What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Hand tools that don't suck, post-pandemic & tariff-flation

CyberSniper

CyberSniper

1/2 ton status
 Premium
Joined
Apr 21, 2003
Posts
3,034
Reaction score
739
Location
Chelsea, MI
So back before the pandemic I had found that I could count on Craftsman tools to be "good enough" for most things, I just couldn't abuse them like my Snap-on, SK, etc tools. I still did, but no guarantee they wouldn't leave me stranded.

Craftsman was better before Stanley left their stain on them, but anyway. Weird thing is they left some lines alone, kind of like when Stanley bought Proto decades ago. Kind of like Gearwrench (I have a ton of their ratcheting wrenches).

I could use other brand tools in a pinch. I'd buy Harder Fraught, Tekton (used to be Michigan Industrial Tool, cheap chinese shit), Stanley, pick something depending on what it was used for. I have a soft spot for the old made-in-USA Stanley 1/2" pear head ratchets (clearly a ripoff of Snap-on).


Anyway, I still buy tools fairly often now. Recently I've had an itch for Torx. I have been breaking my old Made in USA Craftsman ones pretty regularly. Now that I work on Chrysler shit a lot it's becoming a problem as I am out of spares for everything. Recently I have been struggling to find a T40 that isn't a piece of shit and twists or break.


I tried Harder Fraught again, and as before their hand tools seem to be made out of drill press shavings. The only difference I can see that the ICON has is they spend slightly more time in the tumbler and get a little better plating.


What have you guys found lately that doesn't suck for brands?
 
I have recent manufactured 3/8 drive chrome torx sockets from Tekton that seem to be very nice. I haven't really beat on them much to be honest, though, but I would expect them to hold up well.

I have numerous other recent manufactured Tekton tools that I have been very happy with and have used more frequently. I would definitely recommend the brand overall.

I have also been unhappy with Harbor Freight stuff, despite the rave reviews they seem to get online (almost everything I have bought there has failed or severely disappointed). In my opinion Tekton is substantially higher quality and a better company to give your money to.

I don't use them professionally but they get relatively heavy hobbyist/DIY use on my Blazer, daily drivers for my wife and I, etc.
 
yeah the t40 fastener is right there in that sweet spot not big enough for huge ft pounds, but big enough to break the tool. I used to need 3 T40s to r&r a tune port intake back when they still had warranties factory fresh. Always broke 2 and need the 3rd to finish the job, Snap On btw. Blue Point is no better. I think Ed has the right idea buy what you can conveniently warranty

The idiot Engineer that invented the Torx drive must had just found out a mechanic was screwing his wife, and that dude got us all paying for it.
I think there at least 5 broken Torx bits in tool box atm. I don't see a Snap On dealer any more, think I am going to have to track one down. Just hate to hit him with a hand of warranty shit when I'm not gonna buy anything off the truck
 
I don't mind torx, but I hate inverted torx (usually see them on starter bolts). The whole point of torx was to be able to use the fasteners with autoloaders set to a predefined torque. So I don't really blame them for using them, but in many cases they should have used something else. I do prefer it to allen, mostly because allen always rounds out.

So my frustration with shit tools like this hit high levels yesterday. I've been trying to get the tailgate bolts out of the YJ. Every torx I had either broke or bent. The Tekton ones were probably the hardest of the ones that bent short of my Craftsman ones. The impact-rated Tekton is significantly softer than the regular one, I bent it back to straight before setting it aside. You can still see it's twisted though. I'll probably try to warranty them both with Tekton.

TektonT40.jpg

The Gearwrench was pretty much a piece of shit like a bunch of the rando "S2 tool steel" ones I bought off Amazon. I literally bought a dozen different brands.

GearwrenchT40.jpg


My last spare Craftsman I stole out of my Jeep rescue kit did the job. The other two China specials held up well, but when one broke it was flush with the head of the screw which was a PITA to cut out.

As you can see, they weren't even rusty and I had broke the paint free. The only Shamazon Chinesium ones that held up decent were the ones no longer made that are broken with my last remaining Craftsman one below. The three below were in my Jeep rescue kit. I ended up cutting slots on several screws and taking them out with a punch and hammer.
CraftsmanT40.jpg
 
Cucv_M1008 said:
I don't know who makes them but my husky tool set from homerdepot has torx bits I have yet to break.
Click to expand...
I have a handful of those that I use, and have not yet broken one. I have not used the 40 size though.

