Handtools, convincing mangement to buy high quality tools
 

In a large aviation maintenance organization, I have got the task to find arguments for the management, why we should buy high quality (expensive) hand tools.

If the decision had solely to be taken by the management responsible for the maintenance organization, we would have no problem continuing to buy high quality tools, but now the "bean counters" further up in the organization have the final word, and they say : a wrench is a wrench, a screwdriver is a screwdriver etc. So they want the maintenance organization to buy cheap low quality hand tools in the future, if we can not come up with solid arguments why it should be Stahlwille, Snap-on etc.
Arguments like : High quality tools are used worldwide in the aviation industry, or we have always used Stahlwille, Snap-on etc are not valid arguments in their view.
Of course special tools for special tasks are still needed, but we are talking the general toolsets in the hangar.

The arguments have to be solid and serious, like sockets need to conform to Aerospace Standard xxxx etc, or references to civil aviation/Air Force documents recommending a certain standard.

Thank you !

For hand tools, there are no standards set by the regulatory authorities. If a tool breaks or isn't suitable (eg a spanner head is too thick to fit in a gap) then a replacement has to be bought. That's up to the bean counters!

Maybe get Snap-On etc to provide the required data? If they can't or won't, you're screwed.

Pilot speaking with a mech eng background.

The only way your going to be able to stop it is by proving that the use of low quality tools is going to cost more than using high quality ones.

You a bit stuffed as they write the capital cost off over 3 years I think for hand tools in relation to tax. So to you they are still worth xxx amount to the accountant they are worth zero.

You will hit the problem though that if you state it will cost xxxxx amount if the tool breaks they will say you can keep x amount in stock.

The high quality tools for individuals buy themselves is an investment but in accountancy terms its not as the say that they will never see that investment returned in their 3 year capital plan.

The best I succeeded in doing was to get medium quality tools provided and an option for an allowance to self purchase and recover the VAT back to the technician through the company which worked quite well although I suspect it was technically illegal for the VAT recovery. After 3 years the tool was thier's to remove. Specialist tools were company bought.

A few years ago the choices were pretty crap British tools like Snail Brand, King Dick, or eye watering expensive Snap On, however these days there are pretty good mid cost high quality tools such as Craftsman, facom, Stahwillie.


I've built my kit up over the years by selective purchasing, for the commonly used everyday kit I have Snap on and Blue Point, for general need to have but not used all the time items I have the mid range stuff.


With ebay it is possible to buy liquidation stock and good second hand kits, I haven't come across any required specifications by Regulatory Bodies, however you may consider discussing the possible damage that can be caused to aircraft and components by using inferior tooling.


Suggest you draw up a list of items that will be in constant use for whatever repeat routine tasks that you undertake, ie filter changes, QEC kits etc, and go for the high quality kit that won't let you down, and perhaps go for less quality kit for the rest.


I managed to build up a pretty good kit from Sears on trips to the States, crows feet and cranked spanners are pretty cheap, your Company might look over there for good deals.


good luck with the bean counters

High V low quality

Fit:- a good spanner will have precision gap between the jaws, which,in turn, will have optimum thickness to move the fastener without bending / snapping / springing (opening up ) slipping or chewing-up the fastener, necessitating a new one.

Screwdrivers: Precision profile , hardness and finish, means more successful removals / replacements of fasteners and less slippages causing damage to ajacent components.

Grips/pliers.....properly hardened / machined and jointed last longer grip better serrations do not burr over, cutters stay effective ,jaws remain aligned when twisting.

The 3-year argument is specious. the Company still has the tools, they save the outlay again in yr. 4 again in yr.8 again,probably in yr. 12.


There will always be "shrinkage" aka thieving. there will also be genuine losses due to carelessness or forgetfulness.
Applies to cheap tools as well,which,in my experience, get abused to hasten their replacement as soon as any precision they may, initially, have had, wears off.

There will be less accidents due to slippage and breakage causing injuries
how much will be saved by not having staff off work, HSE enquiries, staff taking legal action for damages.

Treat engineering staff with contempt supplying 5h1tty tools, whilst you sit in your pneumatically-suspended, leather-covered,fully adjustable office-chair, poking the buttons on your top-of range photocopier and sipping your latte from the office machine...and ask yourself why the greasy oiks are such a bunch of obtuse,uncooperative 5h1t-stirrers.

OTOH, make the initial investment , let the staff know you chose to allow quality, because you respect them as quality staff and they deserve decent treatment.........morale UP....productivity UP peripheral costs DOWN....downtime DOWN.

YES, there's a real set of compelling reasons why Surgeons, Instrument-makers, Formula 1 race-mechanics, Nuclear engineers and the like, buy the best tools and equipment....and it's not for vanity.

If , Mr beancounter, you don't appreciate the damage that scrimping at this level can do, you're incompetent and need sacking!

Simple, give them a parallel example.

Ask the bean counters "If we use cheap tools will they use Excel spreadsheets to run their accounts instead of expensive purpose built programmes?"

They both do the same thing...... don't they? As an engineer you don't see the problem with using Excel just like they don't see a problem with cheap tools.

I didn't think of these points when I posted earlier.

You only have to look at the handyman tools your average office worker at home has to realise they don't know the difference between good and bad quality tools. No wonder they expect others to be happy with the crap stuff they have at home.

One thing to ponder as well. A tradesman will pay good money to buy high quality tools with his/her own money as he/she knows the tools will give long lasting service. Some of these penny pinching types who want to deny these tradesman good gear would never spend up on good quality "work tools" with their own money but will happily spend the companies money to ensure they have the best of everything.

Poor quality tools are dangerous to the user and potentially harmful to whatever they are being used on, when they slip, break, or simply don't do the job properly. It's short sighted and false economy to use cheap tools.

Are you talking about kitting out everyone who is hands on with a personal toolkit or simply providing tooling at a central tool store location?

What tooling are you using at present?

It sounds to me as if the tools are the people in your head office!

Typical of accountants.
They know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

jaja - Find examples of broken cheap tools (in the metal or in photos) and explain why they broke (poor fit, as cockney steve explains very well - or inferior metal, such as carbon steel, instead of CR-V-Mo tool steel).

Request suppliers to provide specific details of their fit tolerances, their steels used, and their company QC methods (how often are their tools inspected during the manufacturing process?).

Explain to beancounters with detailed drawings/photos, how cheap tools have poor design in the amount of offset (for offset tools) - have inadequate thickness of material in crucial points of stress in the tools - how they have poor final finish by way of forging flaws and poor-quality chrome - and how they have poor design of the grip area.

However - there are many moderate-cost tools of Taiwanese origin, that are more than adequate for the job, where they are not placed under extreme stress continually.

Having said that - where tools are regularly working at their stress limit - such as crowfoot bars, hex keys and hex sockets, and cobalt drills, then it pays to purchase the highest quality tool you can buy, without question.

Unfortunately, Snap-On have fallen by the wayside, along with many American tool manufacturers - and they now get tools manufactured on subcontract by the likes of Taiwanese companies - and dare I say it - even Chinese manufacturers.

I have purchased items such as American Vermont cobalt drills, with the packet wearing a highly-visible Stars & Stripes - only to find in tiny print, "Drills made in China - (plastic) box Made in America"!! :(

@ onetrack I can empathise with your last example.
To replace a lost item, I bought a "Bahco" adjustable-wrench( "Crescent-wrench"....B. A. Hjorth &Co. Sweden)

Bitterly disappointed....sloppy sliding jaw is able to twist slightly sideways and excessive slack in the adjuster means you set to a nut and then the jaw moves so it's a slack fit or won't go on at all!
Yep! this once-proud Swedish name has been prostituted my last (and final)
Bahco product was "made in China"
It is relegated to the "plumbing and use as a last resort" bag! :sad:

When the management asks why the work isn't getting done, and the engineer replies "All the cheap supplied tools recommended by the accountants are U/S so until more are procured...." then Management will see the light. Ditto on injuries and damage from broken or unfit tools- make sure the reported reason is unfit company tools. And leave your high-quality personal set at home so you can't be asked to use them to 'fill in'.

To fight an accountant you have to think like one, but backwards :E

jaja, If you look at 145.A.40 the Regulation states that ;-


"The organisation shall have available and use the necessary equipment, tools and material to perform the approved scope of work."


If you genuinely feel that a tool supplied by the Organisation does not meet the requirements to carry out the work safely or properly then you are entitles to submit a MEMS report to your quality department, this should eventually be reviewed by the Accountable Manager.


If you are continually breaking tools such as drills, bits etc because they are of inferior quality then you have grounds for a MEMS report.


Hope this is of help

Of all the responses here I believe OM15 has the nub of the issue.

If the tools are not "suitable" for the tasks and keep wearing or bending, then a better quality should be sought.

Nobody, even bean counters, likes to keep replacing bad goods, so the case for better quality but more expensive items should be made clearer to the management - this doesn't mean the most expensive or the most desirable tools.

...Another comparison is that office staff would not like to go back to pens and paper as those are much cheaper than computers and associated network gear.

If you are continually breaking tools such as drills, bits etc because they are of inferior quality then you have grounds for a MEMS report.

It shouldn't take the need for a report....Any supervisor should be able convince a manager that the time wasted by using poor quality drills and bits is more expensive in real terms. I've seen it all before...outfits which tried sharpening poor quality drills instead of purchasing decent ones in the first place!

The shift these days is away from personally owned tools to company owned, mainly due to quality and safety controls with regards to individual standards and inventory controls.

There are many arguments about what make/quality to buy, and my opinion is that the company should get the senior engineers (the ones with actual spannering experience) on site to sit down and thrash out what is best for the applications.
For example, I have spanners made by Snap-On for general work, but also a set of Blue Point (A budget line of Snap-On) and some Stahlwille for their specific qualities that make certain tasks easier. The Stahlwille are nice, slim profiled spanners that make tight corners more accessible than S-On. I also have Craftsman and Kennedy tools for the less frequently used Metric applications.

While there are a multitude of makes out there, there are actually few independant manufacturers of tools these days, and most of them to a greater or lesser degree will be made in China, including Snap-On, so get over it.

Then, there is the tricky world of "home made/modified" tools for specific type-related tasks, like the Allison 250 FCU and Governor replacement, or the CT-58 FCU replacement and adjustment. Those tools aren't available in any catalogue, but anyone who has had any decent time on ANY type will know what I mean because chances are good they have a tool for THAT PARTICULAR bitch of a job.

I currently work for a French outfit and all our tools are Facom, and while they are good quality, you will find a few of them have been ground and filed to allow their bulk to be reduced to make them useable, which reinforces the argument of "What is the right tool to buy?"

If you want to do this properly, you need to convince the guys that will be using the tools to get out of the "Free tools, therefore they must be Snap-On" mindset and get them to practically consider and justify their recommendations to you, then, you need to sit the beancounters down and convince them that this is the most satisfactory solution based on the 20, 50, 100 years collective experience on the floor and within reason, they need to buy those tools because that is the considered opinion of the people who will actually be using them to keep Productivity and Quality at optimum levels.

That's my tuppence worth..... Good luck in your quest!

I agree; shouting at "bean-counters" because they say "justify buying the more expensive; you're an engineer, you tell me why it's the best thing to do" is silly. They are doing their job, it's yours to know why the expensive ones are better and tell them.

If they don't listen, or the accountable manager (it's his/her decision, not the accountant's) doesn't listen, then that's wrong. But that's not often the case in well-run organisations.

But there's a lot of expensive rubbish requested and bought just because "if it costs a lot it must be better". I have often wondered if Snap-on doesn't fall into that category. Is there any tangible evidence (comparative failure rates, comparative manufacturing defects and so on) that supports the case for them? Or is it just received wisdom, that hasn't caught up with newer and better manufacturers?

I'm with Unstable Load here, I think.

Those are genuine questions; I have no ready answers!

By the way, wasn't I once told that an adjustable wrench should be thrown out of the hangar, no matter how little slack it has?

Over a period of time, as a hands-on mechanic, running my own business, I had to make my own purchasing decisions.
a set of torn and bruised knuckles saw the purchase of a basic set of Snap-On screwdrivers -flat, pozi and Philips.
Pipe flare-nut spanners from the same source....why? because their jaws were much thicker,thus the full flat of the nut was engaged...more applied torque with less rounding-off or crushing. basic set of single-hex sockets....as with the spanners, very slim, so could get into tight places, good fit, strong. universal-joint....again, far smaller than rival makes, strong , good articulation.
All my general spanners and bi-hex sockets were Britool or secondhand ,brands as om 15 has said.....generally good quality, not as beautifully finished and polished as Snap-on, but far cheaper.

Facom has attempted to establish as a premium brand in UK IMHO, grossly overpriced, but can be a good e-bay purchase as liquidation stock.
@ Capot agree, re- ajustable spanners, but sometimes, a man's gotta do..... like using a screwdriver as a chisel/drift/prybar :O

I agree with the tools needing to be adequate for the job expected of them. I don't play the 'brand name game' though I have a lot of Snap-on, Mac, and Cornwell tools (which may be a US only brand?) which have served me well. But my larger wrenches are still my first set, made in India by a no-name company that have had 3 foot long pipes slid over them with two large guys jumping on the pipe to break nuts loose and they are still as good a new. (I'm not advocating such abuse, only relating my experience) I've broken brand names with much less severe use and worn out a few as well. What I have now withstands any use I put them to, and cost me about 1/4 of what a similar Snap-on set would have. They are not for sale or loan ;) My Mac long-handled 10mm combo wrench is getting worn so I'll get it replaced. And after 20 years use that ain't bad; nobody could do any better.

Your most-used tools must stand the frequency of service, but your least used tools only need to be good enough. Another aspect is warranty replacement- tools do break sometimes no matter who made them. The Snap-On man will be back next week (and in an emergency you can do a local meet-up with him elsewhere that very day), but if it has to be sent to China to get a replacement shipped back that bears careful thought- you're down for weeks :oh: Also, would you rather bend or grind a cheap wrench to fit an odd job or lose that Snap-on warranty by doing that? Either will work just as well for you, but one costs more to replace.

Approach it as I do my personal set- just make sure they are good enough. They may see the light of paying the premium price for some things if you can show where some savings made elsewhere will compensate and still leave you doing fine. And if they don't budge? See my previous post. They will understand unnecessary losses being far more expensive if that starts happening. I'm sure you can find ways to assist in speeding that process along :E

The other advantage which they are probably missing is the likes of Snap On will replace damaged tools like for like, a cheaper purchase could end up being a multiple purchase to replace failed tools, that in itself could exceed the price of a decent tool.

Most of mine are Snap on etc and I have a fair few King Dick from when I started out Civi wise 35 odd years and still going strong. I could count my failed tools in that time on one hand.
One incidentally that I find invaluable is my Snap On ratchet screw driver, the older style one. I am on my second in those 35 years and it gets used and abused daily, Snap On have replaced worn ratchets etc for free in all that time, even the shaft, they don't look a lot when bought, but boy do they deliver.

Having said all that the Halfords professional range are not bad tools either, and don't forget you are entitled to their trade card :) just you need to check the prices at the till, ohhh and it covers you for everything they sell, though you could find it costs more on discounted items, so you do not use your card on those, the cashier will tell you, and the discounts do vary.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/s...03#tab_1042758

http://www.pprune.org/military-aviat...rade-card.html

..

Does anyone know where the British army used to get there tools in the 80's and before?

The bouncing up and down on a scaffolding pole was pretty common in my day.

And some of the boys had the same set as when they joined up with 15 years abuse delivered to them.

I must admit I have a set of legitimately acquired sockets and spanners with an arrow on them. And although I am not a heavy user of the tools they must be 40-50 years old now and still going strong.

My least used but most liked tool for that era is an old SLR piston with two flats ground on the head to make it legal. I don't know what they made it out of but it is an amazing drift as long as you don't mind destroying what your trying to get out. Only thing is you have to watch you don't use a cheap hammer because it is that hard it may shatter the hammer if you belt it hard enough. I have use it with sledge hammer and its still as straight as the day I killed two grinding wheels putting the flats on it.

The old boys used to have two of these one with a flat head and one with a chisel ground on the end. Which I have seen cut bolt heads off with using a lump hammer.

MJ - A strong principle I follow is never to use a hardened item as a drift. I've seen too many hardened drifts shatter on the end and have chips of steel fly off.
I've quite often used axles as larger size drifts, with the end heated to red heat and allowed to cool to soften any hardened areas such as seal surfaces.

I have several sets of U.S. Military 3/4 drive sockets, ex-Vietnam. They were apparently purloined by Vietnamese intending to flee, after the fall of Vietnam to the Communists, then smuggled in by those Vietnamese refugees and sold at local auction.

They are "Wright" brand, and I understand they were made by Proto, and "Wright" was the brand name chosen for their military line. The quality of these 3/4 drive sets is of a level that is difficult to find today.

"Buck" knives used to advertise their blades being tapped with a hammer and cutting a bolt. They would do this because the blade was harder than the bolt, and with the gentlest of 'taps' and enough patience the bolt was severed and the blade wasn't hurt. One single 'tap' too hard and the blade got a huge chip taken out of it. They replaced a few knives under warranty before disallowing this kind of warranty claim. Driven very gently a hardened drift is OK, but driven that gently the hardening isn't needed and the consequences of a mistake too much to risk, so I agree- no hardened drifts!

Wright was made by Proto but I'm not sure it was military-only; they're somewhat common in the tool boxes of us older folks here and some recall buying them retail (if you can trust their aging memories)! The Snap-On/Blue Point relationship is better known. Blue Point made a wide range of tools (carpentry, plumbing, etc) while Snap-On focused only on tools for mechanics. Proud to have all these brands in my box because they never let me down :ok:

Though it won't work for the OP's purposes, seeking these great "lesser-known" brands on the used market can net some great bargains because not everyone knows their true worth :cool:

I am the same as you onetrack normally.

Unless I need 50cm worth of thin drift into confined space as a rear differential on a landy if you managed to get at it just after it was seized with that you could knock the diff lock out and run the thing with the rear prop shaft detached in front wheel drive only.

I honestly don't think you will shatter this thing, its quite unlike any bit of metal I have come across. Its the piston which drives the working parts forward in a high velocity semi automatic rifle with the pressure across a 10mm piston. And it doesn't shatter when the breach jams shut and the working parts stay forward with the gas plug blocked. This does result in the poor sod that pulled the trigger going to hospital though with shattered sinuses and a broken collar bone.

I have seen them belted with a sledge hammer, metal on metal by a 105kg Fijian using it like a war hammer as they do. I might add the tank power pack remained well and truly :mad:ed after he had finished with it.

Some had the piston off a GIMPY which is even meatier and longer.

MJ - Yes, there's some fabulous metal alloys in existence, and when you come across them in scrap and determine what they came from and what qualities they possess, they can be utilised in fine fashion for alternative uses such as drifts.

One of the most intriguing alloy steel items I have come across, is head bolts on air-cooled Deutz diesel engines (I specifically state air-cooled, because Deutz built water-cooled diesels as well!)

The metal in those Deutz head bolts is an alloy that makes tool steel look rather plain.
I'm sure it's a Cr/Mo/V/T variant, but whatever those clever German blokes made it out of, it's an alloy of amazing strength with exceptionally high heat resistance as well.
I've found all kinds of alternative "severe service" uses for them, and they perform with exceptional resistance to heat, hammering, twisting, and every kind of abuse you can shower upon them.

In the opposite vein, I also have another nice soft 1/2" diameter steel drift in my toolbox.
This drift started off life as a early Chinese production (probably late 1970's) 1/2" drive x 10" extension bar - but when I screwed the square off the end of it (!) - when undoing a tight bolt - I decided the best alternative use for it from then on, was as a nice soft drift - at which job it performs much more admirably, than it ever did as a 1/2" drive extension! :)

I'm with Sawman on searching out the earlier American "lesser-known" brands that have been barely-used, as quality additions to the toolbox.
Another favorite of mine is Bondhus for Allen hex wrenches. The steel in Bondhus hex wrenches is a special steel made to Bondhus specifications, and it outperforms all other tool steels by 20% in strength tests.
The Japanese also make Ko-Ken, which is their answer to Snap-On. Ko-Ken products are not easily found, and they are expensive, but their quality is superb.
I have a set of Ko-Ken impact hex sockets, which are forged one-piece Cr/Mo/V steel, and I use them as hand tools, because most hand tool hex sockets are not one piece and perform poorly under duress.
Nearly all of the hex sockets produced as hand tools merely comprise a section of hex material pressed into a plain socket head. This setup is cheap and nasty, and the hex section will come loose with severe service.

Quality does matter
 

As an A&P mechanic for 20 years I can
answer your question and give examples
to my answer, most nuts and bolts on
aircraft are steel, but most aircraft
structure itself is aluminum. A poor
quality wrench will strip the head off
of a bolt much easier than a high
quality wrench from Snap On. Taking
into consideration that most bolts on
aircraft are located in areas with very
limited access, you now have a bolt
that no wrench will remove, even if
you have access to use power tools
trying to drill out a steel bolt in an
aluminum structure you run the high
risk of damaging the aluminum
structure getting the bolt out. So now
the Snap On wrench doesn't look that
expensive. I have personally seen
this happen several times in Aviation
costing the operator many thousands
of dollars and a couple of mechanics
their jobs.

The British military in the 70's and 80's used King Dick, Gordon and Bahco tools, my locking pliers were Maun.

During WWII Packhard made Merlins under licence and shipped to the UK, each engine had a basic service tool kit containing BSF ring spanners, I have a couple of these manufactured by Blue Point and used them every day for 20 years working on Darts, they are a slender as Snap on, in matt finish, still in the same condition as when they were made 70 odd years ago, still used occasionally as assorted nuts and bolts on my BSA come from redundant AGS stock acquired over the years.

Years ago when I was working as a car mechanic, the Snap-on dealer used to give a very convincing demonstration of this - he had a hex bar of hard nylon and would put one of his ring spanners on it and one of any other competitors, and then twist one against the other. The non Snap-on was always the one to round off the bar.

^^^^^Yes, back in the daya very valid and convincing demonstration.
Unfortunately for Snap-on, many new pretenders, as well as the progressives among the old guard, have upped their game..."flankdrive,in it's many guises, is now mainstream...30-odd years ago, I figured a single-hex spanner or socket would not only drive a worn, burred fastener, but would release a tight,good one with less damage than a bi-hex gripping only the extreme corners.
In the late 1950's a friend was an army tank-driver he claimed "Brittool" described their tools perfectly and had broken many...in a Civilian environment,they were among the best.

Price is not the only criterion and, unfortunately,neither is a reputable brand-name.-See my previous, re-Bahco,A once-proud, top-line Swedish manufacturer.
Good tools are expensive. Down-time, injuries,damaged fasteners and collateral damage caused by poor tool performance, cost far more.
Mercedes Benz succumbed tothe bean-counter's greed They looked great but reliability and durability suffered enormously. The company is slowly clawing it's reputation back, but they would have made far more profit,overall, by not skimping in the first place.

Inexpensive tooling is made for light duty occasional use. Quality tools are made for severe daily use.

Beyond the issues of damage to expensive aircraft parts and even more expensive human parts is the cost of replacements.

Ask the bean counters how much it costs to cut a PO to replace a tool. Saving 10 bucks on a wrench doesn't make much sense if you have to replace it twice as often and it costs 50 bucks to cut an order. :)

More important, is the risk of physical injury to the user, and consequent high compensation costs, if a cheap tool breaks when being used under duress.

Jaja,

you say you work for a maintenance organisation, so I assume you do third party aircraft.

Do you think your customers would be happy letting you loose on their thirty million dollar aeroplane with a box full cheap tools that are likely to cause damage and extend ground time due to mishaps which could have easily been avoided using quality tooling?

In my previous job as a tech rep for an airline, I was tasked with surveying the premises, staff, facilities and equipment before a contract was awarded. A quick glimpse in the toolboxes always gave me some confidence if they were equipped with quality tools. In the same way that a decent sheet metal worker will turn up for work with his own-made tool box.

One word: FOD
If your tool breaks, and we all know that they can, you have to find all the parts of that broken tool. Chip the corner of a flat screwdriver, you have to find that chip. Now you are wasting hours or days looking for it, and you are grounded. Or the chip ends up in the cables, engine or flight controls, now you lost the aircraft, crew, and classroom of little kids that the airframe collided with in uncontrolled decent. All beacuse of a chipped screwdriver. I know that seems extreem, but this is what we all deal with in aerospace.

Some years ago, I was a supervisor in a completions organization and a very close friend was a QA Inspector. We had recently hired two younger guys that were just starting their careers, and therefore their tool collection.
The inspector and I quickly found that we could tell which part of an installation was being carried out by the new guys by the marks left on the hardware from their "less costly" wrenches and sockets.
The fix for this was to let them use our tools as they slowly built up their own kits with higher quality items. (We never found any marked up hardware again)

Rigidhead

Regarding hand tools and there quality. As an Aviation Machines Mate in the Navy in the late 70's the government supplied us with hand tools an such they were for the most part cheaper brands. It wasn't till I got into the private sector that I realized how valuable good hand tools can be. My tools today are a cross between high and mid quality tools. You can shop around and find tools that are very close to snap-on quality but cost much less. The thing is you need to shop around and that takes time. Maybe get the bean counters to take a close look and find a happy medium between the junk tools and a good quality tool. My company gives a tool allowance $100.00 a month, you can buy what ever you want. They also replace any power tool such as impacts, riveting tool, air ratchets....... one for one same brand.

The tool trade is very different now to 20, or even 10 years ago.

It now comes down to the brands specifications and interest in quality assurance. Many, including the most famous brands are no longer manufacturing in the original country of origin.

The primary factor in toolmaking is access to the right steel for the tool, only closely followed by the process used in processing this steel. The various high quality steels have different hardening, etc requirements, as most here would appreciate. The Chinese factories will tout ISO9001 and TUV and other certifications but the reality is the materials are doubtable, as well as the processes.

This is not so much a problem with Taiwanese factories, quite the opposite, for the most part. Seeing China as a major competitor they run a high QA attitude.

Most high end brands now manufacture in Taiwan, those seeking greater profits are moving or have moved to China.

The other issue is buying from chains and majors such as Blackwoods, which is effectively doing to tool makers what Coles and Woolies do to farmers…