same tools, different manufacturer

[bashbarnard]

so this is sort of another tool thread. Ive landed my self a new job which is nice. little issue is im so used to walking over to my mates box at work and stealing certain items that when i move ill actually miss working with them so thought id invest in a few new tools. 
being a tight git i noticed that various manufacturers just box things up under there name and sell for more. sealey seem to be a big culprit. 
So any body know of anymore that i can look into?

[Piggy]

A lot of snapon is rebranded stuff.

Most my kit is signet...I love it and cant fault it

[Seb_Ryan]

Bergen are pretty good.. Cant for the life of me remember the other one though.. Ks tools maybe?

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[Poodle]

Recently bought an omega flexi-head ratchet which i'm pretty pleased with, the ratchet mech isn't as smooth or fine as i'd like, but for £23...

[zx_volcane]

Most of my kit is halfords professional / advanced.

Very decent kit for the money, and fact you can be anywhere in the country and get it replaced if it breaks in store is a huge bonus.

Had a socket set case replaced recently after the hinges went. FOC and delivered to my door as they didn't have in stock.

Granted they don't do everything, but 90% of kit you need you can pick up.

Their fine tooth ratchets are lovely, as are the ratchet spanners.

[bashbarnard]

A lot of snapon is rebranded stuff.

Most my kit is signet...I love it and cant fault it

yeah i steer clear of snap on although im in the trade. very few of there tools are actually worth the money. in fact the only ones that ive ever invested in are impact guns as they are better in my experience and circlip pliers as i used to break set after set after set just got fed up. 

Bergen are pretty good.. Cant for the life of me remember the other one though.. Ks tools maybe?

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not to sure about the bergen stuff will look into never personally used.  ks tools ive never heard of 

Recently bought an omega flexi-head ratchet which i'm pretty pleased with, the ratchet mech isn't as smooth or fine as i'd like, but for £23...

yeah we actually have an omega tool van come to ours which is really overpriced. if you buy online they are fairly cheap

Most of my kit is halfords professional / advanced.

Very decent kit for the money, and fact you can be anywhere in the country and get it replaced if it breaks in store is a huge bonus.

Had a socket set case replaced recently after the hinges went. FOC and delivered to my door as they didn't have in stock.

Granted they don't do everything, but 90% of kit you need you can pick up.

Their fine tooth ratchets are lovely, as are the ratchet spanners.

the amount of mechanics that take the mick out of my halfords stuff is astounding to be fair. specially when it does more work than other peoples snap on stuff and is fine. in fact ive only every broken one ratchet spanner by being a dick with it and as you say they replaced it no quibble off the shelf within 30 seconds of walking in store. 


has anybody thought of any off the cuff brands for torque wrenchs. ive used a sealy one for about 5 years day to day and its been fine. calibrated correctly etc for that long. however id like to keep it at home now rather than back and forth. so i need a new 1/2 and 3/8 one

[welshpug]

TBH for ease of supply and replacement I'd just buy a Halfords toolkit with a Trade card.

Their torque wrenches are decent, or have a look on ebay for used mac, snspon eyc.

[Dum-Dum]

Most of my kit is halfords professional / advanced.

Very decent kit for the money, and fact you can be anywhere in the country and get it replaced if it breaks in store is a huge bonus.

This, lifetime guarantee is brilliant with the fact that if you are working on your own you are never far from somewhere that will replace it for free to get the job finished and also at times when nowhere else is open like late evenings and Sunday afternoons.

[welshpug]

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/store...reId=10001

[Toms306]

Most of my stuff is Halfords Pro with the trade card tbh, got their 2 torque wrenches BUT the bigger one only goes to 300Nm. Not enough for 306 hub nuts, and probably others as well.

Also got a few Clarke things from Machine Mart which aren't as bad as I expected!

[welshpug]

not many torque wrenches go that high without going for big ones.

[maxaret]

+1 for Halfords pro tools
My tool 'kit' is a complete dogs breakfast of different makes,when I worked for an aircraft manufacturer in the 80's I just bought stuff as I could afford it,but did not go down the snap on route like many of my mates.
I ended up with some Stahlwillie(spelling lol?),Facom (still got a facom 1/4 drive ratchet handle - finest 'ratchet' mechanism I could find for working in tight areas) and anything else decent on offer LOL.
Best name for tools of course was 'King Dick'

[P-Courty]

britool used to be pretty decent, or blue point kits fairly similar to halfords. Personally i'd go for halfords pro like most others, good tools for the price range and lifetime guarantee with so many stores local to replace if needs be

[Sambarker]

Im a fan of Facom, Bahco, Beta, Britool

However I do seem to have a lot of Kennedy stuff from work which I can't fault


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[PocketFighter]

all my stuff is halfords stuff, i did have a few snapon bits but prefered how my halfords kit felt

my second choice would always be Beta

Britool are awesome tools and i think most of Sealey tools are britool/draper rebranded

[Paul_13]

Halfords tools for me

I put tools through some abuse and halfords tools have faired well

[Poodle]

Britool WERE awesome, but these days it seems as though some company has bought the name and started selling crap tools under the britool banner.