As for their end wrenches, the husky ones are actually pretty decent. I’ve been leaving my good wrenches at home or as backups in the service van, and using the husky wrenches as the ones that I take on the calls for when I break them, lose them, throw them down the drain, throw at customers, whatever
 
Truckman4life said:
I have a bunch of Carlyle tools from Napa for work. They are pretty nice and lifetime warranty. They just did a major redesign on everything so hopefully they still stay as good as the older stuff.
Click to expand...
Do they have a broad cross section on the end Wrenches? Nothing worse than wrenches that aren’t wide enough so when you have to actually pull on them, they cut into your hand.

I have an early set of Napa‘s that my grandfather bought probably in the 70s or 80s. They’re pretty good set.
 
Bent77 said:
Do they have a broad cross section on the end Wrenches? Nothing worse than wrenches that aren’t wide enough so when you have to actually pull on them, they cut into your hand.

I have an early set of Napa‘s that my grandfather bought probably in the 70s or 80s. They’re pretty good set.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure on the newer ones, I do have some that are that way and I can't remember which ones they are. I think I have at least a half dozen different wrench brands in my work tools.
 
Blue85 said:
I like this guy:

Time saver:
View attachment 520270

View attachment 520271

Don't know how well that applies to the 3/8" socket versions.
Click to expand...


So this sent me down a rabbit hole in which I found many skunks and maybe even a honey badger. It helped a lot actually.

You'll laugh, but I went to Menards today and bought this set:

I was convinced it was going to break so I graciously opened the package so it was easier to return, and bought it on a separate order.

And it worked! It worked so well, I didn't even have to try out my new SK Tools Made in USA one I just paid $19 for. I might even buy another set when Menards does their bag sale.


fourwheelerjeff said:
I have several different sets; Craftsman, Evolv, HF, no name, but I have a set of Lisle brand. have you tried them?

www.lislecorp.com

26550 Torx® Bit Set

9 pc. Torx® Bit Set
www.lislecorp.com www.lislecorp.com

www.lislecorp.com

27200 Torx® Bit Set

12 Pc. Torx® Bit Set
www.lislecorp.com www.lislecorp.com
Click to expand...

So I have the bigger Lisle set. Normally it stays in my pickup truck tool box (30 call ammo can) and I tried it on one but it started to slip. I think all of them are under size which is why they got put in the truck (plus they came in the convenient holder). Are yours undersize? Maybe I got a bad batch. They're at least five years old.
 
CyberSniper said:
So back before the pandemic I had found that I could count on Craftsman tools to be "good enough" for most things, I just couldn't abuse them like my Snap-on, SK, etc tools. I still did, but no guarantee they wouldn't leave me stranded.

Craftsman was better before Stanley left their stain on them, but anyway. Weird thing is they left some lines alone, kind of like when Stanley bought Proto decades ago. Kind of like Gearwrench (I have a ton of their ratcheting wrenches).

I could use other brand tools in a pinch. I'd buy Harder Fraught, Tekton (used to be Michigan Industrial Tool, cheap chinese shit), Stanley, pick something depending on what it was used for. I have a soft spot for the old made-in-USA Stanley 1/2" pear head ratchets (clearly a ripoff of Snap-on).


Anyway, I still buy tools fairly often now. Recently I've had an itch for Torx. I have been breaking my old Made in USA Craftsman ones pretty regularly. Now that I work on Chrysler shit a lot it's becoming a problem as I am out of spares for everything. Recently I have been struggling to find a T40 that isn't a piece of shit and twists or break.


I tried Harder Fraught again, and as before their hand tools seem to be made out of drill press shavings. The only difference I can see that the ICON has is they spend slightly more time in the tumbler and get a little better plating.


What have you guys found lately that doesn't suck for brands?
Click to expand...
I have had good luck with only one set from HF, it's an impact set 3/8" drive, that is a one piece, tapered to make it stronger.
I will get pictures tomorrow.
I did destroy the inside of a seat belt bolt in my 91 crew cab, I think it was a T40.
The torx bit is still good. I ended up having to use a chisel to crack it loose.
 
None of the screws were rusty and none of the heads stripped, it was always the tool that failed until the Menards set. I think what happened is the backing plate (there is a plate with welded nuts for both the tailgate and the tub that are not welded to the tailgate or tub, they just float) had rusted between it and the tub and preloaded the screws which already had thread locker on it. So they were super tensioned... with thread locker.

