As many know I am learning the boat repair business. Mechanics are as fanatical about their tools as we photogs are. The SNAP ON guy shows up every Wednesday and holy crap it is like the ice cream truck pulled up. My mechanics drop their tools and stumble zombie like for their weekly hit. Once they get their fix they are fine and smiley for a few days as they wear off the new chrome smell, but they start asking, on Monday, if the SNAP ON guy has been here. They know he comes on Wednesday but they feel the need.
I moseyed my way into the opium den this past wednesday thinking I needed some tools of my own. Using my father-in-law's tools is good but I thought being able to etch my initials on my tools would be a nice feeling.
HOLY SHIT. After seeing those prices my wife has no complaint about me buying the occasional camera accessory. I will not be etching my initials into any SNAP ON tools in the near future. I like being able to afford film.
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Technological society has succeeded in multiplying the opportunities for pleasure, but it has great difficulty in generating joy. Pope Paul VI
So, I think the "greats" were true to their visions, once their visions no longer sucked. Ralph Barker 12/2004
As many know I am learning the boat repair business. Mechanics are as fanatical about their tools as we photogs are. The SNAP ON guy shows up every Wednesday and holy crap it is like the ice cream truck pulled up. My mechanics drop their tools and stumble zombie like for their weekly hit. Once they get their fix they are fine and smiley for a few days as they wear off the new chrome smell, but they start asking, on Monday, if the SNAP ON guy has been here. They know he comes on Wednesday but they feel the need.
I moseyed my way into the opium den this past wednesday thinking I needed some tools of my own. Using my father-in-law's tools is good but I thought being able to etch my initials on my tools would be a nice feeling.
HOLY SHIT. After seeing those prices my wife has no complaint about me buying the occasional camera accessory. I will not be etching my initials into any SNAP ON tools in the near future. I like being able to afford film.
I will say that Snap-On offers some very high quality tools. (As do S-K, Mack and couple others. Craftsman are also good, just not to the level of the ones I just listed.) My father did auto body and mechanical work. I cannot count the number of low priced tools that were chucked into woods because the cracked, warped, slipped off the nut, or other wise not doing the job they should. There really is a quality difference.
That being said, I do not turn wrenches professionally, but I still appreciate the quality. I will occationally buy Snap-On, depending on what I need. Mostly I have Craftsman. Any tool worth owning is worth buying with quality in mind.*
* I do make an exception if it is a tool I will not need for other than what I am doing at the moment. Case in point, I needed a flare nut wrench, but because of where the nut was, no regular arench would work. I went an bought the cheapest one I could find, torched it so I could bend it to fit. I would never do that with a quality tool.
Craftsman has the great warranty...basically, anything goes. Running to Sears for a replacement socket is fine for the amateur. A pro needs something that just isn't going to break. That's not worth the additional cost to an amateur like me so I stick with Craftsman.
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That warranty is not unique to Sears, but they like to make a big deal of it. Mostly, I have Craftsman too, some Snap-on stuff but all of it purchased second-hand.
The difference is noticeable though, and just like in this realm, if your living depends on the tools you use, it makes sense to buy the best you possibly can.
a friend's craftsman tools fused together in the back of a car that caught fire.
one big fused mess ... ( car was scraped off the road .. one big mess too )
he brought the tools to the craftsman store ( they had them in the late 80s/early 90s )
the shop-guy guessed what he had ( with help )
and he got a brand spanking new set of tools - FREE.
That warranty is not unique to Sears, but they like to make a big deal of it. Mostly, I have Craftsman too, some Snap-on stuff but all of it purchased second-hand.
The difference is noticeable though, and just like in this realm, if your living depends on the tools you use, it makes sense to buy the best you possibly can.
Who else has a similar warranty?
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I once saw a guy wave down a Snap-On truck and walk up to the driver with a busted torque wrench. Guy gave him a new wrench on the spot. Kind of like a Sears guarantee on wheels.
The mechanic's rolling opium den 
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