[welshpug]

that'll be the stanley group, they own facom and mac also.

[ADV_93]

Britool expert stuff isn't too bad and comes with same lifetime warranty as others. Sealey premier are pretty good, and bluepoints new range isn't too bad either.

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[rocker8742]

I tend to only spend decent money if spending on ratchets, can't fault the 3 Teng sets that I've got and they get a lot of abuse.

As for things like sockets do you guys spend money on decent ones or buy cheap stuff? I've always just used cheap sockets and have never had an issue, if they break they're easy enough to replace


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[bashbarnard]

I still have some argos sockets from when i was about 13. Saying this though i have teng, sealey, draper, snap on and some car boot specials. Ive been in the trade 10 years and only sucesfully broke 1 18mm socket was a sealey premium one and they replaced it. Maybe im lucky though.


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[welshpug]

never broken a socket, worn one or two out, broken a few Torx bits, Breaker bars.

I tend not to abuse tools though, as you can hurt yourself and your wallet quite badly that way!

[maxaret]

Some years ago I was dumb enough to change the cam belt on my Volvo 440 (1.9 renault diesel turbo),the crankshaft pulley bolt was uber tight LOL
I got my mate to jam the ring gear with a large screwdriver and started off with a cheap socket and large ratchet handle,nada - so then extended it with a jacking handle - still nada - so I then extended that again by using some old exhaust pipe (by this time it was 4 - 6 feet long) ,my mate said 'the cheap socket is not gonna take the strain' but I just said 'well somethings gonna go'  !
But anyway - hey presto it worked - came loose with a crack and the cheap socket survived !

Nobody was more surprised than me 

[tigerstyle]

I still have some argos sockets from when i was about 13. 

It's probably because they are made by a decent supplier, possibly before everything got made out East instead. 
Could be rebraded Britool or similar, or you've just been lucky with it! 

I like my Halfords kit, even more now I get it on trade, that and just random bits for odd jobs now and again keeps me going!

[Frosty]

I have been a bit of a sucker for the snap on stuff which i have got a fair bit of now. There are still a fair few bits i wouldn't buy off snap on but i like their ratchets and sockets mostly plus when i do break bits he is round pretty much every week and i can get the replace/fixed. I have had a fair few bits fixed etc like snapped trox bits and screwdrivers and ratchet inside bits. I have got a few of the blue point socket sets which i find pretty good for keeping in the boot of cars and going out on break down etc as are the halfords 1 which i got in the boot of the estate which i haven't used a huge amount but they are great value for money.

There a lot of cheaper tools i got and rate pretty highly. I think the us pro and bergen stuff is all good for the money. One of the first things i bought when i started in the trade was a bergen impact 1/2 drive socket set and to this day i can't fault them and they have taken A LOT of abuse.

I think i have pretty much pretty much something in my toolbox from nearly every tool maker but like most people have said i think you really can't knock the halfords stuff for value for money and the warranty. Though if on a bit of a budget i like the bergen and us pro stuff.

[Mattcheese31]

can't fault my Halfords 200 piece advanced set, had it coming up 2 years and used it for everything, if you have a trade card they are stupidly cheap, just buy one, lots of other tools you'll need but it is a great start . .



   

[Matt-Rallye]

Ive always used a mixture but my kit is mostly snap on or KS tools, cant fault the sockets etc and my snap on impact gun is fecking immense

[P-Courty]

Sockets wise i've only ever baught 1 set from a second hand tool shop virtually new though no scratches or wear. Still no damage 5 years on, not even sure what make they are.
Other than that the other collections of sockets i have i've picked up in scrappies when they've been left behind in the cars, got bluepoint snap on britool and a few halfords, fairly major selection of good tools.
(not tool related but in the same scrappy i found a 2006 scooby with brand new in box spax coilovers in the boot!!)
It's like tool shopping but without the cost [emoji6]