BEST brand?

[Black90Sport]

whats the best brand for hand tools? I love dewalt and it has never failed me, but i didnt know if there was better. Also i use craftsman for non powered hand tools. Any objections?

[wrenchguy]

That's a loaded question. Depending on the demands of the user a compromise has to be made based upon price, availability, quality, and a whole bunch of other crap (wife). This goes back to the "which tool company do you prefer?" thread.

I personally feel that Facom is the best brand of hand tools that you can buy. 90% of the time they are superior to snap-on, mac, matco, or anything else "produced" in the US. Plus they are generally cheaper. That being said it's also hard to find them unless you're shopping online.

A lot of people on this forum will say that craftsman/husky/kobalt is just as good as distributor based brands - they need to stop lying to themselves. They're fine if you work on your own stuff in your driveway. I have some craftsman tools at home and I buy them for my dad and brother at Xmas. In real life though I do more with my tools than tinker around, Bob Villa will let you down, so paying $50 for a socket that you can use daily for 6+ years without failure doesn't seem so unreasonable.

Power tools - The quality and competition has really stepped up within the past 7 years. I don't care for DeWalt, neither do any of my uncles (4) who are each in a different trade. I'll stick with Milwaukee or Makita. I did get this driver a few months ago for interior work and it's freakin' awesome (or wicked good for MA, NH, and ME) http://www.skiltools.com/en/AllTools/Category/Product/default.html?pid=2336-02&cid=192161