything. $200 at sears or Harbor will get you enough to allow you to see what things you want to get more of, and what you want to get better of. I used the same philosophy when i started my current job and didn't have access to my tools, and had to start a second set for home. I started with a HF cart, some craftsman sockets, some channel locks etc. Good quantity to quality ratio if you ask me.

 

[jim m]

I think when I was first starting out... it was quantity; once I started working with pro high end tools... quality became the new obsession! I would rather have that truly great performing tool that lasts a long time; rather then tons of cheap stuff that never really does the job well, anyway!

Yep that was me had all the diffrent types of wrenchs just to have them brand and coo didnt matter but after really gettimg into useing them and finding thet there is better tools out there made me understand
But my main used tools are allmost all used and serve me well, My 1/2 drive tools I started with was a Plumb set user them for years



Jim

 

[atari]

My tools have been purchased over many years and I dont think I would have the same respect for them if I would have just gone out and got them all at once. Its about the chase for me too. It just would not be the same.

 

[Merkava_4]

Most of the people buying low quality Asian imports are teenagers that don't know any better.

 

[Bolster]

Most of the people buying low quality Asian imports are teenagers that don't know any better.

Meh, I beg to differ. On my rare forays to HF (which you probably never take), I see loads of old farts shuffling around sticking their fingers into stuff. Now either they are old and know better, or are old fools, and there's no fool like an old tool fool.

 

[doctorschmullus]

Quality- but there needs to be a balance, quality at a reasonable price-

 

[fatfillup]

I voted quantity with some reservations. I have 5 tool boxes to feed: 2 service trucks, tool cart, main box and home box. I have a little bit of everything. Screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers and pipe wrenchs I want quality. the rest I'm upgrading slowly as deals come around but my spare truck will never see much quality.

Bolster, interesting thread with great responses.

 

[mrholeshot]

Some hobbist who just tinkers will be better off with a bunch of less expensive tools that will cover the entire job rather than holding out to buy really nice tools. An example for the guy that is building his own car in his garage on nights and weekend will do fine with a very large assortment of Craftsman and some of the better HF tools rather than spending that same amount of money on just a 3/8 drive General service set and added metrics from Snap-On that cost about 2000 dollars. 2000 dollars goes a long way in the Craftsman isle.

The quality of your tools should depend on how severe the demand is on the tool and how deep your pockets are. The quanity should be vast enough to cover your entire needs.

 

[Stuey]

I don't like the question.

Let's say someone opts to buy 10 quality screwdrivers for $100 instead of the soso 20 driver set for $80. They reach for that #2 Phillips. Quality is better indeed. But wait, they now need a T15 torx. Uh-oh, that's not included in their set, but would have been in the 20pc lower quality set. Quantity would have been better.

 

[woody 73]

I don't like the question.

Let's say someone opts to buy 10 quality screwdrivers for $100 instead of the soso 20 driver set for $80. They reach for that #2 Phillips. Quality is better indeed. But wait, they now need a T15 torx. Uh-oh, that's not included in their set, but would have been in the 20pc lower quality set. Quantity would have been better.

I have seen men take apart cars with all chinese tools and never have any problems,they had a large set of tools for the job.

On the other hand I bought a large box of drill bits from a flea market recently and everytime I tried to drill holes the bits kept breaking. When I looked at the coo they came from china.

Tough question...

 

[billymade]

If a tool cannot do what it was designed to do; what use is it?

 

[Auzivision]

If one uses tools for a living that’s one thing, but from a pure hobbyist standpoint… not doubt more is better. I prefer to think of it as variety. After a decent foundation of standard tools (craftsman is good enough for me), a variety of HF specialty tools goes a long way towards increasing ones capabilities to repair things.

This BS about cheap tool breaking all the time just cracks me up… appears to be people trying to justify spending big bucks or maybe they just can’t figure out how to properly use tools.

I really like “oh my broken screw driver kept me from working for a day”… if you don’t have enough sense to own more than one screw driver, maybe you should considere a different occupation.

 

[mrholeshot]

If a tool cannot do what it was designed to do; what use is it?

But what if it can and still hold down the price so you can buy more?

