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Thread: Tier 1, 1.5, or even Tier 2 tools thread

  1. #1

    Tier 1, 1.5, or even Tier 2 tools thread

    Now that I've got a decent tool chest, I'm tired of my mishmash of tools. I'm leaning towards Wiha for my first decent set of screwdrivers. Not worth it? Worth it? Spend money elsewhere?
    #RESIST

  2. #2
    THE THIRST MUTILATOR Nephrology's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    West
    I have a few small drivers from Wiha and they are nice.

  3. #3
    Excellent tools. Ive got quite a few of them.
    I'll wager you a PF dollar™ 😎
    The lunatics are running the asylum

  4. #4
    There was another German brand that began with a "W" that I was looking at, can't remember the name now.
    #RESIST

  5. #5
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Midwest
    Wera is the name you are looking for.

    I am going to give you two links re quality tools. YOU have been warned.

    https://www.kctoolco.com/?rfsn=2849868.56b328


    https://www.harryepstein.com/

  6. #6
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Gotham Adjacent
    TL;DR

    Screwdrivers - Wiha or Wera
    Wrenches - SK or Wright - for ratcheting wrenches save the cash and go Gearwrench ('Kobalt' from Lowe's)
    Sockets - SK (choice 1) or Wright (close second)
    Ratchets - Wright (1) or SK (2)
    Pliers - Klein still makes the best followed by Greenlee for specialized pliers
    Hammers - Do you even Estwing bro?

    Long - Did Read:

    For screw drivers - Wiha and Wera. Wiha is definitely the nicer of the two. But Wera may have specialized things Wiha doesn't.

    For ratchets, wrenches, and sockets - SK Tools and Wright Tool - Both build high quality non-professional hand tools that won't break the bank (compared to Matco or Snap-On). Wright and SK are still made in the USA here in the mid-West. For a long time both companies made rebranded tools for a number of folks (Ace, Craftsman, and early Matco). My tool chest has several dozen SK and Wright wrenches, ratchets, and sockets. A few of the Wright ratchets are 3x my age and work great. Compared to some of the Craftsman stuff that isn't even 25-years old. In fact, when I went through my dad's tools, I left most of the Craftsman stuff behind and kept the Wright and SK.

    Particularly nice addition, SK has a line of 'semi-deep' sockets which are about the right length for a lot of things for you to no longer need a short extension. SK also makes ratcheting box-end/combo-end wrenches (Wright does not). But they are quite a bit more expensive than Gearwrench wrenches (which are even cheaper if you buy the Lowe's Kobalt brand, which are merely re-branded Gearwrenches).

    For pliers - I have multiple pairs of Klein needlenose, lineman's, and side-cutter, in different sizes. Channel-lock brand Channel-lock pliers, and Vise-Grip brand vise-grips. Greenlee also makes nice electrical pliers similar in quality to Klein.

    For hammers - As I wear out or break the various things I found from my dad or I had - I've replaced them all with Estwings.

  7. #7
    For 98% of my screwdriver use, I use one of the screwdriver handles that takes insert bits, e.g. something like this:

    https://www.amazon.com/Crescent-Magn.../dp/B07QTTK1GR

    because:

    1)screwdriver bits wear, especially Phillips. When they do, you just pop in another 99 cent bit.
    2)my sense is that *quality* replacement bits might be better steel than even quality conventional drivers. Perhaps because you can pay more for a small piece. Or I might be all wet :-)
    3)you can buy the brownell's gun bits for your gunsmithing work
    4)you now have a handle not just for slotted and Phillips, but for torx, square head, hex, the 87 varieties of security screws, etc, etc
    5)if you get the handles in normal, stubby, and long, you now have those for all the funky screw types in #4
    6)some of the handles are hollow and you can store several inserts in the handle, so when you're up the ladder and find the whatever is held on by one Phillips and two slotted you don't have to climb back down the ladder.

    I have a big drawer full of quality traditional screwdrivers, but rarely use them anymore. The exceptions are a giant slotted and the little skinny Phillips when the screw is down a hole smaller than 1/4 inch.

  8. #8
    I’ll offer another option. Brownells screwdrivers, specifically their bit sets. Their bits are S7 tool steel, and seem to be better quality and better fit than your run of the mill bits. Their bit drivers, ratchets and torque drivers are top-notch. Plus they are in the link toolbar above.
    https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...prod41571.aspx

    Now I will confess that my absolute favorite driver bits are made by the aircraft tool industry. I recently bought some Phillips driver bit for airplane building. They have specific bit for screw installation and another for removal. They fit really well.
    https://www.yardstore.com/consumable.../phillips-bits
    More here: https://www.yardstore.com/consumables/screwdriving
    "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master"

  9. #9
    banana republican blues's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Blue Ridge Mtns
    I have some Wiha drivers, mostly for knife and gun work...and they're excellent. But I still use my old Craftsman drivers more often for routine stuff. Wiha if there is a reason to worry about potential damage to screw or driver.
    There's nothing civil about this war.

    Read: Harrison Bergeron

  10. #10
    Member JDD's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Location
    You can't get theyah from heeyah...
    Quote Originally Posted by LittleLebowski View Post
    Now that I've got a decent tool chest, I'm tired of my mishmash of tools. I'm leaning towards Wiha for my first decent set of screwdrivers. Not worth it? Worth it? Spend money elsewhere?
    I have a baby set of Wiha screwdrivers for very small bits (computers, glasses, stuff like that). They are 100% worth it.

    For larger screws, I have not felt my self under-screwdrivered and needing anything nicer than this set of Klein screwdrivers https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1 (note: I don't use them for gun stuff, just random work around the house and garage)

    I also swear by pliers and everything else from Knipex. https://www.amazon.com/stores/KNIPEX...5?ref_=ast_bln I have a bunch of their cobra pliers, as well as the pliers-wrench things with the parallel jaws.

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