I am buying my first set of tools before I go off to tech school so I would like to know what the best mid-grade tool brand there is. I need something less expensive as snap-on or matco quality, but higher quality than Husky,Kobalt, or Craftsman.

 

Husky and Cobalt are for the most part chinese, Snapon and Matco are for the most part US made and are among the best quality tools out there IMO. A good starter set is what you need for trade school and that would be Craftsman, thats what I bought 30 years ago when I went to trade school and most of them are still in use (in my home box, Snapons at the job site) and those that have broken I have always been able to take to Sears to trade for a new one.

So, you make a mid level investment for mid level tools that will get you through the school and beyond, they are mostly US made and have a lifetime warranty.

 

I am a certified heavy diesel mechanic and to be honest, I am completely fine with my Craftsman stuff. When you get to working, finding out this is what you want to do, making the money, you can upgrade to Snap On, Mac, Matco, etc. You usually get discounts from them through schools as well.

I like Husky tools fine. They warranty them although, it isnt as easy an exchange as Craftsman or the others are since its a mail in thing (unless you have a dealer near you. Im not sure if Home Depot still carries them. Lowes still carries Cobalt).

My rule of thumb is get warranty tools. If you break it twice, you probably need to buy the 3000.00 Snap On version of it. But, I have at least 2 of most of my tools so I am not on a stand still if I break something.

Good Luck!

 

I dont understand how some hand tools can be "better" than any other brand. What could be different between 2 brands?

I use craftsman and sometimes harbor freight tools.

 

Its the materials the tools are made of. I have a lot of Harbor Freight tools as well... But first off they are usually foreign made tools. The metallurgy is not as great as the more expensive stuff, the warranty is probably not existent, and they do not look as nice.

Craftsman has their professional line.. but again,the tools are just not, maybe the word is tempered... to the extent of those of Snap on. Also, Snap On, with being such a large professional company, has many specialty tools such as thin walled sockets and then specialty tools for certain applications like Ford equipment. Then Snap On claims grip comfort with their screwdrivers and wrenches that eliminate fatigue. I have heard many people saying they can put something on with a Snap On tool and not take it off with the identical Craftsman tool... I dont know. As I stated above, seems just about any tool I use works fine for me. I usually use the cheaper tools when I have to modify something for a special application.

 

the tolerences are better on snap on and matco i have alot of craftsmen tools but have had to use a snap on wrench to keep from rounding off the head of a bolt before but i bet 90% of the time i grab craftsmen. i try not to use cheap junk cuz i have to many scares from when i was younger and didnt have anything better, and almost all schools have a tool program and you get a great deal so save some money on the good stuff but consider the price on some items

 

What ever you buy don't start loaning them out on the jobsite...lol

I initially invested alot of damned money in Snap-On tools and boxes when I went to tech school...Used the **** out of them for years and I have to say the quality really is top notch......Are they worth the price, well thats debatable....lol Most the guys that own them will say they would use nothing else but when your tools cost more than your car then you try to justify it if ya know what I mean... When I used them everyday all day long they seemed to be the only way to go..

Now days my snap-on stuff sits in my garage along side lots of craftsman and some Mac here and there.... I could really care less what I pick up to use at this point... I do think Craftsman is more in line with you get what you are paying for....Where Snap-on is probably the best you can get but you pay double what there worth...lol

Here's something to consider though.... I have a drawer of broken Snap-on tools... I haven't been in the business for over 10yrs and it seems I would have to hijack a tool truck to get some replacements.... Over the years I have contacted local dealers probably 5x's and they pretty much just blow me off... Seems they know I won't be buying from them just getting my stuff fixed......Kinda pisses me off... Craftsman stuff breaks I simply go to the store and get a new one...

If I were you I'd spring for Craftsman...If you finish school and go to work one day you can upgrade to something better and more costly then your craftsmans can find a new home in your garage........

On a side note,,, any body know the deal with K=mart selling them now? I've also seen some at the local Ace hardware...

 

Very True.


K-Mart and Sears are the same company.. or owned by.. something like that. Been that way at least the last 6 years or so I have known about it. As for the ACE hardware thing, I cannot answer that.

 

when i started tech school there was a deal with mac that you got 50% off everything....thats why my box and the vast majority of tools in it are mac. thats the set i have at the dealership....my home box consists of a mix of craftsman and chinese tools i either found in used cars, bought in a giant box of stuff at a garage sale or i was in the middle of a job and needed it so i grabbed the first one at the closest store haha....but now im having a big problem finding a mac dealer around and like nevada al said, if you dont buy from em, they dont like to warrenty stuff. id see if the school has a program, or get a good craftsman starter set, and happy wrenchin!

