Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[Watchman]

oblio said:

guindilias said:

I've just ordered one!

Me too

Lemme know what you think. They do look like an interesting, if temporary, solution to a conventional bag of spanners.

[AlanTuring]

Just a quick tip, if you are buying Knipex stuff try pricing it out on amazon.de before going to the UK site. Very often you can get the same tool for less even if you factor in the shipping cost. As long as you make sure you are buying from Amazon (not a third party) and the items are in stock the stuff arrives in a few days. You can use the same username/password and the layout and checkout process is identical to the UK site, so you don't really need to be able to read German or use Google translate.

Same goes for buying Grohe taps and other German made stuff. Also Lego is very often cheaper on there for some reason.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0052DVYF0
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B001094GLY
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B005KH87IA

[Teddy Lop]

smiley_boy2501 said:

I've just read through this entire thread.

I've bought a set of Knipex pliers (standard 3 pack). Absolutely lovely quality; form and function.

It has begun.

knipex pliers seemed to give way to CK at the last renewal, blame the cutters with built in socket pin cutter, but I still have a pair of 10" cobra ratcheting pump pliers that must be 25 years old. In fact they're probably the oldest new-when-bought tool I own.

[Mr Pointy]

AlanTuring said:

Just a quick tip, if you are buying Knipex stuff try pricing it out on amazon.de before going to the UK site. Very often you can get the same tool for less even if you factor in the shipping cost. As long as you make sure you are buying from Amazon (not a third party) and the items are in stock the stuff arrives in a few days. You can use the same username/password and the layout and checkout process is identical to the UK site, so you don't really need to be able to read German or use Google translate.

Same goes for buying Grohe taps and other German made stuff. Also Lego is very often cheaper on there for some reason.

https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0052DVYF0
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B001094GLY
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B005KH87IA

It's about £5 less for a pair of the 180mm wrenches. I suppose it might be worth it if you bought a couple of pairs.

[untakenname]

Around £35 cheaper on the first link from amazon.de, slightly OT but it always amazes me that you can get free next day delivery on European prime orders

Edited by untakenname on Friday 3rd May 16:17

[AlanTuring]

Yeah, works out best if you are buying a lot of stuff at once as the shipping costs only increase marginally as you add each extra item. For some reason once I start adding tools to my basket I find it difficult to stop so rarely put in an order for just one or two things.

ETA: sorry that was in response to Mr Pointy. Some items are significantly cheaper too, it's Amazon so the discounts are up and down like a yo-yo - a lot of it comes down to buying at the right time.

Edited by AlanTuring on Friday 3rd May 16:19

[B17NNS]

smiley_boy2501 said:

It has begun.

The slope only gets more slippery.

Estwing Ultra Series leather handle incoming.

[jas xjr]

B17NNS said:

The slope only gets more slippery.

Estwing Ultra Series leather handle incoming.

I have an estwing. Trouble is I keep it for 'best,'which means I never use it

[wolfracesonic]

jas xjr said:

I have an estwing. Trouble is I keep it for 'best,'which means I never use it

I'm similar, mine only gets used for really long screws

[dickymint]

Nothing exciting really but I can remember having Scriber envy many years ago as an apprentice and finally got around to buying a Browne & Sharpe.................



Not cheap at £29 inc postage from the USA but really is a joy to use. Lovely thin retractable point to align with a rule or tape for maximum accuracy. No more dapping it down and having to hunt for it. Used daily on sheet metal fabrication it'll outlast me!

[smiley_boy2501]

B17NNS said:

smiley_boy2501 said:

It has begun.

The slope only gets more slippery.

Estwing Ultra Series leather handle incoming.

It's on the amazon wish list

Along with a lot of other stuff that looks beautiful; Wera, Bahco, Estwing, Knipex etc

What do I do with the cheap crap I own though?

Edited by smiley_boy2501 on Friday 3rd May 18:06

[dickymint]

smiley_boy2501 said:

It's on the amazon wish list

Along with a lot of other stuff that looks beautiful; Wera, Bahco, Estwing, Knipex etc

What do I do with the cheap crap I own though?

