Choosing the right tools

If your a professional contractor, carpenter, craftsman or tradesman you know the importance of buying the right tools. I remember someone telling me once that the in certain Asian cultures they consider their tools as members of their family. They treat them with respect and admiration as if they were flesh and blood. I thought this was very interesting and it gave me a new perspective on the way I now look at my tools.

It seemed like every time i had a job I would just go buy a cheap hammer or a cheap tape measure because I misplaced mine or I was just too lazy to dig in my tool box and find it. Everything has it's value and I believe that once you change your perspective on your tools you will have a greater respect for them.

So choosing the right tools can be a careful balancing act between price and quality. Most of the time you have to buy something, use it and then buy something else in order to actually see which one is better. There are many websites that will review items, but there is no substitute for how a tool feels in your hand and how well it actually works on the job.

Consider all the features of the tool you are looking at. Here are a few things i always look at;

Weight - Once you have a tool belt full of tools, a hammer pliers, screw drivers, nails, screws, tape measure, snips, etc... things can get pretty heavy after a while. I try to find the lightest possible tools without sacrificing quality. That's a little easier said then done.

Brand - Tools come in different grades made for weekend warriors, and the professional craftsman. Most tools will give you a good indication , but more times than not they will make you think your buying a professional tool when actually your just buying a brand with allot of fancy words. Ask the tool manager what the pros like and what the return rate on the tool is. This will give you a pretty good indication if a tool is good or not.

My favorite tools are Dewalt, Hitachi, Porter Cable, Estwing and Pasload.

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Back 09.01.2007.