 

You could look at the SK line of tools, they are a mid-grade tool line like you asked about. I have a complete 1/4" drive set that is almost 30 years old and it still works perfectly.

 

Craftsman is absolutely the way to go in my opinion. You'll see me sporting a MAC tools hat a lot and I do have quite a few high-dollar items from Snap-On and MAC, but at the end of the day you have to be frugal when starting out. The time for top-end stuff will come, but it isn't now. The differences in tool quality are the alloy contents and the heat processes during manufacture. The inspection regimens are also extremely important, and I think it's been mentioned but tolerances and warranties are $$$. Worth their weight in gold. (Or more. I guess those two things don't weigh anything.) Haha.

 

For the money they are quite good tools, I have alot of SK stuff and never had an issue ever. My buddy used the **** out of his sets for years in a shop and never had issues either.

I also like stanley/husky (same thing just different name on the tool). I needed a cheap set for road service work and for 5 years I beat up the tools. The ratchets did wear out after time, (were talking I used them like 50x a day and abused them) but for 10 bucks I just bought a new one. Plus were talking I bought them at walmart, and in some cases when I was in a bind I used them as a hammer. The sockets didnt wear at all really, the wrenches worked great and I never had any other issues. I have a stanley set in my truck, my tool chest besides SK has alot of stanley/husky stuff as well. I do have some snap on and matco, but for the price they arent worth it. Plus not being in the biz anymore tracking down a tool guy is tough.

As for craftsmen, or should I say crapsman... I hate the new stuff. I had a few older craftsman ratchets and sockets. Looking at them over old stuff you can clearly see it. The metals cheaper, sockets are thinner and the ratchets-utter junk. Example: Since I did alot of road service I changed an awful lot of batteries thru AAA for about 2 years. I started off with a nice older craftsmen 1/4 ratchet-sadly the ball detent wore out. Go to sears, get new ratchet-dang thing has a ITTY BITTY selector ****. Went out an hour later, took off battery terminal on a honda, stinking 10mm bolt and I heard a pop-ratchet failed. Same thing happened 4x before I made them give me a new one out of the case (they hand you rebuilds usually) and that one broke same way. Internally the teeth strip on the gear. Im not impressed with thier junk, sure convenience is nice but not if the damned tools I bought at home cheapo and walmart held up better and cost 50% less. Never once did the stanley 1/4 ratchet break on me internally and I used the heck out of it.

To this day my work box I used for roadservice is my go to, not one single tool has failed on me and everything was purchased at home cheapo or walmart, I gave away or threw out the newer craftsmen junk I had in there-still have the 30+ year old craftsmen well built stuff tho.

btw, the one tool your going to want to get thats gonna cost a bundle but is soooo worth it-a snap on 1/2 and 3/8 drive cordless impact gun. They are EASILY nearly as strong as an air impact gun but so portable. I used a 1/2 one like 10x a day changing tires and other stuff and it never failed. Downside is they are $$, for the gun, battery (I bought 1 extra it comes with 2) and mobile charger (comes with wall charger) itslike 600. I also bought thier flashlight too, sooo worth it. I use this thing all the time, its 100x easier to drag with you than an air impact gun, you can take it with you, and trust me its powerfull.

 

Your best bet would be Craftsman for trade school.I started off with them when I got into the automotive repair business and still have 99% of them still in my toolbox now after 25 years.

 

personally most of my stuff is mastercraft (canadian tire brand) warrty is great and if ya watch and buy on the sales you get great prices on the stuff too.

 

Years ago I bought a set of wrenches and a good sized socket set brand named "Blackhawk". I'm pretty sure it was the Mac dealer that was selling them. They were cheaper than the mac sets but more expensive than craftsman. I still have most of them, none broke but a few were loaned out and never made it back.

The ratchets have been repeatedly subjected to a 3 ft cheater and a BFH.

I also have a nice collection of many other of the top brands I've collected and purchased but most of my basic sets are Craftsman and a couple Stanley sets. I have stripped a couple of Stanley ratchets but exchanged them at the local Wal-Mart. I prefer the toggle type selectors over the dial type for that reason.

BTW, for Christmas I got a huge screwdriver set made by Kobalt (Lowes) and they are actually pretty nice. The heads haven't stripped at all, and don't slip like Stanley's tend to. Not the same quality as my snap-on set but quite nice. The big kit comes with a handful of phillips, standard, a couple of the common torx heads, two stubbies, and a four piece pick/hook set.

Like mentioned already, when you get advanced enough into what your doing and need some specialty tools, don't go cheap here. It's cheaper in the long run to buy one good tool instead of breaking two or three cheap tools.

Good luck to you!