The hand tool (shop tool) discussion thread.

[twiliter]

Some oddball favorites that I have had since forever seems like. Lectrolite combo closed end (no longer in business), Williams Superrench (sic) socket end combo (now a division of Snap On), and Wilpen offset combo (division of Plomb, no longer in business). 

I had a set of wrenches just like that one, open end/socket
JR

I wish I had the whole set, but just this one. Came from the same place I got my Snap On wrenches, a found thing. I used it a lot when I worked on my big truck, usually to back up a bolt using a ratchet and socket on the other end. I had some pretty big tools when I had my big truck and sold/gifted them away when I had no further use for them, but I did keep my Williams wrench (and a few other things), as I still do some wrenching now and then. 

I had a set of wrenches, they were craftsman combo ends both reg and metric, I have no clue where they went, I do have a socket set, reg, metric, and deeps, all three on those socket bars, all 1/2” drive, one ratchet and one breaker bar. I think there huskys, I bought this way back in 97, there still like new..
JR

Nice!  Most of my sockets are 3/8" drive now, I still have a few 1/2" and my torque wrench is 1/2", but I used to have a 3/4" set also, which made my toolbox too heavy to lift! 

Huh, I bet! Our high school was a tech and my class the hvac/p class used to go out on the job, and our one teacher an ex-marine used to get us on a Air Force base for some jobs, this is one place you don’t screw around, if you stepped foot off limits they had full right to take you down! We’d walk through a hanger and there’s a plane fully fueled ready to go with all sorts of weapons, heck back when Clinton was in office one of his secret service fig he was above everyone and went for a tour, needless to say he got tackled! Anyway, one day our teacher tripped over a classmates toolbox and he was in a bad mood and ended up kicking it a good 10’ on concrete, the classmate was like OMG, that was my box and it was fully loaded! Heck the box itself was one of those all metal 15lb carpenter boxes.. but them things can get heavy, especially with sockets!
JR

Sounds like a good shop teacher! 

[MadPlumbarian]

Some oddball favorites that I have had since forever seems like. Lectrolite combo closed end (no longer in business), Williams Superrench (sic) socket end combo (now a division of Snap On), and Wilpen offset combo (division of Plomb, no longer in business). 

I had a set of wrenches just like that one, open end/socket
JR

I wish I had the whole set, but just this one. Came from the same place I got my Snap On wrenches, a found thing. I used it a lot when I worked on my big truck, usually to back up a bolt using a ratchet and socket on the other end. I had some pretty big tools when I had my big truck and sold/gifted them away when I had no further use for them, but I did keep my Williams wrench (and a few other things), as I still do some wrenching now and then. 

I had a set of wrenches, they were craftsman combo ends both reg and metric, I have no clue where they went, I do have a socket set, reg, metric, and deeps, all three on those socket bars, all 1/2” drive, one ratchet and one breaker bar. I think there huskys, I bought this way back in 97, there still like new..
JR

Nice!  Most of my sockets are 3/8" drive now, I still have a few 1/2" and my torque wrench is 1/2", but I used to have a 3/4" set also, which made my toolbox too heavy to lift! 

Huh, I bet! Our high school was a tech and my class the hvac/p class used to go out on the job, and our one teacher an ex-marine used to get us on a Air Force base for some jobs, this is one place you don’t screw around, if you stepped foot off limits they had full right to take you down! We’d walk through a hanger and there’s a plane fully fueled ready to go with all sorts of weapons, heck back when Clinton was in office one of his secret service fig he was above everyone and went for a tour, needless to say he got tackled! Anyway, one day our teacher tripped over a classmates toolbox and he was in a bad mood and ended up kicking it a good 10’ on concrete, the classmate was like OMG, that was my box and it was fully loaded! Heck the box itself was one of those all metal 15lb carpenter boxes.. but them things can get heavy, especially with sockets!
JR

Sounds like a good shop teacher! 

OMG, he was great, he was also the rifle team coach..
JR

[twiliter]

I'm seriously considering getting some Knipex side cutters, I have chipped the ends off 2 sets of Channellock dikes now. 

Not like I was abusing them, just flush cutting some hardened nails. I hear the Knipex have harder cutting edges.

[Vidar]

I'm seriously considering getting some Knipex side cutters, I have chipped the ends off 2 sets of Channellock dikes now. 

I have some a Knipex side cutter or three. For cutting prefer the little Knipex bolt cutter though - it is just better at cutting. I've cut plenty of hard stuff with mine and it is still like new. Of course sometimes you just need to cut with a side cutter - that can be the case the other way around too though.

[twiliter]

Yes, I use them in some tight quarters sometimes, so diagonals work better for my purposes. I see that they make a set with a slight offset, #74 21 200 which look like they would work great for what I need. 

[twiliter]

I have also found my Wiss tin snips to be great for cutting all sorts of things, but no good at flush cuts. These are also pretty old from the 60's. 

[smiller43147]

Mostly Craftsman.  Sears, like NAPA, has been reliable and there has always been one near me, wherever I've lived.
Well, not Sears so much any more...

[MadPlumbarian]

I have also found my Wiss tin snips to be great for cutting all sorts of things, but no good at flush cuts. These are also pretty old from the 60's. 

