What tool brand do you use?

[djwyman]

That's because it's easier to find a Leprechaun's pot-o'-gold than it is to find a Cornwell truck in most places.

Before finding GJ I had never even heard of cornwell. I sure haven't ever seen a cornwell truck running around. I see mac, matco and snapon running around town all the time but wouldn't even know a cornwell truck if I did see one.

 

[senlow]

I have mostly Snap-on.

Turning wrenches began as a hobby when I bought my first car. I turned it into a career when I was 18. Years later, I changed careers and only work on my own stuff.

 

[Itinerant]

DIY'er. Most of what I've got now is recently acquired Snap-On; combination wrenches, general service sets, additional socket sets and DMM but I do have quite a bit of Craftsman USA tools that I've had for years.

 

[Tinner]

At home, about 75% of my tools are Snap-on. The rest Proto, Armstrong, SK, Stahlwille and Knipex.

At work I don't use mechanic's tools a lot, but I need to have them. It's a mix of brands all but a few American made. Starrett for layout and measuring.

I despise cheap tools, learned what they're worth decades ago.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Not a pro mechanic, I'm a home guy.

Wish I could afford Snap-On or one of the other pro brands but that is not in my future, even used unless I find some killer deals (always on the lookout, never finding). I'm very envious of you pros and serious DIYers that have the huge boxes full of pro tools.

I have mainly Harbor Freight, Kobalt, and Craftsman. Like many, I am disappointed that Craftsman is going to Chinese production, as I grew up using craftsman tools and always appreciated that they had a large selection and a great warranty. Sad that Sears/Kmart is killing off the best thing they had going.

The horror freight stuff, I try to stick to their made in Taiwan lines which seem to be much better than their Red China stuff. I've been really pleased with their Taiwan made socket sets.

Kobalt is mainly Taiwan made stuff these days. I can deal with that, their stuff seems to be decent to me. I try to make sure I don't buy the Chinese made items in their lineup. I don't buy into their seemingly gimmicky stuff either, I stick with the standard stuff. The main reason I've brought Kobalt is Lowes is close to me, has a good selection, good replacement, and I think Lowes will be around when Sears is but a memory.

 

[The Muffin Man]

That's because it's easier to find a Leprechaun's pot-o'-gold than it is to find a Cornwell truck in most places.

That's the truth and its a shame too. I have a set of Cornwell flare nut wrenches, and open end wrenches. They are right up there with the other "Big Three" truck brands. Infact I prefer Cornwell's wrenches more than the others above; The cross sections of the handle are thicker which makes for a much more comfortable position to apply as much torque as you can. Wright also has a very thick wrench handle that is comfortable too. Plus Wright's WrightDrive is a nice feature as well.

 

[kenburkholz]

Mostly, old Craftsman Klein,Knipex,SnapOn,Plomb,Crescent,Vlcheck,Bonney,Mac,Proto, and just about about all other U.S. made tools. Retired, maintenance mechanic, fabricator. Ken.

 

[shoggoth80]

Ya know, I wouldn't mind giving Wright and Cornwell a try. SK is another one. I just don't find much of it around here. When funds become available again, I might have to hunt pawn shops and such. I don't really have brand loyalty. Lol. My go to ratchets are Snappy, my metric wrenches are Armstrong, my SAE are Cman USA and Armstrong, my ratcheting stubbies are Matco, my stubbies Kobalt etc. I picked and chose as money and opportunity allow. I am sure I am a lot like other guys on here for that.

I was a parts replacer before I got laid off, brought back, and laid off again.

 

[WNYflyer]

DIY'er,

I primarily use Williams, Duro Chrome/Indestro, Napa/New Britain, Proto and Vanadium Tool Company. All old stuff for SAE and I try to find old school stuff for metric when I can as long as the tool is not needed right away.

Since I am DIY'er a majority of the high priced brands I aquire get sold off to fund further tool purchases.

 

[Airborne Ed]

Mostly old Craftsman and some snap on . I had worked as a industrial electrician /Industrial mechanic . Overall I could never complain about the old Craftsman tools . They did what I needed them to do.

Sad to see Craftsman tools now going Chinese . Hopefully all my tools will be passed down to my Grandson . As soon as he gets old enough I want to drag him out to my workshop by the ears and teach him everything I can before I go bye ,bye.

 

[FlyBy]

Old USA Carftsman, Mac (old and new), Cornwell, Matco odds and ends.

 

[PShow]

By trade I am not a mechanic. Tools are for all home projects etc. I have variety of tools from SnapOn, Wiha, Fuller, Craftsman, SK, Stanley, Channellock, Knipex. A lot of my grandfathers tools etc.

 

[mickeyone]

Screwdrivers sSnap on,Mac,Klein.
Pliers Knipex,Klein,Channelock,Utica
Wrenches Mac ,Crafty,Snap on
Battery tools Bosch,Porter Cable
Corded Milwaukee
Hammers Estwing,Crafty,Garland
Meters Fluke Simpson
Sockets Sk,Crafty,Snap on

 

[Astro_Pneumatic_Tools]

no Astro on the poll

 

[APEowner]

Well, the poll result so far certainly explain why so many threads degenerate into Snap-On vs. Craftsman flame wars!