Edited by smiley_boy2501 on Friday 3rd May 18:06

Buy a mug welder and make a sculpture out f em

[Mr Pointy]

AlanTuring said:

Yeah, works out best if you are buying a lot of stuff at once as the shipping costs only increase marginally as you add each extra item. For some reason once I start adding tools to my basket I find it difficult to stop so rarely put in an order for just one or two things.

ETA: sorry that was in response to Mr Pointy. Some items are significantly cheaper too, it's Amazon so the discounts are up and down like a yo-yo - a lot of it comes down to buying at the right time.

We need a group PH buy. Mind you it would be painful to decide which ones everyone wanted.

[gazzarose]

Teddy Lop said:

smiley_boy2501 said:

I've just read through this entire thread.

I've bought a set of Knipex pliers (standard 3 pack). Absolutely lovely quality; form and function.

It has begun.

knipex pliers seemed to give way to CK at the last renewal, blame the cutters with built in socket pin cutter, but I still have a pair of 10" cobra ratcheting pump pliers that must be 25 years old. In fact they're probably the oldest new-when-bought tool I own.

I had/have a pair of those ck cutters. I never got to cut a socket screw with them. My orbital sander shat itself on day and in a fit of rage I picked the cutters up and cut the lead off it. Probably would have been better if I'd unplugged the sander first though, the arc pretty much knackered the cutter blades, so that was 30 quid well spent!

[uncinqsix]

I am going to say my 18V impact driver. I just bought it today and had a quick play with it, but I really, really could have done with it when I built my timber deck just over a year ago. I was using a big corded drill to drive some large screws in, and at the time was only dimly aware of the existence of impact drivers, and had no idea what they were capable of.

I suspect it'll come in very handy for the forthcoming kitchen build...

[SVS]

smiley_boy2501 said:

Along with a lot of other stuff that looks beautiful; Wera, Bahco, Estwing, Knipex etc

You can add PB Swiss tools to the list: possibly the best ‘tool porn’ of the lot

For hammers and mallets, I think Vaughan is at least as good as Estwing.

Whereas I’ve been disappointed with Bahco: good stuff, but not in the same league as Wera or PB Swiss.

[Gompo]

B17NNS said:

The slope only gets more slippery.

Estwing Ultra Series leather handle incoming.

I'm interested to know how you get on with this? I managed to obtain a similar Estwing at work, however it seems to 'ping'/vibrate/resonate when used for hammering. It's the 'claw' bit doing the vibrating, which has been temporarily alleviated with some duct tape.

[guindilias]

untakenname said:

it always amazes me that you can get free next day delivery on European prime orders

Probably fulfilled from the UK warehouse - Amazon isn't a franchise! Change the language and prices to suit, job done.

[Ashtray83]

Gompo said:

B17NNS said:

The slope only gets more slippery.

Estwing Ultra Series leather handle incoming.

I'm interested to know how you get on with this? I managed to obtain a similar Estwing at work, however it seems to 'ping'/vibrate/resonate when used for hammering. It's the 'claw' bit doing the vibrating, which has been temporarily alleviated with some duct tape.

I recently had to replace my 15+ year old leather handle estwing (lost it) got a shiny new one with the straight claw beautiful thing bar the horrible pinging/chiming noise every time I hit something it’s driving me mad

[skwdenyer]

If you do any significant quantity of plasterboarding (or drywalling to our US cousins) then I recommend these:



Allows you to quickly (and repeatably) score off plasterboard without laying it down, finding a straight edge, playing the "stanley + tape measure two-step" and so on. Also, for cleaner edges, you can run it down both faces and get a lovely clean snap.



The Radius 360 is just fantastic for tape-and-fill operations. Unlike a regular pole sander, the UJ (universal joint) + foam backing genuinely helps to get those lovely feathered edges in very little time.



If you haven't used a track saw, they are simply fantastic. I couldn't justify the Festool, but this Makita - if you throw away the standard blade and get something decent - is great. It took me too long to buy one, during which time I cursed my various circular saws all too often; the difference is night and day.

Having had to do a lot of refurb work over the last few years, those tools have all had almost as great a workout as my Makita drill, impact driver, and so on.

Edited by skwdenyer on Tuesday 7th May 13:14