The Sweethome: After more than 300 hours of research and testing of more than 180 tools, we’ve put together the best tool kit for your home (and found the best toolbox to hold them all). To come up with these 22 recommendations, we consulted three carpenters with a combined experience of 36 years, got input from six leading tool experts, and had many, many conversations with tool manufacturers.
9 comments:
I’ve always thought the idea of finding the best of something is dangerous. If you aren’t careful you’ll get caught in a trap of endless comparisons and always be looking for something that’s just a little more perfect. When most of the time you could’ve gone with something you found ages ago that would be perfectly good. This becomes especially problematic when you’re talking about something that’s highly susceptible to personal preference, such as tools, knives, and computers. That being said I think this article did a very good job of selecting tools and backing up their choices. They layout the reasons for their choices clearly and do a good job of choosing things for fairly object reasons, its pretty hard to argue with reasons like “it’s a solid piece of steel, it doesn’t break.” The part of the article I found odd was how they tried to get the cheapest thing possible in some categories (the drill, and drill bits) and yet didn’t seem to care that much in other categories (the screwdriver and the needle nose pliers). It almost feels like they would have been better served making two lists, a “budget” best tools list and another one that was just the best of each category they could find.
This is a fun article, as a tool nerd I appreciate the time that was taken to select these simple, yet expensive items. I am trying to think of another tool that would be good for home improvement, but the only other thing I can think to be useful would be smaller sets of Philips and flat-head screwdrivers; down to the glasses repair kit size. The tool list for theater however can go on for years. This summer I saw people who had up to 7 huge road cases full of tools. And not, ‘run to Home Depot and find the cheapest ___’ tool, but actually very nice and expensive tools that I cannot wait to own one day. I want to start a giant master list, not just because I think it is a part of an upcoming class, but it’s good to have a ‘presents I want’ list on hand.
It scares me to see something be labeled “Best Tools.” I typically like to see “Top Pick” or phrases that imply opinion more than the word best does because while this might be a great toolkit for a decent price I can guarantee that I can find a higher quality replacement for every tool on this list. The fact that there is anything Ryobi in this list proves that it cannot be the best. Ryobi is good and reliable in many cases but it is far from the best. Now I think this is a really comprehensive list of tools for an average home owner to have but that is not clear in the description. I urge people to express their opinions when it comes to tools. Hearing people’s reviews and experiences is important to a tool buyer but people should be clear that they are expressing opinions and not stating their opinions as facts.
Wow this is quite an impressive article. I’m not talking about tools, I’m talking about what they said how long and how much efforts they took to study and interviews and all those sort of things to come up with this tool kit for home user. I mean, I am definitely not a tool nerd so please can some tool nerds around here tell me if all of these item this box contains much different from the one we can find at the moment at Home Depot or all those places? I wonder if this time used for research and studies worth the result and if the $500 which I’m sure part of them priced from the labor, 30 something years of research I mean. This might be appealing to those people who need these tools handy but I as a dumb home tools user like me I may not be interested in getting this box since.... I might not know how to use all of them and stick to a set of assorted sized screw driver I have for all purposes.
I found this article to be very informative. As a freshmen is stage craft their were many tools I needed to get. I have acquired some that I like to use that I brought, such as a muti-tool and a flash light. However, an article like this is very useful to see what the best tools are. The extent of research they did was very vast and very admirable, because they cared enough to back sure the statement and article title, 'The Best Tools and Toolbox' held true. You can ask a verity of people what they think on what are the best tools to have, but having an article like this that puts everything together is a good reference for what to get in a home, and for a theatrical worker. They also pay attention to the toolbox, which can easily be overlooked. Any kind of case can really be used, but the best that are most efficient space wise and weight wise are hard to find for what exactly you're carrying around. Their recommendations seems useful and something that I might reference.
I disagree with every tool on this list. This should really be called “The Best Tools and Toolbox on a Budget.”
I’d be curious to know how sturdy that toolbox is. It seems like it’s something that will crack and run after you’re rough with it once or twice.
They listed Vise-grip brand “Channel Locks”, Channel Lock brand “C-Wrenches”, and Crescent brand “Vise Grips.” I know that you don’t have to buy the brand of the tool that made the tool first, but I imagine that Crescent has more experience with adjustable wrench’s than Channel Lock does.
That Ryobi set of drill bits is not the best set of drill pits you can buy, even at Home Depot, even on a budget. I own that set and it’s terrible.
What’s with that pull saw? I you can’t even cut flush with it? What good is it?
Tekton Brand Hex Wrenches? I can’t even.
I don’t pretend to have more experience than the authors, but I do presume to call myself a connoisseur of tools.
This is so great. I couldn’t be happier someone finally made this list. Any hardware or tool store can be a bit overwhelming, and truthfully if one more Home depot employee talks down to because I don’t know everything there is to know about buying a power drill, I may scream. I fully believe in having a stocked took kit in your home (and have one myself), for minor repairs of, or in my case to fix my closet doors that refuse to stay in the track. While I am lucky enough to know people who have an almost encyclopedic knowledge on tools, the general population doesn’t, and will most likely end up going out and purchasing a “tool kit” with things they think they need and will never actually use. I am proud to say that I have everything on that list (maybe not their recommended bands) except 4 things.
Accumulating a box of tools takes time. Most people don’t just walk into Home Depot and buy everything at once. That is not to say that everyone should have a good “toolbox” at the ready for all the projects that might come up around the house. After reading the article and seeing the recommended tools, I wouldn‘t disagree with any of the suggestions they have made. But that is not to say that you wont find someone that does. Most people will have a different list of tools based on their preference. I will be hard to convince someone who is well-l versed with tools that they have to buy a specific tool. Tools are like a nice steak--everyone like their type of steak, cooked to the way they like it. If you are a beginner, sure go out and buy the $20 tool kit, but if you are really going to drop $500+ on a toolbox, go pick out a tool that fits you best, or you can do what I did and inherit all my old family tools, because let me tell you, nothing beats a tool from the 90s.
The way i usually accumulate tools is on an as needed basis. This is the first time I've seen a good tools list with generally all the tools i use. there are a few on the list that I don't particularly need but I'm sure they would be useful in an obscure project. This is a good set of tools but again i think you shouldn't go to home depot and buy all of these in one go. Usually tools go on sale and thats when my dad used to buy a compound miter saw or a jig saw. my grandfather on the other hand would just get tools for free and fix them up for use. then if a better one came along he would switch it out. I'm sure you cant do this today because we use very disposable tools that are not meant to last forever. I think this list is a good guideline "shopping list" but you may never need to use a jig saw until a project 3 years from now. In three years they may have gone down in price or improved. In the end I"m sure the every day person will continue to buy one of those all in one tool kits just to keep in the house but many of the population does not have the skills needed to use a table saw etc.
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