When I started as a tech back in the early 80s I bought the largest set that Craftsman made at the time. Over the years most of the Craftsman stuff got replaced with Snap-On either because the Craftsman stuff just didn't work as well or I got frustrated with the inconvenience of trying to warranty stuff at Sears.

 

[Banjorear]

MOST of my tools are US made Craftsman.

 

[kjbenner]

Just a DIY'er here.

I have more Craftsman than any other brand, but its probably not the majority of my stuff. The rest is Armstrong/Proto/KD/Allen/USA Kobalt/Gearwrench.

 

[928'er]

DIY'er with an eclectic mix of stuff.

Torque wrenches: Bonney/Utica, Snap On, Proto
Ratchets: Proto, SK, Matco, Triangle, Cornwell, GearWrench, C'man*, Kobalt (car tool kit)
Sockets: C'man, GearWrench, Triangle, HF (impact), Kobalt (car tool kit)
Extensions: C'man, Snap On, Triangle, Kobalt
U-joints: Triangle, C'man
Speeders: C'man
Ratcheting wrenches: C'man Pro, GearWrench, HF (car tool bag)
Combo wrenches: Thorson (USA), SK, C'man Pro, Kobalt, HF (car tool bag)
Offset box wrenches: C'man Pro
Open end wrenches: C'man, SK & assorted hand-me-downs
Line wrenches: SK
"Allen" wrenches: Wera, Bondhus, Eklind
Hex bits: Dewalt, Ryobi
Scratch awl: Crescent
Aviation snips: Wiss
Shears: Fiskars
Screw drivers: Felo, Vaco, C'man & assorted hand-me-downs
Tongue & groove pliers: Proto, Channellock
Needle nose pliers: Snap On, Xcelite, Oly-Pro
Slip joint pliers: Cee Tee, Proto, C'man
Linesmen pliers, cutters, strippers: Knipex, NWS, Channellock, Proto, Hapewe
Snap ring pliers: Channellock, Proto
Adjustable pliers: Knipex, ViseGrip (USA)
Files: Nicholson
18v Cordless tools: Ryobi One+
12v Cordless tools: C'man Nextec
Cordless screwdriver: Hitachi
Vises: Record (Sheffield), PanaVise


*All C'man is USA (except Nextec)

 

[James_B]

My toolbox is a real mixture of brands.

I started out with 70s vintage Australian made Sidchrome sockets and wrenches and Australian made Stanley screwdrivers. There was also a mix of Australian made Sidchrome, German made Boker, and Swedish made Bahco pliers, plus Unbrako hex keys. There's also about half a dozen vintage Metrinch sockets and a few Metrinch wrenches in there as well.

I added some Japanese made Vessel screwdrivers when I needed smaller/miniature sizes, and a set of Japanese made Fuller metric wrenches when I needed to fill in the gaps in my wrench collection.

While waiting for my tool boxes to be shipped from Australia, I bought a Stanley Socket set and some Canadian Tire Mastercraft screwdrivers and pliers.

Since then, I've added more Stanley sockets, wrenches, plus torx and hex sockets, and Mastercraft sockets (needed some 6 pointers as my Sidchromes were all 12 pointers) and Mastercraft Maxium impact sockets and torx bits.

A Mastercraft Torque Wrench and a Williams Tools Torque Multiplier rounds out the set.

 

[DaleK]

I have some of almost everything. Must have at least one power tool from every brand and the same for handtools. Just added some extra 1" to 1 1/8" wrenches I picked up for $1 each at a flea market, too rusted to identify but good and solid as backups for my others.

Farmer/logger, use tools almost every day and all day some days depending what I break.

 

[Gregg33]

Most of my wrenches, sockets, ratchets and punches & chisels are Gray. I also have a fair bit of Kobalt (Danaher) and Snap On, as well as a Mastercraft socket set in a case, a Bahco socket set, a set of Gearwrenches and a vintage Mossberg box end wrench set. Most of my screwdrivers are RONA (Fuller) and U.S. Craftsman. Pliers are mostly Channellock. I have odds and ends in just about every brand though. But I am a sucker for Gray, especially used, but I buy a fair bit of new Gray too.

 

[The Muffin Man]

Heres a More detailed breakdown of who makes my tools...

Sockets/Ratchets - Snap-On, Toptul, Facom

Wrenches - Snap-On, Toptul, Wright, BlackHawk, Williams, Cornwell

Screwdrivers - Facom, Felo, Toptul, Snap-On

Pliers - Facom, Knipex, NWS

Punches / Chisels / Hammers - Bostich, Facom, Snap-On

 

[amlv20]

Mistake of a .Mac box.everything snap on with a bit of Mac mixed in from when I had a Mac dealer.

 

[DSM21]

MOST of my tools are US made Craftsman.

Amen, I actually went through sears today and I was pretty sad seeing how many of the hand tools are made in china now.

 

[RedneckWelder]

Amen, I actually went through sears today and I was pretty sad seeing how many of the hand tools are made in china now.

It's a shame...I foresee Sears as being defunct within 10 years, maybe 5. Going to many K-marts or Sears is like visiting a ghost town.

I do wish I had been alive in the time period before Sears long decline (I was born in 88, the big book stopped being published in what, '91?). Sears helped modernize America...piece of history right there.