Ah wiss lefts(red) and rights(green) yellows are straights, I still have a pair from the ol days, they can cut multiple things but once you cut something besides sheet metal you kinda ruin them for what there made for..
JR

[twiliter]

I have also found my Wiss tin snips to be great for cutting all sorts of things, but no good at flush cuts. These are also pretty old from the 60's. 

Ah wiss lefts(red) and rights(green) yellows are straights, I still have a pair from the ol days, they can cut multiple things but once you cut something besides sheet metal you kinda ruin them for what there made for..
JR

Yes probably not good for nails or plate metal. Did you ruin a pair? 

[ezdog]

I work with my hands every day and it just depends on the job and location mainly.

I use Klein & Ideal for most things Electrical and though I have bought and tried Knipex too they are just not as comfortable or familiar to me and I seem to prefer the old standards in general.
I do like the Knipex Pump pliers and channel lock versions though for sure.

I like the Craftsman Mechanics stuff mainly because I have so much already and the newest higher end items are not too bad, just don't break them anymore!

I still use the Xcelite 99 series for Electronics work, they are terrific still and take up so little space.

Milwaukee is making a pretty serious run at the Hand Tool game too and everything of theirs that I have tried so far is really pretty decent.
I have the cutters, pliers,strippers,drivers and use them a lot with no real complaints and they are priced nicely too.

Fluke for meters period.

I also carry Milwaukee Fuel 18 & 12 volt drills but also like Makita and Dewalt for the tiny chargers that easily fit into a bag, don't know why no others realize that without the charger those tool do not do much?

I also am driven crazy these days by most guys using drills and drivers for every single screw they face!?!?!?
I don't need to use a drill to install outlet faceplates and more are screwed up somehow because of this than anything else that I see?

Instead I loves me my Snap-On Ratchet Screwdrivers!
Pricey but worth it and they make driving screws by hand an easy and precise job and without stripping or blowing out the intended screw!

I also keep trying the Were.Wiha,etc. "better" quality stuff from time to time but have found overall that if it is not broken why try to fix it is what works for me with tools.
I do think the quality is better but I try not to blame/thank the tool for my work !

[twiliter]

I agree about the drill/drivers EZ, I tend to still use hand drivers for most things, except when I build or rebuild anything that used to require nails, I use screws probably 99% now. They're good for that, like nothing else. Like decks, they stay together better and you can disassemble a board here or there if you have to without prying and breaking the neighboring pieces. I also use my MT or SAK for a lot of incidental stuff, it's so nice to have tools when and where you need them. I still have a lot of Craftsman tools that have just hung in there forever. My first tools were a set of metric combination wrenches I got as a gift when I was a kid with a Japanese trail bike to tinker with. I still have both the wrenches and the bike! I don't replace or upgrade tools unless they get really worn out or broken, then I look for the best value and quality I can find. Mostly I keep tools that work and hardly ever need to replace them. The diagonals are a case where I just need to upgrade to something better. 

[MadPlumbarian]

I have also found my Wiss tin snips to be great for cutting all sorts of things, but no good at flush cuts. These are also pretty old from the 60's. 

Ah wiss lefts(red) and rights(green) yellows are straights, I still have a pair from the ol days, they can cut multiple things but once you cut something besides sheet metal you kinda ruin them for what there made for..
JR

Yes probably not good for nails or plate metal. Did you ruin a pair? 

I’m sure I’ve cut other items besides 24gu sheet metal, but never nails, lol, I’ve also had mine since like 95..
JR

[twiliter]

My snips were used when I got them, and fairly beat up, but they still work well. I have cut some pretty thick sheet metal with them, and wire (mostly soft), plastic and rubber that was too thick for scissors, etc. etc. Can't imagine ever ruining them really, but I suppose it could happen. 

[captain spaulding]

I love hearing what everyone uses!

Just picked up a 18” pipe wrench for $3 at a garage sale today. It’s Pittsburg brand which isn’t real high quality but I like having secondary (beater) tools for the dirty jobs so it works out.

[twiliter]

Me too Cap, good idea for a thread. 

Secondary tools? I just use my primary tools for dirty jobs, my secondary tools have yet to be purchased, then they become my primary ones. 

[MadPlumbarian]

My snips were used when I got them, and fairly beat up, but they still work well. I have cut some pretty thick sheet metal with them, and wire (mostly soft), plastic and rubber that was too thick for scissors, etc. etc. Can't imagine ever ruining them really, but I suppose it could happen. 

Yeah plastic containers that are a little to thick for scissors, they work great!
JR

[Pacu]

Craftsman made an awesome hard wire cutter. I pushed it one night and snapped the beak like cutting heads off. Went back to Sears to find a replacement. Since they didn't make that model anymore they hooked me up with some 11 inch diagonal cutters by Knipex.  They are awesome but sure wish I could find that Craftsman model again. I get distraught when I break a good tool used constantly. Snap On won me over for life as they replaced my magnetic ratcheting screwdriver extremely quick. I use the hell out it everyday.

For ratchets Snap On is king.
20180526_173644 by Jason Downs, on Flickr