I just got the tool kit made up for my camper (see thread 'Excell Cantilever box") Inside of the box is a 204 peice Craftsman tool set (99.95) The box itself (32.00) Kobalt screwdrivers (on sale 12.95) Stanely wrenches (in case I need 2 of same size) (46.00) and then about 150 dollars worth of other assorted things. So grand total of everything is about 350 dollars. With what is in that box I can do just about any roadside repair to my truck or my camper short of catostropic failure. All the stuff in the box isn't top quality but I would say it was good and acceptable quality. Here quanity over quality is a big deal. It would cost 5000 dollars to fill that box with the same tools off a Snap-On truck. Most of these tools will never see use in my lifetime but it's nice to know they are there just in case I need them. I know they will get the job done and am confident in them. You don't have to spend megabucks for recreational tools. I'm 57 (soon 58) and grew up inside a garage. When it came to my Professional tools I went all quality where I could and as fast as I could build them. Now that Ive retired I look back and see that there were many things I could have saved huge amounts of money on. One value I have instilled into my son is don't get caught up in the name (like I have) and buy the highest quality tool for the least amount of money. His toolboxes are Craftsman boxes (40 inch) with a pair of side boxes) he bought on sale on Black Friday are filled with just about every current brand on the Market. He has a lot of tools that cover just about anything he encounters. He even uses a set of HF roto ratchets that have been going for over a year without issue. He has never had a payment with the tool trucks and the things he does buy he pays for on the spot. He learned from my mistake that evrything doesnt have to be the top Name Brand.

For a professional technician sometimes you either have to wait to buy until you get the money and lose the job you could have had, Buy the tool off the truck and give up a big chunk of your cheak each week and get the job or Buy tools that can get the job done and skip being a slave to the tool man. When work falls off here from mid November till Mid Jan. Some guys either take home nothing after paying the tool man or choose to pay the light bill and get in the bad grace of the tool man sometimes loosing their tools. If you want to make a living working on cars in this day and be able to have some jingle left in your pockets you need to shop wise. I know some kids in 10K or more to the tool man and can't afford move out of Mommy and Daddys house.

 

[arkangel06]

Quality all the way on anything.

 

[DiscoBerry]

I think quality is important to a point but if you dont have the right tool for the job you cant get anything done either. I buy the best tools I can affoard while still having the right tool for the right job weather it be from Harbor freight or snap on.

 

[billymade]

I buy used pro grade tools; cheap and high quality.... the best way to go!

 

[Bolster]

Maybe the ideal solution is quality for the core set of tools you use the most, and quantity for the tools that you use seldom. Maybe a mix is best. (I realize I didn't allow that option in the poll.)

I started off quantity, not quality, with one of those big Cman sets. In the years since I'm replacing with higher quality as the opportunity presents.

Still it's interesting there isn't unanimity on this question. I'll bet a lot of people who aren't so crazy they visit a tool forum, would quickly add more people into the "quantity" column.

 

[sberry]

Quality is a moving target. Many of us buy bargains as they appear, take out the best stuff and pass the rest along.

I agree with this to some extent. Quantity is also important to me, most of the time these days it is a matter of enough vs supreme quality. I couldn't afford 25 9/16 and 25 1/2 end wrenches and it wouldn't pay off but at a buck a piece they return quickly and make them convenient to find or keep where needed. Loss isn't such an issue as it would be with a 25$ wrench.

 

[blue dog]

over the years as i have purchased more quality tools for my rollaway i have shifted my cman and like tools to my race pit boxes. My reason for this is because every time we come back from a race in baja there are tools missing from each of my pit setups, dont ask me why it just happens everytime. Now i have 3 complete setups that can go to various pits in the middle of the desert that have every tool to make a fix on a race truck, and when things go missing i just dont sweat it. The on board tool kit is packed into a pelican 1550 case that will get the job done and that pelican case is tuff enough to withstand the beating of the baja 1000 over and over again. So for the stuff that stays in my shop i choose the quality by what i can afford at the time. Would you rather have a Porsche or a volkswagon.

 

[Merkava_4]

Would you rather have a Porsche or a Volkswagen?

Some guys will tell you that a Porsche is just an over glorified Volkswagen.