I think the OP should clarify whether he means mechanics tools or power tools. When I see the OP's three brands listed I think mechanics tools but it is clear some posters think he means power tools.

Regarding mechanics tools Craftsman is in the midst of reinventing itself and you have to look at each tool individually. With some careful consideration Craftsman is probably the best of the three currently but again you can't take that as a blanket statement.

That said I think the average homeowner often looks at mechanics tool buying incorrectly. IMO many focus on buying large sets of tools and thus goes the Chinese route. I would suggest buying fewer tools of higher quality that are a pleasure to use and will last a lifetime. It is rare an average DIY guy uses more than a small core group of tools and when they do encounter a specialty need it is still likely that the 200+ piece socket set won't have what they need either. I suggest buying a small 3/8" drive socket set along with a small variety of screwdrivers and pliers along with a set of 1/4" drive bits. These along with a good quality drill and impact will cover the vast majority of DIY situations.

Below are some quality brands that make excellent products and can be found for good prices if you search. Amazon.de is an excellent place to buy quality German handtools.

Wera
Knipex
NWS
Gedore
Stahlwille
Bondhus
Felo
PB Swiss

Again my suggestion is, for a set budget, to buy fewer higher quality tools versus buying the big Chinese sets that a DIYer may use 10% of over their life.

garagejournal is an excellent forum for advice whether your budget is small or huge. In fact, it is more useful if you are on a tighter budget because they do a good job sifting through the cheaper tools to find the gems like Harbor Freight Pittsburgh ratchets.

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Posted by Warfarer

Dothan, AL

Member since May 2010

12146 posts

Posted on 2/9/19 at 7:03 am to Obtuse1

quote:
I think the OP should clarify whether he means mechanics tools or power tools. When I see the OP's three brands listed I think mechanics tools but it is clear some posters think he means power tools.

This was my first thought reading this too and I was even thinking about what type of hand tools are they referring.

I have been putting together another tool chest out at my shop and decided to piece it together using best budget stuff versus long lasting. I have gone with Matco wrenches and dewalt impact sockets. The wrenches last a long time and are very comfortable in the hands. The impact sockets are a great buy for the price, I just bought a 42 piece 3/8" set for $100 at Rural King. I considered going with Craftsman now that they actually have lifetime warranties back on all their stuff but ultimately would rather have one set of sockets instead of two (regular and impact).

For power tools, I recommend the dewalt line of 20v but would tell anyone looking to buy power tools to buy into a large tool pool. Milwaukee has a great set of 12 and 18v tools with anything you could need. Dewalt is the same. The problem with buying something like a Craftsman set of power tools is whether that battery will be around in a year or if the shelf life will be over by the time you need another battery or tool to match.

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Posted by soccerfüt