I tried to send back the Gearwrench to Amazon and they said to keep it.

One of the China sets that bent they wanted back so I sent it yesterday.

I haven't done anything about the Tekton problems yet.

Friday when I went to work I returned all the Harbor Freight stuff. They asked me if I wanted a replacement and I said to Tabitha (I despise her for a multitude of terrible customer service experiences) that I value my time too much to constantly replace cheap tools. Whenever I go there and buy something they can sell me a warranty on I always ask "does Tabitha still work here" and they always answer yes and then I say loudly so all the other customers can hear "Well, if you want to put in writing that Tabitha will actually warranty the item then I'll consider it". Someday I'll probably get banned. I was pretty sure they'd remember me after one time of them denying me a warranty on an electric trailer jack because they didn't sell that model anymore and would only warranty if I bought a new warranty on the new trailer jack... that cost more than I paid for the original trailer jack plus warranty and made a big scene about it. Harbor Freight's warranty/return policy is the only reason to shop there. Everything else you buy there you can find on aliexpress or just buy from Vevor at this point.
 
CyberSniper said:
None of the screws were rusty and none of the heads stripped, it was always the tool that failed until the Menards set. I think what happened is the backing plate (there is a plate with welded nuts for both the tailgate and the tub that are not welded to the tailgate or tub, they just float) had rusted between it and the tub and preloaded the screws which already had thread locker on it. So they were super tensioned... with thread locker.

I tried to send back the Gearwrench to Amazon and they said to keep it.

One of the China sets that bent they wanted back so I sent it yesterday.

I haven't done anything about the Tekton problems yet.

Friday when I went to work I returned all the Harbor Freight stuff. They asked me if I wanted a replacement and I said to Tabitha (I despise her for a multitude of terrible customer service experiences) that I value my time too much to constantly replace cheap tools. Whenever I go there and buy something they can sell me a warranty on I always ask "does Tabitha still work here" and they always answer yes and then I say loudly so all the other customers can hear "Well, if you want to put in writing that Tabitha will actually warranty the item then I'll consider it". Someday I'll probably get banned. I was pretty sure they'd remember me after one time of them denying me a warranty on an electric trailer jack because they didn't sell that model anymore and would only warranty if I bought a new warranty on the new trailer jack... that cost more than I paid for the original trailer jack plus warranty and made a big scene about it. Harbor Freight's warranty/return policy is the only reason to shop there. Everything else you buy there you can find on aliexpress or just buy from Vevor at this point.
Click to expand...
That's the trick with most lifetime warranty, they say lifetime, we assume our lifetime, but it's the lifetime of the product, so the change the part number which they do a lot, and poof no more warranty.
I never buy anything based on the warranty, never have
 
Craftsman still falls in the "good enough for what I'm paying with a lifetime warranty" area for me. There is an Ace hardware and two NAPAs that will warranty them close. And Lowe's in about every direction.

I have some buddies with Tekton and I have some Gear Wrench 3/8 drive Allen sockets at work that seem to be OK. I've bought some Carlyle stuff from NAPA as well, but mainly larger sockets for pinion nuts and hub nuts.
 
So you can warranty Craftsman at Ace and NAPA in addition to Lowe's? How does that work now? I knew Lowe's did it but when I mentioned it to an employee in the tool area a few years back he seemed unimpressed with the warranty process and said it wasn't like the old days at Sears where you just gave them what you had and they gave you a replacement.

Honestly since my kids were born my rides have been nicer so I haven't broken many tools or even had to purchase much in years. I finally broke a 1/2" drive 22mm impact socket last fall and just ordered a new one off of Amazon.
 
AJMBLAZER said:
So you can warranty Craftsman at Ace and NAPA in addition to Lowe's? How does that work now? I knew Lowe's did it but when I mentioned it to an employee in the tool area a few years back he seemed unimpressed with the warranty process and said it wasn't like the old days at Sears where you just gave them what you had and they gave you a replacement.

Honestly since my kids were born my rides have been nicer so I haven't broken many tools or even had to purchase much in years. I finally broke a 1/2" drive 22mm impact socket last fall and just ordered a new one off of Amazon.
Click to expand...
I've just always walked in to Lowe's and swapped them. No issue. I have not tried Ace but they say they will. Napa did too IIRC, I know they stock them
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom